,000 cubic feet for his pyramid, causeway, two temples, satellite pyramid, three queensÆ pyramids and officialsÆ mastabas means that KhufuÆs builders had to set in place a staggering 8,122 cubic feet of stone per day, a rate of one average size block every two or three minutes in a ten-hour day.
Once construction of the pyramid was complete and the pharaoh was entombed within, considerable resources were also devoted to the service of the monument. Funerary cults were responsible for, and for the most part carried out, an extremely professional daily administration. Duties included performing ceremonies in the pyramid temple, guarding and inspecting the equipment and premises, and accepting and distributing the daily offerings, or temple income. Detailed records were kept of the administrative life carried on within the pyramid temple, revealing that a significant number of people were employed in the operation of funerary cults. These records, as well as the very existence and scale of the pyramids, attest to the ancient EgyptiansÆ preoccupation with the afterlife.
Funerary cults were responsible for executing various daily activities in the pyramid temples; the specific purpose of these duties was to ensure that the dead pharaoh led a well-appointed existence in the afterlife. To do so, he needed to be brought everyday items like oils and fresh food. Other items essential for the afterlife would have been buried with him already, such as toiletries, furniture, games and musical instruments, clothing and shoes, and weapons. In addition to these basic appointments, DjoserÆs Step Pyramid contained ô40,000 vases, bowls, and dishes made of alabaster, quartz, marble, dolomite, and other valuable stone.ö Some pharaohsÆ pyramids even featured pits holding intact or dismantled boats, such as that of Khufu at Giza.
The Egyptians believed that their rulers continued to live on after death, but they believed it was in a paral...