The Horse That Found the Pyramid Builders' Tombs #Shorts
Pack: 59 - The Horse That Found the Pyramid Builders' Tombs
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In 1990, as Zahi Hawass tells it, a tourist's horse tripped over a buried mudbrick wall at Giza. Behind it lay the tombs of the people who built the pyramids, and they were not slaves. ▶ Full documentary on our channel: https://youtu.be/WYrRb3q1h50
- Hawass's team found hundreds of tombs of pyramid builders and their overseers, buried near the pyramids of the kings they served (Hawass, Archaeology 1997; AP 2010).
- The tombs carry titles such as "overseer of the east side of the Pyramid", and the site yielded bread and beer jars (NOVA, Hawass interview).
- Nearby, Mark Lehner's team excavated the workers' town, with bakeries and the bones of cattle, sheep, goats and fish (AERA); gangs had names like "Friends of Khufu" (NOVA).
- The work was labour owed to the king, an obligation rather than a free choice, but the builders were Egyptians, fed and housed, not slaves (AERA; Lehner).
If you could ask one pyramid builder a question, what would it be? Tell us in the comments. Full story in our documentary, The Full History of Egypt. 🔔 Subscribe for a new forgotten story every day: https://www.youtube.com/@Shadowfetchtube?sub_confirmation=1
Quick answers
What is “The Horse That Found the Pyramid Builders' Tombs” about?
In 1990, as Zahi Hawass tells it, a tourist's horse tripped over a buried mudbrick wall at Giza. Behind it lay the tombs of the people who built the pyramids, and they were not slaves. ▶ Full documentary on our channel: https://youtu.be/WYrRb3q1h50
What are the key facts?
Hawass's team found hundreds of tombs of pyramid builders and their overseers, buried near the pyramids of the kings they served (Hawass, Archaeology 1997; AP 2010). The tombs carry titles such as "overseer of the east side of the Pyramid", and the site yielded bread and beer jars (NOVA, Hawass interview).
What sources is this Short based on?
It cites AP via CBS News, More Evidence Slaves Didn't Build Pyramids (Jan 11, 2010); Z. Hawass, Tombs of the Pyramid Builders, Archaeology 50:1 (1997); NOVA, Interview with Zahi Hawass; NOVA, Who Built the Pyramids?; and 2 more. Links are in the Sources list below.
Sources
- AP via CBS News, More Evidence Slaves Didn't Build Pyramids (Jan 11, 2010)
- Z. Hawass, Tombs of the Pyramid Builders, Archaeology 50:1 (1997)
- NOVA, Interview with Zahi Hawass
- NOVA, Who Built the Pyramids?
- AERA, Animal Bones and the Silo Building Complex
- Live Science, How 10,000 Pyramid Builders Got Fed (2013)
Images
- Pyramides et le Sphinx, 1860s–70s — Félix Bonfils, The Met — CC0 —
- The three pyramids of Giza from the air, c. 1930s — Matson Collection, Library of Congress — Public domain —
- Model bakery and brewery, tomb of Meketre, c. 1981–1975 BCE — The Met — CC0 —
- The Great Pyramid of Giza — Jorge Láscar — CC BY 2.0 —
- Relief fragment with King Khufu's cattle, c. 2551–2528 BCE — The Met — CC0 —
- Ivory statuette of Khufu, Egyptian Museum, Cairo — Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 —
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