EVOLUTION OF PYRAMID

The pyramids of Ancient Egypt went through many changes before

they took on the geometric shape
that we are accustomed to
seeing.
Egyptian tombs originally began as a simple pit in the sandy desert
that was lined with a reed mat.
Pharaohs and commoners were buried in the same fashion.
As Egyptian religious beliefs developed, pharaohs were buried with
artifacts that were necessary in the afterlife.
Due to vandalism, and the increasing number of artifacts that were
buried with wealthy kings, the pit became a rectangular hole lined
with mud bricks or timber.
A mound was created over the burial site, which was supported by
timber poles and covered with bricks. These covered mounds were
known as mastabas.
Over the years, the interior of mastabas became increasingly
elaborate with the intention of confusing tomb robbers, and to allow
more room to hold a pharaoh's possessions for
the afterlife.
The tunnel that accessed the sunken burial
chamber was filled with sand, rubble, and stone
barriers.
The entrance was then disguised to look like part of the wall.

 Portraits of servants would be painted on the interior walls to serve

their master his afterlife.
Tombs for a pharaoh's servants were constructed around the King's
mastaba for the same reason.
Beginning in 3,200 B.C., the exterior of a King's mastaba was
decorated with ornate brickwork imitating timber and reed matting.
Though extensive measures were taken, these tombs were often
robbed, because the design was common among all mastabas.

With the conclusion of Zoser's reign, the mastaba underwent more

developments.
Stone replaced mud brick in construction, and two false doorways
were added to the eastern face for the use of the pharaoh's ba,
meaning soul.
An inner room of the mastaba, called the serdab,
The first Egyptian pyramid was created for King Zoser by the
architect Imhotep.
The concept of the stone
mastaba was transformed into a
four level tomb consisting of
stacked mastabas that
decreased in size as they
reached the peak.
The steps that the pyramid formed were believed to act as a ladder
that the dead king took to reach the gods.

 In Zoser's pyramid, the burial chamber was located at the bottom of

a 92 ft. shaft.
The chamber entrance could be reached by travelling down a sloping
passage originating at the north face.
A series of Gallery Rooms were located at the bottom of the shaft,
and led into the King's burial chamber which was lined with timber
and blue tiles.
The serdab and offering chapels were in a temple on the north face of
the pyramid that contained two open courtyards, several chapels, and
storerooms.
The temple was roofed with stone slabs that were carved and painted
to represent the earlier palm-trunk ceilings.
After the creation of the first step-pyramids, the design was modified
to have smooth, limestone
faces.
The steps of the inner pyramid
were covered in hand-chiseled
limestone taken from the
quarries of Aswan farther down
the Nile River.
The appearance in the day of the Ancient Egyptians was that of a
shimmering white mountain.
The inspiration for sloping the sides of the pyramids came from an
image formed by the sun's rays breaking through the clouds.
It was intended to bring the buried pharoah closer to the sun god Re.
The first true pyramid was constructed for King Snefru at Medium.

 The burial chamber was only

accessible by a small tunnel in
the north face with a 28 degree
slope.
The famous bent pyramid at
Dahshur has sides that originally
sloped at 54 degrees.
Midway through the project, cracks began to appear due to the steep
slope.
From this point on, architects changed the slope to a gentler 43
degrees, which became the standard for all