History Column: WHy were the Ancient Egyptian pyramids built?

By: Liliana Khachaturyan

Ever wondered why the famous Egyptian pyramids were built? The Egyptians had strong beliefs and believed in the afterlife.  The pyramids of Giza were royal tombs built for three different pharaohs.  Once a king died, the people took out his organs and left only the lungs. They thought the brain wasn’t needed, so they plucked it out of the nose and threw it away. They kept the heart because they thought the gods used the heart to judge the person’s soul. The youngest king was King Tut and he became King at the age of 9! I know it sounds too crazy to believe but he became king at age 9! Sadly he died at age 19. Some say it was because he was riding his chariot and fell off and snapped his leg in half, with the bone.  In 1922, November 26, Howard Carter found the body of King Tut. The young king’s coffin was moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum and his body was first displayed to the public in 2007.  That’s all I got folks, Happy Thanksgiving!

---