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navigation, search The Great Pyramid of Giza, in 2005. Built c. 2560 B.C., it is the oldest and lar gest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis. The Great Pyramid of Giza, also called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu, and Pyramid of Cheops, is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Gi za Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo , Egypt, and is the only remaining mem ber of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is believed the pyramid was bu ilt as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian King Khufu (Cheops in Greek) and const ructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2560 BC. The Great Pyramid was th e tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Originally the G reat Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface, an d 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 b een varying scientific and alternative theories regarding the Great Pyramid's co nstruction techniques. Most accepted construction theories 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 c ut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The socalled[1] Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber are higher up within the pyramid st ructure. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buil dings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyr amid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even s maller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and sm all mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles. Contents [hide] * 1 Building the pyramid * 2 Materials o 2.1 Casing stones o 2.2 Construction theories * 3 Interior o 3.1 King's Chamber o 3.2 Queen's Chamber o 3.3 Unfinished chamber * 4 Pyramid complex * 5 Thieves, tourists and excavators * 6 See also * 7 Notes * 8 References * 9 External links Building the pyramid It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian phara oh Khufu and constructed over a 14[2] to 20 year period concluding around 2560 B C.[3] Khufu's vizier, Hemon, or Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid.[4] It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was 280 Egyptian royal cubits tall, 146.6 meters, (480.97 feet) but with erosio n and the loss of its pyramidion, its current height is 138.8 m (455 feet). Each base side was 440 royal cubits, with each royal cubit measuring 0.524 meters.[5 ] The total mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. The volume,

including an internal hillock, is believed to be roughly 2,500,000 cubic meters. [6] Based on these estimates building this in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day. The first precision measurements of the pyramid were done by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880 82 and publishe d as The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh.[7] Almost all reports are based on his m easurements. Petrie found the pyramid is oriented 4' west of North and the secon d pyramid is similarly oriented.[8] Many of the casing stones and interior chamb er blocks of the great pyramid were fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the north eastern casing stones, the mean opening of the joints are only 1/50th of an inch wide. [9] Great Pyramid of Giza from a 19th century stereopticon card photo The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years,[10] unsurpassed until the 160 meter tall spire of Lincoln Cathedral was c ompleted c. 1300. The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the fou r sides of the base have a mean error of only 58 millimeter in length, and 1 min ute in angle from a perfect square. The base is horizontal and flat to within 15 mm. The sides of the square are closely aligned to the four cardinal compass po ints (within 3 minutes of arc based on true north not magnetic north). The compl eted design dimensions, as suggested by Petrie's survey and later studies, are e stimated to have originally been 280 cubits in height by 4 440 cubits at its bas e. These proportions equate to 2p to an accuracy of better than 0.05% which some Egyptologists consider to have been the result of deliberate design proportion[ 11]. Verner wrote, "We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could no t precisely define the value of p, in practise they used it".[12] Petrie, author of The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh', who was the first accurate surveyor of Gi za and the excavator and surveyor of the Pyramid of Meidum, concluded: "but thes e relations of areas and of circular ratio are so systematic that we should gran t that they were in the builders design" [13] Earlier in the chapter he wrote mo re specifically, that: We conclude therefore that the approximation of 7 to 22 as the ratio of diameter to circumference was recognised [14] Materials The Great Pyramid consists of more than 2.3 million limestone blocks. The Egypti ans shipped the limestone blocks from quarries all along the Nile River. The sto ne was cut by hammering wedges into the stone. Then the wedges were soaked with water. The wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid (citation n eeded). Casing stones casing stone At completion, the Great Pyramid was surfaced by white 'casing stones' slant-fac ed, but flat-topped, blocks of highly polished white limestone. Visibly all that remains is the underlying step-pyramid core structure seen today. In AD 1301, a massive earthquake loosened many of the outer casing stones, which were then ca rted away by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan in 1356 in order to bui ld mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo. The stones can still be seen as parts of these structures to this day. Later explorers reported massive piles of rubb le at the base of the pyramids left over from the continuing collapse of the cas ing stones, which were subsequently cleared away during continuing excavations o f the site. Nevertheless, many of the casing stones can be seen to this day in s itu around the base of the Great Pyramid, and display the same workmanship and p recision as has been reported for centuries. Petrie also found a different orien tation in the core and in the casing measuring 193 centimeters 25 centimeters. H e suggested a redetermination of north was made after the construction of the co re, but a mistake was made, and the casing was built with a different orientatio n.[8]

Construction theories Main article: Egyptian pyramid construction techniques There have been varying alternative theories proposed regarding the Pyramid's co nstruction techniques. Most accepted construction theories are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place. The disagreements center on the method by which the stones were conveyed and placed. In addition to the many theories as to the techniques invo lved, there are also disagreements as to the kind of workforce that was used. On e theory, suggested by the Greeks, posits that slaves were forced to work until the pyramid was done. This theory is no longer accepted in the modern era, howev er. Egyptologists believe that the Great Pyramid was built by tens of thousands of skilled workers who camped near the pyramids and worked for a salary or as a form of paying taxes until the construction was completed (citation needed). The worker's cemeteries were discovered in 1990 by archaeologists Zahi Hawass and M ark Lehner. Verner posited that the labor was organized into a hierarchy, consis ting of two gangs of 100,000 men, divided into five zaa or phyle of 20,000 men e ach, which may have been further divided according to the skills of the workers. [15] One of the mysteries of the pyramid's construction is how they planned its const ruction. John Romer suggests that they used the same method that had been used f or earlier and later constructions, laying out parts of the plan on the ground a t a 1 to 1 scale. He writes that "such a working diagram would also serve to gen erate the architecture of the pyramid with a precision unmatched by any other me ans." He devotes a chapter of his book to the physical evidence that there was s uch a plan.[16] Interior The Great Pyramid is the only pyramid known to contain both ascending and descen ding passages. There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. These ar e arranged centrally, on the vertical axis of the pyramid. From the entrance, an 18 meter corridor leads down and splits in two directions. One way leads to the lowest and unfinished chamber. This chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built. It is the largest of the three, but totally unfinished, o nly rough-cut into the rock. The other passage leads to the Grand Gallery (49 m x 3 m x 11 m), where it splits again. One tunnel leads to the Queen's Chamber, a misnomer, while the other winds to intersect with the descending corridor. The Grand Gallery itself features a corbel haloed design and several cut "sockets" s paced at regular intervals along the length of each side of its raised base with a "trench" running along its center length at floor level. What purpose these s ockets served is unknown. An antechamber leads from the Grand Gallery to the Kin g's Chamber.[3] Diagram of the interior structures of the great pyramid. The inner line indicate s the pyramid's present profile, the outer line indicates the original profile. King's Chamber At the end of the lengthy series of entrance ways leading into the interior is t he structure's main chamber, the King's Chamber. This chamber was originally 10 20 11.2 cubits, or about 5.25 m 10.5 m 6 m, comprising a double 10 10 cubit squa re, and a height equal to half the double square's diagonal. Some believe that t his is consistent with the geometric methods for determining the Golden Ratio f (phi), which can be derived from other dimensions of the pyramid, such that if f had been the design objective, then p automatically follows to 'square the circ le'.[17]

The sarcophagus of the King's Chamber was hollowed out of a single piece of Red Aswan granite and has been found to be too large to fit through the passageway l eading to the chamber. Whether the sarcophagus was ever intended to house a body is unknown. It is too short to accommodate a medium height individual without t he bending of the knees, a technique not practiced in Egyptian burial, and no li d was ever found. The King's Chamber contains two small shafts that ascend out o f the pyramid. These shafts were once thought to have been used for ventilation, but this idea was eventually abandoned, which left Egyptologists to conclude th ey were instead used for ceremonial purposes. It is now thought that they were t o allow the Pharaoh's spirit to rise up and out to heaven.[18] The King's Chamber is lined with red granite brought from Aswan 935 km (580 mile s) to the south. There are 5 relieving chambers above the kings chamber. The fir st one is reached through a breach in the wall at the upper end of the Grand Gal lery, this was named the Davidson chamber. Howard Vyse suspected there was anoth er chamber above this when he found that he was able to thrust a long reed throu gh a crack in the ceiling. He blasted through to find 4 more relieving chambers. These chambers were named the Wellington, Nelson, Lady Arbuthnot and Cambell's chambers. The kings chamber and the first 4 relieving chambers have roofs made o ut granite. Each roof includes 8 or 9 granite slabs weighing 25 to 80 tonnes eac h. Cambell's chamber has a pented roof made of large limestone slabs. [19] [20] Egyptologists believe they were transported on barges down the Nile river.[21] Queen's Chamber The Queen's Chamber is the middle and the smallest, measuring approximately 5.74 by 5.23 meters, and 4.57 meters in height. The chamber is lined with fine limes tone blocks and the pented roof is made of large limestone slabs.[22] Its easter n wall has a large angular doorway or niche. Egyptologist Mark Lehner believes t hat the Queen's chamber was intended as a serdab, a structure found in several o ther Egyptian pyramids, and that the niche would have contained a statue of the interred. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the statue would serve as a "back up" vessel for the Ka of the Pharaoh, should the original mummified body be dest royed. The true purpose of the chamber, however, remains uncertain.[18] The Quee ns Chamber has a pair of shafts similar to those in the King's Chamber, which we re explored using a robot, Upuaut 2, created by the German engineer Rudolf Gante nbrink. In 1992, Upuaut 2 discovered that these shafts were blocked by limestone "doors" with two eroded copper handles. The National Geographic Society filmed the drilling of a small hole in the southern door, only to find another larger d oor behind it.[23] The northern passage, which was harder to navigate due to twi sts and turns, was also found to be blocked by a door.[24] Unfinished chamber The "unfinished chamber" lies 27.5 meters below ground level and is rough-hewn, lacking the precision of the other chambers. Egyptologists suggest the chamber w as intended to be the original burial chamber, but that King Khufu later changed his mind and wanted it to be higher up in the pyramid.[25] Pyramid complex Map of Giza pyramid complex Main article: Giza pyramid complex The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buildings tha t included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "s atellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small masta ba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles. One of the small pyramids contains the tomb of queen Hetepheres (discovered in 1925), sister and wife of Sneferu an d the mother of Khufu. There was a town for the workers of Giza, which included

a cemetery, bakeries, a beer factory and a copper smelting complex. A few hundre d meters south-west of the Great Pyramid lies the slightly smaller Pyramid of Kh afre, one of Khufu's successors who is also commonly considered the builder of t he Great Sphinx, and a few hundred meters further south-west is the Pyramid of M enkaure, Khafre's successor, which is about half as tall. In May 1954, 41 blocki ng stones were uncovered close to the south side of the Great Pyramid. They cove red a 30.8 meter long rock-cut pit that contained the remains of a 43 meter long ship of cedar wood. In antiquity, it had been dismantled into 650 parts compris ing 1224 pieces. This funeral boat of Khufu has been reconstructed and is now ho used in a museum on the site of its discovery. A second boat pit was later disco vered nearby.[26] Thieves, tourists and excavators Although succeeding pyramids were smaller, pyramid building continued until the end of the Middle Kingdom. However, as authors Briar and Hobbs claim, "all the p yramids were robbed" by the New Kingdom, when the construction of royal tombs in a desert valley, now known as the Valley of the Kings, began.[27][28] Joyce Tyl desley states that the Great Pyramid itself "is known to have been opened and em ptied by the Middle Kingdom", before the Arab caliph Abdullah Al Mamun entered t he pyramid around 820 A.D.[29] See also * * * * * * List of World's Pyramid List of List of List of Egypt-related topics tallest free standing structure on land inch Egyptian pyramids megalithic sites archaeoastronomical sites sorted by country

Notes Group photo of Australian 11th Battalion soldiers on the Great Pyramid in 1915. Aerial photography, taken from Eduard Spelterini's balloon on November 21, 1904 1. ^ John Romer, in his The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited notes "By themselves, of course, none of these modern labels define the ancient purposes o f the architecture they describe." p. 8 2. ^ John Romer, basing his calculations on the known time scale for the Red pyramid, calculates 14 years - pp.74, schedule on pp 456-560. 3. ^ a b Oakes & Gahlin (2002) p.66. 4. ^ Shaw (2003) p.89. 5. ^ Dilke (1987) pp.9,23. 6. ^ Levy (2005) p.17. 7. ^ http://www.ronaldbirdsall.com/gizeh/petrie/index.htm 8. ^ a b Petrie (1883). 9. ^ Dr. I.E.S. Edwards: "The Pyramids of Egypt" 1986/1947 p. 285 10. ^ Collins (2001) p.234. 11. ^ Lightbody (2008) p.24. 12. ^ Verner (2003) p.70. 13. ^ Petrie Wisdom of the Egyptians 1940: 30 14. ^ Petrie Wisdom of the Egyptians 1940: 27 15. ^ Verner (2001) pp.75-82. 16. ^ Romer, John, The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited, p. 327, pp. 329 -337 17. ^ Calter (2008) pp. 156-171, 548-551. 18. ^ a b Oakes & Gahlin (2002) p.67. 19. ^ Lehner (1997)p. 44,51-53,108-115 20. ^ Scarre (1999)

21. ^ Romer (2007) pp.187-195 22. ^ Lehner (1997)p. 112 23. ^ Gupton, Nancy (2003-04-04). "Ancient Egyptian Chambers Explored". Nation al Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0910_020913_egypt _1.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-11. 24. ^ "Third "Door" Found in Great Pyramid". National Geographic. 2002-09-23. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0923_020923_egypt.html. Retrieve d on 2008-08-11. 25. ^ "Unfinished Chamber". Public Broadcasting System. http://www.pbs.org/wgb h/nova/pyramid/explore/khufuunfhi.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-11. 26. ^ Clayton (1994) pp.48-49. 27. ^ Brier 1999, p. 164 [1] 28. ^ Cremin 2007 p.96.[2] 29. ^ Tyldesley, 2007 p.38 References * Bauval, Robert &, Hancock, Graham (1996). Keeper of Genesis. Mandarin book s. ISBN 0-7493-2196-2. * Brier, Bob &, Hobbs, A. Hoyt (1999). Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313303135. * Calter, Paul A. (2008). Squaring the Circle: Geometry in Art and Architect ure. Key College Publishing. ISBN 1-930190-82-4. * Clayton, Peter A. (1994). Chronicle of the Pharaohs. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05074-0. * Collins, Dana M. (2001). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195102345. * Cremin, Aedeen (2007). Archaeologica. Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0711228221 . * Dilke, O.A.W. (1992). Mathematics and Measurement. University of Californi a Press. ISBN 0520060725. * Gahlin, Lucia (2003). Myths and Mythology of Ancient Egypt. Anness Publish ing Ltd. ISBN 1-84215-831-7. * Lehrner, Mark (1997). The Complete Pyramids. London: Thames and Hudson. IS BN 0-500-05084-8. * Levy, Janey (2005). The Great Pyramid of Giza: Measuring Length, Area, Vol ume, and Angles. Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 1404260595. * Lepre, J.P. (1990). The Egyptian Pyramids: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Re ference. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0899504612. * Lightbody, David I (2008). Egyptian Tomb Architecture: The Archaeological Facts of Pharaonic Circular Symbolism. British Archaeological Reports Internatio nal Series S1852. ISBN 978-1407303390. * Oakes, Lorana; Lucia Gahlin (2002). Ancient Egypt. Hermes House. ISBN 1-84 309-429-0. * Petrie, Sir William Matthew Flinders (1883). The Pyramids and Temples of G izeh. Field & Tuer. ISBN 0710307098. * Romer, John (2007). The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 978-0-521-87166-2. * Scarre, Chris (1999). The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World. Thames & H udson, London. ISBN 978-0500050965. * Seidelmann, P.Kenneth (1992). Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical A lmanac. University Science Books. ISBN 0-935702-68-7. * Shaw, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University P ress. ISBN 0198150342. * Siliotti, Alberto (1997). Guide to the pyramids of Egypt; preface by Zahi Hawass.. Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN unknown. * Smyth, Piazzi (1978). The Great Pyramid. Crown Publishers Inc.. ISBN 0-517 -26403-X.

* Tyldesley, Joyce (2007). Egypt:How a lost civilization was rediscovered. B BC Books. ISBN 978-0563522577. * Verner, Miroslav (2001). The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science o f Egypt's Great Monuments. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-1703-1. * Verner, Miroslav (2003). The Pyramids. Atlantic Books. ISBN 1843541718. External links Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Great pyramids of giza * Belless, Stephen. "The Upuaut Project Homepage". Upuaut Project. http://ww w.cheops.org/. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. * Clemmons, Maureen. "How Many Caltechers Does It Take to Raise An Egyptian Obelisk?". Caltech News. http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/CaltechNews/articles/ v35/obelisk.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. * "The Giza Mapping Project". Oriental Institute. http://oi.uchicago.edu/res earch/projects/giz. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. * Hawass, Dr. Zahi. "How Old are the Pyramids?". Ancient Egypt Research Asso ciates. http://www.aeraweb.org/how_old.asp. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. [hide] v d e Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Great Pyramid of Giza Hanging Gardens of Babylon Statue of Zeus Temple of Art emis Mausoleum of Maussollos Colossus of Rhodes Lighthouse of Alexandria Preceded by Red Pyramid of Sneferu World's tallest structure 2570BC ~1300AD 146.6 m Succeeded by Lincoln Cathedral Coordinates: [show location on an interactive map] 2958'45.03?N 3108'03.69?E? / ?2 9.979175N 31.1343583E? / 29.979175; 31.1343583 Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza" Categories: 26th-century BC architecture | Giza Plateau | Ancient Egyptian pyram ids | Former world's tallest buildings Hidden categories: Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages Views * * * * Article Discussion View source History

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