The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering present-day Giza in Greater Cairo, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.
Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English, is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb due to its rectangular base, as well as a number of mastabas. Located some 30 km (19 mi) south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km.
The Pyramid of Djoser, or Step Pyramid is an archaeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the city of Memphis. The 6-tier, 4-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier, Imhotep. The pyramid is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.
Giza is the third-largest city in Egypt and the capital of the Giza Governorate. It is located on the west bank of the Nile, 4.9 km (3 mi) southwest of central Cairo, and forms a part of the Greater Cairo metropolis.
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2686–2181 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid builders of the Fourth Dynasty— among them King Sneferu, who perfected the art of pyramid-building, and the kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who constructed the pyramids at Giza. Egypt attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom—the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley.
The Great Sphinx of Giza, commonly referred to as the Sphinx of Giza or just the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. Facing directly from West to East, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the pharaoh Khafre.
The Bent Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo, built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu. A unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt, this was the second pyramid built by Sneferu.
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt. As of November 2008, sources cite either 118 or 138 as the number of identified Egyptian pyramids. Most were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.
The Pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three main Pyramids of Giza, located on the Giza Plateau in the southwestern outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It is thought to have been built to serve as the tomb of the fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure.
The Giza pyramid complex, also called the Giza Necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The site also includes several cemeteries and the remains of a workers' village.
Pyramidology refers to various religious or pseudoscientific speculations regarding pyramids, most often the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Some "pyramidologists" also concern themselves with the monumental structures of pre-Columbian America, and the temples of Southeast Asia.
Egyptian pyramid construction techniques are the controversial subject of many hypotheses. These techniques seem to have developed over time; later pyramids were not constructed in the same way as earlier ones. Most of the construction hypotheses are based on the belief that huge stones were carved from quarries with copper chisels, and these blocks were then dragged and lifted into position. Disagreements chiefly concern the methods used to move and place the stones.
The Indestructibles was the name given by Ancient Egyptian astronomers to two bright stars which, at that time, could always be seen circling the North Pole. The name is directly related to Egyptian belief in constant North as a portal to heaven for pharaohs, and the stars' close association with eternity and the afterlife. These circumpolar stars are now known as Kochab, in the bowl of Ursa Minor or, the Little Dipper, and Mizar, in Ursa Major, at the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper.
The Orion correlation theory is a fringe hypothesis in alternative Egyptology.
Seked is an ancient Egyptian term describing the inclination of the triangular faces of a right pyramid. The system was based on the Egyptian's length measure known as the royal cubit. It was subdivided into seven palms, each of which was sub-divided into four digits. The inclination of measured slopes was therefore expressed as the number of horizontal palms and digits relative to each royal cubit rise.
Nefertkau II was an Ancient Egyptian noble lady, the wife of Prince Khufukhaf I, son of pharaoh Khufu.
The East Field is located to the east of Khufu's pyramid and contains cemetery G 7000. This cemetery was a burial place for some of the family members of Khufu. The cemetery also includes mastabas from tenants and priests of the pyramids dated to the 5th dynasty and 6th dynasty.
Cemetery GIS is a necropolis in the Giza Plateau. It derives its name from its proximity to pyramid G I (Khufu). The tombs are located on the south side of that pyramid and hence the name G I South Cemetery. Reisner thought the cemetery a continuation of the G7000 cemetery which is part of the Giza East Field. The construction postdates that of mastaba G 7070 of Sneferukhaf. Junker dated the cemetery to the reign of Menkaure based on the presence of granite powder thought to derive from the dressing of the second pyramid at Giza. Reisner allows for a possible construction date dating to the reign of Khafre.
The Djedi Project is intended to explore the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza and pyramid Temple 20 at Palenque. The project team is made up of international and Egyptian experts. The name derived from Djedi, the ancient Egyptian magician consulted by Pharaoh Khufu when planning his famous pyramid. As Dr. Zahi Hawass announced on his blog: "The purpose of this project is to send a robotic tunnel explorer into the two “air shafts” that lead from the Queen's Chamber of the Great Pyramid of Khufu to gather evidence to determine the purpose of the shafts."
The Diary of Merer is the name for papyrus logbooks written over 4,500 years ago that record the daily activities of stone transportation from the Tura limestone quarry to and from Giza during the 4th Dynasty. They are the oldest known papyri with text. The text was found in 2013 by a French mission under the direction of archaeologists Pierre Tallet of Paris-Sorbonne University and Gregory Marouard in a cave in Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea coast.
