Pyramid not built by slaves?

Archaeologists have found evidence to support the notion that freelance workers have built pyramids in Egypt, not slaves as many believe.

Workers at the construction site excavated the tomb of pyramid builders of King Khufu in Giza city, Egypt.Photo: Reuters.

In ancient Egyptian films, audiences often see scenes of slaves working in the desert to build giant pyramids and the reward for their efforts is death.

But for years Egyptian archaeologists have found the tombs of builders in the city of Giza (opposite the capital Cairo over the banks of the Nile). According to Reuters, they date 4,510 years and are located near the pyramid of King Khufu.

'The tombs are buried close to the king's pyramid. That shows that they are not slaves, because slaves are not placed near the king's pyramid , "Reuters quoted Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. Hawass was the team leader who unearthed the tombs of the pyramid builder. He said that some graves have been found since the 1990s.

Human remains in a tomb near the pyramid in the city of Giza.Photo: Reuters.

According to Hawass, the builder's grave is one of Egypt's most important discoveries in the 20th and 21st centuries. They are the resting place of those who built the pyramid of King Khufu and Khafre. On the walls of the tombs there are drawings and writing that workers make. Workers call themselves "friends of King Khufu" - another sign that they are not slaves.

Hawass said that about 10,000 workers participated in the construction of the pyramid of King Khufu. Evidence collected by archaeologists shows that every day farmers in Egypt's delta and plateau send buffaloes and sheep to the construction site to provide food for workers. In return they do not have to pay taxes to the state.