Pyramids and Sphinx

The last wonder of the Ancient world

Timeline for the Pyramids of Giza

2630 BCE First pyramid is built at Saqqara, Egypt.

2600 BCE The step pyramid is built by Pharaoh Zoser (Djoser).

2550 BCE - 2528 BCE The Great Pyramid is constructed by Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops).

2520 BCE Pyramid of Khafre is built at Giza.

2490 BCE Pyramid of Menkaure is built at Giza.

Further on, the great solar barge of Khufu, which is the oldest intact ship extant, was found buried in a pit near the Great Pyramid in 1954 CE. Dating from 2500 BCE.

Near the Pyramid complex there are a number of smaller structures known as the Queens Pyramids. It is uncertain who was buried beneath these pyramids but evidence suggests they were the tombs of Hetepheres I (Khufu's mother), Meretites (Khufu's wife) and a later queen named Henutsen.

The pyramids were once encased in polished limestone which, according to ancient writers, reflected the light of the sun brilliantly. The limestone was stripped away over the years for use in other building projects, most notably the mosques of Cairo.

The sides of all three of the Giza pyramids were oriented astronomically to be precisely north-south and east-west within a small fraction of a degree.The original layout of the necropolis at Giza seems to have been very precise and well-ordered but, after the end of the Old Kingdom, other tombs were dug without regard for the original pattern.

Recent excavations have uncovered tombs of high officials, magistrates, and supervisors of building projects, as well as monuments honoring the Egyptian workers who labored on the pyramids and others who were employed and lived in the immediate vicinity.

Giza is a plateau southwest of modern

Cairo which served as the necropolis

for the royalty of the Old Kingdom

of Egypt.

Most famous pyramids are of

Khufu (completed in 2550 BCE)
Khefre (2520 BCE)
Menkaure (2490 BCE)

and the Great Sphinx (built 2500 BCE),

The Great Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the pyramid of Cheops, the pharaoh's Greek name) is the last remaining of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World and rises to a height of 481 feet (147 metres).

The pyramid of Khafre is 471 feet tall(144 metres) and that of Menkaure rises to 213 feet (65 metres).

PYRAMIDS OF GIZA and builders pharaohs

The Pharaohs builders of Giza Pyramids

DISCOVER YOURSELF EGYPT

KHUFU - KEOPS

The oldest and largest of the three pyramids at Giza, known as the Great Pyramid, is the only surviving structure out of the famed seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built for Khufu (Cheops, in Greek), Sneferu’s successor and the second of the eight kings of the fourth dynasty. Though Khufu reigned for 23 years (2589-2566 B.C.), relatively little is known of his reign beyond the grandeur of his pyramid. Three small pyramids built for Khufu’s queens are lined up next to the Great Pyramid, and a tomb was found nearby containing the empty sarcophagus of his mother, Queen Hetepheres. Like other pyramids, Khufu’s is surrounded by rows of mastabas, where relatives or officials of the king were buried to accompany and support him in the afterlife.

KHAFRE - KEFREN

The middle pyramid at Giza was built for Khufu’s son Khafre (2558-2532 B.C). A unique feature built inside Khafre’s pyramid complex was the Great Sphinx, a guardian statue carved in limestone with the head of a man and the body of a lion.

MENKAURA - MIKERINOS

The southernmost pyramid at Giza was built for Khafre’s son Menkaure (2532-2503 B.C.). It is the shortest of the three pyramids (218 feet) and is a precursor of the smaller pyramids that would be constructed during the fifth and sixth dynasties.