Marvels of size and precision

The pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu tower into the sky over the Giza plateau. Khufu's Great Pyramid, the most distant in this picture, is the highest. When we stand before these Old Kingdom monuments, it can be hard to comprehend their huge size or their great age.

The Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Khufu. The mysterious Great Sphinx, with human head and lion's body, is a colossal sculpture cut from the Giza bedrock. It appears to preside over the Giza necropolis.

Marvels of size and precision The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest of the pyramids of ancient Egypt. Khufu (Cheops to the Greeks) ruled about 2589-2566 BCE when the Old Kingdom of Egypt was nearing a peak of prosperity and culture. His pyramid is astonishing for both its size and mathematical precision. It is often said that the Great Pyramid of Khufu contains 2.3 million stone blocks, although some now question this figure. The four sides of the pyramid are accurately oriented to the cardinal points of the compass. The base is a near perfect square with sides 230 meters long and a difference between them of only a few centimeters. The pyramid was originally encased in smooth, white limestone that must have gleamed in the harsh Egyptian sun. Unfortunately, this was plundered long ago to provide building materials for Cairo. This colossal structure was originally 146 meters high until it lost this outer casing and its capstone.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is regarded as the most massive building ever erected in the world - a remarkable statistic for a construction feat achieved 4500 years ago!

How were the pyramids built? It seems likely that the Pyramids of Giza were not built by slaves but by paid laborers motivated by a faith in the divinity and immortality of their kings. Exactly how the pyramids were built is unclear. It is likely that a sloping embankment was built up to or around the pyramid. The huge blocks may then have been hauled on sledges with the aid of rollers, papyrus ropes and levers. Although most stone was quarried locally at Giza, some had to be transported to the site along the Nile.