What did they look like?

[Dingo667]

I know what the great pyramids were supposed to look like from reading about it. They were covered in polished white stone and had some sort of caps that were gold mixed with silver. One smaller pyramid was supposed to have been pink. Nice. Just now I felt that I would love to see a picture of how they looked like. Surely there must e thousands of people out there that like pyramids, have an artistic streak or are good with PSPro to give me something to look at. A short video would even be better.
Imagine my amazement when after entering many different searches, there were only two half arsed images showing what I wanted to see. One that looked like someone's not very good painting and the other looked like bad CGI.

Am I stupid? I tried:

'What did the pyramids originally look like'
'What did the pyramids look like new'
'What did the pyramids look like when they were built'

I expected 1000s of images, from naive paintings and new age stuff, to elaborate computer graphics.
All I want is to get a feel of what it was like when they were new and shiny, but whilst everyone is going on about who build them or how, nobody seems interested in the end product.

That was a long winded question to ask if anyone knows any good links to the original pyramid look?

I mean the fact that there is hardly anything out there is in itself quite a mystery. Unless I am useless at finding stuff...

 

[EnolaGaia]

Is this one of the ones you found?

 

[EnolaGaia]

... And is this the other one?

 

[EnolaGaia]

The reason I'm asking about these two images is because a while back someone asked me how the pyramids originally appeared. I, too, attempted to locate online 'artist conception' or 'reconstruction' images, and found nothing better than these two.

I agree with your claim that it's odd there don't seem to be more available images of their original appearance (no matter how speculative ...).

 

[Cultjunky]

This seems closer to the white stone gold capped idea you mention Dingo

http://www.unmuseum.org/kpyramid.htm

I search under 7 wonders ancient world image, but maybe there's a better one out there.

 

[Dingo667]

The two I mean were the one from EnlaGaia and the one from Cultjunkie :lol:
Thanks for the other one. Is that it though? Very strange if you ask me, they would go so well with UFOs and aliens on a poster.

 

[James_H]

Thanks Dingo, I had never heard of this

I can find references for the white cladding, but not the gold top, has anyone got a link?

On a related note, I had similar trouble finding pictures of what Stonehenge might have looked like with a roof on.

 

[Mythopoeika]

On a related note, I had similar trouble finding pictures of what Stonehenge might have looked like with a roof on.

Good point, James! Because I think Stonehenge did have a roof on it, a bit like a giant yurt.

 

[Pete Younger]

Stonehenge with roof.
http://www.puppiesandflowers.com/?p=151

 

[Mythopoeika]

Yes! That's pretty much how I envisaged it too.
All of that structure would have rotted away completely, and there'd be no trace of it.

 

[oldrover]

I can find references for the white cladding, but not the gold top, has anyone got a link?

The cap was covered in the gold silver alloy electrum. To be honest because of the new age stuff that sticks to the pyramids these days most of the links I found are the 'above tops secret' sort.

Also I'm sure the walls were sign written.

Found this BBC video;

http://egyptian-history.nuvvo.com/lesso ... -6-slash-6

 

[Mythopoeika]

I wonder what happened to the pyramid's cap?
Even it was a very thin sheet of metal, it would still have been quite a bit of metal.
OK, so it probably got looted and melted down...are there any old artifacts made of this metal?

...or was it simply a layer of leaf metal (like gold leaf)?

 

[oldrover]

Electrum was I think in fairly common use in the Ancient world. I've certainly heard of examples of it being use in Roman jewelry. Maybe they knicked the caps?

 

[James_H]

Pyramidion

It says they were often made of black granite and often coated in gold; very few survive.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Yup, gold leaf is mentioned in that Wikipedia article.

 

[Dingo667]

The video is very helpful. Looking at the pyramids like that I have to say they do look sort of out of place for the time. Almost like futuristic buildings that we are trying to build nowadays. Makes me wonder yet again how and why they came up with such a "modern" design. Were their other buildings similar in style at the time? I know of the temples and seem to remember that they also looked pretty sleek.