The Great Pyramid is the largest
of three pyramids built by the
ancient Egyptians at Giza. This
amazing structure was built
around 2550 B.C. as the burial
monument for Khufu (also known as
Cheops), the second king of the
4th dynasty.
The Great Pyramid has a square
base with 755 foot sides aligned
with the points of the compass.
The sides rise at a uniform angle
of about 51 degrees to a central
point over 481 feet from the base.
The pyramid was originally
covered with smooth, light-
colored limestone.
To this day, we are not complete-
ly sure how this incredible monu-
ment was built. The Greek histor-
ian Herodotus wrote that 100,000
men worked for 20 years to build
the Great Pyramid. Most experts
believe that the workers used
ramps made of brick and sand to
raise the blocks, some weighing
over 16 tons, into place.
While the pyramids were built to
safeguard the body and possessions
of the dead king, the structures
were raided not long after their
completion. By the time modern
explorers entered the Great Pyra-
mid, the treasures buried with
Khufu were gone, and even the
limestone surface stones had been
carried away by thieves.
