Giza

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

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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