Many people are familiar with Imhotep, the famous character from the acclaimed movie, “The Mummy.” And it was Imhotep who designed the first Egyptian pyramid. Imhotep was one of the most notable architects of his time, and he was also the chief minister of Djoser.
Imhotep outlined and planned the pyramid from the first blocks to the top. Because of this, King Djoser appreciated him so much that he authorized a statue to present Imhotep’s name in the King’s court, which was an honor like no other at the time.
The First Pyramids
As pyramids are geometrical shapes, they have four sides and a pointed tip, but not all pyramids have this point towards the sky. In fact, the earliest Egyptian pyramids originally had flat covers. These constructions did not even resemble the typical pyramids with triangular sides. They were, however, used as tombs, just like the rest of the pyramids.
One of the oldest of Egypt's pyramids with a flat top is the Pyramid of Djoser, which is also the oldest pyramid in Egypt. All pyramids contained burial chambers, whether they had pointy tops or were flat. Although, the flat-top pyramids, known as Mastabas, had one particular purpose.
The Tombs of the People
Mastabas were small tombs with flat tops that contained their hidden chambers underground. However, it was not pharaohs who were buried in these tombs, but their loyal subjects. They were not as important to have their own pyramids, but they were given a place to rest in the flat-topped Mastabas.
Pharaohs wanted to bury their loyal subjects because they believed they would help and tend to them in the next world. Another popular Egyptian belief was that the dead needed to be guided so that their soul could move on to the afterlife.
The Egyptian Afterlife
We already established the purpose of the pyramids – to guide the kings' and pharaohs’ souls into the afterlife. Egyptians seemed to have been obsessed with the afterlife. Therefore, they considered that life after death entailed returning to our origins.
However, unlike life on Earth, the ancient Egyptians maintained that life in the next world would be free from suffering and anguish of any kind.
The Hieroglyphics
We often associate hieroglyphics with the Egyptian pyramids, even though hieroglyphics were never encountered inside the pyramids. But there are chambers that are so small that only tiny robots can enter and explore them and a recent finding by one of these robots presented evidence of what seemed to be hieroglyphics.
The robot with a camera attached was able to capture footage of what looked like the first-ever hieroglyphics found within a pyramid. Maybe these symbols could explain and clarify some of the mysteries attached to these ancient remains.