2.3 million blocks were needed to build the great pyramid of khufu.
2.3 million blocks were needed to build the great pyramid of khufu.
how many blocks did it take to build the great pyramid of khufu?
2.3 million
the great pyramid consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks which most believe to have been transported from nearby quarries. the tura limestone used for the casing was quarried across the river. the largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the "king's" chamber, weigh 25 to 80 tonnes and were transported from aswan, more than away. ancient egyptians cut stone into rough blocks by hammering grooves into natural stone faces, inserting wooden wedges, then soaking these with water. as the water was absorbed, the wedges expanded, breaking off workable chunks. once the blocks were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the nile river to the pyramid. it is estimated that 5.5 million tonnes of limestone, 8,000 tonnes of granite (imported from aswan), and 500,000 tonnes of mortar were used in the construction of the great pyramid.
great pyramid of giza
at the foot of the pyramid, the chief priest and warriors greeted "toci" and "her" four young men, and would flee in mock terror as "toci" and company would sweep the streets on their way to the great pyramid. the mock-terror of the warriors was all the more remarkable as a popular mexica poem had boasted that "here no one fears to die in war" as the aggressively militaristic mexica loathed cowardice and to die in battle was the highest honor for a man, which indicated the fear the mexica had for "our grandmother". at the great pyramid, "toci" together with the man wearing the mask made of human skin playing the maize lord were taken to the top of the great pyramid to sit on "her" throne with "her son" sitting next to her, where in the morning they greeted the priests as they arrived at the great pyramid. to honor "her" arrival, a number of prisoners of war were crucified at the foot of the temple and were killed by warriors shooting arrows at them. blood from the victims was collected in a bowl to be given to "toci", who drank some of it, and then began to growl terribly, reflecting her displeasure with the sacrifice, as toci could never have enough cruelty to satisfy her bloodlust. toci was greeted by a man dressed as huitzilopochtli, her husband, and the two would engage in sexual gestures, to symbolize the "divine sexual union" that took place after toci had been sacrificed, becoming a goddess who married huitzilopochtli. upon being seated at the top of the temple, the priests would crown "toci" with a crown made of paper. the priests would dress "toci" with make-up, feathers and a dress, and once properly dressed, "toci" would sacrifice four male prisoners brought before "her" by cutting out their hearts with an obsidian knife. "toci" would then retire while man playing centeotl, the maize lord would appear at the front of the great pyramid to review a parade of warriors marching before him. the face mask of human skin was then sent out as a challenge for another people, for ochpaniztli was always the beginning of the season of war. after receiving weapons from the ruler, the warriors would sing and dance around the great pyramid while the women of tenochtitlan would engage in much wailing at the prospect that their sons would die in the wars to come. at the end of the dancing and singing, priests would emerge from the great pyramid wearing the skin of other victims to throw maize seeds at the people. the fire priest of huitzilopochtli would then set out a bowel full of chalk and feathers (symbols of death) at the top of the great pyramid while the warriors would charge up to toss around and smear the chalk and feathers upon themselves, showing their willingness to die in battle. "toci" or "our grandmother" as the mexica also called her would reemerge from the great pyramid and again the warriors would flee in mock terror from her. for the mexica, sex and war were closely linked; sex led to children, which made it possible for boys to grow up to become the warriors who would fight the wars of the next generation and childbirth itself was the "battle" that every women had to fight. the purpose of the mexica triple alliance of states on the shores of lake texcoco was to fight wars, to take prisoners who would be sacrificed as the mexica believed that the gods would not allow the sun to rise everyday unless they were given human flesh to eat the day before, thus requiring daily sacrifices at the great pyramid of tenochtitlan and endless wars to supply the victims to die at the great pyramid. sometimes, the warriors ran in mock terror to the edge of tenochtitlan, where they may have engaged in mock battles with other warriors or may have actually raided the territories of other people, engaging in real battles.
ochpaniztli