| The most famous Egyptian pyramids to be built | | | | are suspect. Modern engineers estimate that it |
| are the Great Pyramids of Giza, located in the | | | | would likely take less people and less time to build |
| outskirts of present-day Cairo. There are over | | | | the pyramid using technology that was available at |
| 100 Egyptian pyramids of various sizes, and over | | | | that time. |
| 50 more in neighboring Sudan. However, the three | | | | Treasures of the Pharaoh |
| Great Pyramids of Giza earn their fame by being | | | | The Pyramid of Khufu was built by the Egyptian |
| the largest of these. | | | | Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) in the 4th Dynasty circa |
| In the most popular pictures of the Pyramids of | | | | 2560 BC, making it over 4500 years old! It is |
| Giza, like the one shown below, the middle | | | | widely accepted that the pyramid was built to |
| pyramid, that of Khafre (Chephren), appears | | | | bury Pharaoh Khufu when he died. However, |
| larger due to the angle and because it was built | | | | many other conspiracy theories abound as to |
| on higher ground. The largest pyramid is actually | | | | why the pyramids were built, ranging from |
| the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), the one on | | | | astronomical observatories to alien artifacts. |
| the left. | | | | Since Egyptian Pharaohs were noted for being |
| The Great Pyramid of Khufu | | | | buried with their great treasure, Arab conquerors |
| Contrary to popular belief, not all the Great | | | | attempted to gain entrance into the Pyramid of |
| Pyramids of Giza are considered part of the | | | | Khufu in order to plunder it. |
| Seven Wonders of the World. Only the largest, | | | | They managed to find a few narrow passages |
| the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is a member, and is | | | | that led both up into the center of the pyramid, |
| the only one of the Seven Wonders that still | | | | and down beneath the massive structure. |
| stands. Egypt was also home to another of the | | | | However, all they managed to find at the end of |
| Seven Wonders of the World, the Lighthouse of | | | | these passages were empty chambers. No |
| Alexandria, which was destroyed long ago. | | | | mummies or treasure was found in the pyramid. |
| The Pyramid of Khufu has a height of 145 m | | | | During the Arabs' excavation of the Pyramid of |
| (475 ft) and a base area of 52,400 sqm (562,500 | | | | Khufu, they encountered various boulders and |
| sqft). That area is large enough to fit over 20 | | | | slabs that were used to seal the passages and |
| Olympic-size swimming pools! And for thousands | | | | chambers within the pyramid. They also found |
| of years, until the rise of modern-day | | | | hidden doors. This probably fueled the many |
| skyscrapers, the pyramid was the tallest building | | | | myths about the Egyptian pyramids being |
| in the world. | | | | booby-trapped, and where a grave robber who |
| What makes the pyramid an architectural triumph | | | | managed to get in would never get out alive. |
| and one of the Seven Wonders of the World is | | | | A 17th century Englishman managed to uncover |
| the fact that the rocks used in its construction | | | | another shaft connecting the passages, but still no |
| each way more than 2 tons. And there are more | | | | treasure was to be found. |
| than 2 million of those rocks. | | | | Two conclusions can be derived from this. One, |
| Greek travelers to ancient Giza wrote that it took | | | | ancient tomb raiders have long since plundered all |
| a hundred thousand slaves 20 years to construct | | | | the treasure from the pyramid, leaving behind |
| the pyramid. However, since they visited Egypt | | | | nothing but a few empty chambers. Or two, |
| more than 2 thousand years after the Egyptian | | | | Khufu's mummy and treasure is still cleverly |
| pyramids were built, the truth of their accounts | | | | hidden within (or beneath) the Great Pyramid. |