Pyramids and Tombs

No, aliens did not build the pyramids. What actually happened was much more interesting.

The elaborate tombs we often associate with ancient Egypt are monuments to very human architectural genius. Written documents, as well as the archaeological record illustrate a progression in tomb-building techniques, tried and tested over centuries.

Tombs and burials were located generally on the western side of the Nile, in what was considered the land of the dead, where the Sun set. They were intended not only to honor the dead, but to house all of the things they might need to bring with them into the afterlife – including, of course, their mummified body.

Below is a timeline showing the different ways ancient Egyptians buried their dead over time. It begins in with Pre-Dynastic sand-pit burials, is raised to new heights with the pyramids in Saqqara and Giza, and ends where it began: under the sand, this time in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens.