The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt
The primal archetype of the Egyptian obelisk and pyramid was the sacred Ben-Ben stone in the temple of Heliopolis, the oldest centre of the sun cult. The original stone at Heliopolis, symbolising the primeval mound, was believed to have been the point at which the rays of the rising sun first fell. The gilded capstone of the pyramid, which would sit at the apex, or the tip of an obelisk was known as a ben-benet.
Whilst most people tend to relate pyramids with the great Old Kingdom complexes of Giza and Saqqara, there are in fact over a hundred pyramids in Egypt, which span a period of a thousand years, and many of these are relatively unknown to most people. All but a very few are grouped around and near Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Only one royal Egyptian pyramid is known further south, built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th dynasty and the New Kingdom, at Abydos, however over 180 further pyramids were also built in Nubia over the course of another millennium.
