Egyptian Wonders of the Ancient World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Egyptian Wonders of the Ancient World - Essay Example The building of these pyramids took a vast labor force and a vast amount of resources. Often, prisoners and slaves of conquest were subscripted into the labor force, but the citizens were also used. In archaeological sites, it is found that in areas where these pyramids are built that they stimulated village economies. As a result, there are many different types of shops and buildings that have been uncovered showing how the Egyptians were able to support and supply such a massive workforce. The pyramids were not a static structure but rather evolved over time as the Egyptians became more and more sophisticated in the field of mathematics, materials construction, and architecture. The first pyramids were less sophisticated and represented more rectangular flat structures called mastabas. This is why there is an observable trend in the change in the construction of the periods between the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom as better methods of construction were discovered. Pharaoh Djoser constructed the first pyramid. His pyramid was made of mud brick and other materials that were soon replaced with the stone architecture. In addition, his building plan left the burial chamber and passageways below the surface and they were eventually plundered. Subsequent burial chambers in the next pyramids were built deep within the heart of the pyramid with a subsequent mirage of multiple mazes. In order to protect the contents and body of the Pharaoh that was buried, Egyptian architectures started looking at improving security systems in order to protect them. The most common method was through the creation of booby traps in order to keep grave robbers from reaching the burial chamber by either scaring them away or killing them. There were also decoy chambers designed in order to make robbers think they were in the rear chamber. The use of multiple mazes also created additional protection by offering many different routes, some of which lead to dead ends designed to confuse th ose that entered the tomb without permission.