8 May 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

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...

Egypt discovers five 4,000-year-old ancient tombs in Saqqara necropolis

19 March 2022

19 March 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently the discovery of five 4,000-year-old ancient tombs in the Saqqara archaeological...

Egypt’s Lost city “Thonis-Heracleion”

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

Thonis-Heracleion (Egyptian and Greek names of the city) is a port city lost between myth and reality until 1999. Few...

An inscription containing 15 headless falcons and unknown ancient rituals found in an ancient Egyptian temple

8 October 2022

8 October 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a shrine containing previously unknown ancient rituals during excavations at Berenike, a Greco-Roman port in Egypt’s eastern...

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...

The first and largest astronomical observatory of the 6th century BC discovered in Egypt’s Kafr El-Sheikh

24 August 2024

24 August 2024

Archaeologists in Egypt unveiled the first and largest astronomical observatory from the 6th century BCE in the Buto Temple at...

Farmer was Discovers 2600-year-old Stone Slab of Pharaoh Apries

19 June 2021

19 June 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that a farmer in Ismailia, Egypt, uncovered a 2,600-year-old stone monument erected by Pharaoh...

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...

Egypt opens King Djoser’s 4,500-year-old tomb after a 15-year restoration

15 September 2021

15 September 2021

Egypt on Tuesday showcased an ancient tomb structure belonging to the cemetery complex of King Djoser, a pharaoh who lived more than 4,500...

An Egyptian Tomb Decorated with Magic Snake Spells Discovered

9 November 2023

9 November 2023

During excavations at Abusir, between Giza and Saqqara, archaeologists at the Czech Institute of Egyptology (CIE) found an ancient tomb...

The historic Egyptian Palace is being demolished, it may hold a surprise underneath

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

The cause for the evacuation and demolition of the ancient Tawfiq Pasha Andraos Palace, located in the precincts of the...

Scientists reveal new discovery inside the Pyramid of Khufu

20 March 2023

20 March 2023

An Egyptian pyramid for 4,500 years is still spilling secrets. After a years-long project using modern technology to reveal the...

Ramses the Great

7 May 2021

7 May 2021

Ramses the Great was the name given to Ramses II, also known as Ramesses or Rameses. He was the third...

Golden Tongues and Nails discovered on mummies from the Ptolemaic Period in Egypt

18 December 2024

18 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered tombs decorated with colorful inscriptions and ritual scenes, as well as unusual mummies and unique funerary objects,...

Mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep ‘unwrapped’ for the first time in 3,500 years!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Egyptian scientists have digitally unwrapped the 3,500-year-old mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I. For the first time, a team in Egypt...