The Great Pyramid of Giza

I. Introduction

Pyramids of Giza, Arabic Ahrāmāt Al-Jīzah, Giza also spelled Gizeh, three 4th-
dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 BCE) pyramids erected on a rocky plateau on the west bank of
the Nile River near Al-Jīzah (Giza) in northern Egypt. In ancient times they were included
among the Seven Wonders of the World. The ancient ruins of the Memphis area,
including the Pyramids of Giza, Ṣaqqārah, Dahshūr, Abū Ruwaysh, and Abū Ṣīr, were
collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Based on a mark in an interior chamber naming the work gang and a reference to
the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, some Egyptologists believe that the pyramid
was built as a tomb over a 10- to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially
standing at 146.5 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made
structure in the world for more than 3,800 years until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in
1311 AD.

II. History

According to Egyptologists, the pyramid was built as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu, second
king of the Fourth Dynasty, over the period of approximately 20 years. For almost 4000
years, the pyramid was considered to be the tallest man-made construction in the world.
It is the biggest and the oldest of the three-pyramid complex of Giza, an embodiment of
the grandeur of the ancient Egypt.

The pyramid was not only considered as a massive tomb, but also as a place of the
regeneration for the deceased king according to ancient Egyptians. It has three known
burial chambers inside of it and a sloping passageway named the grand gallery. One
chamber is an underground one that is cut into bedrock. The two other chambers, one
named the Queen’s Chamber – although archaeologists suggest that it’s not where the
queen is buried, and the other room is the King’s Chamber. The Queen’s and The King’s
chambers are located higher up within the pyramid.
III. Architecture

Physics were studied and figured out: the right-angle triangle of members 3, 4, and 5
with the 53o angle was in use. Supremacy was integrated on earth by multiple
interpretations in architecture. The great pyramid of Giza was and still the best
magnificent structure ever built on earth without having contemporary science’s final
word been said. Massive lime stone blocks are now arranged there in a huge massive
number of about two and half million pieces; their weight could reach 6.5 million tons.

Conceptually there was a strong belief that symbolism connects hot spots on the
Egyptian soil as it represented the known world, as well as the main stars were
connected in multiple constellations on the dome of the observed sky. Pyramids of Giza
plateau, Saqqara plateau, and Abusir plateau were all examples of that concept. Other
pyramids of Iunu era were also related to the same concept.

Structurally the Giza axis coincided on the Giza plateau. Giza plateau was a part of the
Moqattam plateau during the Eocene formation. Pyramids on the worked-out surface of
the plateau were built with the local lime stone.

The original entrance to the Great Pyramid is on the north, 17 meters (56 ft) vertically
above ground level and 7.29 meters (23.9 ft) east of the center line of the pyramid. From
this original entrance, there is a Descending Passage 0.96 meters (3.1 ft) high and 1.04
meters (3.4 ft) wide, which goes down at an angle of 26° 31'23" through the masonry of
the pyramid and then into the bedrock beneath it. After 105.23 meters (345.2 ft), the
passage becomes level and continues for an additional 8.84 meters (29.0 ft) to the lower
Chamber, which appears not to have been finished. There is a continuation of the
horizontal passage in the south wall of the lower chamber; there is also a pit dug in the
floor of the chamber. Some Egyptologists suggest that this Lower Chamber was intended
to be the original burial chamber, but Pharaoh Khufu later changed his mind and wanted
it to be higher up in the pyramid.

28.2 meters (93 ft) from the entrance is a square hole in the roof of the Descending
Passage. Originally concealed with a slab of stone, this is the beginning of the Ascending
Passage. The Ascending Passage is 39.3 meters (129 ft) long, as wide and high as the
Descending Passage and slopes up at almost precisely the same angle to reach the
Grand Gallery. The lower end of the Ascending Passage is closed by three huge blocks of
granite, each about 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) long. One must use the Robbers' Tunnel (see
below) to access the Ascending Passage. At the start of the Grand Gallery on the right-
hand side there is a hole cut in the wall. This is the start of a vertical shaft which follows
an irregular path through the masonry of the pyramid to join the Descending Passage.
Also at the start of the Grand Gallery there is the Horizontal Passage leading to the
"Queen's Chamber". The passage is 1.1m (3'8") high for most of its length, but near the
chamber there is a step in the floor, after which the passage is 1.73 meters (5.7 ft) high.
IV. Materials

Many of the pyramids were built with a number of different stone materials. Most of the
material used was fairly rough, low grade limestone used to build the pyramid core, while
fine white limestone was often employed for the outer casing as well as to cover interior
walls, though pink granite was also often used on inner walls. Basalt or alabaster was not
uncommon for floors, particularly in the mortuary temples and as was mudbricks to build
walls within the temples (though often as not they had limestone walls).

Egypt is a country rich in stone and was sometimes even referred to as the "state of
stone". In particular, Egypt has a great quantity of limestone formation, which the
Egyptians called "white stone", because during the Cretaceous period Egypt was covered
with seawater. The country is also rich in sandstone, but it was never really used much
until the New Kingdom.

Limestone seems to have first been employed in the area of Saqqara, where it is of poor
quality but layered in regular, strong formations as much as half a meter thick. This
limestone is coarse grained with yellow to greenish gray shading. The layers are
separated from each other by thin layers of clay and the coloration may vary according
to layer. It could often be quarried very near the building sites, and quarries have been
found at Saqqara, Giza, Dahshur and other locations.

In order to quarry this stone, the blocks were marked out with just enough space in
between each to allow for a small passageway for the workers to cut the blocks. The
workmen would use a number of different tools to cut the blocks, including copper
pickaxes and chisels, granite hammers, dolerite and other hard stone tools.

The finer, white limestone employed in the pyramids and mortuary temples was not as
easy to quarry, and had to be found further from the building site. One of the man
sources for this limestone was the Muqattam hills on the west bank of the Nile near
modern Tura and Maasara. This stone laid buried further from the surface, so tunnels
had to be dug in order to reach the actual stone quarry. Sometimes these deposits were
as deep as fifty meters, and huge caverns had to be built to reach the quarry. Generally,
large chunks of stone were removed, and then finely cut into blocks. The blocks were
then moved to the building site on large wooden sledges pulled by oxen. The path they
took would be prepared with a mud layer from the Nile in order to facilitate the moving.

Pink granite, basalt and alabaster were used much more sparingly. Most of this material
was moved from various locations in southern Egypt by barges on the Nile. Pink granite
probably most often came from the quarries around Aswan.