Built 4，000 years ago， the three great pyramids at Giza， in the Egyptian desert remain the most colossal1 buildings ever The pyramids were built by Egyptians under the orders of the Egyptian leader， whose title was P There was a sequence of Pharaohs culminating3 around 2615 BC， with the Pharaoh Cheops who built the biggest thing ever built， the Great Pyramid， also known as Khu� Cheops built a pyramid 770 feet on one side and 481 feet How ancient builders managed to build these massive structures has never been fully answered but the effort clearly required brains and brawn4 矗立在埃及沙漠中吉萨的三座大金字塔建于4000年前，它们一直都是有史以来最宏大的建筑。 金字塔是埃及人在他们的领袖——名为法老——的命令下建造的。在公元前2615年左右，几任法老相继统治埃及，基奥普斯法老建造了有史以来最大的金字塔——大金字塔，也被称为胡夫金字塔。胡夫金字塔每边长770英尺，高481英尺。古代的建筑者是如何建造这些庞然大物的，这一直是个未解之谜，但很明显它需要付出大量的脑力和体力。
A pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one The base of pyramids are usually quadrilateral or trilateral but generally it can be any polygon shape)， meaning that a pyramid usually has three or four sides but theoretically there is no limit to the number of sides a pyramid can generally have lots more But all pyramids must have trilateral The measurements of these triangles uniformly classify the shape as isosceles and sometimes A pyramid's design， with the majority of the weight closer to the ground， means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from This allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental For thousands of years， the largest structures on Earth were pyramids: first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu， the only remaining Wonder of the W
The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and their The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle K There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient E The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at Giza at the beginning of the Old K The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh K It is known as the 'Great Pyramid' The pharaoh Khufu， like the pharaohs before him， began planning his 'house of eternity' as soon as he took the A spot was chosen for building on the west bank of the N Cemeteries were usually built on the west bank because the sun 'died' on the western horizon every nightKhufu's architects were wise and experienced They knew the importance of building the pharaoh's final resting place so that its sides faced directly north， south， east and They planned a large pyramid- the largest one ever built in ancient E The outlines of the pyramid were measured and marked in the desert Then the building Large blocks of stone were cut from quarries They were dragged by groups of men across the desert to the site of the pyramid and set in Most of the workers were farmers who worked on building the pyramid during the flood season when their fields were under After the first level of blocks was in place， the workers built ramps of mudbrick， limestone chips and The workers dragged the large stones up the ramps to build the next level of the For about 20 years， hundreds of men worked on building the As they built each level， they also built up the ramps around the When the pyramid was almost finished， a special block covered in shining metal (either gold or electrum) was placed on the top of the Then， blocks of white limestone from quarries across the Nile were used to cover the The blocks were trimmed to make the outside of the pyramid Finally， the pyramid was Khufu's pyramid was only part of the complex built for him at G This complex had many different parts: Three pyramids for Khufu's Several deep pits containing boats that had been A mortuary temple where Khufu would be worshipped after he A causeway leading from the pyramid complex down to the valley A valley temple where the pharaoh's funeral would A small 'satellite' The mastaba tombs of To find out more about the pyramid complex， see 'Explore'
The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza， E It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World， and the only one to remain largely Based on a mark in an interior chamber naming the work gang and a reference to fourth dynasty Egyptian PharaohKhufu，[1][2] Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC Initially at 5 metres (481 feet)， the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3，800 Originally， the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface; what is seen today is the underlying core Some of the casing stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the There have been varying scientific and alternative theories about the Great Pyramid's construction Most accepted construction hypotheses are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into There are three known chambers inside the Great P The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was The so-called[3] Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber are higher up within the pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only pyramid in Egypt known to contain both ascending and descending The main part of the Giza complex is a setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honour of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile)， three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives， an even smaller "satellite" pyramid， a raised causeway connecting the two temples， and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for
