The Egyptian Pyramids erupting from the sands at Giza are a testomony to human ingenuity and engineering. Raised to mark the tombs of historical pharaohs, these nice buildings have stood for 1000’s of years. 

However over the millennia, the pyramids have modified, largely attributable to building staff’ repurposing of in-demand supplies and looting. So what did the pyramids appear to be once they have been constructed? 

When the historical Egyptian pyramids have been initially erected, each in Giza and elsewhere, they did not look sandy brown as they typically do at this time; reasonably, they have been lined in a layer of shiny sedimentary rock.

“All of the pyramids have been cased with nice, white limestone,” Mohamed Megahed (opens in new tab), an assistant professor on the Czech Institute of Egyptology at Charles College in Prague, instructed Stay Science. The limestone casing would have given the pyramids a easy, polished layer that shined brilliant white underneath the Egyptian solar.

Associated: Who constructed the Egyptian pyramids?

Builders used round 6.1 million tons (5.5 million metric tons) of limestone through the building of the Nice Pyramid of Giza alone, in response to Nationwide Museums Scotland (opens in new tab), which shows one of many authentic limestone blocks. The Nice Pyramid — additionally known as Khufu’s Pyramid after the pharaoh Khufu, who commissioned it throughout his reign (circa 2551 B.C. to 2528 B.C.) — is the biggest and oldest of all of the standing pyramids in Giza. Nonetheless, its casing stones have been later repurposed for different constructing work underneath Egyptian rulers, as was the case for many pyramid shells. 

There’s proof that the casing stones started being stripped underneath Tutankhamun‘s reign (circa 1336 B.C. to 1327 B.C.), and this continued till the twelfth Century A.D., Egyptologist Mark Lehner defined in a PBS NOVA (opens in new tab) Q&A thread. An earthquake in A.D. 1303 would even have loosened a few of the stones, in response to BBC Information (opens in new tab). 

Right this moment, the Giza pyramids nonetheless retain a few of their authentic limestone casing, although it seems barely extra weathered than in historical instances. “You possibly can see it on the highest of the Pyramid of Khafre in Giza,” Megahed stated.

The Pyramid of Khafre, named after the pharaoh Khafre (who reigned circa 2520 B.C. to 2494 B.C.), has casing stones leftover round its peak that give the impression {that a} second peak is wedged on prime of the primary. In historical Egypt, this pyramid additionally had purple granite casing round its decrease ranges, Egyptologist Miroslav Verner wrote in his e-book “The Pyramids: The Archaeology and Historical past of Egypt’s Iconic Monuments (opens in new tab)” (The American College in Cairo Press, 2021). The third and smallest of the three foremost pyramids in Giza, the Pyramid of Menkaure — named after the pharaoh Menkaure, who reigned circa 2490 B.C. to 2472 B.C. — additionally sported purple granite casing round its decrease echelons. 

There’s nothing on the prime of the Giza pyramids at this time, however initially they hosted capstones — additionally known as pyramidions — lined in electrum, a mixture of gold and silver, in response to Megahed. The pyramidions would have regarded like pointy jewels on the ideas of the pyramids. 

Most pyramidions have been misplaced over time, however there are just a few surviving examples in museums. These specimens reveal that pyramidions have been carved with non secular imagery. For instance, the British Museum (opens in new tab) has a limestone pyramidion lined in hieroglyphics from Abydos, an archaeological website in Egypt, that depict deceased folks worshipping the traditional Egyptian god Osiris and present process mummification from the jackal-headed Anubis.

Contemplating the pyramids’ former splendor, absent options at this time can seem like open wounds. Maybe the most effective instance of that is evident on the Pyramid of Menkaure. “If you see the Menkaure’s pyramid from the north, you possibly can see an excellent gash, like a giant melancholy,” Yukinori Kawae (opens in new tab), an archaeologist at Nagoya College’s Institute for Superior Analysis in Japan, instructed Stay Science. 

The Pyramid of Menkaure’s gash could also be a visible blight that would not have existed in historical instances, however the advantage of such harm is that at this time, it supplies a window into the pyramids.

“That is additionally the essential space for archaeologists as a result of we will see the interior buildings of the pyramids,” Kawae stated.