Ancient Pyramids Around the World
No matter if the civilization was Mesopotamian, Egyptian, or Mayan, its legacy today is in part marked by towering pyramids
- By Amanda Bensen
- Smithsonian.com, November 20, 2009

(Jon Arnold Images Ltd / Alamy)
There are more than 100 pyramids in Egypt, but this was the first, built during the reign of Pharoah Djoser (2630 B.C. to 2611 B.C) as a grand mausoleum for himself. Previous pharaohs’ tombs were flat-topped mounds made mostly of mud, but Djoser’s chief architect, Imhotep, came up with a more durable and attractive idea: A “step pyramid” design, involving six successively smaller layers of carved limestone rising some 200 feet high. Imhotep, also a reputed healer, was later worshipped as a god of medicine in Greco-Roman culture.





Comments (28)
+ View All Comments
That's not true, look at Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted by Jerry on July 21,2012 | 01:20 PM
you are not rememberd by the rules you follow but by the rules you break.
Posted by anthony on November 22,2011 | 07:39 PM
Read about the amazing connection betwin Silbury hill and the great pyramid in Egypt:
http://www.cropcirclesandmore.com/thoughts/200901sgp.html
Posted by Gilad Rotem on October 7,2011 | 03:41 PM
I understand that there are pyramids in Indonesia, China, Russia, & Bosnia/Herzogovena, yet none of these are shown on your site. Are you planning to add these to your list?
Posted by Val Raehl on July 21,2011 | 12:14 AM
that pyramid, there are 5 km of subterraneam trails, I have to most mayan ones, and inside quite a few, at night, etc, don't ask me about Uxmal and Temple de Magico
Posted by SenorPescado on July 14,2011 | 10:30 PM
it is hard to understand the why they were the way they were. but it is a fact that they were some of the most engenering advanced people ever
Posted by Treadmill Traci on May 12,2011 | 04:27 PM
"There are more things under Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies." HAMLET
A long time ago I read a book by Patrick Flanagan, Ph.D. University of Michigan (YAY!...I'm an alum, living in Ann Arbor) called "Pyramid Power". Wild stuff there. Especially the math about how there's NO way that the Egyptian models could have been built by slaves....not nearly enough power to deal with the weight + the altitude + the time estimated. The stones, weighing TONS, were presumably somehow placed on reed rafts and floated across the Nile. Yeah, and I'm a baboon....
Old news for many of you, I know, but I must rant anyway.
Posted by Michael Andes on April 17,2011 | 01:21 PM
If one would pin point all the pyramids of the world on a map, what kind of line would be formed? It seems that most are in the same zone around the world. What classifies a pyramid as such. Could the mounds of the Midwest be in that class?
Posted by fred on November 27,2010 | 01:03 AM
We don't have to be so harsh people :)
It is true that when you mention "pyramids" you think of the biggest and the most famous one! Try and google "pyramid" or "pyramids"
It's kind of confusing though, how come Khufu had built a structure that was the largest on earth for centuries and the only statue we have of him is few inches tall.
Adam, Egypt.
Free Egyptology Courses and Contests
http://www.ancient-egypt-history.com/2010/05/4th-dynasty-part-ii-khufu-cheops-2589.html
Posted by Adam, Egypt. on September 13,2010 | 09:20 AM
It frustrates me that in all the talk about pyramids, no one seems to deal with the basic concern: how were the blocks obtained, cut, transported and stacked. A tremendous mystery!
Posted by Ray Berthiaume on July 5,2010 | 05:02 PM
Across Indian subcontinent there are man-made pyramid-like structures of varying shape and size called 'Stupa'. They, it is understood,were built over Buddha's mortal remains. All of them were revered by Buddhists and considered holy.
The most important are in Sanchi (round shaped), Dhameka, near Benares(cylindrical shaped), Nandangarh in North Bihar(pyramid shaped)etc.
Besides that burial mounds shaped like small hillocks or possibly a crude pyramid are found in many places of the world. It would be interesting to have a complete list and their brief history.
Posted by Shyamal Ghosh on May 12,2010 | 02:30 AM
They should restore the pyramid,try to dig all around the pyramid.The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl (Nahuatl for "artificial mountain"), is a huge complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the world's largest monument and largest Pre-Columbian pyramid by volume.
Posted by Aztec on April 1,2010 | 10:57 PM
I am with those who request further information with regards to the "other pyramids" of the world. I believe everyone may be missing the points worth noting: whether it is geometric or not, I believe when we review the "mound builders" the world over, or the "mountains in mythology" concept the world over, we are seeing "pyramid theory" in action. What is the basic concept for which a "pyramid" was even conceived? Or even "mound building", or "mountain lore in mythology"? We are mising the bigger picture, because are are lacking the concept itself. What is it? If the concept is understood, or even appreciated, we will see the a "pyramid" when unfolded takes the shape of a circle! Now, we have the basis for our "circle" structures which coexist and hold hands with "pyramids": they are directly related and cannot be divorced one from the other. What is the "theory" itself, the concept in other words, which caused anyone to devote time and effort into expressing it: as an original matter here. Why the world over? Is an American Indian "teepee" none other than this concept in play? Recover the "concept" (the theory for it) and the answers will start flowing in, and the world text take on a meaning which can now be understood, and even appeciated: whether they are right or wrong in our individual views, we will at least 'know' what we are seeing.
Posted by Pyramidtheoryman on March 5,2010 | 09:14 AM
Nice post. The San Agustín Archaeological Park is located in Huila. Double SelfThis statue represents the guardians as well as the warrior which were engraved on the stone.El Partero who represents the male mid wife, El Obispo which means the bishop. La Fuente de Lavapatas is the most pretentious art work. For more details refer http://www.theearthtraveler.com/kbhw-ntrw-the-pyramid-of-djoser.html
Posted by Mack on February 16,2010 | 04:16 AM
+ View All Comments