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 T h e G r e a t P y r a m i d s o f G i z a

Built by the Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx are easily the most famous ancient Egyptian sites visited and are known across the world. We explore their creation and their legacy on this page.

The Great Pyramid

Built from approximately 5.5 million tonnes of limestone, 8 000 tonnes of granite and 500 000 tonnes of mortar, it's no wonder that the Great Pyramid of Giza took 20 years to build. It was the tallest man made structure for more than 3800 years. It was 146.5 meters high, but without its pyramidion and due to erosion it is only 138.8 meters tall. It is the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World and was built by the pharaoh, Khufu, of the 4th Dynasty.

There are many theories about how the pyramid was built. These include Slave labour, though modern discoveries suggest that it was built by thousands of skilled worker split into groups. They would have needed all the help that they could get because could blocks were brought from places like Aswan, which is more than 500 miles away.

Inside the pyramid there are four chambers: one underground chamber which is unfinished, the Queens chamber, the Grand Gallery and the Kings Chamber.

Khufu was the son of King Sneferu and Queen Hetepheres I and ruled from c. 2589 BCE to 2566 BCE. He had nine sons and fifteen daughters and ruled for twenty-three years. Khufu's mummy has never been found but, a ship was found buried at the foot of the pyramid. The boat was found in 1224 pieces laid out in logical order that was reassembled by Ahmed Youssef Moustafa. It was the worlds oldest intact ship and could sail today. The ship was a Solar Barge, a type of ritual ship that was meant to carry the pharaoh to the sun god, Ra, in the afterlife. The ship was 43.6 meters long and 6 meters wide.

Khafre’s Pyramid and the Sphinx

Khafre was the son of Khufu, though he did not succeed him. Khafre succeeded his elder brother Djedefre. Khafre's pyramid was just three meters shorter than his fathers and was 136.5 high and a 215 meter wide base. The pyramid had two entrances leading to the burial chamber. The pyramid was made from limestone blocks that weighed at least two tonnes.

The Sphinx was built during Khafre's reign so he probably built it. At 73.5 meters long, 6 meters wide and 20 meters high, the Sphinx is the largest single-stone statue in the world. A record it has kept since its creation in approximately 2500 BCE. The Sphinx is a lion's body with a pharaohs head on top, which symbolises wisdom.

When Giza was abandoned, the Sphinx was buried up to its shoulders in sand when Tuthmose IV managed to dig out its front paws. There he put a granite slab known as the Dream Stele, which tells the story of how he fell asleep under the Sphinx and it told him that if he freed the Sphinx from the sand, Tuthmose would become King.

The Sphinx is missing its meter wide nose and its ceremonial beard. There are a few theories for how it happened, including that Napoleon's troops fired a cannonball at its face but the most probable was that the nose was removed around the 8th century by someone who thought the Sphinx was sacrilegious or had a bad influence or effect on people. This would explain the rod/chisel marks found on the Sphinx where the nose would have been.

Menkaure’s Pyramid

Menkaure was the son of Khufu and built the smallest pyramid at the Giza Plateau. Menkaure lived from c. 2490 BCE to 2472 BCE or c. 2532 BCE to 2503 BCE. He was the 5th pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty and had two wives. Menkaure was succeeded by his youngest son, Shepseskaf. Menkaure's pyramid was the smallest of the three great pyramids. It was 65.5 meters long, but due to erosion the pyramid has been reduced to 61 meters. The base is 108.5 meters wide. The pyramid has a few rough or uncompleted parts which has led archeologists to believe that Menkaure died before his pyramid was completed. The date of construction for the pyramid is unknown, but it was probably finished sometime around the 26th century BCE. The pyramid was partially demolished by Saladin's troops but they could only remove one or two blocks a day. After eight months they gave up. In 1837, a sarcophagus made of basalt was discovered inside the pyramid. The sarcophagus was being shipped to the British Museum by a ship called 'Beatrice'. The ship sunk after it left port, taking the sarcophagus with it.

<span style="color: #31849b; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14pt;">Compared to modern

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Compared to the Egyptians, modern day builders are far more advanced. One of the biggest reasons for that is technology. Technology has changed some key factors when building like time, man-power, equipment accuracy, endurance and stability. Ancient Egyptians used tens of thousands of slaves or workers to build their pyramids and monuments but nowadays you can build a town-house with ten to twenty men. Also, nowadays we have amazing inventions like the crane or concrete which the Egyptians didn't have. We also have lots of safety precautions in place so our workers don't get injured like harnesses and scaffolding. In the 21st century, building a sky-scraper takes around five to ten years, like the Burj Khalifa(Right) which is currently the tallest building in the world. It took just under six years to build and is 828m high. The Ancient Egyptians took decades to build their pyramids and there was the danger that the pharaoh is killed before the pyramid was finished. The pyramids have lasted more than 5 000 years, which just goes to show the expert masonry and craftsmanship of the Ancient Egyptians.

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