The Egyptian Pyramids There are several reasons why pyramids were being built in Egypt during the times between 3,000 – 1,000 B.C. First of all, the pyramids were to be used for funerary monuments. During this time period Egypt had been divided into great dynasties known as the Predynastic period. The Old Kingdom, what was known as the sixth dynasty for counting back to historic times, conveyed the Egyptian sense of continuity, the overwhelming importance of the pharaoh, the king, who was a supreme ruler and a god. The pharaoh was known as an absolute divine to the Egyptian people. These monumental pyramids have been built for