Egyptian pyramids

The pyramids of Egypt, some of which are among the largest man-made constructions ever conceived {{an|pyramids_large_structures}}, constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization. Although no ancient Egyptian rulers have been found buried in an Egyptian pyramid, it is generally accepted by most archaeologists that they were constructed as burial monuments associated with royal solar and stellar cults, and most were built during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods{{an|when_pyramids_built}}. Egyptian homes were built on the east bank of the river, the land where the Sun rises. Egyptians built the pyramids on the west bank of the River Nile. They believed this was the land of the dead, because the Sun sets there.{{an|west_bank_hell}}

Notes

• {{anb|pyramids_large_structures}} The Great Pyramid of Khufu. Retrieved April 12, 2005. "The Great Pyramid of Khufu...is the largest pyramid in Egypt and was the tallest man-made structure in the World until 1888."
• {{anb|west_bank_hell}} The Discovery Channel (2002-2004). Hidden History of Egypt. Retrieved April 13, 2005. "They often buried their dead on the west bank of the Nile due to their conviction that the underworld was located in the west where the sun died each day."
• {{anb|when_pyramids_built}} Michael Ritter (2003). Dating the Pyramids. Retrieved April 13, 2005. "Archaeologists have generally believed that the magnificent pyramids at Giza were the work of the Old Kingdom Dynasty 4 in Egypt" "The astronomical records as reported precisely fixes Middle Kingdom dates. But one cannot just count back the reigns of kings into the Old Kingdom, an Intermediate period occur between the Old and Middle Kingdom."
• {{anb|resurrection_machines}} Houghton Mifflin College. The Pyramids: "Resurrection Machines". Retrieved April 13, 2005. The three pyramids at Giza were built circa 2500 B.C. as “resurrection machines;”...The pyramids acted as way-stations in which kings would undergo transfiguration into an eternal spirit called akh."
• {{anb|mastaba_bench}} University College London (2001). Burial customs: mastabas. Retrieved April 14, 2005. "Egyptologist use the Arabic word 'mastaba', meaning 'bench', for the massive rectangular structures found above many tombs in Saqqara, Gizeh and other places"
• {{anb|mastabas_for_rich}} University College London (2001). Burial customs in Early Dynastic Egypt. Retrieved April 14, 2005. "elite burials are in huge mud brick mastabas; poorer people are often simply buried in shallow holes in the ground"
• {{anb|Imhotep_first_pyramid}} Jimmy Dunn Imhotep, Doctor, Architect, High Priest, Scribe and Vizier to King Djoser. Retrieved April 24, 2005. " was the world's first named architect who built Egypt's first pyramid"
• {{anb|Imhotep_deified}} ibid. "Imhotep is one example of the "personality cult" of Kemet, whereby a learned sage or otherwise especially venerated person could be deified after death"
• {{anb|trial_and_error}} Allen Winston. The Meaning of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Retrieved April 16, 2005. "This is certainly not the manner in which pyramids were developed in Egypt, through much trial and error."
• {{anb|Rawash_northerly}} Alan Winston The Pyramid of Djedefre at Abu Rawash. Retrieved April 22, 2005. "Other than the ruins of Lepsius pyramid number one, Djedefre's pyramid is the northernmost of any pyramid in Egypt."
• {{anb|Rawash_ruins_lepsius}} ibid.