Pyramids
Pyramids were the largest, most expensive, and most time consuming building projects the Egyptians ever embarked upon. They still stand today, more than 4000 years after their construction. We find it hard to imagine how they were built without modern technology. Although they no longer look as they would have in their prime, they are still one of the 7 wonders of the world. The great pyramid, built by the pharaoh Khufu, on the Giza plateau, is by far the largest pyramid ever constructed and stands more than 400 feet tall. It is a sentinel standing guard over its 5 smaller companions of differing sizes.
Egyptians progressed from single story, square buildings, to stepped pyramids made of several square, one story constructs one on top of the other, getting smaller on each level. The first large pyramid was constructed before they had mastered the process and construction was began at too steep of an angle. By the time this became known the pyramid was half built and it was far to late to start over, so they widened the base and half way up the pyramid they decreased the angle of rise. This resulted in one of the oddest looking pyramids, referred to as the broken, or bent pyramid.
Egyptians progressed from single story, square buildings, to stepped pyramids made of several square, one story constructs one on top of the other, getting smaller on each level. The first large pyramid was constructed before they had mastered the process and construction was began at too steep of an angle. By the time this became known the pyramid was half built and it was far to late to start over, so they widened the base and half way up the pyramid they decreased the angle of rise. This resulted in one of the oddest looking pyramids, referred to as the broken, or bent pyramid.
Ruins
The fact that anything at all is still standing at these sites is a testament to the knowledge and skills of the ancient Egyptian architects and designers. More than four millennia have passed since these walls and stones were erected. Egyptians often built huge obelisk and covered them in hieroglyphics to commemorate important events or people. A fairly large number of the obelisk have survived and today they can be found in just about every continent at museums and public places. Below is also a picture of an unfinished obelisk that the Egyptians abandoned in the quarry that they were cutting it from when it cracked through the middle. If it had survived to completion it would have been the largest obelisk ever made with a size near that of the Washington monument.