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The ruins of 35 major pyramids still stand near the Nile River in Egypt. Each pyramid was built to protect the body of an Egyptian king. Scholars believe that the pyramid shape has religious meaning to the Egyptians. The sloping sides may have reminded the Egyptians of the slanting rays of the sun, by which the soul of a king could climb to the sky and join the gods.The first step pyramid was built some time in the middle of the 2600s B.C. Imotep designed the step pyramid for King Zoser. Instead of using mud brick he used stone. His builders placed one flat-topped structure on top of another. They made each level a few feet smaller than the one below it. Pyramid building reached it's heights during the Old Kingdom. These Egyptian pyramids are among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. |