Ancient History Civilization

The Pyramids were not laid out willy-nilly on the Giza Plateau. Each side of each of the three Pyramids lines up precisely east-west or north-south. It’s a bit of a mystery how the ancients achieved such a perfect alignment, considering they did not have the magnetic compass at their disposal. The Pyramids’ proportions are [...]

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The most enigmatic of sculptures, the Sphinx was carved from a single block of limestone left over in the quarry used to build the Pyramids. Scholars believe it was sculpted about 4,600 years ago by the pharaoh Khafre, whose Pyramid rises directly behind it and whose face [...]

Khafre, who was the son of Khufu, was also known as Rakhaef or Chephren. He ruled from 2520 – 2494 B.C. and is responsible for the second largest pyramid complex at Giza, which includes the Sphinx, a Mortuary Temple, and a Valley Temple. The most distinctive feature of Khafre’s Pyramid is the topmost layer of [...]

by Mark Lehner
Acknowledgments
Our 1997 excavation season of the Koch-Ludwig Giza Plateau Mapping Project drew to a close on March 29, 1997. For a very successful season, we are grateful to Dr. Ali Hassan, President of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Dr. Zahi Hawass, Director General of Giza and Saqqara, for their cooperation [...]

The pyramids on the Giza Plateau near Cairo. At far right is the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), in the middle and closer is the pyramid of Khafre (Chephren), and on left is the smallest of the three major Giza pyramids – that of Menkaure (Mycerinus). Three small subsidiary pyramids are at the extreme left. [...]

By Brian Handwerk

The Giza Pyramids, built to endure an eternity, have done just that. The monumental tombs are relics of Egypt’s Old Kingdom era and were constructed some 4,500 years ago.