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Great Pyramid of Giza

Built by Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops)
Memphite Necropolis, Lower Egypt

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Summary

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built between 2589 and 2560 BC by Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), who benefited greatly from the pyramid experiments of his father Pharaoh Sneferu.

It is the largest of all Ancient Egyptian pyramids, and became one of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is without doubt the most famous example of Ancient Egyptian architecture, of the Bronze Age culture.

In addition, for almost four millennia, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world until it was overtaken by Lincoln Cathedral in the 14th-century AD.

It is the most northerly of the three pyramids at Giza, and is now part of UNESCO World Heritage Site known as 'the Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur.'

See also: Ancient Egyptian Art (3000-30 BC).

Height and Weight

The Great Pyramid of Giza is roughly 146.6 metres (481 ft) tall and covers an area of about 5.3 hectares (13 acres).

The pyramid's original height was slightly taller, but over the centuries, the outer casing stones have eroded, reducing its height.

Even so, it remained the tallest building in the world until the completion of the 160 metre-high central spire of Lincoln Cathedral, in 1311.

An estimated 2.3 limestone blocks were needed to build the pyramid, each averaging 2.5 tonnes in weight.

In addition, it also needed roughly 8,000 tonnes of granite, and 500,000 tonnes of mortar: a total weight of more than 6 million tonnes.

The total volume of Khufu's Pyramid is 2.6 million cubic metres (92.2 million cubic feet).

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History and Construction

The Great Pyramid of Giza dates back to the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu, who succeeded his father - Sneferu in 2589 BC.

It was the centrepiece of a larger pyramid complex that included two smaller pyramids, one for each of Khufu's wives, and several mastaba tombs for members of his family. (For more on pyramid complexes, see Ancient Egyptian Temples 3000-30 BC).

The pyramid's interior contains a small number of chambers and passages, including the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber, designed mainly to house Khufu's red granite sarcophagus and funerary equipment.

The construction of the pyramid is believed to have commenced early in Khufu's reign and required a substantial labour force, although estimates vary wildly between 100,000 and 15,000 workers.

The Ancient Greeks believed slaves were used to build the pyramids, but modern research shows that free men - mostly conscript workers and off-season agricultural labourers were used.

The main material used in the construction of the Great Pyramid was limestone, sourced from local quarries on the Giza Plateau. Other stone blocks were transported by boat along the Nile.

For the casing, the finest and whitest limestone was brought from Tura, some 10 kilometres to the southeast.

For the 'King's Chamber' inside the pyramid, blocks of granite - many weighing up to 80 tonnes - were imported from Aswan, in Upper Egypt, about 900 kilometres away.

A recent archaeological experiment conducted by stone expert Franck Burgoss attempted to answer the question:

How could two million blocks of limestone, each weighing more than 2.5 tonnes, have been cut at Ancient Egyptian quarries without modern tools and equipment?

The results of the experiment showed that roughly 3,500 quarry workers could have generated the 250 blocks per day needed to construct the Great Pyramid in 27 years.

Obviously a lot more workers were needed to transport, move, lift and fix the blocks into the pyramidal structure.

The actual on-site construction process of the Great Pyramid remains a subject of much debate.

Some experts suggest that the blocks were transported and positioned using sledges and ramps, while others propose an internal ramp system.

Regardless of the precise method, the sheer magnitude of the construction effort testifies to the ancient Egyptians' planning, organizational, and engineering skills.

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Special Features

Khufu Learns From Sneferu's Errors

Khufu's father, the Pharaoh Sneferu, was the first king of the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, who ruled for 24 years (2613–2589 BC). During his reign he built three pyramids:

Not long after King Sneferu's death, his son Khufu ordered a fourth pyramid to be built - The Pyramid of Khufu, or The Pyramid of Cheops (Cheops is the Greek name for Khufu) - which later became known as The Great Pyramid of Giza.

Khufu's master builders must have learned substantially from Sneferu's earlier errors, because the Great Pyramid was built at an angle of 52 degrees!

Other Famous Pyramids

Other famous pyramids not mentioned above, include:

NEXT: Ancient Art from 3,400 BC.

References

(1) Burgos, Franck; Laroze, Emmanuel (2020). "L'extraction des blocs en calcaire à l'Ancien Empire. Une expérimentation au ouadi el-Jarf" (PDF). Ancient Egyptian Architecture. 4: 73–95.
(2) Lehner, Mark. The Complete Pyramids (2008) Thames and Hudson, Ltd. ISBN-13 : 978-0500285473.
(3) Romer, John (2007). The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87166-2.

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