8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Mysteries of Giza

The Great Pyramid is one of the rare surviving works of the ancient world. These gigantic structures give today’s visitors gives you a chance to look into a powerful dynasty. The pyramids, which continue to surprise historians with their construction techniques and their mysteries, are definitely worth seeing.

The Pyramids of Giza are tombs built for Egypt’s three pharaohs. The ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaohs died, they would pass on to the afterlife as gods. These pharaohs prepared for the afterlife by ordering the construction of enormous pyramid tombs for themselves, where they could store all the items they would need in the next world.

Construction of the first and largest pyramid of the Khufu Pyramid (also known as the Great Pyramid or the Cheops Pyramid) began around 2550 BC for Pharaoh Khufu. Thirty years later, Khufu’s son ordered the construction of his own tomb, the Pyramid of Khafre (Pyramid of Khafre). At the same time, the Sphinx, believed to have been modeled after Khufu’s son, was built to protect this tomb. Known as the Pyramid of Menkaure and the last of the Pyramids of Giza, the Pyramid was built around 2490 BC by Khafre’s son and is considerably smaller than the first two pyramids.

These three pyramids together with the Sphinx and several other pyramids and tombs form the community known as the Giza Pyramid Complex.

The Sphinx, believed to have been the model of Khufu's son.
The Sphinx, believed to have been the model of Khufu’s son.

How were the pyramids built?

The engineering behind the Pyramids of Giza is so impressive that scientists and historians aren’t sure exactly how they were built. However, over the past hundred years, archaeologists have made numerous discoveries that have helped them better understand the structure of the Pyramids.

Researchers agree that it took 10,000-20,000 workers over two decades to build the three pyramids. Ancient history books claim that the Pyramids of Giza were built by slaves, but later discoveries have concluded that the majority, if not all, of the workers working at a time when the Nile River flooded the nearby land, were native Egyptian farmers. These workers lived in a temporary town built near the Menkaure Pyramid.

Egyptians used a variety of tools and equipment to build the Pyramids. The stones used in the construction of both Khufu and Menkaure came from nearby quarries, although it is unclear where the stones used to build the Khafre pyramid came from. To transport these stones on the land and onto the pyramids, workers dragged the sleds over wet sand and moved the materials up using a series of ramps. How these ramps were designed is unknown! This is just one of many mysteries surrounding the construction of the Pyramids of Giza.

Special features in the pyramids

The Great Pyramid was the largest building in the world for 43 centuries. A complete square is obtained by gathering the bases of the Great Pyramid. The error rate has an almost negligible rate of 0.1. As everyone knows, its slope is 54 degrees 54 minutes.

A Belgian researcher named Robert Bauval discovered that the position of the stars Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka belonging to the Orion constellation is the projection of these three Pyramids. With this invention, it was understood that the three Pyramids point to the Orion constellation. The fact that the names of the kings are Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura show that it was not a coincidence that a conscious choice was made. It should not be forgotten that the kings are kings one after another.

Giza Pyramid Complex.
Giza Pyramid Complex.

Pyramid alignment

The Great Pyramid is almost perfectly aligned along with the main points (north-south-east-west), a feature that continues to surprise historians. The researchers theorized different methods of how this could be achieved, pointing to using the autumnal equinox as the most recent theory. To date, there is no conclusive evidence to show this.

Limestone coating

The Pyramids of Giza were erstwhile with a smooth limestone was covered. Only on top of the Khafre Pyramid is some of the original limestone pavement. Other coatings are thought to have been ripped out from here for the construction of other buildings in previous periods.

Smaller pyramids and tombs

The Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure Pyramids are not the only pyramids in the Giza Complex. There are three small pyramids on the east side of the Khufu Pyramid. Known as the Pyramids of the Queens, these tombs were built for Khufu’s wives and sisters.

There are smaller temples and pyramids near the pyramids of both Khafre and Menkaure. These structures were used in the funerals of royal officials and other members of the royal family, along with mastabas (stone tombs).

Related Articles

Polish archaeologists have uncovered nine crocodile heads within ancient Egyptian tombs of nobles

25 December 2022

25 December 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating the Theban Necropolis in Egypt discovered nine crocodile heads hidden inside two tombs belonging to high-ranking nobles....

Archaeologists reveal 4,000-year-old rock-cut tomb, artifacts in Saqqara

8 January 2024

8 January 2024

A team of Egyptian and Japanese archaeologists has unveiled a rock-cut tomb believed to be more than 4,000 years old...

Archaeologists uncovered a 3,500-year-old Egyptian Royal Retreat in the Sinai Desert

5 May 2024

5 May 2024

An Egyptian mission uncovered the ruins of a 3,500-year-old “royal fortified rest area” at the Tel Habwa archaeological site in...

Egyptian mission discovered five ancient water wells in North Sinai

1 March 2022

1 March 2022

A team of Egyptian archeologists working in the Tell El Kedwa discovered five ancient wells which are believed to be...

Archeologists Discover Two Sphinxes measure 26 feet in length in Egyptian Ruins

21 January 2022

21 January 2022

Archeologists have discovered the remains of two huge sphinx statues, each measuring 26 feet in length, at the funerary temple...

3,500-Year-Old Tomb of King Thutmose II Discovered: The First Royal Burial Unearthed Since King Tutankhamun

19 February 2025

19 February 2025

Egyptian officials have announced a groundbreaking discovery: the long-lost tomb of King Thutmose II, marking the last of the royal...

Dominican mission discovers 1,305-meter Greco-Roman ancient rock-cut tunnel in Alexandria

4 November 2022

4 November 2022

A Greco-Roman tunnel measuring 1,305 meters in length was discovered beneath Tapuziris Magna, an Ancient Egyptian city, by an Egyptian-Dominican...

1500-year-old Elite tombs were discovered vicinity of the ancient seaport of Berenice Troglodytica in Egypt

22 May 2022

22 May 2022

Polish archaeologists have discovered a tomb complex near the ancient port of Berenice Troglodytica in Egypt. Archaeologists from the University...

The largest embalming cache ever found in Egypt unearthed at Abusir

10 February 2022

10 February 2022

Archaeologists from the Czech Institute for Egyptian Science have discovered a cache of artifacts related to the practice of Egyptian...

Egypt’s Tanis bronze figurines shed light on ancient commerce

19 July 2021

19 July 2021

A research team told that the newly discovered 3,000-year-old bronze figurines recently unearthed in Tanis, Egypt, can answer questions about...

Roman-era Pottery Workshop discovered in Alexandria

29 April 2022

29 April 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a Roman-era pottery workshop at the site of Tibet Mutawah, west of Alexandria. The researchers...

New Details on Mummification Techniques

28 February 2021

28 February 2021

In ancient Egypt, embalming was considered a sacred art, and knowledge of the process was restricted to a few. Egyptologists...

Egypt unearths 2,300-year-old remains of Greco-Roman town in Alexandria

28 August 2021

28 August 2021

An Egyptian archeological team discovered the ruins of a Greco-Roman residential and commercial town in the north coast city of...

Archaeologists unearths Unique Tomb of 6th Century BC Egyptian Commander at the archaeological area of ​​Abu Sir

24 July 2022

24 July 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced on July 15 that a team of Czech archaeologists, while excavating near the Giza...

Archaeologists unearth 3,500-Year-Old Gold Jewelry in Egypt

14 December 2022

14 December 2022

Archaeologists discovered a collection of ornate jewelry at the Tell El-Amarna necropolis on the Nile River’s eastern bank in modern-day...