egyptian pyramid construction religion primer?

Question

casing stones limestone rituals meanings...everything

Answer 1

The previous question is essentially correct, though it's doubtful that pyramid capstones were of solid gold. A few royal pyramid capstones or fragments thereof have been found and they tend to be of harder, finer stone than limestone, elaborately carved, and often have anchor points for either a thin sheeting of gold or gold inlay.

The texts carved inside royal pyramids are actually called the Pyramid Texts. They do not appear carved on the walls of the interior chambers of pyramids until the reign of Unas, the last king of the 5th Dynasty, though formal royal pyramid construction began in the 4th Dynasty with Sneferu, drawing on the Step Pyramid of the 3rd Dynasty as a model. Careful analysis of the content and structure of the Pyramid Texts by experts does suggest that they originated in an earlier oral tradition. The later Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom drew upon the Pyramid Texts as did the later still "Book of the Dead" of the New Kingdom.

Most pyramids were constructed of limestone, either blocks, or in later pyramids, with an interior core made up of rubble, often from quarrying of blocks, with a casing of actual blocks. Frequently the limestone used for the exterior of the pyramid was of finer quality, usually coming from the quarry at Tura, known for it's fine white limestone. As this building material was valuable, blocks were often removed and used for other projects during the pharaonic period and in later historic periods. Occasionally, royal pyramids feature the use of other stone in the exterior, for either the capstone (as discussed above) or in the lower courses of the pyramid. Granite seems to have been popular. Other stone was often used to build or to line the walls of interior chambers - again, granite seems to have been a popular choice.

There was an immense amount of ritual involved in both the construction of pyramids and in their later use as tombs. It's important to remember that what we'd call "religion" wasn't a totally separate concept from politics or everyday life in many cultures, including ancient Egypt. So, even the basic survey and laying out of the plan for beginning a pyramid involved ritual as well as more "practical" aspects. An example is the "stretching of the cord" at the beginning of the construction phase.
The actual mechanics/ritual involved with placing the body of the dead king is not entirely known to us, but a number of Egyptologists have speculated on likely aspects of the ritual based on better known examples from later in Egyptian history and their own deep knowledge of ancient Egyptian culture. It seems likely that the king's body was brought to the tomb by water. Pyramid complexes include a number of associated buildings, including the "Valley Temple" - a temple placed some distance from the pyramid itself on the edge of where the cultivated land met the desert. A harbor from the Nile usually connected such temples to the river. From the Valley Temple, the body of the king passed along the causeway connecting the Valley Temple to the Pyramid Temple/Mortuary Temple (terminology varies from scholar to scholar in some instances, I believe the Valley Temple is also sometimes called the Funerary or Mortuary Temple). The Pyramid Temple was placed on the east side of the pyramid. Eventually the king was placed into the pyramid itself - there is a suggestion that the multiple chambers that occur in some pyramids, such as the Great Pyramid, were used in a ritualistic way. The body of the king may have been taken to each of the chambers before being finally sealed into the final burial chamber - the position of the chambers in many pyramids suggests a link the the passage of the sun god through the underworld at night and his rebirth in the sky at morning.

Even after the king's death, ritual took place at his pyramid. The pyramid complex was endowed with income from a number of estates and had a staff of priests to conduct daily rituals on behalf of the deceased king to ensure his survivial in the afterlife. Such cults often survived for centuries after the death of a king, and were not always limited to kings, but also included other high-ranking members of the royal family with their own pyramids.

If you'd like more detailed information, I strongly suggest you look at "The Complete Pyramids" by Mark Lehner, one of the foremost experts on Egyptian pyramids and director of the Giza Mapping Project and other archaeogical/research projects related to the Giza pyramids in particular. "The Complete Pyramids" is relatively inexpensive, widely available, either from Amazon or from most larger bookstores, and is lavishly illustrated and easy to read and understand. While it was intended for a popular audience, it is also a widely used reference for many Egyptologists and Egyptology students.

Answer 2

We don't know for sure how they were built, but there are 3 theories. One is that they were hoisted up manually, from one layer to another, by pullies and ropes. That's the least plausible theory, though. Another one is that they built a ramp which stretched straight out from the pyramid. But this means the ramp would have had to be miles long, and might have to have more material than the pyramid itself. There's no evidence of any of that material. Finally, there is a theory that they used a ramp which wound around the pyramid. They could have dismantled some of the material as they went along to build other sides of the pyramid. Dr. Zahi Hawass, who is the Director of Antiquities of Egypt and in charge of the Giza Plateau, thinks this is the way they did it. They have found remnants of a ramp on one side of one of the pyramids.

Contrary to public opinion, Egyptolotgists don't think slaves built the pyramids. They were more like a public works projects for those times when the Nile flooded the land. There have been gravesites, and an entire town, found near the pyramids, and slaves would not have been buried so close to the pharoah.

What we see now of the pyramids isn't how they looked when they were built. They were covered with smooth white limestone, with a gold capstone on top (that's why the Great Pyramid of Cheops has a little bit missing off the top--the gold capstone was stolen).

The pyramids were built to house the pharoah after he died. The Egyptians believed the pharoah was a god, and he needed an especially good tomb, which also held all of his riches and other goods he would need in the next life(they were robbed in antiquity) . There are two small holes in the sides of the pyramid which point to certain stars the Egyptians considered to be the way to the next life. Those were to make it easier for his soul to reach the next life.

The pyramids also have certain texts carved into them called the Book of the Dead. This is sort of a cheat sheet for the next life. There were certain questions the gods were supposed to ask the person, and if they answered correctly, they were allowed to enter the next life. The Book of the Dead gave the answers to the questions, so he'd know what to say.

Hope this helps.