Pyramids: Ancient Egyptian Storage
One of the original ancient Seven Wonders of the World, the Pyramids of Giza were named a UNSECO World Heritage site in 1979.
The Egyptian pyramids were more than simply tombs for the pharaohs. They also served the pharaohs and their queens as a prototypical self storage company, housing items such as a pharaoh’s jewellery, clothing, various tools and whatever other items the pharaohs believed they might need in the afterlife.
Although most of the items stored in the pyramids of Giza were lost before modern historians and Egyptologists could examine them, we have significant evidence – from hieroglyphics and from other pyramids – that the pyramids stored boats, wooden and stone carvings, clothing, food, beer and other luxury items.
Taken from an aerial balloon in 1906, this image shows the relative sizes of the three pyramids at Giza
The ancient Egyptians believed that each of the pyramids was home to the soul, or Ka, of a pharaoh. It was believed that a living pharaoh represented the god Horus and that, upon his death, he would represent the god Osiris. In the form of Osiris, a pharaoh would set the sun. His heir would take the form of Horus and raise the sun the following morning. The pyramids, or “soul storage units”, had to be constructed soundly enough to prevent any disturbance to this cosmic process.
Pyramid of Khufu, the oldest and largest of the three pyramids at Giza
The names of the three pyramids at Giza correspond to the pharaohs for whom they were built. The northernmost pyramid, which is the oldest and largest, was built for Khufu, the second king of the 4th Dynasty. Referred to as the Great Pyramid, it was originally 147 metres tall. However, ransacking and erosion have brought it down to 139 metres. The second tallest is the pyramid of Khafre, who was the fourth king of the 4th Dynasty, and is 136 metres tall. The Khafre pyramid complex is also home to the iconic Sphinx.
The second tallest of the three pyramids of Giza
The smallest of the three pyramids, the pyramid of Menkaure, is 65 metres tall. Menkaure is said to have been one of the most benevolent of the pharaohs, so perhaps the more humble size of his tomb is testament to that.
The Pyramid of Menkaure
Because of plundering in ancient and medieval times, the objects initially stored in the pyramids, including the sarcophagi. The limestone layer on the outsides of the pyramids has been almost entirely stripped away, save for a small area on top of the pyramid of Khafre.
Like the pyramids of ancient Egypt, modern self-storage facilities may be looted and plundered for lost treasure, as popularized in TV shows like Storage Hunters and Storage Wars.
All was not lost at the pyramids of Giza, however. In 1925, the tomb of Queen Hetepheres, who was Khufu’s mother, was discovered near the upper causeway of the pyramid of Khufu. Although the sarcophagus was empty, the tomb still contained various articles of furniture and jewellery, all testament to the artistic and technical abilities of ancient Egypt’s craftsmen.
