Pyramids of Giza – Everything About the Great Pyramids of Giza

All around the world, ancient humans have built pyramid-like structures such as temples, tombs, and shrines. The finest of these are arguably the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Pyramid of Giza is the most popular of those found at this ancient site. But, why was the Pyramid of Giza built, who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, and what happened to the Great Pyramid of Giza? This article will answer all these questions about the Pyramids of Giza, specifically those referring to the most significant of the group, the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The Ancient Pyramids of Giza

When were the Pyramids of Giza built and which is the largest pyramid in Giza? The plateau’s three principal pyramids were erected over successive generations by the emperors Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Each pyramid was part of a royal funerary complex that included a mortuary temple at its foot, a valley temple, and a lengthy stone causeway connecting the two. The biggest of these structures is the Great Pyramid of Giza, built as the tomb of Khufu. Where is the Great Pyramid of Giza located? Giza is a city in the Metropolitan area known as Greater Cairo in Egypt, and the pyramids are located on the Giza plateau.

We are accustomed to seeing the Giza Pyramids in captivating images, where they look like gigantic and inaccessible structures towering from an empty, barren desert. Visitors may be astonished to learn that a golf club and resort are only a few 100 feet from the Great Pyramid of Giza and that Giza’s growing suburbs have stretched all the way up to the base of the Sphinx. 

A picture of the great pyramid of Giza showing several people at its base; Nina at the Norwegian bokmål language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Aside from the primary pyramids, other smaller pyramids assigned to queens are organized like satellites. A huge cemetery complex of smaller tombs called mastabas occupies the region west and east of Khufu’s pyramid. These were built for significant members of the court and were placed in a grid layout. Being interred near the emperor was a high honor that guaranteed a coveted position in the Afterlife.

Construction of the Pyramids of Giza

Much uncertainty remains regarding how these gigantic structures were built, and various theories and ideas exist concerning the real techniques that were utilized. The manpower required to construct these structures is also always being debated. Who built the Great Pyramid of Giza and its surrounding structures? The unearthing of a workers’ village at the southern end of the plateau has provided some explanations. A permanent core of skilled artisans and architects was most likely reinforced during the Nile’s flood season by conscripted peasant labor; excavators Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass estimate the total workforce at peak construction reached 20,000 to 30,000.

Panoramic view of the Pyramids of Giza located in Egypt; Walkerssk, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

These crews were organized into 200-man gangs, with each unit further subdivided into 20-man teams. Experiments demonstrate that teams of 20 workers could transport the 2.5-ton stones from quarries to pyramids in around 20 minutes, thanks to a slick surface of moist silt. When many of the blocks were significantly smaller, an approximated 340 stones could be carried daily from the quarries to the building site of the Pyramids of Giza.

Preservation and Status of the Pyramids of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the pyramid fields were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 as part of Memphis and its Necropolis. UNESCO has backed the repair of the Sphinx as well as initiatives to reduce the effects of tourism and regulate the expansion of the surrounding community. Nonetheless, threats to the monuments persist: urban growth brings contamination, garbage, and traffic to the plateau’s edge, air pollution contributes to stone erosion, and illicit sand mining on the surrounding plateau has left gaps large enough to be visible on Google Earth.

Tourism, one of Egypt’s most vital industries, was hit hard by the 2011 revolution and the instability that followed, and again by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has since fully recovered: Egypt welcomed a record 19 million international visitors in 2025, helped by the November 2025 opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum beside the plateau, the world’s largest archaeological museum devoted to a single civilization. 

UNESCO has kept a close eye on these challenges, but its most important role at Giza has been to argue for the reconfiguration of a roadway that was initially planned to run through the World Heritage property between Giza and Saqqara as part of Cairo’s Ring Road. Ultimately, the government decided to develop the motorway north of the pyramid complex.

Closer view of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt; Hajotthu, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As the Cairo metropolitan region has grown, planners have also proposed a multilane Cairo Ring Road tunnel across the Giza Plateau. ICOMOS and UNESCO reviewed the plan through advisory missions in 2015 and 2017 and called for a full impact assessment and an overarching site management strategy, including measures against the illegal waste dumping and quarrying nearby. As of the most recent review, the tunnel project remains postponed pending further technical study. The Pyramids of Giza, no matter how huge they are, are not indestructible, and will need continued care if they are to stay intact as Cairo keeps expanding around them.

Telling the Three Pyramids Apart

Photographs rarely make clear which pyramid is which:

A Timeline of the Giza Pyramids

The Great Pyramid of Giza

The incredible thing about the Great Pyramid of Giza is that it is both the oldest and the only of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to still be mainly intact. For more than 3,700 years, it also held the record as the tallest structure made by human hands. At one point, the pyramid was covered in a casing of smooth limestone which was removed over the ages, causing the pyramid’s height to lessen from its original 146.6 meters. How big is the Pyramid of Giza today, though? Currently, the pyramid measures 138.5 meters in height.

The burial complex around the pyramid included a mortuary temple and a valley temple linked by a causeway, graves for Khufu’s close relatives and entourage, three lesser pyramids for the pharaoh’s wives, another satellite pyramid, and five boat pits, three found empty and two containing dismantled wooden boats. 

Who Built the Great Pyramid of Giza?

Historically, the Great Pyramid of Giza was credited to Khufu based on the assertions of the ancient historical writers, most notably Diodorus Siculus and Herodotus. Yet, during the Middle Ages, a range of various figures, including Nimrod, Joseph, and King Saurid, was attributed to erecting the Great Pyramid of Giza. Khufu’s vizier and nephew, Hemiunu, whose own mastaba (G 4000) stands just west of the pyramid, in Giza’s Western Cemetery, is generally credited as its architect, based on his title “Overseer of All the King’s Construction Projects.” The laborers who were constructing the Great Pyramid of Giza had labeled the blocks with the names of their groups, which also included the title of the pharaoh.

The name Khufu was written on the walls several times. Goyon discovered another of these inscriptions on an external block of the pyramid’s fourth tier. The markings are similar to those found at other Khufu locations, such as the port at Wadi al-Jarf or the alabaster quarry at Hatnub, and are also found in the pyramids of other emperors. 

View from the top of the Pyramids of Giza; Lorenz.King at JLU Giessen.de, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The graves near the pyramid were unearthed during the 20th century. Khufu’s relatives and important individuals were interred in the Eastern and Western Fields, including his wives, children, and grandchildren, as well as officials such as Ankhaf and Hemiunu. From the early dynastic period onward, Egyptologists note, it was customary for family, courtiers, and consorts to be buried near the ruler they served, in keeping with the Egyptian conception of the afterlife.

Inside the Great Pyramid

Three known chambers lie within the Great Pyramid, linked by ascending and descending passages cut through the masonry. The Grand Gallery, a corbelled corridor roughly 47 meters long and nearly 9 meters high, climbs toward the King’s Chamber, which is built entirely of pink granite and measures about 10.45 by 5.20 meters. It holds a lidless, empty red granite sarcophagus too wide to have entered after the surrounding walls were finished, so it was likely set in place during construction. Below it, the so-called Queen’s Chamber never held a queen, and may have been built for a statue of Khufu instead. Above the King’s Chamber, workers tunneling in 1837 found four further relieving chambers marked with red-painted hieroglyphs bearing Khufu’s name. A separate, limited-availability ticket lets visitors climb through these passages today, though it can sell out during Egypt’s busier tourist months.

The Age of the Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid’s age has been estimated indirectly through its designation to Khufu and his historical age, relying on archaeological and literary sources, and directly using radiocarbon dating of biological materials discovered in the Great Pyramid of Giza and incorporated in the mortar. Previously, the Great Pyramid of Giza was dated by its designation to Khufu alone, placing the pyramid’s construction during his reign. Thus, dating the pyramid meant determining the date of Khufu’s reign and the 4th dynasty. The relative sequencing and synchronization of occurrences are important to this strategy.

Full view of the Pyramids of Giza; Samehm1998, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Calendar dates are reconstructed from an interconnected network of data, the foundation of which is ancient king records and other documents. The reign durations from Khufu to recognized dates in the past are summarized and supported by genealogical information, astronomical measurements, and other references. As a result, Egypt’s historical chronology is essentially political and hence distinct from other forms of archaeological findings such as material culture, stratigraphies, or radiocarbon dating. The great majority of current chronologies place Khufu’s pyramid between 2,700 and 2,500 BCE.

Radiocarbon Dating

Mortar was used liberally in the Great Pyramid’s construction. Ashes from fires were included in the mortar during the mixing process, as well as organic materials that could be removed and radiocarbon dated. Between 1984 and 1995, over 45 mortar samples were collected to ensure that they were obviously intrinsic to the original construction and could not have been added at a later period.

The findings were calibrated between 2,871 to 2,604 BCE. Since the age of the organic material was established, not when it was last utilized, the old wood is considered to be primarily responsible for the 100 – 300-year discrepancy. Based on the younger samples, a data reanalysis reported that the pyramid was completed between 2,620 and 2,484 BCE. 

Dating the Great Pyramid in the Past

Herodotus assigned the Great Pyramid to Khufu (Hellenized as Cheops) around 450 BCE, but placed his rule after the Ramesside dynasty, a chronological error typical of Herodotus’s account of Egypt. Around 200 years later, Manetho compiled an exhaustive list of Egyptian monarchs, which he grouped into dynasties, with Khufu assigned to the 4th. Nevertheless, due to phonetic alterations in the Egyptian language and, as a result, the Greek translation, “Cheops” became “Souphis”. Greaves stated in 1646 the tremendous difficulty in determining a date for the pyramid’s development based on a scarcity of and contradicting historical data. He didn’t identify Khufu on Manetho’s king list because of the abovementioned spelling inconsistencies, so he relied on Herodotus’ inaccurate version. Greaves decided that the year 1,266 BCE marked the commencement of Khufu’s reign by summarizing the length of lines of succession.

Some of the gaps and inconsistencies in Manetho’s chronology were filled 200 years later by discoveries like the King Lists of Abydos, Turin, and Karnak. The names of Khufu discovered in the Great Pyramid’s Relieving Chambers in 1837 aided in establishing that Cheops and Souphis are one in the same person. 

As a result, the Great Pyramid of Giza was identified as having been constructed during the 4th dynasty. Egyptologists’ dating still differed by centuries, based on technique, previous religious views, and which sources they considered were more genuine. Estimates shrank substantially in the 20th century, with the majority falling within 250 years from each other, all around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. Radiocarbon dating showed that the historical chronology was broadly close. It is a well-established archaeological method, but due to greater margins of error, calibration errors, and the problem of intrinsic age in organic material, especially wood, some Egyptologists remain cautious about using it to refine the historical chronology. Additionally, astronomical alignments that correlate with the period of construction have been proposed.

Historic Documentation of the Great Pyramid of Giza

One of the first prominent writers to describe the pyramid is the 5th-century BCE Greek historian Herodotus. Yet another writer, Diodorus Siculus, an ancient Greek historian, visited Egypt between 60 and 56 BCE and later dedicated the first book of his Bibliotheca Historica to the region’s history, and its structures, including the Great Pyramid of Giza. Pliny the Elder, a Roman writer who lived in the 1st century CE, reported that most people believed the Great Pyramid of Giza was built either “to prevent the lower classes from remaining unoccupied” or to keep the treasures of the pharaoh from slipping into his enemies’ or successors’ hands.

Historical documentation on the Great Pyramids of Giza; Sailko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Herodotus

Herodotus examines Egypt’s history and the Great Pyramid of Giza in the second book of his opus The Histories (written around 430 BCE). This account was set down more than 2000 years after the pyramid was erected, implying that Herodotus received his information mostly from indirect sources like low-ranking authorities and clergy, native Egyptians, immigrants from Greece, and Herodotus’ own translators. As a result, his explanations appear as a jumble of coherent observations, personal depictions, inaccurate reports, and fictional stories; consequently, Herodotus and his writings are responsible for many of the speculative inaccuracies and confusion concerning the monument.

Herodotus claims that the Great Pyramid of Giza was erected by Khufu, whom he mistakenly places after the Ramesside Period. According to Herodotus, Khufu was a tyrant, which may illustrate the Greeks’ belief that such structures could only be built through the ruthless exploitation of the people. 

Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus’ work was influenced by writers of the past, but he also differentiated himself from Herodotus, whom Diodorus argues recounts tales and fables. Diodorus apparently derived his information from the lost works of Hecataeus of Abdera, and, like Herodotus, he dates the pyramids to the reign of the king “Chemmis”, whom he places after Ramesses III. Based on this document, neither Khufu nor Khafre were laid to rest in their pyramids, but instead in secret locations, for fear that the individuals who were presumably made to construct the edifices would seek out the bodies for vengeance; with this assumption, Diodorus bolstered the link between pyramid constructing and slavery.

Diodorus Siculus, an ancient Greek historian; fonte, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Strabo

Strabo, a Greek geographer, historian, and philosopher visited Egypt in 25 BCE, just after the Romans captured it. In his book Geographica, he claims that the pyramids of Giza were used for kings’ burials, although he doesn’t say which monarch was buried there. “At a moderate height in one of the sides is a stone, which may be taken out; when that is removed, there is an oblique passage to the tomb”, Strabo adds (Geographica 17.1.33).

This comment has sparked a lot of discussions since it implies that the pyramid might be entered at this location. 

Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder makes no guesses about which pharaoh built the Great Pyramid, stating simply that, in his account, chance had consigned to oblivion the names of those who had erected such enormous monuments to their vanity (Natural History 36.17).

Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and military commander; Geoffrey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When asked how the stones were brought to such a great height, he offers two theories: either large mounds of salt and niter were built up against the pyramid and subsequently melted away with water diverted from the river, or that “bridges” were built and their bricks were subsequently dispersed for the construction of private homes, claiming that the river’s level is too low for channels to ever convey water up to the pyramid.

The Pyramid of Khafre

Throughout the First Intermediate Period, the Khafre pyramid was most likely opened and looted. On Ramesses II’s orders, the supervisor of temple construction brought casing stones to construct a temple at Heliopolis during the 19th Dynasty. The Arab historian Ibn Abd al-Salam records that the pyramid was forced open in 1372 CE. An Arabic graffito on the wall of the burial room possibly comes from the same period. The Khafre pyramid was first investigated in current history by Giovanni Belzoni on the 2nd of March 1818, when the main entrance on the northern side was discovered. Belzoni hoped to find an undisturbed burial, but the room was barren but for an open sarcophagus with a shattered lid on the floor.

John Perring led the first comprehensive investigation in 1837. Auguste Mariette partly excavated Khafre’s valley temple in 1853, and while finishing its clearing in 1858, he discovered a diorite figure of Khafre. 

Construction of the Khafre Pyramid

A rock outcropping was employed in the core, similar to the Great Pyramid. The northwestern corner was excavated 10 meters out of the rock substructure due to the inclination of the plateau, and the southeastern corner was developed. The pyramid is constructed of horizontal courses. The stones utilized at the bottom are relatively massive, but as the pyramid climbs, the stones grow smaller, with the peak being just 50 centimeters thick. The courses are coarse and uneven during the first half of the pyramid’s height, but a small band of regular masonry is seen in the pyramid’s center.

The Great Pyramids of Khafre located in Cairo, Egypt; M1chu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The bedrock was shaped into steps at the pyramid’s northwest corner. Pink granite was used for the lowest course of casing stones, whereas Tura limestone was used for the rest of the pyramid, including the patch that still crowns its summit today. Close inspection indicates that the surviving casing stones’ corner edges are not perfectly straight but are offset by a few millimeters. According to one idea, this is attributed to settlement from seismic activity. Due to the restricted working area at the summit of the pyramid, another explanation proposes that the gradient on the blocks was cut to form before being put.

Interior of the Khafre Pyramid

There are two entrances to the burial chamber: one 11.50 meters up the pyramid’s face and one near the pyramid’s base. These tunnels do not line up with the pyramid’s midline but are displaced to the east by 12 meters. The bottom descending corridor is totally cut out of the bedrock, dropping, horizontally flowing, then rising to connect with the horizontal passageway going to the burial chamber.

One explanation for the two entrances is that the pyramid’s northern foundation was planned to be moved 30 meters to the north, making Khafre’s monument much bigger than his father’s. 

This would situate the entrance to the lower route within the pyramid’s stonework. While the bedrock on the northern side is cut away from the pyramid more than on the western edge, it is unclear if there is enough area on the plateau for the perimeter wall and pyramid platform. Another argument is that, like many older pyramids, plans were revised and the entrance was relocated during construction. An auxiliary chamber, similar in length to Khufu’s King’s Chamber, opens to the west of the lower tunnel, the function of which is unknown. It might be used to house sacrifices, burial goods, or as a serdab chamber. The top descending passageway is made of granite and connects to the horizontal corridor leading to the burial chamber.

The interior construction of the Khafre Pyramids; Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Pyramid of Menkaure

The pyramid’s construction date is uncertain since Menkaure’s rule was not precisely defined, although it was most likely completed in the 26th century BCE. It is located in the Giza necropolis, a few hundred meters southwest of its bigger companions. The mortuary temple’s foundations and central region were constructed of limestone. The flooring was constructed with granite, and portions of the walls were covered with granite. Stone was used to construct the valley temple’s foundation, but both temples were completed with mud brick after Menkaure’s death.

Between 1908 and 1910, an American archaeologist named George Andrew Reisner excavated the temple in Menkaure Valley. He discovered a great number of sculptures, primarily depicting Menkaure alone or as part of a group. All of these were intricately carved in the Old Kingdom’s realistic style. 

Inside the Pyramid

On the 28th of July, 1837, Howard Vyse uncovered the remnants of a wooden anthropoid coffin etched with Menkaure’s title and bearing human bones in the top antechamber. This is currently thought to be a Saite-era replacement coffin. The associated mummy tissue and shroud were radiocarbon dated to 658-896 CE and 724-1012 CE, respectively, placing them in the early Islamic period; investigators concluded the body was intrusive and may have been inserted during the 1837 investigation. The stone sarcophagus found in the burial chamber was lost at sea in 1838 when the ship carrying it to England sank; the wreck’s exact location remains uncertain, though Cartagena, Spain, is often cited. The wooden coffin lid, sent separately, survived and is now on display at the British Museum.

The subterranean Chamber, a blind corner entrance into the pyramids; john and edgar morton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Queen’s Pyramids

South of Menkaure’s pyramid is three lesser pyramids, each with its own temple and substructure. The easternmost pyramid is the biggest and most imposing. Its casing is made largely of granite, like the primary pyramid, and is thought to have been finished owing to the nearby limestone pyramidion. The other two never got past the creation of the inner core. Reisner hypothesized that the buildings were tombs for Menkaure’s queens and that the people buried there were maybe his half-sisters.

The easternmost of the three, according to archaeologist Mark Lehner, has the layout of a satellite or ka pyramid, which would have held a statue of the king rather than a body. 

Attempted Demolition of the Pyramid of Menkaure

In 1196, Al-Aziz Uthman, Saladin’s son and Egypt’s Sultan, sought to dismantle the pyramids, beginning with Menkaure’s. Workmen hired to deconstruct the pyramid lasted for eight months but discovered that it was nearly as expensive to destroy as it was to create. Each day, they could only extract one or two stones. Some moved the stones with levers and wedges, while others pulled them down using ropes. When a stone dropped, it would bury itself in the sand, necessitating extreme measures to extricate it. The stones were cut into multiple pieces using wedges, and a wagon was used to transport them to the base of the escarpment, where they were abandoned.

Remains of the basalt floor of the temple at the east foot of the pyramids; Jon Bodsworth, Copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons

Built when Egypt was among the ancient world’s wealthiest and most powerful states, the Pyramids of Giza reflect the pharaoh’s standing in Egyptian culture through sheer physical scale. Egyptian pyramid-building ran from the early Old Kingdom into the Middle Kingdom, peaking between the third and sixth dynasties; further south, Nubian rulers continued the tradition for centuries afterward. More than 4,500 years on, the Giza pyramids still stand as a direct window onto that history. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where Is the Great Pyramid of Giza Located?

The Great Pyramid stands on the Giza Plateau, part of Greater Cairo, Egypt. Rather than sitting isolated in open desert as it appears in most photographs, it borders Cairo’s western suburbs directly.

What Happened to the Great Pyramid of Giza?

Unlike the other six Ancient Wonders, the Great Pyramid survived largely intact and still stands on the Giza Plateau. It lost the smooth limestone casing that once covered it, which is why its stepped core blocks are now exposed and its height has dropped by about eight meters. Visitors can still enter the pyramid’s interior today on a separate, limited-availability ticket that can sell out during busy months.

Why Was the Pyramid of Giza Built?

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built to house the body of the Pharaoh Khufu. His relatives and courtiers were buried around it (in the three small queens’ pyramids and the mastaba cemeteries east and west of the pyramid), not inside it. The three main pyramids at Giza were constructed for Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure; the site also contains smaller pyramids associated with royal women and ritual satellite pyramids.

When Were the Pyramids of Giza Built?

The Pyramids of Giza date to Egypt’s Old Kingdom. The three main pyramids were built in succession by Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure between roughly 2560 and 2510 BCE; many of the surrounding mastaba cemeteries also date to this period, though rock-cut tombs were added later.

Which Is the Largest Pyramid in Giza?

The Great Pyramid of Giza, built for Khufu, is the largest of the three and also the earliest: his builders raised it first. Khafre’s pyramid, built next, is only slightly lower, while Menkaure’s is far smaller: about 65 metres against Khufu’s original 146.6.

How Big Is the Pyramid of Giza?

The Great Pyramid originally stood 146.6 meters tall; with its casing stones long removed, it now measures 138.5 meters, still roughly the height of a 45-story building. Its base covers about 13 acres (5.3 hectares), an area equivalent to nearly ten American football fields.

Isabella Meyer( Head of Content, Editor, Art Writer )

Isabella studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature & Language and Psychology. Throughout her undergraduate years, she took Art History as an additional subject and absolutely loved it. Building on from her art history knowledge that began in high school, art has always been a particular area of fascination for her. From learning about artworks previously unknown to her, or sharpening her existing understanding of specific works, the ability to continue learning within this interesting sphere excites her greatly.

Her focal points of interest in art history encompass profiling specific artists and art movements, as it is these areas where she is able to really dig deep into the rich narrative of the art world. Additionally, she particularly enjoys exploring the different artistic styles of the 20^th century, as well as the important impact that female artists have had on the development of art history.

Learn more about Isabella Meyer and the Art in Context Team.