Pyramids were found in South America and ancient Egypt. At first, many believed that pyramids were built as final resting places for the pharaohs buried, but as of late, the general assumption is that they were a mere tool to get the pharaohs to the heavens where they could be with their gods. Evidence of this is all the perfectly designed shafts that run throughout the pyramids, one in specific leading from a pharaoh’s tomb, all the way to the top, almost like a clear-cut path to the heavens.
One of the most interesting things about the pyramids is of the 90 or so built in ancient Egypt, none were built near the supplies needed to build them. This raises many questions, including, how they transported over a million stones. First of all, to transport the massive limestone blocks they had to cover three different legs: first, they needed to move from the quarry to the Nile. The theories of how they did this vary; one states that they used wooden rollers almost as a cart, another says they pulled the blocks using a sled, and finally one states that sheer manpower was used to pull the blocks using ropes.
The second leg of the journey was going down the Nile to the bank near the construction and to the worksite itself. This, thought to be the simplest of the legs, was done by boat. Lastly, the final leg was to get the blocks onto the higher parts of the pyramids. Probably the most daunting task of the three, there are three main ideas of how they got them up there. The first is that they built a large ramp against one of the faces of the pyramid, and as they worked, gradually built it up. The second theory is they built a ramp on the pyramid that spiralled around to the top.
The final theory is a combination of the first two, a large ramp, leading up to a spiral located on the pyramid. The Great Pyramid of Khufu, located in Giza, was the world’s tallest structure at one point. This earned it credentials to be known as one of the seven wonders of the world. Ziggurats were found in Mesopotamia. Ziggurats are believed to have been built as a house for the gods, or as a temple. Ziggurats were not built like pyramids; they were layered like a staircase, although, they did have smooth ramps that lead to the entrance.
Just like the pyramids, only high authority, priests, and gods were allowed to enter the Ziggurats. This was because the Mesopotamians treated them as extremely religious temples. Ziggurats are multi-storied structures; usually they were seven stories or layers to represent the seven planets of the heavens. Different from the pyramids, there were no shafts within the Ziggurat, just a temple on top. They also did not use limestone like the Egyptians did, they used mud brick. Although it seemed more efficient to use these mud bricks, time has taken its tole on the Ziggurats, and all that remains is its foundation. Whether it be purpose, construction, location, etc. , the pyramids and the ziggurats have many differences and similarities. Nathan Zakoor
References
http://www. studymode. com/essays/Pyramids-Ziggurats-62222. html http://www. differencebetween. net/miscellaneous/difference-between-ziggurats-and-pyramids/ http://www. mentalfloss. com/difference/pyramid-vs-ziggurat/ http://www. quora. com/How-did-ancient-Egyptians-transport-the-massive-amounts-of-heavy-stones-that-were-used-to-build-the-Pyramids
