Ancient World (Essay Sample)

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Ancient World
The Ancient World is connected largely to the artworks of the past. These include the artworks of Egypt and the surrounding areas. The great pyramids of Egypt, for instance, have attracted all sorts of interests and admiration, ranging from religious worship, healing power of the pyramids, grave robbery to various scientific researches carried by different archaeologists. One of the questions that have remained part of their fascination is who their real builders were. Although most people believe that the pyramids were built by the slaves, various researches have disputed such claims. According to Hooper and Heighway-Bury (65), the builders of the pyramids were poor Egyptian families from the North and South who were valued and respected for their work. They were respected to an extent that those who died during the construction of the pyramids were buried near the pyramids. Hooper and Heighway-Bury (66) stress that this theory is backed by various factors such as the close proximity of the tombs to the pyramid and the afterlife burial preparations.

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Fig 1 and 2: Overview of the Egyptian pyramids
The first pyramid to be built was the Step pyramid located at Saqqara. It was built in 2750 BC by King Zoser. Malkowski (43) states that he was required to work on his tomb until his death as the tradition dictated. He therefore added smaller mastabas onto the initial one, creating a pyramid. This marked the beginning of the pyramid age in Egypt.


Fig 3: The step pyramid
The great Pyramid of Khufu is the Egyptian pyramids in the Seven Wonders of the World’s list. It was built by King Khufu (the second pharaoh in the Egyptians’ Fourth dynasty) in 2560 BC. Levy (32) notes that it is 450 high, 756 feet long and is composed of 2.3 million blocks of stone with each stone weighing an average of 2.5 tons .


Fig. 4: The Great pyramid of Khufu, located at Giza Egypt
Apart from pyramids, the history of ancient Egypt pharaohs remains fascinating. One of the pharaohs who story continues to puzzle many is King Tutankhaum. King Tut was the 18th dynasty Egyptian pharaoh. According to Malkowski (71), although he inherited the throne at a considerably young age, his reign did not last long and he is believed to have faded in the sands upon his death. His tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings.


Fig. 5: The Coffinette for the viscera of King Tutankhaum
Another significan...