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28 August 2008
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Ancient History - Egyptiansbbc.co.uk/history

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Development of Pyramids Gallery

By Dr Joyce Tyldesley

Egypt's pyramids served as tombs for her dead kings. The focus of a complex of ritual buildings, the pyramid was the magical powerhouse where the mummified pharaoh would attain eternal life.

The first pyramid was Djoser's Step Pyramid, built not long after Egypt had become a unified land (in approximately 3000 BC). The Great Pyramid of Khufu, at Giza, was raised a century later. But these pyramids did not come from a technological void. A clear evolution can be traced from the most ancient prehistoric graves to the splendours of the Giza plateau.

Click on an image below to enter the gallery
Prehistoric pit graves
Prehistoric pit graves
Mastaba tomb, Saqqara
Mastaba tomb, Saqqara
Djoser's Step Pyramid
Djoser's Step Pyramid
Meidum Pyramid
Meidum Pyramid
Bent Pyramid of Dahshur
Bent Pyramid of Dahshur
The Great Pyramid
The Great Pyramid
Khaefre's pyramid and Sphinx
Khaefre's pyramid and Sphinx
New Kingdom pyramid, Deir el-Medina
New Kingdom pyramid, Deir el-Medina

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