Checked, not crowned
Myths and checks
A royal tomb attracts stories. The useful ones can be set beside a published source. The rest can stay stories.
Treasures, texts and mummies
There are no hieroglyphic texts, treasures or mummies in any of the pyramids of Giza; decoration inside pyramids began several centuries after these three were built.1 All three pyramids were plundered in ancient and medieval times: the grave goods are missing, and the kings’ bodies have never been found.1
The first pyramid
The first pyramid ever built, in UNESCO’s wording, is the Pyramid of Djoser, or the Step Pyramid, at Saqqara — not at Giza.2
Giza is later, and larger. The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara is the first pyramid in UNESCO’s wording, and the first monumental stone building.
A lost wonder?
UNESCO describes the Great Pyramid of Khufu as the only surviving wonder of the ancient world.2 UNESCO’s official short description notes that in ancient times the site was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.3
The Great Pyramid is the only surviving member of that ancient list. That is a statement about survival, not a claim that the building is unexplained.
Figures that will not sit still
How tall is the Great Pyramid now?
Britannica’s Pyramids of Giza article says 451.4 feet (138 metres). The same publisher’s Great Pyramid article says 449 feet (137 metres). Both figures are current heights after the loss of almost all the outer casing. This site keeps both in view and does not pick a winner.
How tall was it originally?
The Giza article gives 481.4 feet (147 metres). The Great Pyramid article says about 482 feet (147 metres). The metre figure is the same in both; the foot figures differ slightly. A later millimetre survey figure is sometimes quoted elsewhere; it is not used here because it was not found in the cached AERA excerpt used for this site.
When was the 4th dynasty?
Britannica’s Giza article uses c. 2575–c. 2465 BCE. Its Great Pyramid article uses c. 2543–c. 2436 BCE. Both are the same publisher’s ranges for the same dynasty. The dates are kept side by side.
How many people built it?
Herodotus, as reported by Britannica, said 100,000 men and 20 years, a figure Britannica calls believable if the work was mainly seasonal. Late twentieth-century archaeology, in the same article, points to a more limited permanent workforce, perhaps as few as 20,000 plus bakers, physicians, priests and other support. Both accounts stay on the page.
A short myth-or-fact board is on the games page.