What is in the pyramid shape that fascinated the ancients?

The great thing about that pyramid shape is they don't fall over!

Unless you build them upside down.....

True, but they also had to find the stable angle for each successive layer of stone. See some of the early step-pyramids that partially collapsed.

The clever mathematics is usually hindsite. The lead times of most ancient structures was about 20 - 30 years and there wasn't the modern obsession with health & safety concerns, slaves is cheap. Building the things on a regular base gives simple foundations and much less chance of slippage.

hello.

i, myself , am also a fan of this constructions...

i dont know if it was the base that marvelled those cultures.

from what i´ve read , those people beleived that those constructions had the habilitie to focus special kinds of energies , that they use in iniciatic cerimonies, and for self improvement.

also, as in the case of egiptian great piramids , the constructuio itself , gathers a series of ( not my words) prophecies of many kinds, and is believed to be build in a manner by , from its dimensions you can find many from the planet caracteristics.

all for now

Egyptian pyramids (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Pyramids of Egypt, among the largest constructions ever built, ^[1], constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization. It is generally accepted by most archaeologists that they were constructed as burial monuments associated with royal solar and stellar cults, and most were built during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods^[2].

The number of pyramid structures in Egypt today is reported by most sources as being between 80 and 111, with a majority favouring the higher number. In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius made a list of pyramids, in which he counted 67,but more have been identified and discovered since his time. The imprecise nature of the count is related to the fact that as many smaller pyramids are in a poor state of preservation and appear as little more than mounds of rubble, they are only now being properly identified and studied by archaeologists. Most are grouped in a number of pyramid fields, the most important of which are listed geographically, from north to south, below.

All Giza Pyramids. Zoom in to get a sense of proportion.

The Great Sphinx of Giza with Khafre's pyramid in the background.

Question by Abdel Halim Galala. Can any body think/trust or imagine that all these great Egyptian Pyramids - with there secrets of construction not yet discovered - were excluded from the new seven wonders of the world?

hello.

they were not chosen , cos they are allready a marvell!

We are fascinated with the pyramids and it has been mentioned that they don't fall over.

The Sphinx is believed to be way older then the pyramids. It is believed to be 10,000 years old. The deduct this from the type of erosion. The pyramids have endured erosion for winds where as the sphinx indicates its erosion is due to rains. Yet it is still standing.

Yes my dear, and a lot of studies are required to establish How the Egyptian Pyramids were Really Built?

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How the Pyramids were Really Built Posted January 06, 2008 1:31 PM.

Ever wonder how the great Egyptian Pyramids were really built? After decades of published books and television programs dedicated to the topic, the theories abound. From thousands of laborers employed to move huge boulders, to aliens from another construction company far, far away, the true facts behind the design and construction of these wondrous structures have never been agreed upon. Read how one theoretician is trying to provide the final answer to one of mankind's most perplexing construction questions.

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To possibly add to the previous answere, I've also heard it as simple as they are directed at the heavens.

hello.

you raize a lot of interesting questions.

there is a ting , dough- the metter is based upon the planetary dimensions , and to be exact , it is 1/10 000 000, part of the quarter of the planet perimeter, and it is very correct.

if Moses was in the lot of the liders, that´s because he was well instructed.

and you dont need pyramids to define persons- the natural gifts on people serve as naturL barrier to define who is better than others.

it is not a creation from a small cast of men to made layers in society.

they happear for them selves.

society, dough, can be a great barrier to development, that i dont doubt!

to end, i would like to say, that the society to live as one, must have rules ,and people to impose them

give me your comments on that, please.

In a few hundred thousand years (after the global warmup or meteor impact or Rapture) the dominant life on this planet may ask about our obsession with Cresent moons shapes, star shapes, cross shapes, multi armed elephants or cross legged happy blokes. Fifty years ago every loungeroom in Australia had a wall ornament with three flying ducks, no one knows why, everyone just liked them. Jeff

Very perceptive, funny too, what more can one ask of a post...! You get my vote ...

Wouldn't it be great if they opened up some previously undiscovered tomb and found...the Flying Ducks on the wall...?

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Abdel Halim Galala : Civilization of Ancient Egyptians is not only a marvel construction, but accompanied by Excellent Mathematics and Fantastic Engineering.

A poker pal of mine told me too look up the structure of the methane (CH₄₎ molecule and draw my own conclusions. Lo and behold it has a tetrahedral arrangement, a pyramid with the carbon atom at the apex and four hydrogens at the base. The hydrogen nucleus must be located at a corner to form the strongest bond. Coincidentally (or perhaps not) methane is one the simplest of all organic componds. In other words it´s the building block of the physical stuff we carbon creatures are made of. Pyrymids and chemistry. What do you know?

Yeh there are some freaky coincidences out there...

When I'm playing golf as a 3 ball, the balls always seem to end up forming a triangle...

Spooky eh?

Ok don't start on me...yes..sometimes they are in a straight line ...but that's spooky too?

Oh I wish I hadn't started trying to be funny..

Can I go an have my tea & toast now?

Yes, you can have your bowl of warm milk and kitty biscuits now.

Hallo everybody...

Abdel Halim Galala said:

Question by Abdel Halim Galala. "Can any body think/trust or imagine that all these great Egyptian Pyramids - with there secrets of construction not yet discovered - were excluded from the new seven wonders of the world?"

Egyptian Pyramids are already one of the "seven wonders of the ancient world"... So, it was no need to be included to the "new seven wonders of the world"... Anyway, I disaggree with this "new seven wonders of the world" issue... How "new" are they???... For example "Petra" in Jordan is of the same age or even older than some of the "seven wonders of the ancient world"... Parthenon (in Athens-Greece) was not selected (voted) but "the Christ in Rio" (a very new construction made by cement) was selected... With the same reasoning i.e. the Eiffel Tower could be selected...

About the Pyramid shape: I think it was so favourite due to its simplicity... As a construction is stable and easy to be built... And it's very aesthetic (as i.e. the "golden mean" in geometry is, also, aesthetic)...

Concerning the several mathematic relations that exists in the Egyptian Pyramids constructions (i.e. the relation with the perimeter of Earth or the distance between Earth and Sun) I believe that these are exaggerations... If you "want" to find such relations you "will" find them (you multiply this with that and you divide with something else and, finally, you "find" what you wanted to find)... Some others may be just coincidences... (Human creatures are very prone to mystic theories)... But, perhaps, there are some actual relations (made of purpose)... Who knows...

Thank you G.K, and I agree all of yours that voting must be carried out among archaeologists, specialists and scientists, not public.

'I agree..... voting must be carried out among archaeologists, specialists and scientists, not public.'

I have to say, thats a very elitist view. I'm not an archaeologist, but that doesn't stop me appreciating the science, or antiquities. I wonder, do you think the great unwashed should be allowed in museums, or are they just for scientists to carry out research?

Well said....

What an awful idea, whatever next maybe just pure Aryans should get the vote?

Clearly you are not a specialist in human relations.. so your vote doesn't count.

Sorry, all friends.

I am Egyptian and English is not my 1^st language, and sometimes I try looking for a word to give a such meaning, and a lot of times I can't get it, and I fall at like these mistakes. With my best regards.

You are right... The science and culture concern all the people and not an "elite"...

Although the 21 "final candidates" were choosen by an "elite" of architects and construction engineers... And, then, people voted "the 7 new wonders" from these 21 candidates... So, the choices were very limited... (This is a kind of limited democracy )... As far as I know, one million people participated this voting... The vast majority was, of course, from the "west world" (i.e. America and Europe) due to the fact that the voting took place on the Internet... But the majority of people in other places don't have such an access on the Internet (i.e. Africa or Asia)... What about all these people???... Don't they have the right to say their opinion???... (Again a kind of limited democracy...)

These were some thoughts... After all, this issue doesn't bother me, as I have already said...

It's not just building structures....