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Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu


or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three
pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza,
Egypt. It is the oldest of the e!en "onders of the #ncient "orld ,
and the only one to remain largely intact. Egyptologists belie!e that
the pyramid was b$ilt as a tomb o!er a %& to '&(year period
concl$ding aro$nd ')*& +,. Initially at %-*.) meters (-.% feet), the
Great /yramid was the tallest man(made str$ct$re in the world for
o!er 0,.&& years. 1riginally, the Great /yramid was co!ered by casing
stones that formed a smooth o$ter s$rface2 what is seen today is the
$nderlying core str$ct$re. ome of the casing stones that once co!ered
the str$ct$re can still be seen aro$nd the base. There ha!e been
!arying scientific and alternati!e theories abo$t the Great /yramid3s
constr$ction techni4$es. 5ost accepted constr$ction hypotheses are
based on the idea that it was b$ilt by mo!ing h$ge stones from a
4$arry and dragging and lifting them into place. +$ilding this in '&
years wo$ld in!ol!e installing appro6imately .&& tones of stone e!ery
day.
,lay seal bearing the name of 7h$f$ from the great pyramid. 1n display at the 5$s8e d$
9o$!re.

The Great /yramid
consists of an estimated
'.0 million blocks which
most belie!e to ha!e been
transported from nearby
4$arries. The T$ra limestone
$sed for the casing was
4$arried across the ri!er. The largest granite stones in the pyramid,
fo$nd in the :7ing3s: chamber, weigh ') to .& tones and were
transported from #swan, more than .&& km ()&& mi) away.
Traditionally, ancient Egyptians c$t stone blocks by hammering
wooden wedges into the stone which were then soaked with water. #s
the water was absorbed, the wedges e6panded, ca$sing the rock to
crack. 1nce they were c$t, they were carried by boat either $p or
down the Nile ;i!er to the pyramid. It is estimated that ).) million
tones of limestone, .,&&& tones of granite (imported from #swan), and
)&&,&&& tones of mortar were $sed in the constr$ction of the Great
/yramid. There are three known chambers inside the Great /yramid.
The lowest chamber is c$t into the bedrock $pon which the pyramid
was b$ilt and was $nfinished. The so(called <$een3s ,hamber and
7ing3s ,hamber are higher $p within the pyramid str$ct$re. The Great
/yramid of Giza is the only pyramid in Egypt known to contain both
ascending and descending passages. The main part of the Giza
comple6 is a setting of b$ildings that incl$ded two mort$ary temples
in honor of 7h$f$ (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile),
three smaller pyramids for 7h$f$=s wi!es, an e!en smaller :satellite:
pyramid, a raised ca$seway connecting the two temples, and small
mastaba tombs s$rro$nding the pyramid for nobles.
Modern entrance
Today to$rists enter the Great /yramid !ia the ;obbers3 T$nnel. This
t$nnel was already d$g d$ring the >irst Intermediate /eriod or d$ring
the New 7ingdom period and re(opened by workmen employed by
,aliph al(5a3m$n aro$nd #? .'&. The t$nnel is c$t straight thro$gh
the masonry of the pyramid for appro6imately '@ meters (.A ft), then
t$rns sharply left to enco$nter the blocking stones in the #scending
/assage. This strongly indicates that the robbers m$st ha!e known a
lot abo$t the inner architect$re. Bnable to remo!e these stones
howe!er, the workmen t$nneled $p beside them thro$gh the softer
limestone of the /yramid $ntil they reached the #scending /assage. It
is possible to enter the ?escending /assage from this point, b$t access
is $s$ally forbidden.
Polina Thanasara
2 School year: 2014-2015

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