Ancient Egypt By lexi.amar Period: 2686 BCE to 2130 BCE Old Kingdom Begin 2650 BCE First stone pyramid built in Saqqara for the pharaoh Djose 2500 BCE Building of Great Sphinx and Great Pyramid at Giza. Egyptians start experimenting with mummifying dead bodies 2100 BCE Book of the Dead starts being used in funeral ceremonies Period: 2055 BCE to 1730 BCE Middle Kingdom 1550 BCE Construction of many of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings 1332 BCE Tutankhamun ascends the throne at the age of nine; he dies just 10 years later 1274 BCE Pharaoh Rameses II claims victory against his enemies, the Hittites, at the Battle of Kadesh Period: Dec 24, 1550 to 1069 BCE New Kingdom