Only in a few instances is there definite evidence as to the names and other particulars of the architects
and other skilled personnel concerned in building the pyramids.
It is recognised that the vizier and architect Imhotep was the builder of the
Step Pyramid of Djeser at Saqqâra, but the available texts do not reveal any
other details of his work in connection with that masterpiece of architecture.
The names of the builders of the pyramids of Gîza and Abu Sîr are as yet
unknown.
More information is available concerning the builders of the pyramids of
Dynasty VI. An inscription of the 18th year of the reign of Pepy I, in the
quarries at Wadi Hammâmât, refers to a master pyramid-builder named Tjetjy. An inscription in the tomb of an architect named Nekhebu at Gîza states that
he spent six years in superintending the work on the pyramid of Pepy I, after
which that king gave him gold (amulets ?), bread, and beer in very great
quantity. In his autobiographical text, Uni stated that he was sent to Ibhet,
Elephantine, and Hatnub in order to obtain stone for the sarcophagus, the
pyramidion, granite false door and settings, and offering tables for the pyramid
complex of Mernerê.
Middle Kingdom references to pyramid builders are rather scanty. An
inscription of Dynasty XII refers to one Meri, architect of a temple of Sesostris I,
the gates of which towered heavenward and were of Tura limestone ; but it is
not known whether this was the temple of the pyramid of that king or one of his
other temples (e.g. at Karnak or Heliopolis). British Museum Stela No. 569
records how a man named Sihathôr went to the pyramid of Ammenemes II to
superintend the work on 15 statues of hard stone of millions of years ; and never
had the like happened with any superintendent before. A large number of other texts (especially tomb inscriptions) refer to royal
builders, sculptors, and artists of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, who must surely have had a hand in the building and decoration of pyramids and their associated temples and other buildings ; but as the texts do not specifically
mention their work on pyramids they cannot here be introduced.
The duties of scribes in connection with pyramid construction were important. They had to maintain records of the quantities of stone quarried and
transported, the amount of labour employed, and the wages of the employees ;
and they had to write on the quarried blocks of stone details of the crews or
gangs of workmen by whom they were quarried, the date of quarrying, the parts
of the pyramid complex for which they were destined, and many other details.
Scribes of a superior grade were employed for inscribing the Pyramid Texts on
the walls of the interiors of the pyramids from the end of Dynasty V to the end
of Dynasty VI. Some important but fragmentary scribes’ accounts relating to
the pyramids of Abu Sîr are still incompletely published.
Organisation of the Workmen
The unskilled labour employed in stone
quarrying, transport of stone, and pyramid-building was excellently organised,
and thanks to the researches of Mr Alan Rowe, the following brief outline can
be given.
The number of men employed on the larger pyramids must have run to
many thousands, and according to Herodotus the builders of the pyramid of
Kheops "worked always by ten myriads of men during each period of three
months".
The largest group of workmen appears to have been the crew which is
believed to have comprised between 800 and 1,000 men. These crews had
various names of which the following examples must suffice :
The crew "Kheops excites love".
The crew "the Horus Medjedu (i.e. Kheops) is the purifier of the two
lands".
The crew "the White Crown of Khnmw-Khuf (Kheops) is powerful".
The crew "Mycerinus is drunk".
The crew "Mycerinus excites love".
The crew "Sahure is beloved".
The crew "Neuserre excites love".
These crew-names often occur written in red on the stones used in building
the pyramids.
Each crew was divided into four watches, each of which contained 200-250
men. The watches had nautical names, such as "starboard watch", "larboard
watch", "bow watch", "stern watch", etc., as recorded in incised hieroglyphs at
the entrances to the storerooms in the tomb of Mererukai at Saqqâra (Dynasty VI).
The watches were in turn divided into small gangs of 10-50 people, which
had names of which "Antelope gang" and "Ibis gang" (both from the upper
temple of Mycerinus) are examples.
Appliances
(1) Copper chisels, for quarrying limestone.
(2) Built causeways, for facilitating transport of stone from quarry to pyramid.
(3) Sledges, rollers, and sleepers, for transporting stones.
(4) Water, for levelling.
(5) Construction-embankments of mud-brick, for assisting in placing the higher courses of masonry ; remains of such embankments of mud-brick and rubble have been found at Maidûm, Lisht (Ammenemes I), and Gîza (near the pyramid of Khephren.
(6) Levers, for assisting in placing the stones into position.
(7) Plumb-rules, one of which was found near the pyramid of Sesostris I at Lisht.
(8) Set-squares, one of which was likewise found at Lisht.
(9) Ropes.
(10) Saws, used for cutting hard stones, e.g. note the saw-marks on the sarcophagi of Kheops and Khephren and behind the slate triads of Mycerinus. The length of the saw-marks on the sarcophagus of Kheops shows that the saw used was at least 8 ft. long.
(11) Dolerite pounders, for working and dressing granite and other hard stones ; they abound in the vicinity of all granite workings
(12 ) Tubular Drills, for hollowing the insides of hard stone sarcophagi and for working hard stones generally. That used in hollowing the sarcophagus of Kheops was 4.2 ins. diameter, as shown in two places where it was allowed to run too deep.
(13 ) Wooden moulds, for making mud-bricks.
(14 ) Plaster, for filling gaps and holes in masonry. The plaster was tinted red if used to fill flaws in red granite.
(15 ) Facing-Plates smeared with red ochre were, according to Petrie, applied to the casing stones to test their smoothness. Protuberances were shown by the red ochre adhering to them.
Unit of Measurement
Plans, Models, and Calculations
The Work of the Seasons
The unit of measurement used during the Old
and Middle Kingdoms was the Royal cubit, the hieroglyph for which is an
outstretched arm, the length of which is approximately one cubit
(20.612 inches). It was divided into seven palms each of which had four
fingers.
Markings in cubits are often visible on the backing stones behind the casing
of pyramids and on unfinished walls of interiors of tombs and temples.
The tendency to round figures is discernible in the following list of measurements of Old Kingdom pyramids :
Although no plans of pyramids have
so far come to light they were certainly made. A plan of the tamarisk grove at
the pyramid-temple of Nebhepetrê Mentuhotpe II was found by the expedition
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A plan on papyrus of the
tomb of Ramesses IV is in Turin Museum, and one on limestone of the tomb of
Ramesses IX is in Cairo Museum. These give some indication of the probable
character of an architect’s plan of a pyramid, and are useful in providing the
ancient Egyptian names for the different parts of the tomb.
It is most likely that the architects of the great monuments of ancient
Egypt made use of scaled models, but no such architects’ models have yet been
found.
Mathematical problems connected with pyramids occur in two important
papyri and have been studied by T. E. Peet and W. W. Struve. The problems
in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus are :
(1) to find the batter or slope-angle, given the base length and vertical
height (problems 56 and 58),
(2) to find the vertical height, given the base length and the batter
(problem 57).
The, method, as illustrated by problem 57, is a follows : Problem : Pyramid 140 cubits long and 5 palms 1 finger in its batter.
What is its vertical height ?
Solution : Divide 1 cubit by twice the batter, which amounts to 10
palms 2 fingers (10 1/2 palms).
Reckon with 10 1/2 to find 7, for 7 palms = 1cubit.
Two thirds of 10 1/2 is 7.
Reckon with 140, for this is the length of the side.
Make 2/3 of 140, namely 93 1/2. This is the vertical height thereof.
The problem in the Moscow papyrus deals with a truncated pyramid.
The method used by the ancient Egyptians for expressing the batter or
slope-angle of the sides of a pyramid or other structure was to state it in terms of
a vertical rise of one cubit on a horizontal base of so many palms and fingers.
They had no other means of expressing angles. Thus the batters of the more
important Old Kingdom pyramids are expressed as follows (those of Middle
Kingdom are nearly all too ruined to be measured) :
In the Cairo museum is a diagram showing the measurement of a curve,
found near the Step Pyramid at Saqqâra and believed to be of Dynasty III.
The Work of the Seasons
The ancient Egyptian year was divided into
three seasons, each of which consisted of four months :
(1) Inundation from about 19th July till 15th November ; during this
time most of the Nile Valley was submerged.
(2) Winter, from about 16th November till 15th March.
(3) Summer, from about 16th March till 13th July.
Between 14th and 18th July were the five epagomenal days which made the
year of 365 days, each month containing 30 days.
The broad divisions of work connected with large scale building operations
were to some extent seasonal and may be stated as follows :
(1) Quarrying of the fine white limestone from the cliffs east of the
Nile was mostly done during winter and summer ; the bulk of the
quarrying for granite, alabaster, and schist in Upper Egypt was
done during the winter as the intensity of the summer heat prevented much from being done during the hot season.
(2) Transport of fine white limestone across the river Nile was mostly
done during the inundation season in order to minimise land
transport. Transport of the Upper Egyptian stones downstream
seems to have been done in early summer, just after the close of
the quarrying season.
(3) Building of the pyramids and other monuments is therefore likely
to have been most active during the months following the inundation, when the stones quarried the previous summer had been
transported to the west bank of the Nile, and when the heat of the
summer was over. It is possible that the division of the workmen
into boat-crews and watches may have originated from the transference of the crews of the transport barges to assist in the building
operations.
The conclusion seems to be that, although quarrying, transport, and building went on all through the year, the quarrying was
done mostly in the winter and summer, the transport mostly
during the inundation, and the building mostly during the winter.
These tendencies are substantially borne out by the dates given
in the quarry inscriptions and on the stones."
extrait d' Egyptian Pyramids, 1947, par Leslie Grinsell (1907-1995), archéologue et conservateur de musée anglais. Durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il a rejoint la Royal Air Force et a servi en Égypte, où il s'est familiarisé avec les vestiges archéologiques de l'Égypte antique.
