massive sort used in the Great Pyramid but were smaller than
a human being; the Egyptians were experimenting with the
stones as they built, seeing what they could do. Now known
as the Step Pyramid, it was surrounded by a temple complex
of stone and mud brick.
Not only tombs but also temples became signs of the
power of Egyptian rulers, who built them even in the far
reaches of the empire. But spreading out big building projects
across the landscape created logistical and labor problems for
the builders. Most ancient Egyptian public works projects
were carried out by volunteers. Typically, they would donate
their labor for part of the year to work on such structures as
giant pyramids. Only a small group of people would work
on construction projects all year round, among them, archi-
tects, foremen, engineers, specialized artisans, and those who
served them, such as physicians who repaired their injuries
and bakers who supplied them with bread. A small town built
for full-time workers on the Great Pyramid of Khufu has been
uncovered near the pyramid. It has individual homes, places
for eating, supply areas, and shops, mostly built out of mud
bricks. Th e main avenue that bisected the town was probably
covered.
In the outer reaches of the empire, it may have been hard
at times to fi nd enough volunteers or local people to conscript
for the building of monuments. For instance, the famous
Great Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, with the colossal
statues on its facade (ca. 1270 b.c.e.), has within it depictions
of Nubian slaves working to build it. Even so, later accounts
of the use of tens of thousands of slaves to build the Great
Pyramid of Khufu, from about 2551 to about 2528 b.c.e., are
erroneous; most of the public construction was done by vol-
unteers, by people paying their taxes with their labor, or by
conscripts who were paid for their labor.
Th e Nile may have looked like a highway fi lled with giant
stones during and aft er the era of Khufu. Granite or lime-
stone blocks would be quarried at sites along the river. Work-
ers would hack at rock, forming a narrow trench into which
wooden stakes would be pressed; the stakes would be soaked
and, as they expanded, would crack the rock. Th is technique
was used for stones ranging from 200 pounds to 60 tons, for
stones intended for bearing weight to long, tapering orna-
mental obelisks. Th e stone would be placed on sleds made of
wood and reeds; the ground in front of the runners would
be wetted down, making the ground slippery, while teams
of men hauled at ropes, pulling the stones to the river. Th e
blocks would be slid onto reed boats built specifi cally for fer-
rying stone. Special docks were built near the individual sites
of construction, and the stones would be hauled by sled to the
building site. At some sites, such as the Giza Plateau, basic
limestone could be quarried nearby, but special stones such
as granite or the Tura limestone used for outer facings had to
come via the river.
Ramps for raising stones have been found at the Medūm
pyramid built by Snefru (r. 2613–2589 b.c.e.) and beside an
unfi nished pylon at the temple at Karnak (on which construc-
When King Djoser ruled Egypt, the tombs of kings
were mastabas. These tombs were mostly under-
ground, carved into solid rock, and had a couple of
long stairways, with chapels, storage rooms, and a
place for the sarcophagus. Aboveground would be a
rectangular or square area composed of sloping walls
fi lled in with mud brick. Perhaps the inspiration to
make the mastaba of Djoser more impressive came
from the ancient tradition that said that a deceased
king would climb a stairway into the afterlife. The an-
cient Egyptians gave credit to Djoser’s chief adminis-
trative offi cer, Imhotep, for what happened.
First he had the outer wall of the mastaba sur-
rounded by another, lower wall and had the space
between the two walls fi lled in. It made the original
mastaba look more impressive and may have served
to brace the fi rst mastaba’s walls for what came next.
A platform was erected atop the mastaba, and an-
other smaller platform was built on top, giving the
tomb four steps and making it a step pyramid.
Imhotep decided to make the pyramid higher,
but its base was probably not going to tolerate more
weight being placed on it. Instead of adding another
level onto the top, Imhotep shifted construction to
the side of the pyramid. He built outward about half
again the length of one side of the bottom step. Then
stone was leaned against the side of the pyramid and
built outward to form steps that were level with the
original steps. Each level was now much wider than it
had been. When this new construction was even with
the fourth level of the original pyramid, the top level
had as much surface area as had the original plain
mastaba and could now bear more weight.
With more weight possible, two more levels
could be added atop the original top step. The visible
levels were faced with white limestone and polished.
The smooth, white limestone walls shone in the sun-
light. At 200 feet high and with a base of 393 by 467
feet, the Step Pyramid of Djoser dominated the land
for miles around.HOW TO BUILD A PYRAMID WHEN ONE
HAS NOT BEEN BUILT BEFOREbuilding techniques and materials: Egypt 153tion began in the 16th century b.c.e. and proceeded through
the reigns of 30 pharoahs). Exactly how the ramps were struc-
tured is not known, but they were used to haul even huge
stones up and into place. Egyptian masons would then coat
the top of a row of stones with mortar, not to hold them to-
gether but to act as a lubricant to ease the sliding of the next
row of stones onto them. Once in place, the stones would be
fully dressed by carvers so that they would fi t together tightly.