THE GREAT EGYPTIAN PYRAMID

The
Great
pyramid
of Giza is the
last, and the only
present, wonder of the
old seven wonders of the
world. It is the oldest building
in the world. A mysterious building
that led to very odd and strange theories,
of its caliber, about the civilization that built it!

Location:
At the city of Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, and today part of Greater Cairo, Egypt

GREAT PYRAMID

• The Great Pyramid was built for the Pharaoh Khufu (2589-2566BC - 4th Dynasty)
• Khufu was the son of Sneferu.
• The pyramid is situated at Giza, near Cairo.
• It is regarded as a 'true pyramid' with smooth sides, the steps having been covered with a limestone casing.
• It has an angle just short of 52 degrees.
• It is the most popular attraction in Egypt.
• It is built mostly of limestone.
• Its original height was 146.6m. Its present height is 138.75m.
• Its base is 230 metres square.
• Estimated volume = 2,521,000 cu m.
• The pyramid contains a staggering 2.3 million blocks of stone.
• Its estimated weight is 6.5 million tonnes.
• The average weight of each stone was 2.5 tonnes.
• But some weigh as much as 50 tonnes!
• The stones were pulled on wooden sledges.
• It's thought that over 4000 skilled stone masons worked on the pyramid.
• And possibly 100,000 farmers joined them during the inundation period. (Annual flooding) As reported by the Greek historian, Herodotus.
• However, the Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie thought a more realistic number would have been between five and six thousand. (Who knows?)
• The inundation period lasted for three months
• Living quarters and workshops had to be specially built for the men and women.
• The workers were paid with food and drink rations.
• Approximately 100,000 bundles of onions and 200,000 loaves of bread were supplied daily to feed the workers three times a day.
• The workers received one day off in ten.
• Finest limestone, brought from the quarries at Tura, was used for the outer casing that filled in the steps of the pyramid.
• This limestone was ferried across the Nile from the East Bank.
• The fine limestone was stolen from the pyramid and used to build parts of Cairo.
• The burial chamber and inner passages are made of granite.
• The burial chamber ceiling consists of nine slabs of granite with a combined weight of approximately 400 tonnes.
• This granite was shipped from quarries at Aswan, some 800 kilometers away. (500 miles)
• The pyramid took over 20 years to complete (As reported by Herodotus)
• Herodotus also tells us that prior to this, it took ten years to prepare the ground, waterways, underground chambers, ramps etc.
• The Great Pyramid is arguably the most accomplished engineering feat of the Ancient World.
• Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie conducted an extensive survey of the pyramid site in 1881
• The Greeks called Khufu; 'Cheops'
• The Great Pyramid is named, 'Khufu belongs to the Horizon'