The Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

Khufu

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the threepyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Based on a mark in an interior chamber naming the work gang and a reference to fourth dynastyEgyptian Pharaoh Khufu,Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. 

Initially at 146.5 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structurein the world for more than 3,800 years. Originally, the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface; what is seen today is the underlying core structure. Some of the casing stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the base. There have been varying scientific and alternative theories about the Great Pyramid's construction techniques. Most accepted construction hypotheses are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place.

There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The so-called Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure. The main part of the Giza complex is a setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honour of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles.

Each base side was 440 cubits, 230.4 metres (755.9 ft) long. The mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. The volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic metres (88,000,000 cu ft). Since it consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks, completing the building in 20 years would involve moving an average of more than 12 of the blocks into place each hour, day and night. Many of the casing stones and inner chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid fit together with extremely high precision. The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length.  The largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the "King's" chamber, weigh 25 to 80 tonnes and were transported from Aswan, more than 800 km (500 mi) away. It is estimated that 5.5 million tonnes of limestone, 8,000 tonnes of granite (imported from Aswan), and 500,000 tonnes of mortar were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid.

Night view

Myst cover The Great Pyramids of Giza

 

Pyramids of Giza, soaring above the city of Cairo, Egypt

View from the above

Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Giza 

The entrance of the Pyramid

Diagram of the interior structures of the Great Pyramid. The inner line indicates
the pyramid's present profile; the outer line indicates the original profile.

Map of Giza pyramid complex – "Pyramid of Khufu" refers to the Great Pyramid.

Aerial photography, taken from Eduard Spelterini's balloon on 21 November 1904

Photo Source: Collected from Internet