ancient Egypytian pyramids

The Old Kingdom of Egypt (Dynasties 4–6, c. 2600–2180 BC) is famous as a period of the builders of the largest Egyptian pyramids. It is generally accepted that the evidence on the use of copper alloy tools from this era is meagre. Martin Odler gathers the textual, iconographic and palaeographic evidence and examines Old Kingdom artefacts in order to revise this view on the use of copper alloy tools and model tools. Furthermore, he provides updated definitions of tool classes and tool kits, together with the context of their use. Besides rare specimens of full-size tools, the largest corpora of the material have been preserved in the form of model tools in the burial equipment of the Old Kingdom elite and were most probably symbols of their power to commission and fund craftwork. Moreover, the size and elaboration of the model tools were probably connected to the social status of the buried persons. The long-standing division in the Egyptological literature between full-size tools and model tools is questioned. The ancient sources also enable to show that the preservation of material culture from the Old Kingdom was largely dependent on a conscious selection made within the past culture, with completely different settlement and funerary contexts and a conspicuous absence of weapons. The volume is completed by co-authored case studies on archaeometallurgy of selected Old Kingdom artefacts in the collection of the Egyptian Museum of Leipzig University, on morphometry of Old Kingdom adze blades and on the finds of stone and ceramic vessels associated with the findings of so-called Old Kingdom model tools.

The book can be purchased here: http://www.archaeopress.com/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id=%7BDED38ACF-A714-4454-8448-4C8C91A92F43%7D

The Egyptians aligned pyramids of the fourth dynasty, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu and its neighbor, Khafre, to cardinal points with amazing accuracy.  For the most part, scholars who have studied the issue have concluded that the Egyptians must have used the nighttime stars to achieve such accuracy.  In this article, I put the solar method to the test. I find that the method works, and is capable of yielding results sufficiently accurate to account for the alignment of the pyramids’ casings.

This study deals with the remains of metal objects from the settlement of workers living and labouring at the Egyptian site of Giza in the reigns of Dynasty 4 Kings Khufu and Khafra (c. 2500–2450 BCE). It provides the first detailed set of data on copper tools of the craftspersons working with wood, limestone, textile, etc., focusing on the major and trace element analyses, lead isotopes and microstructural description. Arsenical copper is again confirmed as a material practically used in the Old Kingdom, with arsenopyrite from Eastern Desert proposed as a source of arsenic. The CuAgAs needle 20966 has similar lead isotopes as two pieces of Predynastic Egyptian metalwork and litharge from late Uruk site Habuba Kabira (Syria), being probably a recycled specimen of earlier material connected to silver production. With 15 objects analysed in detail, it is for now the largest Old Kingdom corpus of metal objects from the settlement context.

The principal aim of this publication is to provide interpretation of a high-resolution satellite images of all Old and Middle Kingdom pyramid sites in Egypt. The sites included in this Atlas represent to a large degree the principal sites of the Third through the Thirteenth Dynasty. Their particular characteristics mirror the specific periods of Egyptian history and in a way may be considered as a genuine time capsules providing fascinating windows into incredible story ancient Egypt once was.   
These sites are as follows (starting in the north): Abu Rawash, Giza, Zawiyet el-Aryan, Abusir, Saqqara, Dahshur, Mazghuna, Lisht, Meidum, Lahun, Hawara and Abydos. Included was also the site of Abu Ghurob with the two sun temples of Userkaf and Nyuserra of the Fifth Dynasty and the so-called minor step pyramids dating from the late Third – early Fourth Dynasty which start in Seila at the northeastern edge of the Faiyum Oasis and include, those of Zawyet Sultan, Nubt (Naqada), Abydos (Sinki), Hierakonpolis (el-Kula), Edfu (Ghonemeia) and Elephantine.

The individual sites are characterised on the background of their local topography and changing nature of their development over time as reflected by the position of individual monuments, including the principal ones – the pyramids of the Old and Middle Kingdom. Individual chapters focus on principal royal and non-royal monuments, their locations and their significance both within the site and with regard to neighbouring sites with pyramid complexes. Each chapter, each site provides a different story in terms of its structure and content. This reflects the simple fact that every site developed under different conditions, in different local setting, had its own internal logics, its pace and its genuine characteristics. Each site also reflects a specific historical situation and tells a different story of its development and rediscovery.
It is strongly believed that the latest technological advances, including the satellite imaging in Egyptology, will ultimately translate into their systematic use in sites’ protection and  management, site and landscape analysis and long-term strategies of both ongoing and future excavation and survey projects in Egypt. As for now, most pyramid fields are more and more intensively endangered by the modern development and locally dominated neglect of the need for their preservation. Some of them, such as Mazghouna or Lisht are on the foremost front of this trend. Despite all current outstanding odds, pyramid fields of Egypt represent the very substance of Ancient Egypt which came down to us and deserve our attention, respect and care. 

With contributions by Adela Oppenheim and Dieter Arnold, The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York; Miroslav Bárta, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague;Richard Bussmann, University of Cologne; Andrzej Ćwiek, University of Poznan; Veronika Dulíková, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague; Peter Jánosi, University of Vienna; Mark Lehner, Ancient Egypt Research Associates and “Associate” at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago; Mohamed Megahed, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague; Massimiliano Nuzzolo, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw; Stephan Seidlmayer, German Archaeological Institute, Cairo; Miroslav Verner, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague and Josef Wegner, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.