30 interesting facts about the Egyptian pyramids

The majestic Egyptian pyramids have been standing for thousands of years, continuing to amaze all those who have seen them with their own eyes and not in photos. It is the only surviving Wonder of the World, and it will probably stand almost forever. When people will fly to the distant stars, the pyramids will still stand proudly in the desert.

Interesting facts about the pyramids of Ancient Egypt

1. They are built of heavy limestone blocks bonded with mortar, cut in the nearby quarries. On height rose, probably, with the help of ramps.
2. One of the Egyptian pyramids – the Pyramid of Cheops – is included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World. Its construction is still covered with mysteries and myths (see 23 interesting facts about the pyramid of Cheops).
3. The three pyramids are located very close to the city of Giza, which is de facto a suburb of Cairo, the Egyptian capital.
4. When calculating the perimeter of the Cheops pyramid divided by twice its height, we get the number pi to the nearest one hundred thousandth.
5. All Egyptian pyramids are gradually “shrinking”. For example, now the Cheops pyramid is only 138.75 meters instead of the original 146.6.
6. There are various pyramids in Egypt that were built at different times. They are divided into two types: stepped and smooth. Stepped pyramids are the oldest, and it was in them that the pharaohs were buried.
7. The total weight of all the blocks that make up the Cheops pyramid is approximately 5 million tons.
8. It is forbidden to climb the pyramids. Those who violate this law are quickly detained by the police.
9. Until the 19th century, the Cheops pyramid was the tallest building in the world, until it was surpassed by the towers of Cologne Cathedral.
10. All Egyptian pyramids are located on the west bank of the Nile, where the sun sets and where, according to ancient Egyptians, the realm of the dead was located.
11. The tombs of the pharaohs are not located in the middle of the pyramids, as many people think, but next to them, in the Valley of the Kings.
12. In ancient Egypt, about 140 pyramids of various sizes and shapes were built.
13. The pyramids were not built by slaves, as some people believe, but by hired workers who received wages and food.
14. The Pyramid of Cheops is the only one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World that still exists.
15. According to scientists, it took no more than 200 years to build each pyramid, but this is the highest estimate. Perhaps they were built in a few decades, not centuries.
16. For centuries, scientists have thought that the Egyptians used the pyramids as funerary structures. Today, other hypotheses have been put forward. One of them claims that each pyramid is a real “reference book” of units of measurement, mathematical values and measures of weight.
17. Photography and video recording inside the Egyptian pyramids is prohibited.
18. The Menkaura Pyramid is the latest and lowest of the three main pyramids in Giza, 66 m high and 108 m long along the base.
19. The blocks of stone are arranged in such a way that there are no gaps or gaps between them. Not even a needle can get through! Although over the millennia, the mortar that held the stone blocks together began to gradually crumble and collapse.
20. The oldest Egyptian pyramid is the Djoser Pyramid, which was built in the Necropolis of Saqqara about 4700 years ago.
21. In some parts of the world, the last mammoths were still roaming around when the ancient Egyptians were building their pyramids.
22. Inside the pyramids there are wall paintings depicting the construction.
23. The edge of all the pyramids is curved by 100 cm. This was done so that each pyramid could absorb and accumulate the sun’s energy.
24. The Cheops pyramid consisted of about 2.3 million perfectly flat blocks.
25. To this day, the pyramids have not survived in their original state. And it is not so much time that is to blame as people. To a large extent, the pyramids were plundered by “black archaeologists” who were not afraid of the legends of evil idols that kill those who enter the structures.
26. Initially, the pyramids were covered with facing stones of well-polished white limestone. These stones reflected the light of the sun and made the pyramids shine like precious stones.
27. The two largest pyramids, Cheops and Khephren, were built in two stages. Their construction was stopped for a long time and then resumed. No one knows why.
28. Estimates of the number of workers involved in the construction of the pyramids vary greatly, but it is likely that at least 100 thousand people built each of them.
29. Each face of each Egyptian pyramid faces strictly to one of the cardinal points.
30. The length of the faces of the Cheops pyramid at the foot differs by less than 5 centimeters. And this is with a length of 250 meters each!