The only surviving wonder of the ancient world
The other six — the Hanging Gardens, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Pharos, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus — are all gone
Geography · Landmarks & wonders
The Great Pyramid of Giza
c. 2600 BC
Egypt — Giza plateau, Cairo
The tomb of the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu, and the oldest and only surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Built of some 2.3 million limestone and granite blocks in about 26 years, it stood as the tallest structure made by human hands for more than 3,700 years, and its casing of polished white limestone has long since been stripped for the buildings of medieval Cairo.
How to spot them
- ▸The only one of the seven ancient wonders still standing
- ▸Quiz clue: 'Khufu', 'Cheops', 'Fourth Dynasty', 'Grand Gallery', 'King's Chamber'
- ▸The tallest human-made structure on earth for over 3,700 years, until a medieval English cathedral spire
- ▸A 2017 muon-scan survey found a 30-metre void hidden inside it
Key facts
Built as the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu, whom the Greeks called Cheops (c. 2600 BC)
The Fourth Dynasty king's own statuette, three inches high, is the only confirmed likeness of him
The tallest structure made by human hands for more than 3,700 years
Its record fell only when Lincoln Cathedral's spire was raised in the early 14th century
Inside it run the Grand Gallery, the King's Chamber and an unfinished chamber cut into bedrock
The King's Chamber is roofed with granite beams brought some 800 km from Aswan
In 2017 the ScanPyramids team used cosmic-ray muons to reveal a 30-metre void inside it (2017)
Published in Nature; its purpose is still unknown
Its polished white limestone casing was stripped for the buildings of medieval Cairo
A few casing stones survive at the base; the stepped core is what visitors see today
Napoleon's savants surveyed it in 1798, launching modern Egyptology (1798)
The Egyptian expedition also turned up the Rosetta Stone
Quick-fire facts
- •It rose originally to 146.6 m; erosion and the loss of its casing have reduced it to about 138.5 m
- •Each side of the base measures roughly 230 m, and the sides are aligned almost exactly to the cardinal points
- •It is thought to contain about 2.3 million blocks and to have taken around 26 years to build
- •It is the largest of the three pyramids at Giza; Khafre's looks taller only because it stands on higher ground and keeps its cap of casing stones
- •It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Memphis and its Necropolis — the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur', inscribed in 1979
- •It was given honorary status in the 2007 New7Wonders poll rather than competing in it
- •Common misconception: it was not built by slaves — a workers' village and cemetery at Giza show a paid, fed and housed labour force, many of them seasonal farmers
- •Another misconception: the Sphinx is a separate monument, generally credited to Khufu's son Khafre
Drill it — 7 cards
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Sources
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur
- Mark Lehner — The Complete Pyramids