Giza This is a plateau southwest of modern Cairo that
served as a necropolis for the royal families of the Fourth
Dynasty (2575–2465 B.C.E.). The Great PYRAMID, erected
in the reign of KHUFU (Cheops; 2551–2528 B.C.E.), is the
largest of the plateau monuments and the only surviving
Wonder of the Ancient World. There are other funerary
monuments or relics that predate the Fourth Dynasty at
Giza, and later pharaohs erected or converted existing
ones. A MASTABA at Giza dates to the reign of DJET (c.
2850 B.C.E.) in the First Dynasty, surrounded by the
graves of more than 50 servants, which denotes that the
individual buried in the mastaba (as yet unidentified) was
a person of considerable rank. Jar sealings inscribed with
the name of NINETJER (r. c. 2670 B.C.E.), a ruler of the
Second Dynasty, were found in an area south of the main
necropolis.
The Great Pyramid, called “the Horizon of Khufu,”
originally stood 480 feet high on a 755-foot base. The
pyramid was built using 3.2 million blocks of limestone,
each weighing 2.5 tons. The pyramid was covered
in Tureh limestone and capped with a gold pyramidion.
Inside the structure, the King’s Chamber was
designed to ease pressure from the slanted design. A
Grand Gallery extends through the edifice, and there is a
Queen’s Chamber and an Ascending Gallery. A descending
corridor leads to a bedrock burial chamber, which
appears to have been abandoned early in the construction.
An enclosure wall was also provided for the
pyramid, and a mortuary temple was erected on the eastern
side of the pyramid. This temple is a rectangular
building with a basalt pavement and an interior
courtyard. A causeway originally 2,630 feet long
extended from this temple, but it is now buried under the
Giza 145
modern settlement of Nazlet el-Simman. The valley temple
had a black-green basalt pavement, 180 feet long, and
mud-brick walls 26 feet wide.
Subsidiary pyramids were placed near the Great
Pyramid, one belonging to Queen HETEPHERES (1), the
second to Queen MERITITES (1), and another belonging to
Queen HENUTSEN. This last pyramid was provided with a
mortuary chapel on the eastern side. A fourth finished
pyramid has not been identified, and there are two other
such tombs, not completed. Another subsidiary pyramid
was situated at the southeastern corner of the Great Pyramid.
This was probably designed for Khufu’s KA or for his
HEB-SED memorial, the commemoration of the decades of
his reign.
Five boat pits have been discovered around the Great
Pyramid, two of which contained Khufu’s barks. Seventy
mastabas, containing Khufu’s servants, were situated
nearby. There was also a harbor, linking the complex to
the Nile. This harbor has now disappeared, but a halfmile
wall remains to mark the perimeter. This border is
called Heit el-Ghurab, the Wall of the Crow.
KHAFRE (Chephren; r. 2520–2494 B.C.E.) built the
second massive pyramid that stands on the Giza plateau.
The structure is smaller than Khufu’s, but it was erected
on a rise and appears almost the same height. Khafre’s
pyramid originally rose to a height of 471 feet, on a 705-
foot base. There are two entrances, descending passages,
an ascending corridor, and a burial chamber containing a
red granite SARCOPHAGUS. One subsidiary pyramid rests
beside Khafre’s monument, probably the tomb of an
unidentified queen. Five boat pits were also installed on
the site. Khafre’s mortuary temple was made of limestone
and had a pillared hall, two chambers, and an open courtyard.
Magazines and statuary niches completed the
design. A causeway, some 1,600 feet in length, was
attached to the mortuary temple. The valley temple was a
square structure with two entrances. Magnificent statues
of Khafre, protected by HORUS, were discovered there.
The third massive structure on the Giza plateau is
the pyramid erected as the resting place of MENKAURÉ
(Mycerinus; r. 2490–2472 B.C.E.). It is the smallest of the
great pyramids of Giza and was unfinished when
Menkauré died. This pyramid, however, was completed
by Menkauré’s son and heir, SHEPSESKHAF. Originally 240
feet high, the pyramid was erected on a 357-foot base. An
unusual feature of this monument is the use of reliefs
depicting the palace walls of the period on interior walls.
Mycerinus’s mortuary temple was made of mud bricks.
The causeway that was attached to the temple was 1,995
feet in length, and another mud-brick valley temple contained
fine triad statues. Three subsidiary pyramids were
erected beside Menkauré’s main tomb. It is believed that
Queen KHAMERERNEBTY (2) was buried in one of these,
but they were never finished.
The Great SPHINX stands in front of Khafre’s pyramid,
with that pharaoh’s features imposed upon its face.
This is an image of a mythical beast with the body of
a lion and the head of a man, wearing the nemes, the
royal head covering. The statue was carved out of a knoll
of poor-grade limestone and is 150 feet long and 75
feet high, from base to crown. The modern name is a
Greek version of the Egyptian shesep-ankh, “the living
image.” The Sphinx is believed to represent Khafre, as
Horus of the Horizon. Originally the carving was faced
with Tureh limestone, and a beard extended from the
chin, almost to the center of the breast. A stela dating
from the reign of TUTHMOSIS IV (1401–1391 B.C.E.) rests
between its paws.
The private necropolis of Giza lies east and west of
the pyramids. Some later burials disrupt the orderly layout
of the Fourth Dynasty complex. Of particular interest
is the tomb of Queen MERYSANKH (3), the consort of
Khafre and the daughter of Prince KEWAB and Queen HETEPHERES
(2). Remarkable scenes and a row of statues of
the royal family fill this vast burial site. The tomb was
originally made for Queen Hetepheres (2), who gave it to
Merysankh (3) when she died young. The plateau of Giza
also contains the ruins of a temple honoring HORUS of the
Horizon. This shrine was erected near the Great Sphinx
by AMENHOTEP II (r. 1427–1401 B.C.E.) of the Eighteenth
Dynasty. A temple of ISIS was also formed in one of the
subsidiary pyramids of Giza by a later dynasty.
A vast area containing the ruins of living quarters,
clinics, bakeries, breweries, and other structures has been
discovered at Giza in recent years. An ongoing excavation
of the area is being conducted to uncover this workers’
village. The ruins confirm the fact that able-bodied Egyptians
provided free labor throughout the building process
of the Giza plateau complexes. The CORVÉE system entitled
the pharaohs to request such services from the people,
especially during the time of the annual inundation.
Slaves were not used to build the pyramids, which were
national projects, undertaken freely by the entire populace
in service to the pharaoh and the godS.: Source:Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
served as a necropolis for the royal families of the Fourth
Dynasty (2575–2465 B.C.E.). The Great PYRAMID, erected
in the reign of KHUFU (Cheops; 2551–2528 B.C.E.), is the
largest of the plateau monuments and the only surviving
Wonder of the Ancient World. There are other funerary
monuments or relics that predate the Fourth Dynasty at
Giza, and later pharaohs erected or converted existing
ones. A MASTABA at Giza dates to the reign of DJET (c.
2850 B.C.E.) in the First Dynasty, surrounded by the
graves of more than 50 servants, which denotes that the
individual buried in the mastaba (as yet unidentified) was
a person of considerable rank. Jar sealings inscribed with
the name of NINETJER (r. c. 2670 B.C.E.), a ruler of the
Second Dynasty, were found in an area south of the main
necropolis.
The Great Pyramid, called “the Horizon of Khufu,”
originally stood 480 feet high on a 755-foot base. The
pyramid was built using 3.2 million blocks of limestone,
each weighing 2.5 tons. The pyramid was covered
in Tureh limestone and capped with a gold pyramidion.
Inside the structure, the King’s Chamber was
designed to ease pressure from the slanted design. A
Grand Gallery extends through the edifice, and there is a
Queen’s Chamber and an Ascending Gallery. A descending
corridor leads to a bedrock burial chamber, which
appears to have been abandoned early in the construction.
An enclosure wall was also provided for the
pyramid, and a mortuary temple was erected on the eastern
side of the pyramid. This temple is a rectangular
building with a basalt pavement and an interior
courtyard. A causeway originally 2,630 feet long
extended from this temple, but it is now buried under the
Giza 145
modern settlement of Nazlet el-Simman. The valley temple
had a black-green basalt pavement, 180 feet long, and
mud-brick walls 26 feet wide.
Subsidiary pyramids were placed near the Great
Pyramid, one belonging to Queen HETEPHERES (1), the
second to Queen MERITITES (1), and another belonging to
Queen HENUTSEN. This last pyramid was provided with a
mortuary chapel on the eastern side. A fourth finished
pyramid has not been identified, and there are two other
such tombs, not completed. Another subsidiary pyramid
was situated at the southeastern corner of the Great Pyramid.
This was probably designed for Khufu’s KA or for his
HEB-SED memorial, the commemoration of the decades of
his reign.
Five boat pits have been discovered around the Great
Pyramid, two of which contained Khufu’s barks. Seventy
mastabas, containing Khufu’s servants, were situated
nearby. There was also a harbor, linking the complex to
the Nile. This harbor has now disappeared, but a halfmile
wall remains to mark the perimeter. This border is
called Heit el-Ghurab, the Wall of the Crow.
KHAFRE (Chephren; r. 2520–2494 B.C.E.) built the
second massive pyramid that stands on the Giza plateau.
The structure is smaller than Khufu’s, but it was erected
on a rise and appears almost the same height. Khafre’s
pyramid originally rose to a height of 471 feet, on a 705-
foot base. There are two entrances, descending passages,
an ascending corridor, and a burial chamber containing a
red granite SARCOPHAGUS. One subsidiary pyramid rests
beside Khafre’s monument, probably the tomb of an
unidentified queen. Five boat pits were also installed on
the site. Khafre’s mortuary temple was made of limestone
and had a pillared hall, two chambers, and an open courtyard.
Magazines and statuary niches completed the
design. A causeway, some 1,600 feet in length, was
attached to the mortuary temple. The valley temple was a
square structure with two entrances. Magnificent statues
of Khafre, protected by HORUS, were discovered there.
The third massive structure on the Giza plateau is
the pyramid erected as the resting place of MENKAURÉ
(Mycerinus; r. 2490–2472 B.C.E.). It is the smallest of the
great pyramids of Giza and was unfinished when
Menkauré died. This pyramid, however, was completed
by Menkauré’s son and heir, SHEPSESKHAF. Originally 240
feet high, the pyramid was erected on a 357-foot base. An
unusual feature of this monument is the use of reliefs
depicting the palace walls of the period on interior walls.
Mycerinus’s mortuary temple was made of mud bricks.
The causeway that was attached to the temple was 1,995
feet in length, and another mud-brick valley temple contained
fine triad statues. Three subsidiary pyramids were
erected beside Menkauré’s main tomb. It is believed that
Queen KHAMERERNEBTY (2) was buried in one of these,
but they were never finished.
The Great SPHINX stands in front of Khafre’s pyramid,
with that pharaoh’s features imposed upon its face.
This is an image of a mythical beast with the body of
a lion and the head of a man, wearing the nemes, the
royal head covering. The statue was carved out of a knoll
of poor-grade limestone and is 150 feet long and 75
feet high, from base to crown. The modern name is a
Greek version of the Egyptian shesep-ankh, “the living
image.” The Sphinx is believed to represent Khafre, as
Horus of the Horizon. Originally the carving was faced
with Tureh limestone, and a beard extended from the
chin, almost to the center of the breast. A stela dating
from the reign of TUTHMOSIS IV (1401–1391 B.C.E.) rests
between its paws.
The private necropolis of Giza lies east and west of
the pyramids. Some later burials disrupt the orderly layout
of the Fourth Dynasty complex. Of particular interest
is the tomb of Queen MERYSANKH (3), the consort of
Khafre and the daughter of Prince KEWAB and Queen HETEPHERES
(2). Remarkable scenes and a row of statues of
the royal family fill this vast burial site. The tomb was
originally made for Queen Hetepheres (2), who gave it to
Merysankh (3) when she died young. The plateau of Giza
also contains the ruins of a temple honoring HORUS of the
Horizon. This shrine was erected near the Great Sphinx
by AMENHOTEP II (r. 1427–1401 B.C.E.) of the Eighteenth
Dynasty. A temple of ISIS was also formed in one of the
subsidiary pyramids of Giza by a later dynasty.
A vast area containing the ruins of living quarters,
clinics, bakeries, breweries, and other structures has been
discovered at Giza in recent years. An ongoing excavation
of the area is being conducted to uncover this workers’
village. The ruins confirm the fact that able-bodied Egyptians
provided free labor throughout the building process
of the Giza plateau complexes. The CORVÉE system entitled
the pharaohs to request such services from the people,
especially during the time of the annual inundation.
Slaves were not used to build the pyramids, which were
national projects, undertaken freely by the entire populace
in service to the pharaoh and the godS.: Source:Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
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