Through the Eras

Architecture and Designpyramid, though it was completed in mud brick ratherthan stone. Stadelmann traced the plan of this building,which included both the pillared court and thestatue sanctuary that were part of King Khufu’s pyramidtemple attached to the Great Pyramid at Giza inthe next reign. There was perhaps also a causeway builtof mud brick, though excavation has failed to reveal thisfeature. At the end of the causeway was a town, ratherthan the expected temple, where archaeologists discovereda stele of Dynasty Six (reign of Pepi I, 2338–2298B.C.E.). The construction of both the pyramid templeand the causeway in mud brick suggests that workersfinished these features quickly after Sneferu’s death.Perhaps that is also the reason that this complex lacksa subsidiary pyramid and a valley temple. Or perhapsthe Bent Pyramid, with its eastern statue temple, servedthe same function for Sneferu as the later Valley Templebuilt by his son, King Khufu, would later serve atthe Great Pyramid of Giza.RELIGION DRIVING TECHNOLOGY. Sneferu’s threepyramids are a testament to the way that religious innovationdrove the development of Egyptian technology.The decision to abandon step pyramid building,which was already well understood, for the uncertaintechnology required for a true pyramid was a major diversionof resources. Egyptian engineers had to experimentand innovate because of a religious idea. This idea,as nearly as can be understood today, was to emphasizein the pyramid complex the ascendance of the god Rein religious thinking. This ascendance required that theking be buried in a true pyramid rather than a step pyramid.This innovation required three attempts at largescalepyramid building. The details are lost to us, butthe implications for the power of a religious idea inEgyptian society are significant.SOURCESDieter Arnold, “Royal Cult Complexes of the Old and MiddleKingdoms,” Temples of Ancient Egypt, edited by ByronE. Shafer (Ithica, N.Y.: Cornell University Press,1997): 31–85.Mark Lehner, The Complete Pyramids (London: Thames andHudson, 1997).Rainer Stadelmann, Die Ägyptischen Pyramiden: vom Ziegelbauzum Weltwunder (Mainz am Rhein, Germany: P.von Zabern, 1985).Miroslav Verner, Die Pyramiden (Reinbek bei Hamburg,Germany: Rowohlt Verlag, 1998).SEE ALSO Visual Arts: Early Dynastic Period ArtFOURTH-DYNASTY ARCHITECTUREAND HISTORYTHE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA. The Pyramids of Giza areamong the world’s most famous architectural monuments.In ancient times the Greeks included the GreatPyramid among the Seven Wonders of the World. TheEgyptians themselves took an interest in the pyramids,restoring the adjacent buildings as late as 1,000 years afterthey were originally built. Yet in spite of the tremendousawe and curiosity that the pyramids inspire, theyare limited sources for the writing of history. The pyramidsattest that the Fourth Dynasty (2625–2500 B.C.E.)must have been a period of strong central government,religious vitality, and technological innovation. Yet thedetails of these historical trends must be derived fromthe physical remains of buildings rather than from writtentexts. In the Fourth Dynasty the Egyptians had notyet started inscribing extended biographical texts in theirtombs, a practice of the Sixth Dynasty 300-400 yearslater, that provides historical details in the later period.None of the extensive records that scholars believe onceexisted about the administration of the pyramids in theFourth Dynasty have survived into modern times. Noneof the records that the Egyptians maintained for theirown knowledge of their history have survived except forrecords of a much later period. Thus nearly everythingthat can be inferred in modern times about the FourthDynasty stems from modern knowledge of the pyramidsat Giza, except for very limited information from shortinscriptions in nobles’ tombs. A careful look at the plansand details of each building is necessary in order to reconstructthe history of this period. The only supplementarymaterial comes from the Greek historianHerodotus who visited the pyramids in the middle ofthe fifth century B.C.E.THE GIZA PLATEAU. Three kings built the most famouspyramid complexes in Egyptian history on theGiza plateau during the years 2585 to 2510 B.C.E. Khufu(in Greek, Cheops), his son Khafre (in Greek, Chephren),and his grandson Menkaure (in Greek, Mycerinus)established funeral monuments that rank among thegreat architectural accomplishments of ancient times. Asthe American archaeologist Mark Lehner observed, thecoordination of the designs of the three separate monumentsis one of the most impressive aspects of ancientplanning and engineering. Each of the pyramids is nearlyperfectly oriented to the cardinal points—north, south,east, and west—of the compass. The southwest cornersof all three pyramids align perfectly, forming a straightline that runs northwest to southeast. The alignment betweenthe west face of Khufu’s pyramid and Khafre’s20 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)