The Pyramids of the Ancient EgyptiansPyramids, large structures with four triangular sides that meet at a high point, directly above the center of the square base of the pyramid. Ancient peoples in different parts of the world built pyramids, but the Egyptians built the largest and most famous pyramids, which this essay is about. The ancient Egyptians built more than 90 royal pyramids, from around 2630 BC until around 1530 BC. During this time, the pyramid shape evolved from a series of stepped terraces that resembled the layers of a wedding cake in most parts of the world, to a sloping pyramid shape. The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Şaqqārah, was built during the reign of King Djoser (2630 BC-2611 BC). The Egyptian pyramids are the mysteries of Egypt because everyone has an idea what they were for, but no one can really be sure that it's true. The pyramids served primarily as tombs for kings and queens, but were also places of continuous religious activity. After a ruler's death, his body was carefully treated and wrapped to preserve it like a mummy. According to ancient Egyptian belief, the pyramid, where the mummy was placed, provided the monarch with a place to pass into the afterlife. In nearby temples, priests performed rituals to nourish the spirit of the dead monarch, who was believed to remain with the body after death. In the Old Kingdom (a period of Egyptian history from approximately 2575 BC to approximately 2134 BC), Egyptian artists carved hieroglyphics on the walls of the burial chamber, designed to safeguard the dead monarch's passage into the afterlife. These hieroglyphic writings, which include hymns, magical incantations, instructions on how to behave before the gods, and other items of useful knowledge, are known as the Pyramid Texts. During the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians built their largest and most ambitious pyramids. , typically made of large blocks of stone. Over time, the size and quality of the pyramids decreased, probably because they were extremely expensive. In the Middle Kingdom (2040 BC-1640 BC), the Egyptians built pyramids mainly of mud bricks. All the pyramids were aligned with the cardinal directions, meaning that their sides ran almost exactly in a north-south and east-west direction. Most of the pyramids stood on desert plateaus on the western bank of the Nile River, behind which the sun set. The Egyptians believed that the spirit of a dead monarch left the body... middle of paper... scientific expedition to Egypt in 1638. Greaves set out to describe the Great Pyramid, and his measurements proved extremely accurate. . Throughout the remainder of the 17th and 18th centuries the efforts of European diplomats and travellers, such as Benoît de Maillet of France, Richard Pococke of Great Britain, and Frederik Norden of Denmark, helped stimulate European interest in the monuments of ancient Egypt. Other great men in history had to run with the Pyramids, such as Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte of France invaded Egypt. A large group of scholars accompanied his army, with the intent of documenting not only every ancient monument but also the plants, animals, geography, and culture of the modern inhabitants. The results of this effort, which ended in 1801 with the French retreat from Egypt, were published in a monumental series of books entitled Description de l'Égypte (1809-1828). The explorations continued into the 1980s and 1890s, characterized by the use of robots and computers to map and analyze the structure of the pyramids. Many aspects of the Egyptian pyramids remain a mystery, but scholars continue to excavate, explore, and learn more about them.