Fully-Equipped Tombs
c2500 BC
-2500 -2500
31.12E30.00N
ARC

GIZA, EGYPT
	The Great Pyramids at Giza are colossal tombs for Egyptian kings, made of limestone quarried near the building sites along the Nile River.
	This sacred work was not performed by slaves but by peasants during the flood season when they could not work in their fields.  The finished tombs were equipped with everything the Egyptians believed that the mummified pharaoh would need in the next life--the same things needed in this life, including the king's wife, high officials, and servants.
	The afterlife was perceived as similar to life on earth, but better.  Initially, it was open only to pharaohs, but later it was considered to be open to all.
	The Egyptians practiced mummification because they believed the soul was able to return to the body after death.
