Oh not sharing outside of family. Incorporating themselves into a greater purpose.

Perhaps even thinking that by adding themselves into it they would be more likely to get what they want (immortality) AND make the structure work better through incorporating their greatness. That would suit the essential narcisstic personality of an Egyptian ruler.

Originally posted by Aeons

Originally posted by Hanslune
Is your idea Aeon that the Egyptians dug into an existing structure or that the pyramids had another use and was built for that AND as a tomb?

Something like that. That the structure was being built, and that current rulers were incorporated into the structure upon death. It being a great honour to be included in the structure, AND a fantastic way of stirring the hearts of the Egyptians. Egypt is "included" in the great endevour in the body of the pharoh.

If by "incorporated" you mean included in the official necropolis, then yes that certainly was done. But if you mean "family tombs" were other individuals were placed after their deaths, then that was generally limited to spouses (although there is the tomb of the "two brothers"... who may not have been brothers and may have been lovers). Queens' pyramids were much smaller than the pharaoh's pyramids, and tombs of the princes and princesses generally weren't pyramid in shape.

After the great necropolis began to be looted, the priests began secretly removing the bodies of the pharaohs and their families and placing them in hidden tombs in the Valley of Kings. Here they were jumbled together because there were a limited number of tombs. Many bodies lost some or all of their exterior coffins, and some had been damaged. Many ended up without identification... nameless.

And that would have been horrifying to the ancient Egyptians. Your name needed to be recorded so you would live forever.

Originally posted by Aeons
Oh not sharing outside of family. Incorporating themselves into a greater purpose.

Perhaps even thinking that by adding themselves into it they would be more likely to get what they want (immortality) AND make the structure work better through incorporating their greatness. That would suit the essential narcisstic personality of an Egyptian ruler.

They were guaranteed immortality (in their religion) because they were the High God descended to Earth. Their tombs were filled with ushabtis and carved statues of people and so forth and painted with scenes including offerings. To them, these objects would come alive in the afterlife and nourish the deceased (including the king, who would be riding in the solar boat along with Osiris and battling the great monster of the underworld each night) and would work for him if any work needed doing.

I always loved the spell carved into the ushabtis: If the "Osiris Ani" (the deceased) be decreed to do any of the work which is to be done in Khert-Neter (paradise), let everything which standeth in the way be removed from him- whether it be to plough the fields, or to fill the channels with water, or to carry sand from the East to the West. The Shabti Figure replieth: I will do it, verily I am here when thou callest”

I own a little ushabti that I bought back when it was legal to buy such things. I wear her as a necklace when I'm going off to work sometimes... it amuses me to fantasize that she's off in the afterlife doing her work and may enjoy being taken out to watch someone else work.

There has never been a single tomb of an Old Kingdom pharaoh discovered with a body still in the alleged tomb.

There is a reason for that, (other than grave robbing) there was a family that I believe was descended from the priestly class, that removed the mummies and hid them to keep them safe from grave robbers. They had them stashed away for more than two millenia.




I seem to remember reading that most of the pharoas mummies have now been recovered.

Originally posted by DangerDeath
Pyramids are not tombs and they are not temples.
What they are, nobody knows. How they were built, I believe, nobody knows either. And when I'm told they were built in 20 years, I turn around and run away from those...

OK, so can you explain the whole, finding Egyptian Pharaohs in them...perfectly preserved...

We're kinda getting away from the original topic. Let's save pyramids for another thread, okay?