Editing Egyptian pyramids (section)

==Pyramid symbolism==
[[File:Great Pyramid S-N Diagram.svg|thumb|350x350px|Diagram of the interior structures of the Great Pyramid. The inner line indicates the pyramid's present profile, the outer line indicates the original profile.]]
The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the [[Benben|primordial mound]] from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape of a pyramid is also thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance. Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to solar luminescence. For example, the formal name of the [[Bent Pyramid]] at [[Dahshur]] was ''The Southern Shining Pyramid'', and [[Pyramid of Senusret II|that of Senusret II]] at [[El Lahun]] was ''Senusret Shines''.{{fact|date=April 2024}}

While it is generally agreed that pyramids were burial monuments, there is continued disagreement on the particular theological principles that might have given rise to them. One suggestion is that they were designed as a type of "resurrection machine."<ref name="Peeters">{{cite book |first=Toby |last=Wilkinson |title=Egypt at its Origins. Studies in Memory of Barbara Adams Proceedings of the International Conference "Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt", Krakow, 28th August – 1st September 2002 |date=2004 |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-1469-8 |page=1142 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z169xREnHQwC&q=pyramids+%22resurrection+machine%22&pg=PA1141 |access-date=18 June 2015 |chapter=Before the Pyramids |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518173141/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z169xREnHQwC&q=pyramids+%22resurrection+machine%22&pg=PA1141 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Egyptians believed the [[circumpolar star|dark area]] of the [[night sky]] around which the stars [[diurnal motion|appear to revolve]] was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the narrow shafts that extend from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly towards [[celestial pole|the center]] of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been designed to serve as a means to magically launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode of the gods.<ref name="Peeters"/>

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which, as the site of the [[sunset|setting sun]], was associated with the realm of the dead in [[Egyptian mythology]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/hiddenhistoryofegypt/feature6.shtml |title=Discovery Channel Nederland |publisher=Discoverychannel.co.uk |access-date=2012-11-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205175232/http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/hiddenhistoryofegypt/feature6.shtml |archive-date=5 December 2004}}</ref>