Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis, located in Giza, Egypt. It’s one of the greatest landmarks in the country as well as one of the most visited tourist sites in the world.

The Great Pyramid of Giza also known as the Pyramid of King Khufu’ or the Pyramid of Cheops is recognized as the oldest and the largest one among the other two pyramids in the Giza Necropolis.

The Great Pyramid is a central feature of a complex of buildings, including the two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu, three smaller pyramids for Khufu’s wives, a “satellite” pyramid as well as mastaba tombs.

Some sources claim that the pyramid was established to serve as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu.

The pyramid is with a total weight of 5.9 million tonnes and it is believed that its original height was 146.59 metres but due to erosion process, the pyramid is now 138.74 meters high.
For more than 3,800 years, the pyramid was considered as the tallest man-made structure in the whole world.

The Great Pyramid is constructed of over 2.3 million limestone blocks as one of the largest among them weight 25 to 80 tonnes.

The pyramid is consisted of three chambers, the Queen’s chamber, the King’s chamber and the third chamber which is situated on the lowest level and it is not entirely finished.

The Queen’s Chamber is 4.57 metres in height, being the smallest of the three chambers. There is no exact information on what the purpose of the chamber was. According to the Egyptologist Mark Lehner, it was built to serve as a serdab, a construction noticed in a few other Egyptian pyramids.

The King’s Chamber is the second largest chamber, all lined with red granite. It has two small shafts for which purpose there are a number of statements. Two of the statements claim that they were either used as ventilation shafts or for ceremonial events.

Above the King’s Chamber there are five more chambers called the Davidson chamber, the Wellington chamber, the Nelson chamber, the Lady Arbuthnot chamber and the Cambell’s chambers.

The unfinished chamber is the largest chamber of the three, situated 27.5 metres below ground level. Some Egyptologists believe that King Khufu originally wanted to build it as a burial chamber but later decided it to be higher up in the pyramid.

Address:
Great Pyramid of Giza
Giza Necropolis
Giza
Egypt