My sister once went to Egypt to see the pyramids. She was on holiday with my mum. They’d booked a day trip to view the pyramids. They were travelling in a convoy of Landrovers that had stopped near the pyramids for people to take photographs.
Suddenly the drivers of the six vehicles got out and ran off. They ran off into the desert and were never seen again. The next minute another convoy turned up only this time it was soldiers with guns. A soldier got in each vehicle and drove the Landrover convoy full of sightseers up to the pyramids and then drove them back to their hotel. None of the soldiers said a word to the sightseers.
My sister said that no one knew what on earth was going on or what had happened to all their drivers. No one was hurt. No one fired a shot. But several of the tourists were in shock at the experience. As usual, my mum thought it hilarious and exciting. But then she would.
The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids from 2700 BC until around 1700 BC. The first pyramid was erected during the Third Dynasty by the Pharaoh Djoser and his architect Imhotep. This step pyramid consisted of six stacked mastabas. Pyramids were tombs for pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in the pyramids. The pyramids were of many and varied shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the close of the Ptolemaic period in the fourth century A.D.
The Great Pyramid of Cholula is the largest pyramid in the world in terms of volume, and the largest monument ever built. It is located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico and stands 177 feet tall, and its base covers more than 45 acres.
The pyramids my mum and sister went to see were the Egyptian ones.
The Great Pyramid of Giza's core is made of yellowish limestone blocks, the outer casing (now almost completely gone) and the inner passages are of finer light-coloured limestone, and the interior burial chamber is built of huge blocks of granite.
The pyramids were made by stacking up huge blocks of limestone, which were quarried nearby. The builders laid roughly shaped blocks in horizontal patterns, then used mortar (a form of cement) to hold them together and fill any gaps in between them.
I can’t say that I would like to go and visit the pyramids. Maybe when I got there I would enjoy it. But I am not that good at being in hot countries or the heat. I visited Australia twice and although I enjoyed it very much it was rather hot at times.
I do enjoy archaeology though and love to watch the programme Digging For Britain on BBC. I have seen some mosaic floors in my time and I think one might have been at St. Albans, Hertfordshire.
Are you fascinated by archaeology?
Have you been to Egypt or even some other hot country?
Or maybe you live in a hot country.
I jokingly tell people that I would like to live in Alaska.