The Great Pyramid of Giza was built as the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu, known to the Greeks as Cheops, of the Fourth Dynasty, on the Giza plateau outside modern Cairo. It originally stood about 146 metres high and was the tallest human-made structure in the world for nearly four thousand years. The pyramid is made of limestone blocks, with granite beams used in its inner chambers, and the vizier Hemiunu is often suggested as its architect. Excavations of the workers' town nearby show that it was built by organised, fed and housed labour crews and not by slaves, as ancient writers claimed. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one still standing.
Before and after
- from c. 2,601 BCE to 1,901 BCEThe Indus Valley cities reach maturity
- c. 2,590 BCEConstruction of Red Pyramid
- c. 2,589 BCEConstruction of Dahshur
- 26th century BCEThe Great Sphinx
- c. 2,560 BCEConstruction of Great Pyramid of Giza
- c. 2,510s BCEConstruction of Pyramid of Menkaure
- from 26th century BCE to 20th century BCELagash
- from c. 2,500 BCE to 64 BCEPhoenicia
- from c. 2,498 BCE to 2,345 BCEFifth Dynasty of Egypt
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1,051 BCEThe Phoenician alphabet spreads
- from 351 BCE to 1494Construction of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
- 323 BCEConstruction of Temple of Ephesian Artemis
- from 312 BCE to 63 BCESeleucid Empire
- from 279 BCE to 1480Construction of Lighthouse of Alexandria
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 26th century BCE.