Egyptian Pyramids When most people think of Ancient Egypt they think of Pyramids. To construct such great monuments required a mastery of architecture, social organization, and art that few cultures of that period could achieve. The oldest pyramid, the Step-Pyramids, grow out of the abilities of two men, King Djoser and Imhotep. Djoser, the second king of 3rd dynasty, was the first king to have hired an architect, Imhotep, to design a tomb (Time-Life Books, 74). Imhotep was known as the father of mathematics, medicine, architecture, and as the inventor of the calendar (White, 40). He had a great idea of stacking mastabas until they reached six tiers, a total of 60 meters high and its base 180 meters by 108 meters (Casson, 118). A glistening costing of limestone was added to the mastabas that made them shimmer in the sun. The main feature of the pyramid was its 92-foot underground shafts and burial room lined with pink granite. It was the first time that this feature appeared (White, 41). Imhotep surrounded Djoser's pyramid with a number of funerary courtyards and temples. He then, surrounded these complexes with a mile long protective wall (Time-Life Books, 74). Another pyramid was Khufu's Great Pyramid. It is the largest tomb every built. It was the height of a forty-story building, and its base was the average size of eight football fields. The pyramid contains about 2,300,000 stone blocks. The limestone was covered with a layer of polished stone to add a shine. Deep inside the pyramid are the tomb chambers, one for the king and another for the queen. Narrow shafts lined with granite lead the way to the tomb chambers (Time-Life Books, 75).Social organization was another key factor in creating such a grand monument. Imhotep was the man that brought forth this sense of organization. He assembled one workforce to quarry the limestone, another to haul the two and half ton stones to the site, and one more to carve the blocks and put them in place (Casson, 129).
