Rising above a desert plateau near Cairo are three giant pyramids. The most famous of them is the Great Pyramid, and together, they’re the only structure among the Seven Wonders of the World that is still mostly intact.
Extraordinary feats tend to inspire extraordinary explanations. Space aliens! Super-advanced lost civilizations! But the truth is even more interesting. Three Egyptian pharaohs overseeing tens of thousands of workers built the iconic structures at Giza within a 70-year span during the Fourth Dynasty (2575-2465 B.C.), 4,500 years ago. Recent archaeological discoveries, including the diary of an inspector involved in pyramid construction, explain more about how the pyramids were built and who built them — but many questions remain.
All in the Family
The Giza pyramids were the brainchild of three generations of Egyptian kings. Khufu, the oldest of the three, was the father of Khafre. And Khafre was the father of Menkaure. Each pyramid is thought to be the final resting place of the king who ordered it built.
Menkaure’s pyramid c. 2510 B.C. Known as “Menkaure Is Divine” during construction. Area: 2.9 acres Height: 218 feet
