The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the Giza pyramids. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still relatively intact.

Other names for the Great Pyramid of Giza are the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops. It was built by the pharaoh Khufu, whose name is Cheops in Greek. It has been guessed that it was built around 2560 B.C. The pyramid is 146.5 meters or 480.6 feet high and the lengths of the sides are now approximately 434 meters or 227.3 feet. We don't know the exact original measurements because the casing stones were mostly knocked off by an earthquake and there has been some erosion over the years.

There are three main chambers inside the pyramid. One is at the very bottom and the other two are higher up. Other buildings in this complex include three small pyramids for Khufu's wives, two mortuary temples with a causeway between them, one very small pyramid, and an assortment of tombs for nobles surrounding the pyramid.

Construction of the Pyramid

Many theories of how a fairly primitive people built such a grand building exist. Materials used in the construction consisted of 2.3 million limestone blocks transported from nearby quarries. There were also granite stones, some of them weighing 80 metric tons, which had to be transported from 500 miles away. At the time, the Egyptians cut stones with wooden wedges soaked in water that made the wood expand and cut the stone. Also, 500,000 tons of mortar was used in the construction.

On the outside of the pyramid were white casing stones made of limestone. An earthquake in 1300 loosened many of them, which were used in other buildings. Some can still be seen at the base of the pyramid. It took tens of thousands of workers to cut, transport, and lift these stones. The stones would have had to be dragged or placed on some kind of rollers. The fact is we really don't know how this feat was accomplished.

Interesting Facts

Here are a few interesting facts about the Great Pyramid of Giza:

The base of the pyramid is an exact square with sides 757 feet long.
The pyramid is so big it can be seen from the moon.
Its total mass is 5.9 million tons and its volume is 2.5 million cubic meters.
The mortar used in construction cannot be replicated using present day technology.
The temperature inside is a constant 68 degrees F.

Controversy

Some say the Egyptians did not build the pyramids and the age of the pyramids is older than we think. Throughout history, there have been references to "sky gods" and flying machines. Many people think there is a possibility the builders of the pyramids either had help from extraterrestrial beings or were at least helped by them. It is unconceivable mere muscle power could have transported those huge stones and lifted them hundreds of feet in the air. Some say they stones were placed on huge wooden rollers, but there are not many trees in Egypt.

Certain facts point to external influences. One fact is the pyramid is exactly lined up with magnetic north, but the Egyptians did not have compasses for this. Another factor is that it supposedly took hundreds of thousands of workers to build it and that many people were not available at that time. Also, there is mention of the pyramid in early hieroglyphic writings that predate the time we assume it was built. Early writings also mention beings coming from the sky. Egyptians were very good about keeping records of everything they did, from wars to construction, but there are no writings about them building the pyramids.

There are a few more interesting facts about the alignment of the pyramids. The three Giza pyramids line up in the same position as the three stars on Orion's Belt. This shows the pyramids were built around 10,500 B.C., a lot earlier than believed and, at that time, there were supposedly no civilized humans on the earth. Lastly, since there are signs of erosion on the Sphinx, it was built when the Nile River flowed past it. The Nile River was in that location around 10,000 B.C. and, over the years, migrated to its present location. Due to this, many people think the Sphinx and the pyramids were built around 10,500 B.C.