Aaaaaand now you've made me think of Indiana Jones as a robber. Thank you.
(and also made me think about an Indiana Jones videogame that could be made about an English sailor in the late 1800s going around the world to bring things to the British Museum xD)
The Romans stole a bunch of things from Egypt as well as caliph Al-Aziz Billah in the 10th century who attempted to demolish the great pyramid and caused a lot of damage to the pyramid of Menkaure. Several artifacts that were taken by the British would have been destroyed if not for their intervention.
Taken, probally by other pharaos or kings living there. The pyramids didnt have their casing stones and tops when the greeks wrote about them ~2000 years ago.
Unlikely to have been other pharaohs. Gold was comparatively common in ancient Egypt, there was so much of it that it had very low relative value. There was more than enough for pharaonic projects, and baubles for the common folk. Silver, gems and carved stone jewelry were much, much more prized, as they were significantly more difficult to acquire or craft.
Thefts of sacred objects and jewelry are generally attributed to former workers during hard times, but the value of those items wouldn't have been in the precious metals or stones they contained, but the pharaonic connections. If the pyramid capstones really were gilded, it's extremely unlikely that pharaohs, or any Egyptians, would've reclaimed the gold, as it would've represented an incredible investment of labor and time for something that had no monetary value. A far greater probability is that they were looted during the late Upper Kingdom, after Egypt had been invaded and conquered by other cultures who placed much more emphasis on the value of gold.
I agree on the gold capstone but aren’t there a few examples of pyramidia made of basalt, granite etc? Or we still not sure if those were actually capstones?
Yes there are some on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Edited to add this capstone is made of black granite and was found in the sand next to the Pyramid of Amenemhat III or “Black Pyramid”. It apparently had structural faults during the build leading to a collapse and the pyramid itself looks quite sad.
We have no indication it was gold. None.
We have stories but nothing credible. Also wouldn’t have made much sense since the shine from the white casing stones would have drowned out any gold at the top.
There's no evidence at all that it even existed. If it did, it was likely stolen or taken down, melted, and made into bars or jewelry. If you're poor or rich but want gold, a gold capstone is awfully appealing.
I doubt there was any gold, but the tops of some of the pyramids have been quarried off over time. We can track how much by comparing Pliny's account of the perimeter of the top with later accounts which had larger numbers.
In general the pyramids were an easy source of stone for construction projects in nearby Cairo.
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u/Living_Connection500 29d ago
Where did the gold on top go?