Early Egyptian Pyramid Design

            The history of Egypt begins around the year 3000 BC with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt into one united kingdom. Under this new ruling dynasty, the first King was Menes, and thirty dynasties would follow (Guardian's Egypt , Ancient Egypt of the Web). It was this time the hieroglyphic writing made its first appearance, in the tombs and treasures of the pharaohs. To seal the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menes founded the capital city of the kingdom at the place where the two met: at the apex of the Nile, where it fans out onto the fertile silt plain. The fortress city was named "White Walls- by Menes, but it is known today by its Greek name, Memphis (Guardian's Egypt , Ancient Egypt of the Web). For much of the 3,000 years of ancient Egypt, it remained the capital seat of the pharaohs. .
             Pyramids today stand as a reminder of the ancient Egyptian glorification of life after death, and in fact, the pyramids were built as monuments to house the tombs of the pharaohs. Death was seen as merely the beginning of a journey to the other world. The embalmed body of the king was entombed in a chamber either underneath or within the pyramid to protect it or allow his transformation and ascension to the afterlife, and a place among the gods. In this society, each individual's eternal life was dependent on the continued existence of their king, a belief that made the pharaoh's tomb the concern of the entire kingdom. Pictures on the walls of tombs tell us about the lives of the Kings and their families. Furniture and riches were buried with the king so he would have the familiar comforts of his lifetime buried near him. Attendants and wives who died after the king were also buried close to him. These graves of relatives and courtiers can be found on the outskirts of king's tomb, lying besides the pyramids (Edwards, I.E.S. The Pyramids of Egypt). According to Lehner, Mark in The Complete Pyramids ,whole subdivisions of tombs of those in high positions in the court of the king can be found surrounding the Pyramids of Giza.