An architectural structure on a triangular, square, or polygonal base, with triangular sides meeting in a single point. In Egyptian architecture, it is a sepulchral stone monument with a square base. In Pre-Columbian architecture, it is an artificial hill with a flat top. The phrase the Pyramids usually refers to the Fourth Dynasty pyramids of the Giza plateau on the SW outskirts of modern Cairo. The Great Pyramid of Cheops (c.25892566 BC) is 146 m/480 ft high, 230 m/755 ft square, and 2 352 000 cu m/27 688 000 cu ft in volume, made up of 2·5 million limestone blocks each of 2·5 tonnes.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: PyramidsA pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. The base of a pyramid is usually quadrilateral or trilateral (but generally it can be any polygon shape), meaning that a pyramid usually has three or four sides (but theoretically there is no limit to the number of sides a pyramid can generally have), but all pyramids must have trilateral sides.
A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground, means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids: first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the only remaining Wonder of the World.
Ancient monuments
Pyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient civilizations.
Egyptian pyramids
The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids — huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the largest man-made constructions.
Pyramids functioned as tombs for pharaohs. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. The ancient Egyptians capped the peaks of their pyramids with gold and covered their faces with polished white limestone, though many of the stones used for the purpose have fallen or been removed for other structures over the millennia.
The inspiration for Egypt's pyramids is a subject of debate. Some Egyptologists have seen King Djoser's Step Pyramid as a symbolic representation of ancient Egypt's stratified society. 62-67) derives the shapes of the pyramid and of the obelisk from natural phenomena associated with the sun (the sun-god Re being the Egyptians' greatest deity).
Nubian pyramids
Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 220 of them) at three sites in Nubia to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a much steeper angle than Egyptian ones and were not tombs, but monuments to dead kings. Pyramids were built in Nubia up to AD 300.
Mesopotamians pyramids
The Mesopotamians also built pyramids, called ziggurats.
Mesoamerican pyramids
A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, but it is still being excavated. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an ancient eruption of Xictli.Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of sacrifice.
France
There is a Roman era pyramid built in Falicon, France.
Ancient Rome
There is a pyramid in ancient Rome. The 27-meter-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo.
China
There are a few flat-top pyramids in China. The First Emperor of Qin (circa 221 B.C.), with the terracotta warriors in the vicinity, was buried under a large pyramid outside modern day Xi'an.
Ancient Greece
There are several structures in Greece that archaeologists have called pyramids. Dotted throughout the landscape are remains of buildings that were described by ancient travelers as pyramids. described several of the structures as pyramids. One of these pyramids was located in Helliniko,Ελληνικό in Greek,a village near Argos near the ancient ruins of Tiryns. He described the structure as something that resembled a pyramid with the decorations of Argolic shields, showing the military connection to it. Unfortunately neither of these structures remain fully intact today to test how closely they resembled the pyramids of Egypt nor is there any proof that they even resembled an Egyptian pyramid at all. With these two pyramid’s base stones remaining, it is possible to determine that Grecian pyramids existed, but were not used as the Egyptians used them. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. The buildings at Helleniko and Ligourio were no more than 100 feet tall and were surrounded by walls, with the base of the Helleniko pyramid being nine meters by 7 meters. The stones used to build the pyramids was limestone quarried locally and were cut to fit together, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza. The base of the structure also differed from the Egyptians pyramids as they were rectangular, not square. There are many researchers who have given dates to the structures that pre-date the pyramids at Giza, but the method to obtain these dates was thermoluminescence of the stone.
The problem with this method is that they date the pyramids with a margin of error of up to over 700 years. This method dated the Helleniko pyramid to 2730 B.C. It also dated the Ligourio pyramid to 2260 B.C. Though these initial dates are indicative of these structures being built before the pyramid complex at Giza, it also means that they could have been built well after Khufu’s Great Pyramid was erected.
Modern pyramids
Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g.
An example of a modern pyramid can be found in Paris, France, in the court of the Louvre Museum. The Louvre Pyramid is a 20.6 meter (about 70 foot) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum.
The Transamerica Pyramid in Downtown San Francisco, California.
The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (built in 1991) was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.
The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States, is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid.
The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid with light beaming from the top.
The Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah, used for instruction in the Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with Modern Mummification.
Gallery
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The Louvre Pyramid, a modern pyramid built as an entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris |
The Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee |
Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas |
The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California |
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The Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah |
Transamerica Pyramid |
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