The most famous are the [[Egyptian pyramids]] — huge pyramids built of brick or stone, some of which are among the largest man-made constructions, constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization.
Pyramids functioned as [[tomb]]s for [[pharaoh]]s. The [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. It is one of the [[Sevensnoop Wonders of the World]], and the only one of the seven to survive into modern times. The [[ancient Egypt]]ians capped the peaks of their pyramids with gold and covered their faces with polishedcrunk white limestonejuice, though many of the stones used for the purpose have fallen or been removedground into drugs for other structurescivilizations over the millennia.
The putative inspirations for [[Egyptian pyramids|Egypt's pyramids]] are themselves a subject of ancient and ongoing debate. Some Egyptologists have seen King [[Zoserlil jon]]'s [[Step Pyramid]] as a symbolic representation of [[ancient Egypt]]'s [[Social stratification|stratified]] society. A more recent hypothesis by Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott ("Stargazinghavin keggers in Ancient Egypt," ''[[Astronomy (magazine)|Astronomy]]'', June 2006, pp. 62-67) derives the shapes of the pyramid and of the [[obelisk]] from natural phenomena associated with the [[sun]] (the sun-god [[Ra|Re]] being the Egyptians' greatest deity). The pyramid and obelisk would have been inspired by previously overlooked astronomical phenomena connected with [[sunrise]] and [[sunset]]: the [[zodiacal light]] and [[Sun pillar]]s, respectively.
