Great Pyramids
The Pyramids of Giza were built as the tombs of Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Khufu started there construction in 2580-2550 BC and construction was ended in 2490 BC. The Great Pyramid is actually the one in the middle, the others are referred to as the Giza Necropolis. The one in the front is the Pyramid of Menkaure, the background one is the Pyramid of Khafre. There are also several other structures such as the sphinx, the smaller Pyramids, and the tombs of the several other important Figures.
The Pyramid of Khufu was the first Pyramid to be built as well the largest. It's Egyptian It is 481 feet tall and 6.5 million tons. Its name in Egyptian is Akhet Khufu which means Khufu's Horizon. Egyptologists believe its was built as a tomb for the 4th dynasty Pharaoh, Khufu. It was the largest and tallest building on earth for over 3,000 years. it and the other two Pyramids were made of limestone bricks and granite, which were originally white, but turned yellow due to the wear and tear that the desert heat subjected it to. Khufu's actual tomb is only 70.44 ft big, built out of only gray stone tiles, and only contains his coffin along with 5 chambers built to protect it if the pyramids ever collapsed. On its sides are several boat pits, one of which contained a solar barge, built so that the sun god Ra could carry him to heaven. Another close structure is the eastern cemetery, which contains the body of his mother, Hetepheres. Her tomb along with the rest of the eastern cemetery was buried by construction.His son, Khafre, has his own pyramid. There is also two mortuary temples located near the Pyramid of Khufu, where one held his body h until he was buried. The path connecting the temples to the pyramid was mostly destroyed when a village was built on top of it, The construction also destroying most of the temples. To the west of it is a large cemetery, which houses the tomb of Hemon, the Architect of the pyramid. There are also 3 smaller pyramid which house the bodies of his wives. Finally,There are several smaller satellite pyramids.
The Pyramid Of Menkaure is the smallest of the main 3 Pyramids. Its Egyptian Name is "Netjeri Menkaure," which means "Menkaure is Divine". It stands at only 200 ft tall, previously being a little over 215 feet tall. There is also a large gash on one of the sides, when an Egyptian prince tried to have the Pyramids destroyed, but ran into budget problems, and could only take a chunk out of Menkaure's pyramid. When it was excavated, Several statues of Menkaure were found, which, like most of the carvings, are very detailed. When a British Archaeologist got inside the pyramid in 1837, he found two Coffins. The first one he found was a wooden coffin which housed the body of a. man and was labeled as Menkaure, but was found to be only 2000 years old, far too young to be the King. The second one was described as a beautiful gold coffin surrounded by treasure, but was that of a female. Unfortunately, when it was being transported to Britain, The ship sunk and it was lost to the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. Like the other Pyramids, It has a Mortuary temple and smaller pyramids.
The Pyramid of Khafre is the second largest, heaviest, and tallest of the great Pyramids. It's name in Egyptian is "Wer Khafre" Which means "Great is Khafre." It is speculated that it was constructed around 2570 BC. It is most famous for its connection to the Great Sphinx of Giza, A large statue whose face is believed to be modeled after Khafre. A Sphinx is a mythical beast with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. It is also famous for the large amount of missing limestone casing which was stolen from it by several people, including on the orders of another Pharaoh, Ramses II. Its temples survived in much better condition than that of The Pyramid of Khufu. To the east is his mortuary temple, carved from the same limestone used to make the Pyramid. It is famous because it used to contain 50 life sized statues of Khafre, which were also stolen and recycled by Ramses II. It also has a valley temple which famous for the corridor leading to its lobby, which contains 16 T shaped arches. They also lead to a large hall containing 23 Statues of Khafre. The temple of the Sphinx is located near The Great Sphinx. While it was not known which Pharaoh built it, its close construction to his mortuary temple suggests Khafre was the person who ordered its construction. Finally, there are a large amount of smaller Pyramids surrounding his Pyramid.
