The Sacale of the Universe

The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt - The Primary Pyramid Structure

The Great Step Pyramid of Djoser, which dominates his complex at Saqqara near Cairo in Egypt, has been thoroughly studied in recent decades. Unfortunately, its examination has created just about as many questions as answers. These investigations have shown that its construction plan was changed several times, and that the pyramid's current form is the result of a long process of development that included both experimentation and improvised elements. This pyramid is considered to be the evolutionary basis of all later pyramids in Egypt. Initially, the structure took the form of a mastaba (stage M1), which was gradually enlarged, first equally on all four sides (stage M2), and then only on the east side (stage M3). During this latter stage, the mastaba already had a step shape. However, the step-shaped mastaba was finally rebuilt in two stages, first as a four-step pyramid (stage P1) and finally as a six-step pyramid (stage P2).

Newly found pyramids reveal aspects of social equality in ancient Sudan

Three years of digging by French team at Sedeinga unearth 35 pyramids that emphasise contrast between ancient cultures of Sudan, Egypt.

Middle East Online. By Ian Timberlake – KHARTOUM.  

People power may have come to modern-day Egypt and not Sudan, but the unearthing of ancient pyramids in Egypt's southern neighbour shows that greater social equality existed there 2,000 years ago, a French archeologist says.

Gobekli Tepe's Cosmic Blueprint Revealed

Report by Andrew Collins author of From the Ashes of Angels (1996), The Cygnus Mystery (2006) and Beneath the Pyramids (2009)

On a hilly ridge called Göbekli Tepe in the Taurus Mountains of southeast Turkey, near the ancient city of Sanliurfa, archaeologists have uncovered the oldest stone temple complex in the world. Constructed most probably during the second half of the tenth millennium BC, some 7,000 years before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid, the site consists of a series of rings of enormous T-shaped pillars, many bearing carved reliefs of Ice Age animals, strange glyphs and geometric forms.

Piramide din intreaga lume

Piramidele, de fiecare data cand sunt mentionate, ne duc cu gandul la faraoni si la Egipt. Despre motivul pentru care au fost construite aceste piramide s-au scris si inca se mai scriu multe carti. In timp ce aceste mistere raman nerezolvate, in intreaga lume exista piramide antice si moderne care ne atrag datorita misticului care le inconjoara. Structura piramidelor ce nu se afla in Egipt nu imita in totalitate pe cea a piramidelor ridicate de egipteni, deoarece forma si stilul difera de la un loc la altul.

Piramidele din Egipt

Cu exceptia Marii Piramide din Egipt, mai exista peste 100 alte piramide de diferite marimi. Piramida lui Djoser a fost construita in timpul faraonului cu acelasi nume, intre anii 2630 si 2611 I Hr. ca un mare mausoleum pentru conducator. Mormintele fostilor faraoni erau plate, pline de namol, dar arhitectul lui Djoser, Imhotep, a venit cu idea pentru ceva mult mai atractiv si mai durabil: o piramida din trepte, alcatuite din calcar, de mai bine de 60m inaltime. Imhotep, un cunoscut vindecator, a fost venerat mai tarziu ca zeu al medicinei in cultura greco-romana.

The wonders of Chichen Itza

Buenos diaz,

Acum cateva zile am inceput aventura spre zona arheologica Chichen Itza pt a vedea cea de-a 2 a minune a lumii reprezentata prin Templu Kukulcan. In drumul nostru am facut cateva opriri pt a cunoaste mai bine civilizatia maya si cultura mexicana.

In momentul in care am ajuns in Chichen Itza soferul autocarului ne-a strans pt a ne inmana biletele de intrare si pt a ne repartiza, in functie de limba conversationala aleasa, unui ghid.

Egypt’s ‘collapsing’ pyramids

My first introduction to working in Egypt was a project in Cairo’s historic old quarter, following the 1992 earthquake that caused widespread and devastating damage. Cintec International won the contract to repair and reinforce a number of badly affected structures, with work commencing in 1998.

The project consisted of some 15 notable mosques and maqaads, successfully strengthened using Cintec’s patented anchoring systems. Most of the essential work was completed by early 2005, with ongoing localised repairs still being undertaken as and when required.

Archaeologists find burnt stucco floor related to astronomical event 1,350 years ago

TECOZAUTLA, MEXICO.- During the excavations in Pañhu, an archaeological zone which will soon open its doors to the public in the municipality of Tecozautla, Hidalgo, archaeologists registered a burn stucco floor, evidence that its main pyramid was desacralized approximately 1,350 years ago. This coincides with an astronomical event which was thought, by its inhabitants, to be a cataclysm. 

Archaeologist Fernando Lopez Aguilar, director of the site’s investigation project promoted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH – Conaculta), informed that there was a solar eclipse at sunrise the 3rd of August in the year 650 AD. 

Chichen Itza - O incursiune in istoria Mayasa

Desi nu este USA, poate fi considerata inca "Aventura Americana", de data asta tot pe continent, dar in Mexic unde mi-am petrecut o parte din scurta vacanta. Voi incepe seria povestilor in ordine inversa, asadar e randul uneia din cele 7 noi minuni ale lumii, Piramida de la Chichen Itza.

Inca o zi in care trezitul de dimineata m-a facut sa cred ca nu ma aflu in concediu...trebuia sa prind feryboat-ul de la ora 7 spre Playa del Carmen. Ziua avea sa ma poarte in istoria Mexicului si mai ales in cea a peninsulei Yucatan. Dupa 30 de minute pe ocean cu soarele zambind de dupa insula Cozumel pe care o lasam in urma, am poposit in Playa del Carmen.

Wonders of the modern world: Chichen Itza

Some of the most incredible pyramids still in existence are not, as many people erroneously think, in Egypt, but are in South America where they continue to fascinate astronomers, archaeologists and tourists alike.

Of these awe-inspiring edifices it is perhaps Chichen Itza, on the Yucatan Peninsula, in what is modern day Mexico and which, to the delight of many, is listed as one of the ‘Wonders of the Modern World’, that is the most famous, although Machu Pitchu in Peru does compete for this honour.

Egiptul redeschide Piramida lui Kefren

Egiptul a redeschis una din marile sale piramide în încercarea de a relansa industria turistică afectată de protestele de anul trecut, transmite BBC, citată de Agerpres.

Ministrul antichităţilor, Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, a anunţat joi că Piramida lui Kefren şi alte şase vechi morminte din Platoul Giza au fost redeschise după trei ani de restaurare. Muhammad Ibrahim a subliniat că aceasta este primul dintr-o serie de situri arheologice care vor fi redeschide în acest an pentru a scoate în evidenţă că Egiptul este o ţară sigură pentru turişti.

First Ever Etruscan Pyramids Found in Italy

The first ever Etruscan pyramids have been located underneath a wine cellar in the city of Orvieto in central Italy, according to a team of U.S. and Italian archaeologists.

Carved into the rock of the tufa plateau --a sedimentary area that is a result of volcanic activity -- on which the city stands, the subterranean structures were largely filled. Only the top-most modern layer was visible.

"Within this upper section, which had been modified in modern times and was used as a wine cellar, we noticed a series of ancient stairs carved into the wall. They were clearly of Etruscan construction," David B. George of the Department of Classics at Saint Anselm, told Discovery News.

Prima piramidă egipteană, cea a faraonului Djoser, în pericol de prăbuşire

Comitetul pentru Turism şi Antichităţi al Uniunii Tineretului Revoluţionar din Egipt se va adresa UNESCO pentru a primi ajutor pentru restaurarea uneia dintre cele mai vechi piramide egiptene, Piramida lui Djoser, care este în pericol să se prăbuşească.

Motivul care a generat îngrijorarea pentru soarta piramidei a fost prăbuşirea, acum câteva săptămâni, a uneia din camerele interioare ale piramidei.

Three monuments set to re-open in Egypt's Saqqara Necropolis

Following more than six years of restoration work, the tombs of two noblemen – along with Saqqara's famous Apis cemetery – will soon be open to the general public

Final restoration work is now in full swing at Egypt's famous Saqqara Necropolis, home of King Djoser's iconic Step Pyramid and a collection of Old Kingdom mastabas and tombs.

Soon, tombs of Sixth Dynasty Chief of Justice Mereuka and Fifth Dynasty Vizier Ptahhotep, along with the Apis tombs of the Serapeum, will be open to the public.

Viata in subteran

Se spune ca sunt minuni naturale si in acelasi timp minuni aparute dupa interventia omului: sunt orasele si structurile subterane.

In lume gasim si astazi nenumarate astfel de orase, insa ele nu mai pot fi locuite. Astazi unele dintre orasele subterane ce s-au pastrat de-a lungul vremii se viziteaza. Mare parte dintre ele nu sunt destinate vizitelor turistice si nu putem stii cu exactitate numarul lor.

Step Pyramid of Djoser: Egypt's First Pyramid

Constructed at Saqqara about 4,700 years ago, the Step Pyramid of Djoser was the first pyramid the Egyptians built.

Djoser, sometimes spelled Zoser (though he was actually called Netjerykhet), was a king of Egypt’s third dynasty. The planning of the pyramid has been attributed to Imhotep, a vizier who would later be deified for his accomplishments.

See the 'Google pyramids' up close

The place that went viral last month as the potential site of a mysterious Egyptian pyramid looks more like a series of mounds on the surface of Mars when you see it up close. Three weeks after the Dimai archaeological site burst into the spotlight, it's become a lot less mysterious — but there are still secrets to uncover.

The site has been familiar to Egyptologists since the 1920s: It's thought to have been the locale for a desert settlement going back to Egypt's Ptolemaic era, when Greek and Roman influences were on the ascendance. Did these mounds serve as watchtowers, or tombs, or well sites? That's what the Soknopaiou Nesos Project wants to find out. One of the project's directors, Egyptologist Paola Davoli of Italy's University of Salento in Lecce, filled me in about the current state of her group's research last week.

Climate Change Killed Egypt's Pyramid Builders

The drought parching the United States is one of the worst in the nation's history, but it hasn't been as destructive as the drought that may have withered ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. Pollen and charcoal buried in the Nile Delta 4,200 years ago tell the tale of a drought of literally Biblical proportions associated with the fall of the pyramid builders.

"Even the mighty builders of the ancient pyramids more than 4,000 years ago fell victim when they were unable to respond to a changing climate," said U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt in a press release. "This study illustrates that water availability was the climate-change Achilles Heel then for Egypt, as it may well be now, for a planet topping seven billion thirsty people."

Drought Lessons From Chichén Itzá

SANTA FE — With drought draped across all of New Mexico and much of the United States to our east and west, it’s an interesting time to think about the prehistoric Mayan city of Chichén Itzá.

Its fate is a reminder that drought isn’t simply something climate does to us. Drought’s effects are defined in large part by how resilient we are in response.

Teotihuacan: Ancient City of Pyramids

Located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of modern-day Mexico City, Teotihuacan was one of the largest urban centers in the ancient world. No one knows who built it. The city flourished between 2,100 years ago, when construction began, and about 1,400 years ago, when it went into a period of decline, including a fire that caused great damage. However, even with the decline, the city was never truly “lost” — the Aztecs made regular pilgrimages to the site in later periods.