Pyramid of Khufu

Candid tips & insights

 

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Why the
Pyramid of Khufu
Seven Wonder
is special

The pyramid of Khufu is the largest, oldest and only true surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was built in Egypt in the 26th century BC.

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Pyramid of Khufu
tips & insights

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Height

It held the world's tallest man-made structure title for over 4400 years until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was built.

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Size

The base area of Khufu's pyramid is equal in size to that of six big-city blocks. Most of the chiseled stones used to build this pyramid are as big as small pickup trucks.

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Exterior

The rugged exterior we see today on Pharaoh Khufu's tomb was originally covered by a beautiful smooth limestone surfacing. That valuable material was subsequently filched by later rulers for use on their own buildings. This lowered the height of the pyramid by about 5% to its current height of 138 meters (456 feet). It also shortened its base width.

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Climbing

It was once legal to climb Khufu's pyramid (as I and many other travelers did years ago). Today, the government prohibits climbing out of concern for visitor safety and possible vandalism.

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Chambers

Khufu's pyramid has three burial chambers - the upper (where he was put to rest), the middle (called "Queen's Chamber") and the lower (carved out of the solid rock below the pyramid). The lower chamber may have been a decoy to confuse tomb robbers.

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Misnomer

The "Queen's Chamber" is a misnomer - it was designed for the pharoah's crypt, but was eventually abandoned in favor of the bigger upper chamber. His queens were interned in the three small stand-alone pyramids at the base of his pyramid.

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Pharaoh Khufu

Little is known about Khufu (Cheops in Greek) the man. Archaeological evidence of his existence is quite skimpy.

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Questionable statistic

Many current printed sources state that the pyramid of Khufu required 100,000 slaves and took 20 years to complete. Those figures are derived from writings of the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus. He wasn't qualified to give those numbers because he lived 2,000 years after Khufu's pyramid was built and he didn't have the benefit of modern archaeological knowledge.

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In reality ...

It took fewer years and workers to build Khufu's pyramid than Herodotus guessed. Moreover, the workforce consisted not of slaves but mainly of local peasants who needed income when the annual Nile flooding prevented them from farming their riverside plots. Their belief in the divine status of their pharaoh Khufu was added motivation.

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Colossus of Rhodes
Hanging Gardens
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Pyramid of Khufu
Statue of Zeus
Temple of Artemis

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