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Great Pyramid of Giza, ancient Egyptian pyramid that is the largest of the three Pyramids of Giza, located on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile River in northern Egypt. It was built by Khufu (Cheops), the second king of Egypt’s 4th dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 bce), and was completed about 2560 bce. The Pyramids of Giza are often collectivel...
The Great Pyramid is one of the largest buildings ever constructed. It originally stood about 482 feet (147 metres) tall, but erosion and the removal of most of the polished limestone casing stones—which made the structure smooth and caused it to gleam in the sunlight—have lowered the pyramid’s height to 449 feet (137 metres). The base and three sides each measure 755 feet (230 metres) in length. The pyramid’s sides rise at an angle of 51.87° and are accurately oriented to the four cardinal points of the compass. The Great Pyramid’s core is made of yellowish limestone blocks, and the inner passages are of finer light-coloured limestone. The interior burial chamber is built of huge blocks of granite. Approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone were cut, transported, and assembled to create the 5.75-million-ton structure, which is a masterpiece of technical skill and engineering ability. The internal walls, as well as those few outer-casing stones that still remain in place, show finer joints than any other masonry constructed in ancient Egypt.
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The entrance to the Great Pyramid is on the north side, about 59 feet (18 metres) above ground level. While immense, the pyramid has very little open space inside. A sloping corridor descends from the entrance through the pyramid’s interior masonry, penetrates the rocky soil on which the structure rests, and ends in an unfinished underground chamber. From the descending corridor branches an ascending passageway that leads to a room known as the Queen’s Chamber and to a great slanting passageway known as the Grand Gallery. That tall corbelled passageway is 151 feet (46 metres) long. At the upper end of the Grand Gallery, a long and narrow passage gives access to the burial room proper, usually termed the King’s Chamber. This room is entirely lined and roofed with granite. From the chamber two narrow shafts run obliquely through the masonry to the exterior of the pyramid; it is not known whether they were designed for a religious purpose or if they were meant for ventilation. Above the King’s Chamber are five compartments separated by massive horizontal granite slabs; the likely purpose of these slabs was to shield the ceiling of the burial chamber by diverting the immense thrust exerted by the overlying masses of masonry. The pyramid’s subterranean chambers were never completed.
Questions persist over how the pyramid was built. The most plausible theory is that the Egyptians employed a sloping and encircling embankment of brick, earth, and sand, which was increased in height and in length as the pyramid rose; stone blocks were hauled up the ramp by means of sledges, rollers, and levers. According to the ancient Greek histo...
Formal excavations of the Great Pyramid of Giza began in the 19th century. One of the first notable discoveries occurred in the 1830s, when a British Egyptologist found labourers’ graffiti indicating that the pyramid belonged to Khufu. Later excavations uncovered two boats buried near the Great Pyramid. The king’s remains, however, have never been ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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The Great Pyramid of Giza [a] is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Built c. 2600 BC, [3] over a period of about 27 years, [4] the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only wonder that has remained largely intact.
