OLD KINGDOM

period of Egyptian history encompassing the 4th to the 8th dynasties and lasting from about 2575 to about 2130 Bc . The Old Kingdom was the first of the three great periods of Egyptian civilization and was especially notable for the building of the pyramids, which served as royal burial places. The best-known archeological remains in Egypt are the 4th-dynasty Pyramids of Giza. These large structures symbolized the absolute sovereignty of Egypt's kings, but the decreasing size of later pyramids evinces the gradual lessening of the kings' power and the growth of a powerful provincial nobility. With the end of the 8th dynasty the Old Kingdom state collapsed. The period that followed is known as the First Intermediate Period (c. 21301938 BC).