The Pyramids of Egypt - How & Why They Were Built - Full Documentary

During the third and fourth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, Egypt enjoyed tremendous economic prosperity and stability. Kings held a unique position in Egyptian society. Somewhere in between human and divine, they were believed to have been chosen by the gods to serve as mediators between them and the people on earth. Because of this, it was in everyone’s interest to keep the king’s majesty intact even after his death, when he was believed to become Osiris, god of the dead. The new pharaoh, in turn, became Horus, the falcon-god who served as protector of the sun-god, Ra.

The pyramid's smooth, angled sides symbolized the rays of the sun and were designed to help the king's soul ascend to heaven and join the gods, particularly the sun god Ra.

Ancient Egyptians believed that when the king died, part of his spirit (known as “ka”) remained with his body. To properly care for his spirit, the corpse was mummified, and everything the king would need in the afterlife was buried with him, including gold vessels, food, furniture and other offerings. The pyramids became the focus of a cult of the dead king that was supposed to continue well after his death. Their riches would provide not only for him, but also for the relatives, officials and priests who were buried near him.

No pyramids are more celebrated than the Great Pyramids of Giza, located on a plateau on the west bank of the Nile River, on the outskirts of modern-day Cairo. The oldest and largest of the three pyramids at Giza, known as the Great Pyramid, is the only surviving structure out of the famed seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built for Khufu (Cheops, in Greek), Sneferu’s successor and the second of the eight kings of the fourth dynasty. Though Khufu reigned for 23 years (2589-2566 B.C.), relatively little is known of his reign beyond the grandeur of his pyramid. The sides of the pyramid’s base average 755.75 feet (230 meters), and its original height was 481.4 feet (147 meters), making it the largest pyramid in the world. Three small pyramids built for Khufu’s queens are lined up next to the Great Pyramid, and a tomb was found nearby containing the empty sarcophagus of his mother, Queen Hetepheres. Like other pyramids, Khufu’s is surrounded by rows of mastabas, where relatives or officials of the king were buried to accompany and support him in the afterlife.

#ancient
#history
#civilization

[Floridaman]

It’s literally been my biggest and favorite mystery since I was a kid, just why they were built and how they got it so perfect and just everything about it.

[rogerlevy]

This is total rubbish, with a few grains of truth. It is the usual theory of relatively primitive people using totally inadequate tools to quickly build a massive structure, incorporating Mathematics, accurate astronomy and measuring systems we are only now starting to understand. If you are going to make a Documentary, try not to insult the intelligence of people, and also don't leave out facts difficult to explain, like the cutting of the internal angles of the granite "sarcophagus", that has 3 or 4 mathematical constants, such as pi inherent in the dimensions. What about Petrie's discovery of incredible hole boring through hard rock with something like a diamond tipped tube drill.

[swaldoski]

There is always someone who knows how and why they were built. Let's just be honest we actually don't know neither we just speculate.

[jerrymyers]

We think, we believe....better to say we have no idea how they were made.

[rsnell]

I’d like to see the normal speed of every one of those introductory shots of each person where the cameraman circled them 5 times😂

[darryltibbs]

The Pyramids are truly one of the greatest mysteries on earth. They're ahead of their time.

[ImGoingSupersonic]

One thing that gets me on this...No way in hell those workers were out there SHIRTLESS in that sun lol. And shoeless. They'd be covered up without a doubt.

[hyliedoobius]

No, the Great Pyramid was NOT aligned to the “points of the compass”, but to TRUE NORTH

[dbassir]

Hell...if I got a ration of beer, meat, and fish, I’d help the pharaoh build the pyramid.

[ImGoingSupersonic]

I think maybe one major thing is, people today don't build things that are going to be finished in 50 or 100 years. Its always within a fraction of a lifetime. Not sure where i was going with this but if you have YEARS and YEARS to complete something, obviously then too, lots are possible.

[iwird]

I really want to know whats behind the 2nd door in the queens chamber.... has there been any follow ups on this?

[marcushunter]

Honestly, this documentary is almost laughable. I think that as humans, we try to make every little thing make sense to us. We try to piece everything together in a way so that it has purpose to our own understanding. Throughout the documentary there are many instances where the narrator and researchers speak as if they were there. As if they are ancient Egyptians and that their ideas are correct. I disagree with that idea. It’s clear that we have no idea how they were built and who built them for sure.

[youngplay]

This is science before science and after science.

[classicmeditations]

Fascinating to see the Pyramids and to think of them being built thousands of years ago when people didn't have the technology we do today. It is just as fascinating to read the comments here about how the Pyramids were built: aliens, carved out of mountains.. Makes me think of Ocham's razor and how humans like to add complexity to answer what appear to be complex problems. But maybe it is more simple. Maybe it is just hard for modern humans to comprehend the amount of time it would take to build something without our technologies, so we think it couldn't have been done without.

[treatb]

What i love is that the effort to find the treasure inside would cost more than the treasure itself. You would need to rebuild egypt itself.

[sephtufts]

Wait now, are you telling me that the ancient Egyptian architects/engineers were so intelligent that they could design, engineer and plan the building of the pyramids...all the complicated building techniques, the development and use of sophisticated tools, the planning... But they never discovered the wheel.... That doesn't make sense.

[williamgoswick]

@7:00 the stars in the sky are circling round and round in the same position every 360° all night long?

[JustinKennith]

The mystery has never been how they did it; there are many ways to move large objects horizontally and vertically, given enough time and ingenuity. The real mystery is how they had an economy so plentiful that they could waste that much time and energy for dozens of years on a monumental project that offers no economical benefit.

[novelcoronaheads]

Maybe it was built as a gift to future generations...Thats what I get when I look at the pyramids...A gift from our elders..

[politikbildung]

they were used as graves by people who found the already build pyramits