Egypt: The Pyramids of Giza

Horizon of Cheops The largest of the Giza pyramids is called the Great Pyramid. It was built by Cheops, who was also known as Khufu. He was the son of Snofru. Originally, the pyramid was 147m high and its base is 230m square. The pyramid was probably meant to be the burial place of Cheops, although he may have ended up being buried elsewhere. There are three burial chambers in the pyramid. Great is Chephren The middle pyramid at Giza was built for Chephren who was also known as Khaf-ra. Originally, the pyramids base was 215m square. It was 145m high. In some photographs it looks the tallest of the Giza group of pyramids. It is an easy pyramid to identify. At the top some layers of the original limestone capping are still in place. The lowest layers of the pyramid seem to have been capped with red granite. There are two entrances to the underground tomb. One starts outside the pyramid. It was driven through the rock base. The other starts in the side of the pyramid. The passage descends through the pyramid and the rock base. Cheops monument is the best example of a pyramid complex. Twenty -four magnificent statues of Chepren were found in the temples. Divine Mycerinus The smallest of the three huge pyramids at Giza belonged to Mycerinus, sometimes called Men-ku-ra. It was 109m square and 65m high. Beside it are three much smaller pyramids. They were for his queens. After Mycerinus was buried in his underground tomb the pyramid was sealed with huge stones. However, thieves, adventurers and archaeologists still found their way in. The pyramid of Mycerinus has possibly been the worst treated of all the great pyramids. The sarcophagus (a stone coffin) of Mycerinus was removed from the tomb. It was crated up and sent to England. However, it did not arrive. The ship was wrecked off the coast of Spain where it still lies.

The Names of the Pharaohs The pharaohs who built the Giza pyramids are each known by Egyptian and Greek names. The table below should help you sort out the different names. You will also find variation in the spelling of each one. Egyptian Greek Cheops Chephren Mycerinus Khufu Khaf-ra Men-ku-ra

Egypt: Pyramids Group Activity: Make a Pyramid

YOU WILL NEED: ACCESS TO A PHOTOCOPIER, OR TRACING PAPER PENCIL THIN CARD SCISSORS DOUBLE SIDED STICKY TAPE OR GLUE

PROCEDURE 1. 2. 3. 4. Trace or photocopy this outline onto thin card. Cut along the solid lines. Fold along the dotted lines, folding towards the centre of the square base. Turn over and attach double-sided sticky tape to the tabs as shown. Alternatively, you can use glue 5. Stick each tab one at a time to the underside of the triangle next to it until all of them are stuck together. 6. Look at the scale of your model it is 1 cm for every 30 metres of the Great Pyramid. If you could be scaled down to stand beside the model, you would be about as big as a grain of sand.