Shortly after ascending the throne the Pharaoh issued a series of commands to his overseer of works to prepare a burial place in keeping with his status as a god-king. A site would be chosen on the west bank of the Nile, most likely in one of the already established pyramid fields. The site was surveyed and levelled to provide a foundation for the pyramid.
The number of workers involved in the construction depended on the size and complexity of the structure, but it always numbered in thousands. Some of them were free men doing particular tasks such as masons, tool makers, carpenters, scribes and overseers. Many of course were unskilled slave labourers. A town was built for the free workers. Less comfortable accommodation, in the form of a barracks, was provided for the slaves.
Through the Pharaoh’s reign, the construction site teemed with workers of all kinds toiled in the hot sun to complete the monument before the king’s death. Day after day, year after year, the quarries rang with the sound of hammer and chisel on stone.
After they had cut deep enough to define a block, they packed the riven rock with pieces of porous wood and then a slave would pour water on the hole. The wood expands so fast that the block splits out with a crack. After the stone blocks are extracted from the quarry face they are lowered onto sledges. A mark is made on the stone by a scribe. This aided them to place the blocks in the pyramid just as they came out of the quarry ensuring a good fit without further finishing.
From dawn to dusk, naked slaves drag the sledges loaded with stones each weighing about two tons to staging areas at the base of the pyramid. Most of the stone blocks proceed up the ramp without future handling. Only a fraction of the stone blocks needed to be cut to precise dimensions by the masons. The slaves begin hauling the loaded sledges slowly up the clay and rubble ramp. Whether it was a single long or spiralling ramp depends on the size of pyramid. The noise on the ramp was one of chanting slaves, the rumble of heavy sledges and the swish of the overseer’s lash.
At the working level teams of slaves called setters shifted the blocks from the sledges into their designated positions. Once the stones had been delivered the hauling gang would make their way down the ramp carrying their sledge, in order to make the same back breaking journey up as they would several times a day.
Other slaves are employed in maintaining and extending the ramps as the pyramid grew. These ramps are made of rubble, bound together with desert tafla (a type of clay) and laid with planks to ease the passage of the ramps. Rows of slave labourers are seen breaking up waste material from the quarries, mixing them with the desert tafla clay and loading the finished mixture into baskets. Individual baskets are loaded onto the shoulders of slaves for delivery to the ramp builders on the pyramid.
Boats made from reeds deliver brilliant white limestone from Tura just across the river. Here the slaves, in light provided by primitive lamps, toil in manmade caves to obtain the best stone. This stone will be used for the outer case of the pyramid. Once put in place and polished the effect will be dazzling.
Granite came from Aswan located in the far south. Granite was used for the lining of the burial chamber and the internal passage leading to it or in some instances the lower courses of the pyramid. These blocks were the largest in size used on the structure, for example, some of the granite stones used on the Great Pyramid at Giza weighs up to 70 tons. Copper chisels used for quarrying limestone could not be used, a harder material was required. Balls of dolerite, a hard, black igneous rock, are used in the quarries of Aswan to extract the hard granite. This is a place of great heat, dust and noise a hellish place to be sent to work. These dolerite “pounders” were used to pulverize the stone around the edge of the granite block that needed to be extracted. Teams of slaves, their nude bodies gleaming with sweat in the hot sun, pound away for weeks in order to expose enough stone for the block to be extracted from the quarry. At the bottom, they ram wooden pegs into slots they have cut, and fill the slots with water. The pegs will expand and split the rock with a resounding crack much more impressive than anything heard with the softer limestone. Then, with hundreds of slaves using a combination of ropes and massive levers lower the great blocks onto long sledges and dragged them to the river where they were loaded onto the barges and floated down river to the pyramid site.
The number of workers involved in the construction depended on the size and complexity of the structure, but it always numbered in thousands. Some of them were free men doing particular tasks such as masons, tool makers, carpenters, scribes and overseers. Many of course were unskilled slave labourers. A town was built for the free workers. Less comfortable accommodation, in the form of a barracks, was provided for the slaves.
Through the Pharaoh’s reign, the construction site teemed with workers of all kinds toiled in the hot sun to complete the monument before the king’s death. Day after day, year after year, the quarries rang with the sound of hammer and chisel on stone.
After they had cut deep enough to define a block, they packed the riven rock with pieces of porous wood and then a slave would pour water on the hole. The wood expands so fast that the block splits out with a crack. After the stone blocks are extracted from the quarry face they are lowered onto sledges. A mark is made on the stone by a scribe. This aided them to place the blocks in the pyramid just as they came out of the quarry ensuring a good fit without further finishing.
From dawn to dusk, naked slaves drag the sledges loaded with stones each weighing about two tons to staging areas at the base of the pyramid. Most of the stone blocks proceed up the ramp without future handling. Only a fraction of the stone blocks needed to be cut to precise dimensions by the masons. The slaves begin hauling the loaded sledges slowly up the clay and rubble ramp. Whether it was a single long or spiralling ramp depends on the size of pyramid. The noise on the ramp was one of chanting slaves, the rumble of heavy sledges and the swish of the overseer’s lash.
At the working level teams of slaves called setters shifted the blocks from the sledges into their designated positions. Once the stones had been delivered the hauling gang would make their way down the ramp carrying their sledge, in order to make the same back breaking journey up as they would several times a day.
Other slaves are employed in maintaining and extending the ramps as the pyramid grew. These ramps are made of rubble, bound together with desert tafla (a type of clay) and laid with planks to ease the passage of the ramps. Rows of slave labourers are seen breaking up waste material from the quarries, mixing them with the desert tafla clay and loading the finished mixture into baskets. Individual baskets are loaded onto the shoulders of slaves for delivery to the ramp builders on the pyramid.
Boats made from reeds deliver brilliant white limestone from Tura just across the river. Here the slaves, in light provided by primitive lamps, toil in manmade caves to obtain the best stone. This stone will be used for the outer case of the pyramid. Once put in place and polished the effect will be dazzling.
Granite came from Aswan located in the far south. Granite was used for the lining of the burial chamber and the internal passage leading to it or in some instances the lower courses of the pyramid. These blocks were the largest in size used on the structure, for example, some of the granite stones used on the Great Pyramid at Giza weighs up to 70 tons. Copper chisels used for quarrying limestone could not be used, a harder material was required. Balls of dolerite, a hard, black igneous rock, are used in the quarries of Aswan to extract the hard granite. This is a place of great heat, dust and noise a hellish place to be sent to work. These dolerite “pounders” were used to pulverize the stone around the edge of the granite block that needed to be extracted. Teams of slaves, their nude bodies gleaming with sweat in the hot sun, pound away for weeks in order to expose enough stone for the block to be extracted from the quarry. At the bottom, they ram wooden pegs into slots they have cut, and fill the slots with water. The pegs will expand and split the rock with a resounding crack much more impressive than anything heard with the softer limestone. Then, with hundreds of slaves using a combination of ropes and massive levers lower the great blocks onto long sledges and dragged them to the river where they were loaded onto the barges and floated down river to the pyramid site.
