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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 June - 5 July 2000 Issue No. 488 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 June - 5 July 2000 Issue No. 488
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Pyramid democracy
By Nevine El-ArefThe pyramids of Giza hog all the glory. Pamphlets and posters, postcards and documentaries all lavish undying fascination on the majestic monuments atop the Giza Plateau, leaving little concern for equally remarkable structures at Saqqara or Dahshur. But the pyramid structure itself is what seduces Egyptophiles and academics alike. Who built them? What did they mean?
With mystery comes pernicious speculation. For archaeologists like Zahi Hawass, director general of the Giza Plateau, the curse of the Great Pyramid has been countering the unstoppable theories that the pyramids are the ultimate symbol of historic oppression -- that kings were divine and those who served them were nothing but slaves. But a recent discovery at Giza is yet another indication that more was shared between the Pharaoh and his subjects than the Nile that nourished them.
Last week, ongoing excavation work on the Giza Plateau uncovered two pyramid-shaped tombs in the necropolis of the pyramid builders, southeast of the Sphinx. Hawass explained that the tombs are built similar to the well-known pyramid tombs of kings from the Old Kingdom. Each tomb is constructed of limestone and has its own pyramidal complex, complete with funerary and valley temples, and bears a ramp curved slightly to the east, like that of Khufu's pyramid.
Summing up the import of the discovery, Hawass explained, "Pyramid builders constructed their tombs in a similar shape to their kings." A plaque bearing the names and titles of the deceased is thought to represent the funerary temple, while a sacrificial offering table indicates the traditional valley temple.
The find puts a dent in a long-accepted account of religious belief, which suggests that the pyramidal complex functioned as an affirmation of the Pharaoh's divinity. Now faced with concrete evidence that the structure was not the sole prerogative of kings, Egyptologists will have to revise their earlier theories.
"This new discovery will change how we perceive Old Kingdom religious beliefs," said Gaballa Ali Gaballa, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The discovery puts to rest the assumption that the pyramidal shape was a symbol relating to kingship, attesting instead that the pyramid was a religious symbol for different classes of society as well.
photo: Khaled El-Fiqi
The workers' cemetery where the two tombs were found is located in the southern part of Deir Al-Gabal in Giza, where excavators have found more than 30 tombs of workers and artisans. Workers' tombs were apparently constructed at the lower level of the necropolis, leaving the upper level for artisans. Skeletons, pottery, knives, hammers and other tools used in the construction of the pyramids have also been found in the cemetery during previous excavations.
What is believed to be an ambulance-centre lies beside the pyramid area, indicating that workers enjoyed emergency treatment for accidents sustained during construction. X-rays of skeletons found in the area show that some workers had bandages around their arms and legs, and that others underwent more complicated medical procedures, including amputation. One skeleton appears to have had both a leg and an arm amputated. The healed ends of the bones indicate that the amputations were successful and the deceased lived for more than 14 years after the surgery.
"The evidence from these tombs, and the medical treatment workmen received, is contrary to the common belief that the Pharaohs used slave labour to build the pyramids -- an idea as old as Herodotus," said Hawass.
Hawass explained that the pyramid builders were actually professional labourers working under the supervision of skilled artisans and craftsmen and included peasants conscripted to work on a part-time basis.
"They not only built pyramids for the kings," said Hawass, "but also designed and constructed their own more modest tombs."
Beside one of the newly-discovered tombs, excavators found a curious unfinished statue depicting a man and woman holding each other in which the man is stepping forward with his right leg. According to Hawass, this goes against the tradition of Pharaonic art, which usually depicts the left foot forward. Hawass suggested that the statue may have been a mistake. The artisan's supervisor likely ordered the sculptor to make another statue and discard the faulty one somewhere in the necropolis.
