[Illustration]
Not far from Cairo, which is now the principal city of Egypt, are the
famous pyramids. These are of such immense proportions, that from a
distance their tops seem to reach the clouds.
They are constructed of blocks of stone. Some of these blocks are of
great size, and how the builders ever put them into their places, is a
question we can not answer.
It is supposed that the construction of one of these pyramids required
more than twenty years' labor from thousands of men.
The largest pyramid is four hundred and sixty-one feet high, seven
hundred and forty-six feet long at the base, and covers more than twelve
acres of ground. In all, sixty-seven of these pyramids have been
discovered and explored.
They are the tombs in which the ancient kings and their families were
buried. In the interior of these pyramids, many chambers were
constructed to contain their stone coffins.
It has been calculated that one of the principal pyramids could contain
three thousand seven hundred rooms of large size.
The bodies of those who were buried in the pyramids were preserved from
decay by a secret process, known only to the priests.
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