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The Great Pyramid of Giza
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The Great Pyramid at Giza is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one to still exist intact. It is located at the city of Giza, originally a necropolis of ancient Memphis, and presently part of Greater Cairo, Egypt. It is currently part of the tourist region of the Gaza Plateau. Despite common belief, only the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) is on top of the list of Wonders, not all three of the pyramids. It was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as his tomb. |
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Historians think it took 20 years to build the great pyramid. After preparing the site, blocks of stone were transported and placed and an outer casing (now gone) was used to smooth the surface. One theory of how the blocks were placed is that a straight or spiral ramp, coated with mud and water, was raised as construction proceeded. The ramp then eased pushing or pulling the blocks into place. A second theory is that the blocks were placed using long levers with a short angled foot. |
When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m (481 ft) high, although it has lost 10 m (30 ft) from its top. It was the tallest structure on Earth until the nineteenth century AD. The pyramid was covered with a casing of stones to smooth its surface. The sloping angle of its sides is 54 degrees 54 minutes, and each side is oriented with one of the cardinal points of the compass. The horizontal cross section of the pyramid is square at any level, and each side measures 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between side lengths is less than 0.1%.
The pyramid is made of approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. The area covered by the Great pyramid could hold St Peter's in Rome, the cathedrals in Florence and Milan, and Westminster and St Paul's in London together.
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The pyramid's entrance is on its north face. Several corridors, galleries, and escape shafts either lead to the King's burial chamber, or were intended for another purpose. The King's chamber is in the heart of the pyramid and can only be accessed through the Great Gallery and an ascending corridor. The King's sarcophagus is made of red granite, as are the interior walls of the King's Chamber. The sharp-edged stone over the doorway is over 3 m (10 ft) long, 2.4 m (8 feet) high and 1.3 m (4 ft) thick. The interior stones fit so well even a card does not fit between them. The sarcophagus is oriented according to compass directions, and is only about 1 cm smaller than the chamber entrance. It might have been added during the building.
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