Pyramid

A pyramid (from Greek "πυραμίς" - pyramis^[1]) is a structure where the outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square pyramid, with square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version.

A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground,^[2] and with the pyramidion on top means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above: this distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures.

For thousands of years, the largest structures on earth were pyramids: first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, both of Egypt, the latter the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining. It is still the tallest pyramid. The largest pyramid in the world ever built, by volume, is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is still being excavated.

Contents 1 Ancient monuments 1.1 Mesopotamia 1.2 Egypt 1.3 Sudan 1.4 Greece 1.5 China 1.6 Mesoamerica 1.7 North America 1.8 Roman Empire 1.9 Medieval Europe 1.10 India 1.11 Indonesia 2 Modern pyramids 2.1 Gallery 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References

Ancient monuments

Pyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient civilizations.

Mesopotamia

The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called ziggurats. In ancient times, these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them.

Egypt

The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids — huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575-2150 B.C.^[3] As of 2008, some 138 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.^[4][5] The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. Until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in AD 1311, it was the tallest building in the world. The base is over 52,600 square meters in area. While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world.^[6]

The Great Pyramid of Giza was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the only one to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone, containing great quantities of fossilized seashells^[7]. Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used to build the mosques of Cairo.

Sudan

Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 220 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones. They were monuments to dead kings and queens.^[8] Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as recently as AD 300.

Greece

Pausanias (2nd century AD) mentions two buildings resembling pyramids, one, twelve miles southwest of the still standing structure at Hellenikon,^[9] a common tomb for soldiers who died in a legendary struggle for the throne of Argos and another which he was told was the tomb of Argives killed in a battle around 669/8 BC. Neither of these still survive and there is no evidence that they resembled Egyptian pyramids.

There are also at least two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Hellenikon and the other at Ligourio/Ligurio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. They do have inwardly sloping walls but other than those there is no obvious resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. They had large central rooms (unlike Egyptian pyramids) and the Hellenikon structure is rectangular rather than square, 12.5 meters by 14 meters which means that the sides could not have met at a point.^[10] The stone used to build the pyramids was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza.

There are no remains or graves in or near the structures. Instead, the rooms that the walls housed were made to be locked from the inside. This coupled with the platform roof, means that one of the functions these structures could have served was as watchtowers. Another possibility for the buildings is that they are shrines to heroes and soldiers of ancient times, but the lock on the inside makes no sense for such a purpose.

The dating of these ‘pyramids’ has been made from the pot shards excavated from the floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been estimated around the 5th and 4th centuries. There are many researchers who have given dates to the structures that pre-date the pyramids at Giza, but the method to obtain these dates was thermoluminescence of the stone. Normally this technique is used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try to date stone flakes from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not these ‘pyramids’ are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena controversy.^[11] The basis for their use of thermoluminescence in order to date these structures is a new method of collecting samples for testing. Scientists from laboratories hired out by the recent excavators of the site, The Academy of Athens, say that they can use the electrons trapped on the inner surface of the stones to positively identify the date that the stones were quarried and put together.

Mary Lefkowitz has criticised this research. She suggests that some of the research was done not to determine the reliability of the dating method, as was suggested, but to back up an assumption of age and to make certain points about pyramids and Greek civilization. She notes that not only are the results not very precise, but that other structures mentioned in the research are not in fact pyramids, e.g. a tomb alleged to be the tomb of Amphion and Zethus near Thebes, a structure at Stylidha (Thessaly) which is just a long wall, etc. She also notes the possibility that the stones that were dated might have been recycled from earlier constructions. She also notes that earlier research from the 1930s, confirmed in the 1980s by Fracchia was ignored. She argues that they undertook their research using a novel, previously untested methodology in order to confirm a predetermined theory about the age of these structures.,^[12]

China

There are many square flat-topped mound tombs in China. The First Emperor of China (circa 221 BC, who unified the 7 pre-Imperial Kingdoms), also the First Emperor Qin, was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped pyramidal earthworks.

Mesoamerica

A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid.

The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan is also located in Mexico. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the Xitle Volcano in the first century BC. There are several circular stepped pyramids called Guachimontones in Teuchitlán, Jalisco as well. Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of human sacrifice.

North America

Many mound-building societies of ancient North America built large pyramidal earth structures known as platform mounds. Among the largest and best-known of these structures is Monk's Mound at the site of Cahokia, which has a base larger than that of the Great Pyramid at Giza. While the North American mounds' precise function is not known, they are believed to have played a central role in the mound-building people's religious life.

Roman Empire

The 27-metre-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named Meta Romuli, standing in the Ager Vaticanus (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th century.

There is also a Roman era pyramid built in Falicon, France.^[13] There were many more pyramids built in France in this period.

Medieval Europe

Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g. as the tower of Oviedo's Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador. In some cases this leads to speculations on masonic or other symbolical intentions.

India

Many giant granite temple pyramids were made in South India during the Chola Empire, many of which are still in religious use today. Examples of such pyramid temples include Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. However the largest temple pyramid in the area is Sri Rangam in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. The Brihadisvara Temple was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987; the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were added as extensions to the site in 2004.^[14]

Indonesia

Next to menhir, stone table, and stone statue; Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia also featured earth and stone step pyramid structure called Punden Berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan, Cisolok and Gunung Padang, West Java. The construction of stone pyramid is based from the native beliefs that mountain and high places is the abode for the spirit of the ancestors.

The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java. However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid.

Modern pyramids

Examples of modern pyramids are:

• The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, in the court of the Louvre Museum, is a 20.6 meter (about 70 foot) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum. It was designed by the American architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1989.
• The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, designed by William Pereira.
• The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (built in 1991) was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.
• The Slovak radio building in Bratislava, Slovakia. This building is shaped like an inverted pyramid.
• The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States, is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid.
• The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid with light beaming from the top.
• The Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah, used for instruction in the Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with Modern Mummification.
• The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• The Pyramids at Osho Commune in Pune, India (for meditation purposes).
• The three pyramids of Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas.
• The Co-Op Bank Pyramid or Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, England is a large pyramid-shaped office block in Stockport in England. (The surrounding part of the valley of the upper Mersey has sometimes been called the "Kings Valley" after the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.)
• The GoJa Music Hall in Prague.
• The Muttart Conservatory greenhouses in Edmonton, Alberta.
• The unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang.
• Small pyramids similar to those of the Louvre can be found outside the lobby of the Citicorp Building in Long Island City, Queens NY.
• The Pyramids of the City Stars Complex in Cairo, Egypt.
• Pyramid building belonging to The Digital Group (TDG), at Hinjwadi, Pune, India.^[15]
• Triangle, a proposed skyscraper in Paris.
• The Steelcase pyramid.
• The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid , a proposed project for construction of a massive pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan.

Gallery

Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, United Kingdom	The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California	The Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee	Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada
Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans	The Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah	Zafer Plaza shopping center in Bursa, Turkey

See also

• Pyramidion
• Pyramid (geometry) for the pyramid as a 3-dimensional shape in geometry.
• Pyramid (disambiguation) for other uses of the word pyramid.
• Pyramids of Güímar
• Ziggurat
• Step pyramid
• Bosnian pyramid
• Tomb

Notes

References

• Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott, "Stargazing in Ancient Egypt," Astronomy, June 2006, pp. 62–67.
• Fagan, Garrett. "Archaeological Fantasies." RoutledgeFalmer. 2006