Who built the Cheops pyramid and coined the word “pharaoh”: says Egyptologist Vladimir Bolshakov
Miscellaneous / / October 20, 2023
Scientists don’t know everything, but they have unraveled many mysteries.
There are so many myths about Ancient Egypt that you can easily get lost among them and miss information proven by experts. In our podcast “Science Pulverizer,” Egyptologist Vladimir Bolshakov told what mysteries of the pharaohs and pyramids scientists have already been able to solve and what misconceptions they have refuted.
Below is the text version of the podcast. If you prefer, turn on the audio.
Vladimir Bolshakov
Doctor of Egyptology and senior researcher at the Center for Egyptological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Scientists know who built the Pyramids of Giza
Exists myth, that in Ancient Egypt there was no technology that would have made it possible to build pyramids. Its supporters argue that a civilization that was not even familiar with iron could not have built such complex structures. This means that intervention by aliens or other unknown forces is possible.
But this is not true. Egyptologists know exactly who built the great pyramids of Giza - the only wonder of the world that has survived to this day. They were built by the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt themselves.
Builders are free Egyptian workers
Excavations are actively underway on the Giza Plateau. Archaeologists have already discovered a large settlement of ancient builders there. Next to it they found a cemetery where workers were buried. Moreover, next to the modest burials there are also quite rich ones. Scientists believe that they belong not to ordinary builders, but to foremen, supervisors - work managers.
This find convinces us that the pyramids were built by people, and not by some aliens. Moreover, the builders were definitely not slaves.
One of the most important sources that provides information about the emergence of the pyramids is the notes of the Greek traveler Herodotus. In the 5th century BC, he created a large historical work, where he spoke about the great Egyptian construction project. Herodotus mentioned that the pyramid of Khufu (in Greek - Cheops) was simultaneously built by 100 thousand people. And probably these were not slaves, but free people.
But Herodotus was most likely mistaken, because 100 thousand, as modern research has shown, is a very inflated figure. Herodotus clearly received distorted information from the lips of the guides. Regarding slaves, it is clear: it was impossible to mobilize such a number during the time of Khufu. Even a figure half that is too high: there weren’t that many slaves.
Vladimir Bolshakov
What is important is that the builders were Egyptians, not foreigners. This was shown by the results of excavations at cemetery.
Technologies are the simplest
Another important find of archaeologists is the Merer papyri from Wadi el-Jarf. In 2013, a Franco-Egyptian expedition discovered a small harbor on the Red Sea coast. From there, ships loaded with limestone blocks were sent to the construction site of the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
Archaeologists found notes from inspector Merer, who supervised the supply of building materials. The limestone was mined from quarries at Tours, near modern Cairo. Then the cargo was delivered to the harbor, and then to the construction site. There, limestone blocks were used to clad the pyramid.
Merer in his papyri mentions Khufu himself several times, as well as the grandiose construction project. From these notes, scientists also conclude that the pyramids were not built by slaves.
But how they managed to create giant structures is a big question. Egyptologists believe that the builders used elementary technologies. And the simplest, even primitive tools. Archaeologists found some of the ancient tools in Wadi el-Jarf, and another part at the construction site. And in the quarries, scientists discovered the remains of wooden structures for dragging blocks.
True, the finds do not allow us to completely recreate the process of transporting limestone and laying blocks into the pyramid. But scientists have enough assumptions.
The prevailing hypothesis is that the stones for the pyramid were laid using ramps built from sand and gravel. The pyramid grew, and so did the ramp. Either there was one ramp, but quite wide, or there were many such ramps. Opinions among archaeologists and Egyptologists differ about how many ramps there were and what shape they had. It is more difficult to answer the question of how one row of blocks was stacked on top of another.
Vladimir Bolshakov
Most likely, the limestone was carried up sandy ramps on wooden sleds, then the blocks were placed into the body of the pyramid. Scientists believe that the builders laid the limestone blocks using rudimentary leverage and muscle power.
There is another myth about the pyramids. It is believed that their blocks fit so tightly that even a sheet of paper cannot be inserted between them. But this is not entirely true: the pyramids have fairly rough masonry, and the cracks are filled with a large amount of mortar. But the outer cladding was indeed created from almost perfectly fitted blocks.
During the time of the pharaohs giant structures shone in the sun and amazed with their splendor. Unfortunately, now no more than 1% of the cladding has been preserved and we see bare pyramids - rough, uncut limestone without finishing.
The word "pharaoh" did not appear in Egypt, but in Greece
The Egyptians called their ancient rulers, for whom the pyramids were built, completely differently. But the term we know was not invented out of nowhere. Ancient Greek word "Pharaoh" goes back to the Egyptian "peraa", which can be translated as "big house". We don’t know how it sounded in ancient Egyptian - the pronunciation features of that time are unknown to us.
The familiar word “pharaoh” began to be used in relation to the personality of the supreme ruler from the 18th century BC. Or maybe even earlier - from the 15th century BC, that is, from the time of Thutmose III. It entered European languages through the Greek translation of the Bible.
It is interesting that the concept of “peraa” first meant a royal house and a large farm, and only then began to be applied to the personality of its owner.
It turns out that this is something of a euphemism for the Egyptian monarch. As, say, in European languages they say “Elysee Palace”, “Buckingham” or in Russia - “Kremlin”. And they mean power and state leaders. This is roughly the same way, if roughly compared, the designation “peraa” was used, which later became “pharaoh”.
Vladimir Bolshakov
himself ruler the Egyptians called it differently. First of all, they used the word “carry.” Literally translated, it means “belonging to the reed.” The king was called that way because reed is one of the heraldic plants of Egypt. Another word is “nisubitite,” which means “belonging to the reed and the bee.” Finally, the Egyptians said “hem,” which can be translated as “majesty.”
Of course, all these terms are conditional, because the names of the titles are closely related to the consciousness of the inhabitants of that time and their picture of the world. And all translations are just an attempt to find adequate options that are understandable to us, modern people.
By the way, the Egyptians did not always write in hieroglyphs either. The latter had a magical purpose: people believed that everything recorded in this way was obligatory. will be fulfilled. But there was a second type of writing - hieratic, or cursive forms of writing. It was this method that Inspector Merer used, for example, when he kept his work records.
Pharaoh's power was limitless
Yes it's true. Ancient Egypt had an absolute monarchy and unlimited power. It could not be otherwise, because the king there was considered the heir of the gods. A being that united both the divine and the human. And, according to the Egyptians, he received his power from above.
In the era of the pyramids, the pharaoh most likely could do almost anything. Moreover, he was not only a secular ruler, but also a chief priest. Therefore, he had to perform all cults dedicated to the gods. But at the same time, the pharaoh had the right to delegate his powers to other priests. Moreover, their positions were often occupied by people from the royal family, and to go against the head states was impossible for them.
That is, the power of the ruler was indeed almost absolute. But over time it began to weaken.
It is no coincidence that Egyptologists associate the decline in the construction of pyramids during the fifth and sixth dynasties with the weakening of the sole power of the king-pharaoh. The metropolitan aristocracy, the Memphis aristocracy, is gradually emerging from tight control. And most importantly - the provincial aristocracy, which, obviously, was not entirely satisfied with the tsarist autocracy.
Vladimir Bolshakov
Pharaoh Ramses II had more than 130 children
The rulers of Egypt, as a rule, had many wives and concubines, and therefore children. Some sources say that Ramses II had about 170 descendants. But he officially recognized 79 boys and 59 girls, that is, a total of 138 heirs. All of them are depicted on reliefs in several Egyptian temples. Such an image is a kind of birth certificate, which proves that the pharaoh considers them his descendants.
However, besides them, there could be unrecognized sons and daughters. At least nine of the main great royal consorts of Ramses are now known, but there were clearly many more of them. There was also a large harem in which children were also born. That's where they grew up.
Interestingly, Ramses was not the only one large families father among rulers. But only he took care to immortalize as many of his descendants as possible on the walls of temples.
The mother, as well as all the wives of the pharaoh, had serious weight in Egyptian society.
The king's mother and wife are quite prominent figures in court life and, of course, in the family of the king himself. Moreover, they fit into a certain mythological paradigm. There is evidence when the king's mother was identified with the goddess Mut or Isis, just as the king was compared with Ra, with Amun.
Vladimir Bolshakov
Moreover, these ladies could even be called economically independent. They had their own estates and other sources of income. And special officials who managed these assets. Therefore, it cannot be said that the families of the pharaohs were completely dependent only on the will of the ruler.
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