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.
After the bodies were prepared, they were wrapped in bands of fine linen, and on the inside of these was spread a peculiar kind of gum. There were sometimes a thousand yards of these bands on a single body.
After they were thus prepared, a soft substance was placed around the bandaged body. This covering, when it hardened, kept the body in a complete state of preservation.
