Obsessed with the afterlife, Egypt's rulers of 4,500 years ago glorified themselves in stone, thereby laying the foundation of the first great nation-state. A Pyramid is an enormous machine that helps the king go through the wall of the dead, achieve resurrection and live forever in the happiness of the gods. The start of the Old Kingdom is said to be the building of the Djoser's monument. The construction of Step Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser began around 2630 B.C. and was designed to awe the ancient Egyptians, to impress them with their rule's godlike strength. It was the world's first great construction project; indeed, it was the world's largest building.

Djoser, the second king of the 3rd dynast

The daily life of the workers constructing the pyramids was one of repetitive toil. On wooden sledges across the sands, workers hauled the giant stone the largest granite blocks weighing as much as seventy tons-that built the pyramids. Egypt created a vast agricultural empire, yet all the irrigation was done by hand. Farmers filled two heavy jars from the canals, then hung them from a yoke over their shoulders.

Two generations after Djoser's reign, the center of the Old Kingdom moved north to the barren plateau of Giza. Three 4th dynasty pyramids were erected here, they are included among the seven wonders of the world. The norther most and the oldest of the group was built by Khufu, the second king of the 4th dynasty called the Great Pyramid, it is the largest of the three the length of each side at the base averaging 775 ¾ feet and it height being 481 2/5 feet. The middle pyramid was built by Khafre, the fourth of the eight kings of the 4th dynasty; the structure measures 707 ¾ feet on each side and was originally 471 feet high. The southernmost and last pyramid to be built was that of Menkaure the sixth king of the 4th dynasty. Each side measures 356 1/2 feet and the structure's completed height was 218 feet.

To build such outstanding monuments required a preciseness of architecture, and years of endless labor from so many Egyptians. The kingdom developed a funerary tradition around the worship of their divine pharaohs, both living and dead. Every aspect of life was affected. The Egyptians dug a network of canals off the Nile to transport stone for the pyramids and food for the workers, and a simple, local agriculture became the force that knit together the kingdom's economy. The need to keep records of the harvest may have led to the invention of a written language.

To the south of the Great Pyramid near Khafre's valley temple lies the Great Sphinx. Carved out of a knoll of rock, the Sphin

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Approximate Word count = 1289
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)