There are few places in the world more dazzling and mysterious to this day than the pyramids in Egypt. They are nothing short of spectacular and a testament to the power of human will and endeavour. If you are interested in art and human history it would behoove you to visit this wonderful site in Egypt to transport yourself to the ancient world and discover its majestic secrets.
The Pyramids and the Great Pharaohs
Egypt was one of the first developed and sophisticated civilizations in the world. The pyramids were built by the Egyptians as the final resting place for the pharaohs which they deemed as deities. The pyramids were receptacles in which the pharaoh would have everything he needed to sustain himself on the journey into the next world. The great pyramid of Giza is perhaps the most amazing of them all. It stands 481 feet tall and was built with an estimated 2.3 million blocks of stone each weighing roughly 2.5 to 15 tons.
The pyramids are considered one of the great wonders of the world and for good reason. They are so much more than large catacombs. According to Travel 2 Egypt, “They are a gateway into the past and a glimpse into the origin of civilization itself. These structures can give us insight into ourselves and our history as human beings. The pyramids not only teach us about how the Egyptians lived but about the science and culture of ancient Egypt.”
A clue to how the ancient Egyptians viewed the world can be appreciated in the vastness of the art on the walls of the pyramids which depicts their farming methods, religious rituals and values.
The Mystery of the Pyramids
One of the most interesting aspects of the pyramids is the almost insurmountable task that represented moving large boulders across desert sands to build them. Today, there is still a heated debate on how a primitive civilization, although incredibly advanced for the time, was able to create such magnificencent structures with little more than basic tools, albeit with a vast source labor. Nonetheless, experts believe that slaves most likely did not build the pyramids which adds even more fascination as scientists try to figure out how an entire civilization could have built such magnificent structures.
Archeologists are also uncovering new depths of the pyramid’s hidden secrets every year. Just recently a semitic inscription was discovered in one of the tombs of an Egyptian king which could be the oldest text of its kind ever discovered. The text is an ancient spell meant to keep snakes away from the tombs and protect its inhabitants.
The pyramids also contain dozens of tunnels around which there is also great debate. Some have argued that they were created as part of the architectural plans, others contend they have religious significance while some have gone so far as to say they were created as to be aligned with the stars. The mystery of why the tunnels were built between Queens and Kings chambers remains unsolved.
Needless to say, the increasing number of discoveries make the pyramids in Egypt an endless source of wonder, awe and mystery well worth the visit. It seems the more we know about these great structures the more there is to discover. It is no wonder that every year people from the four corners of the world come to see one of the greatest human accomplishments in human history.
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/giza-pyramids/
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-01-23-snake-spell_x.htm
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/28/pyramid.markings/
