A Note on the Pyramids of Giza

 the pyramids at giza are believed to have taken between ten and sixty years to complete. this immense work was the the result of a change in administration of the pharaoh rulership and a sudden urge to perpetuate the line of kings through some work of noble note. little is known, however of the efforts required to keep the stones clean after they were built. on the assumption that the empire would last for ever, or at least until the end of the decreed last ruler's lifetime, the pyramids were to be maintained at a regular basis, involving a stringent cleaning and rejuvenation program. for this process, a special committee was established by the pharaoh khafre. this committee was composed of qualified engineers, who co ordinated the cleaning projects, and thousands - if not by the end of the civilization: millions in total- of highly trained cleaners, who were responsible for scrubbing to perfection the limestone blocks. the interior passage ways, and tombs were not permitted access to as these were considered sacred, and protected by the spirit of the deceased pharaohs and queen. as the cleaners started to get ever more demanding and rise in ranks, the committee sought out immigrants from canaan to join their group and do the labors for lesser wages. due to their proximity to the nile storks would build their nests near the top of the pyramid, leaving sticks, reeds, stones, eggshells, and excrement on he slabs. the first few generations had an easier task because weathering had not set in yet, and the slabs were still crisp and sharply defined since their laying out.  the façade was cleaned with a mixture of water and a briny detergent that was produced by the husks of certain local plants. the scrubbers often woke at dawn and scrubbed till midnight the next day, with only a few small breaks in-between to have their meals. because of the great height, the scrubbers had to use ropes fashioned from the barks of trees to secure themselves.  often these would slide out of grip or snap entirely, leaving a high possibility of casualty for the cleaners. wooden planks were inserted in the cracks of the slabs which enabled the workers to stand on them, since the side of the pyramids were sloping and smooth. often workers would drink on the job, even though was strictly prohibited, and the rebellious of them would sneak pints of beer up to the cleaning location and get drunk while on the job. there was a general wonderment at the grande scale and sheer power that the pyramids  displayed, but in many senses, the cleaners felt that this laborious process of scrubbing and washing was beneath them. they often mocked the great pharaohs and their descendants, feeling their inferiority in the presence of their tombs. but this was merely a passing fashion, just as any hard worker had to release the tension from his toils by laughing at some object of overwhelming superiority. for they knew that this job had fallen to their lot, and being locked in to the grand cosmic plan of the gods, the toil was to be passed onto their sons and the sons of their sons until the end of time, until the great flood  and the coming of Ra and Nut. the first generations felt that their duty was sacred however, and did not doubt that the high priests, queens and the pharaoh were smiling at them from their resting places. they did not doubt that the  sprit of the pharaoh entombed in the great mountain of stone was in some way grateful for the work that they did, and they held that a great reward was in store for them on account of their tireless efforts. it was not until the next few generations that an element of scrutiny and skepticism set in regarding the possible futility of their struggles.  but it was passed down orally that son unto son, that the pyramids must at all costs be a beacon of hope and light for all who lived under the eyes of the gods, and that their splendid whiteness must be preserved at all costs. separate traditions arose within families of cleaners, which outlined how such and such laborer had played a game of dice on the side of the pyramid and losing was forced to do an entire row of slabs as a punishment. stories were told of how old members of the caste were allowed to die on the exposed slabs in order for their bodies to be consumed by the vultures, a practice which was observed for example by the foreigners. the cleaning  process itself was simple, a pail was fetched from the nearby well and fill with the necessary materials, a scrub made from brushwood and twigs was used to remove dirt from the blocks. then they were left to dry exposed to sunlight. sometimes it was tiresome to carry the pails up to the top of the pyramid (using  a network of ladders), so a system of pulleys had to be crafted, which would draw the pails up to the top and transport them back down again to be refilled by the laborers below. other dangers and difficulties threatened the workers which lurked at the summit of the pyramids, amongst there were the prospect of being attacked by aggressive nesting birds, other times, and in what was quite often the case, bugs and flies would whizz in and out of the tiny cracks between the slabs and land on the workers faces as they were scrubbing the bricks.  at the top of the pyramid, danger increased exponentially, as there was little room for attaching planks or copper clamps and cams for standing or roping up. in this case a harness was used which was clamped into the spaces between the slabs and then the holes were filled in with mortar to prevent them from weakening. wind was also a problem at the certain height, mixed with sand blown in from the distant dunes, these often left the workers faces red and scarred as a layer of skin was pealed away, much the same way as the layers of dirt were peeled from the white bricks. of course the immediate concern was getting sun burned  not only from direct sunlight but from the reflection of the bright slabs. the egyptian heat was dry and parching, and often left the workers thirsty after merely an half hours cleaning. many workers were dehydrated by the time they finished their shift and returned to the barracks spent and apathetic. at nighttime there was the risk of coming across vandals or grave robbers who attempted to break in to the pyramids or desecrate its walls, that is why at night workers were advised to keep weapons on their person to defend themselves if an altercation did occur. the cleaners themselves held a festival in which they worshipped the patron god of their order, on these days of celebration and relief a joke would circulate the cleaners, that it was by sheer irony that their reward in heaven was to continue cleaning the pyramids which had been erected there too. in this way it seemed like the toil of the cleaner would never end. of course the scrubbers never indulged too long in this mockery of their lineage, and hoped rather for an afterlife of repose. the cleaners often felt at odds with the townsfolk in general, especially since they spent a majority of time on the outskirts of the city living in special enclaves which catered to their needs specifically. often seen as a downtrodden caste, the scrubbers often loathed entering the towns for fear of being mocked. however stories of bravery eventually trickled down through the descendants of the townfolk - of how they survived curses, ghosts, beatings, lashings, famine etc. and some respect was given to them in due right. sometimes the process seemed futile, in particular in later generations once the stones had become battered by winds. by the time  90% of the façade was cleaned, the initial 10% had already become dirty again. so it was rather like a cat chasing its own tail around the building. since there was no technology to provide an overview of their own efforts and the percentage of its completion, they had to rely on eye witness accounts to make sure they had covered the whole façade of all the pyramid. this was somewhat easier with the queens pyramids than the larger ones. often, patches of grey would appear, which had to be reworked  by the same team of scrubbers, taking its toll on their health and vitality. the engineers looked with hope to the tech advancements of future generations, and hypothesized often of temple complexes with built in cleaning facilities, such as fountains emanating from the pinnacle which would drain down the slabs and using a mix of acid and detergent which would  simply clean off the walls with he aid of gravity. of course rain did not help much in the process because the water was often mixed with chemicals and acid from the nearby swamps that stained the slabs further. although initially it would dissolve some of the sand that had stuck to the sides, towards the base, mud deposits would build up, doubling the workloads of the scrubbers. the education of the future scrubbers was entrusted to specialized teachers who created schematics on papyrus of the pyramids and drew on previous knowledge to indicate how long a cleaning and upkeep session would take. the faith in the usefulness of this upkeep was instilled in the children at a young age, imprinting in them a picture of a utopian kingdom in which pyramids rose to the sky, built by engineers who had other worldly wisdom and science. did the workers ever expect this technology to improve in a linear fashion however? merely from recollection they knew that other civilizations had come and gone in the past and also in the times they lived. relics of ancient  pre pharaonic kingdoms were to be found in the deserts, their worn down facades nothing but a heap of rubble. possibly this left them disheartened at the thought that their own lineage would fade into obscurity. but they also wondered if some future civilization might replace them, and a new set of tasks keep them occupied. maybe a new kingdom would arise in the west, where different structure required upkeep and dedicated scrubbers. after all was there any way to see outside the confines of ones own generation? the steles and manuscripts and papyrus was the only indicator of the generations come and gone, and often they left a blurry picture of the past. it seemed difficult to gain a birds eye perspective on the progress of the civilization. superstition and fanciful thinking led many prophets and soothsayers to predict the extinction of the kingdom, by great floods, asteroids, earthquakes, or civil strife and famine. surely all that one could remember was the existence of the kingdom stretching ack infinitely through time. and even within this distance, the need for maintenance and supervision of the architecture would be required. as aforementioned within the caste of the scrubbers there arose a level of competition such that ranks were formed.  as the upkeep of the pyramids was required ever more by successive generations, the demands and tax grants required by the monarchy grew significantly, as a result the monarchy resorted to hiring outside workforces to join the leagues of the scrubbers. this caused a level of hatred and xenophobia to arise within them as these immigrants were often given the lowest rank in the hierarchy of cleaning. this involved crafting scrubbing devices and building utensils for cleaning and ascending the pyramids. often fights broke out,  which required the intervention of soldiers from the nearby town. the immigrants frowned upon by the indigenous workers were treated as lesser equals and given worse food, coarser beer, and worse living conditions to thrive in. they were often mistrusted as heretics, and their devotion to the pharaoh , the gods, the priests and the patrons was called into question. many times the foreigners built small shrines to their own gods which they placed in their housing quarters. several acts were promulgated as a result, forcing these newly immigrated to adopt to a certain extent the laws and traditions of the egyptians who they were now a part of. but as time went on , the foreigners assimilated better into society, and legends would arise of mixed race cleaners with extraordinary skills in climbing and cleaning. legend has it that a certain cananite by the name of misht'ar could climb to the top of the pyramids and clean the the keystone within a day, without the use of ropes or planks. he had often climbed the rocks and boulder in his homeland it was said, and had learned by  himself the skill of scaling flat , seemingly  perfectly smooth walls. it has now been countless generations since the first scrubbers were set to task, and the memory of the whiteness of the pyramids remains only in the tales recounted by the townsfolk. the pyramids having long since lost their shining shimmering lustre, and the outer layer having crumbled and been stripped away for use in other building projects, the work f the cleaners seems pointless to say the least. yet we continue to do our task even as the dawn of new civilizations and upheavals in our kindgom seem to be weighing upon us. no doubt the number of our caste have dwindled and our reputation is no longer what it used to be. around me the town has grown and with pollution and filth have spread which have affected the condition of the pyramids negatively. as we have come into contact with newer empires on the rise, we have had to deal with more looters, more vandals, and more discrimination from the invading forces.

[writing fiction will inevitably end up taking liberties with reality. if you are going to write a pseudo-historical account of some event, you cant be expected to fact check everything in the story. that wouldn't be fiction anymore, that would be a historical essay. part of the beauty of writing with   the internet available is that you can let it influence your creative writing process by researching ideas and facts.]