- Have you heard of the following: Pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge?
- Why do you think they are referred to as ‘mysteries’?
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The Pyramids of Egypt
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last
of the Seven Ancient Wonders left for us to see today and is probably the most famous of all the Egyptian pyramids. The Great
Pyramid is one of three at Giza and was built by Khufu, or Cheops, over four thousand years ago.
Next to it is a smaller pyramid built by Khufu’s son, Khaefre.
Khaefre’s pyramid, although smaller, looks bigger. This is because it is built on higher ground and has a slightly steeper
angle. Khaefre’s pyramid also has the added attraction of the Sphinx which crouches beside the pyramid. Along with the
pyramids themselves, the Sphinx is probably the best known landmark in Egypt.
Khufu’s pyramid rises from the desert and was the highest man-made
object until the Eiffel Tower was built in the nineteenth century. The pyramid is built on a perfectly level area using over
a million blocks of stone. Some of the stones, for example the ‘blue’ stones in the King’s chamber, came
from hundreds of kilometres away.
The Great Pyramid lies in the center of gravity of the continents. It
also lies in the exact center of all the land area of the world, dividing the Earth's land mass into approximately equal quarters.
The Great Pyramid is also perfectly aligned to the stars with each corner pointing to a point on the compass – North,
East, South and West.
Even today, building something as big and complex as the pyramid would
be difficult. But, four thousand years ago they had no electric drills or saws, no mechanical diggers and cranes and no computers
to help with the designs, plans and construction. So, how was the pyramid at Giza built?
There are actually over
100 pyramids in Egypt. All but a very few are grouped around and near the city of Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Only
one royal pyramid is known in southern Egypt (at Abydos), the one built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th Dynasty and Egypt's
New Kingdom. It may also have been the last royal pyramid built in Egypt.
There are other pyramids
in the world but their purpose, for the most part, was different from those of ancient Egypt. The most famous outside Egypt
are probably those located in Mexico and to the south of Mexico, but these appear to have been built more as temples. In Egypt,
all but a few of the pyramids were built as tombs.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a monument on the Salisbury Plain in Southern England, made up mainly of thirty
upright stones (sarsens, each over ten feet tall and weighing 26 tons) in a circle,
with thirty lintels (6 tons each) placed horizontally on top of the sarsens in
a continuous circle. There is also an inner circle composed of similar stones.
Constructed without
the use of draft animals and shaped by stone tools,
Stonehenge was built many miles from the quarry from which the stones
came.
It is an amazing feat of engineering.
Archaeologists - history experts who investigate how human beings lived in the past - digging
near Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain discovered the remains of a large prehistoric village where they think the builders
of the mysterious stone circle used to live.
The village was shown to be about 4600 years old, the same age
as Stonehenge and as old as the pyramids in Egypt. The village is less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Stonehenge and lies
inside a massive manmade circular earthwork, or “henge,” known as Durrington Walls.
Remains found at the site included jewellery, stone arrowheads,
tools made of deer antlers, and huge amounts of animal bones and broken pottery. These finds suggest Stone Age people went
to the village at special times of the year “to feast and party,” says Mike Parker Pearson from Sheffield University
in England.
An ancient road which led from the village to a river called the
Avon was also unearthed. The experts believe Stonehenge was a like a cemetery where ancient Britons buried the dead.
Next to the village there was a giant wooden version of the famous
stone circle. Archaeologists say this timber circle, which was only temporary because it eventually rotted away, was a symbol
of life.
People still come to Stonehenge today. They meet there when the
sun sets on the shortest day of winter and when it rises on the longest day of summer.
Decide
if the following statements are Facts or Opinions.
1.
The Great Pyramid lies in the exact centre of the world’s land area.
2.
The Great Pyramid is one of the Seven Ancient Wonders.
3.
The Pyramid built by Ahmose was the last royal pyramid built in Egypt.
4.
The builders of Stonehenge used to live in a village nearby.
5.
Stonehenge was constructed 4600 years ago.
6.
In the past, people went to the Stonehenge village at special times of the year.
7.
There used to be a road from Stonehenge village to the river Avon.
8.
Stonehenge was built using stone tools.
9.
People still visit Stonehenge at certain times of the year.
10.
The wooden version of Stonehenge, near the village, was a symbol of life.
Answer
the following questions.
11.
How many pyramids were built by Khufu at Giza? When were they built?
12. What are the main features of Khaefre’s pyramid?
13. What is the difference between the pyramids of Egypt and those of Mexico?
14. Where is Stonehenge located?
15. What have archaeologists discovered about the village near Stonehenge?
Sources:
Carroll, R.T. 2007, ‘Bermuda Triangle’, viewed 3 September 2007, <http://skepdic.com/bermuda.html>
Obringer,
L.A. 2006, ‘How the Bermuda Triangle Works’, viewed 28 July 2008, <http://science.howstuffworks.com/bermuda-triangle.htm>
‘The
Great Pyramid’ 2007, viewed 5 February 2007,
<http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_2.htm>
Tennant, A. 2005, ‘CLIL: Ancient Egypt’, viewed
31 March 2008,
<http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?catid=58021&docid=144585>
‘Stonehenge’ 2007, viewed 10 February 2007,
< http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_4.htm>
Owen, J. 2007, ‘Discovered: Stonehenge Village’,
viewed 28 May 2008,
<http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/History/Stonehengevillage>
