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informational Text
Egypt: SecretS OF the Ancient WOrld
Step Pyramid of Djoser: Egypt’s First Pyramid
STEPPING TOWARD A TRUE PYRAMID
Intended to hold his mummified body, Pharaoh Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara
began as a traditional, flat-roofed mastaba. But by the end of his 19-year reign, in 2611 B.C., it had risen to six stepped layers and stood 204 feet (62 meters) high. It was the largest building of its time.
Extensive use of stone—here and there carved to resemble wood, reeds, or other softer materials—made the tomb more durable than its mud-brick forebears. Such pioneering techniques led many ancient historians to credit the chief architect, Imhotep, with inventing stone architecture.
As in earlier mastaba tombs, the Step Pyramid’s burial chambers are underground, hidden in a maze of tunnels, probably to discourage grave robbers. The tomb was nevertheless plundered, and all that remains of Djoser, the third king of Egypt’s
3rd dynasty, is his mummified left foot.
Great Pyramid
WONDER OF THE WORLD
Khufu, son of Snefru and second ruler of the 4th dynasty moved the royal necropolis to Giza, north of modern-day Cairo. According to ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Khufu (aka Cheops) enslaved his people to build his pyramid. But archaeologists have since disproved his account
On the Giza Plateau, Khufu’s builders oriented his pyramid almost perfectly north. The largest pyramid ever built, it incorporates about 2.3 million stone blocks, weighing an average of 2.5 to 15 tons each. It is estimated that the workers would have had to set a block every two and a half minutes.
The pyramid has three burial chambers.... The third is the king’s chamber, which held a red granite sarcophagus placed almost exactly at the center of the pyramid. The Great Pyramid was the centerpiece of an elaborate complex, which included several small pyramids, five boat pits, a mortuary temple, a causeway, a valley temple, and many flat-roofed tombs for officials and some members of the royal family.
mastaba: ancient Egyptian rectangular tomb with sloping sides and a flat roof
durable: long-lasting; stronger
forebears: ancestors; forerunners
plundered: robbed; ransacked dynasty: family line; rule
necropolis: graveyard
sarcophagus: coffin; tomb complex: center; development
Close Reading Workshop 5 • Close Reading of Informational Texts in Social Studies/History 63
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