rdens
in the east, they all lay in the center of the Greek Empire (McLeish 4).
In the Fourth Dynasty, built 4600 years ago, the Giza Pyramids came known as the greatest of the Seven Wonders (Grigson 18). These pyramids are the largest of the 70-odd pyramids
built (18). The largest of the three Giza Pyramids is the Pyramid of Cheops (18).
Its base is 57,000 square feet and has 2,300,000 limestone blocks each weighing two
and one-half tons (18). It is made up of a King's Chamber, Queen's Chamber, grand
gallery, vents, ascending and descending passages, and a Greaves Shaft (Krystek 4).
Cheop's Pyramid is surrounded by rows of low flat tombs, mastabas, and three small
pyramids in which his family and other high officials were buried (Grigson 20). The
second pyramid is called the Pyramid of Chephren and the third if the pyramid of Mycerinus
(20). These pyramids all have an astonishing accuracy in their construction (18).
There is only about eight inches difference between the longest and the shortest baseline
and teh four corners make an almost perfect right angle (18). It is believed that
the Eyqyptians worked by observing teh stars because all the sides are aligned to
face the cardinal points of the compass (18). Richard Procter, and astronomer, observed
hat the descending passage could have b een used to observe transit stars and he grand
gallery could have been used to map the sky when on the top (Krystek 3). The pyramid
is probably connected with Egyptain sun worship and a pyramid stone, the benben, symbolizes
the sun god ( Grigson 20). When the sun's rays breaks through at exactly the angle
of teh Giza Pyramids, the Egyptians regarded that as a stairway to heaven for their
kings (20). They believed the body was the spirit's house and so they want to perserve
the body as long as they can (Mc Leish 5). Priests began by removing all the soft
parts of the body, such as the brain, lungs, heart, li...