Pyramids

The Pyramids of Giza are the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt. These massive stone structures were built around 4500 years ago on a rocky desert plateau close to the Nile. But the intriguing Egyptian pyramids were more than just tombs for kings. The mysteries surrounding their symbolism, design and purpose have inspired passionate debate. It is likely that many of these mysteries will never be solved...

The pyramids area around and south of Cairo is where nearly all pyramids were built more than four thousand years ago.

Apart from some smaller pyramids, all were built during the Old Kingdom which lasted from the4th to the 6th dynasty (about 2613-2181BC).

They are located in and around the old capital Hwt-ka-Ptah (Memphis). South of To-She (Fayoum) there is only found a handful of pyramids, and then only very small pyramids.

WHO BUILT PYRAMIDS
The question of who built the pyramids, and how, has long been debated by Egyptologists and historians. Standing at the base of the pyramids at Giza it is hard to believe that any of these enormous monuments could have been built in one pharaoh's lifetime. Herodotus, the Greek historian who wrote in the 5th century B.C., 500 years before Christ, is the earliest known chronicler and historian of the Egyptian Pyramid Age. By his accounts, the labor force that built Khufu totalled more than 100,000 people. But Herodotus visited the pyramids 2,700 years after they were built and his impressive figure was an educated guess, based on hearsay. Modern Egyptologists believe the real number is closer to 20,000.

We are told of pyramids all over the world. We are told of pyramids in Australia and Greece, the United States and Spain. We are told of pyramids under the oceans and even in space. Besides the pyramids of Egypt, we certainly know of the pyramids of South Mexico down into South America. It also seems likely that pyramids exist in China, though their investigation has been limited, and we know of no formal archaeological investigation. It is very probable that the small Greek pyramids exist, but many of the remaining structures claimed to be pyramids are questionable. One pyramid in China, called the White Pyramid, is even rumored to be larger then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, though this has only been reported by one person that we know of, and the China pyramid is made of earth, while the Great Pyramid is made of massive stones.