November 3, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A
Archaeology day at History
Center brings pyramids to life
By Rebecca Herren
For Cannon Beach Gazette
The Egyptian pyramids
are some of the most majestic
man-made structures in history.
Their massive scale reflects the
role a pharaoh or king played
in ancient Egyptian society.
The pyramids began being
built in the Old Kingdom and
more than 4,000 years later,
they continue to retain much of
their majesty while providing a
glimpse into Egypt’s past.
Dr. Sarah Sterling of Port-
land State University made a
return trip to Cannon Beach on
Oct. 24 for a presentation on
“Why Build the Pyramids?”
as part of a joined partnership
with the Cannon Beach History
Center and Museum and Inter-
national Archaeology Day.
From the Dynastic Era to
the Great Pyramids of Giza,
many years were spent per-
fecting the structure and much
of it depended on the skill set
of the workers. Early tombs
were carved into the rock and
covered with flat-roofed struc-
tures. The earliest known pyra-
mid can be contributed to third
dynasty King Djoser and the
step pyramid. These pyramids
were made of stone, and later
with granite, as opposed to the
precursor of mud-brick mate-
rial. All materials, according
to Sterling, were locally and
abundantly sourced and did
not need to be imported from a
great distance.
The earliest smooth-sid-
ed tomb constructed was the
Red Pyramid at Dahshur, one
of three burial structures built
for King Sneferu. King Khufu,
Sneferu’s successor, built the
first pyramid in Giza.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
took nearly 20 years to build.
At the time, it was more than
481 feet tall, and remains to-
day, as the tallest man-made
structure of the ancient, seven
wonders of the world. “It was
made with more than two mil-
lion cubic meters of stone,”
Sterling said.
As pyramids grew in size,
they became a complex of
courtyards, chapels, causeways
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The second pyramid in Giza, which included the Sphinx.
and shrines. Multiple chambers
were built inside the structure.
Drawings on interior walls sig-
nified activities the dead would
do in the afterlife — similar to
real life activities such as fish-
ing and hunting.
Pyramids were built as part
of the belief system for the
afterlife, Sterling said. King
Khufu believed the Great Pyr-
amid was his stairway to heav-
en. “Egyptians didn’t feel that
death was the end, but that the
afterlife was the beginning.”
However, not just kings, pha-
raohs and the wealthy received
afterlife burials, “anyone could
have an afterlife burial, they
just had to pay for it,” she said,
adding, “some burials were
quick and dirty, while others
were more elaborate.”
Sterling explained the pro-
cess of the afterlife. First, the
soul must make a journey.
Some organs such as the lungs,
liver, intestines and stomach
must be removed and put into
hollow canopic jars before the
journey could begin. “The soul
of the living body — the life
force — can only travel without
the putrefying elements, and
that’s why they are removed,”
Sterling said. The journey must
also be done at night, and if not
successful, “the dead would re-
main dead.”
Bodies are wrapped in
linen bandages as part of the
mummification process. Early
mummification was just the
skeleton wrapped in linen, not
like the later mummification
techniques, Sterling explained.
Charms and amulets were
added as protection. The open-
ing of the mouth ceremony
allowed the soul to speak and
breath during its journey. Death
masks allowed the soul to see
as it made its journey at night.
All this, according to Sterling,
was about packaging so the
bodies could be reassembled
later. “Like IKEA kits for the
afterlife,” she mused.
A king’s tomb was a state-
ment of their wealth. Some
kings were buried with their
royal household, boats and
other luxuries to accompany
them to the afterlife. King Aha
had three lions slaughtered and
King Djer had his royal harem
buried with him. The practice
of human sacrifice ceased by
the third dynasty.
When asked about the fate
of the structures, Sterling said
there is a concern since pyra-
mids are in danger of deterio-
rating due to climate change,
as well as the threat of theft
and destruction by terrorists
groups, and the selling of an-
tiquities on the black market.
Sterling has overseen exca-
vations around the world and
spent between five to six years
at digs in Egypt. She is an as-
sistant professor in the anthro-
pology department at Portland
State University. She lectures
and publishes on topics relat-
ed to Old Kingdom pyramids,
economics and ceramics.
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