The Giza pyramid field, viewed from the southwest. Dominating the picture from foreground to background are the Pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu.

The Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complec of ancient monuments is located some eight km inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 20 km southwest of Cairo city centre. giza pyramid field File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... giza pyramid field File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... View of the modern citys skyline. ... Giza (Arabic, الجيزة, transliterated al-ǧīzah; pronounced in Egyptian Arabic dialect of Cairo al-Gīza; also sometimes rendered in English as Gizeh, Ghizeh, or Geezeh) is a town in Egypt on the left bank of the Nile river, across from the old city of Cairo, and now part of the...

The site

This Ancient Egyptian necropolis consists of the Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the "Great Pyramid" and the "Pyramid of Cheops") the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Kephren), and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus), along with a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as "queens" pyramids, and the Great Sphinx. Map of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was an organized civilization of the Nile Valley from around 3300 BC until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, although recent excavations reveal a cattle-herding society of peoples living in the region as early as 6000 BC. By 4000 BC... A necropolis (plural: necropolises or necropoleis) is a cemetery or burying-place, literally a city of the dead. Apart from the occasional application of the word to modern cemeteries outside large towns, the term is chiefly used of burial grounds near the sites of the centers of ancient civilizations. ... The Great Pyramid of Giza, (sometimes spelled Gizeh) is the oldest and last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous pyramid in the world. ... The Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx of Giza Khafres Pyramid (29° 58′ 32″ N 31° 07′ 52″ E), is the second largest of the Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the Fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre. ... The Pyramid of Menkaure Menkaures Pyramid is the smallest of the three Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the Fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background. ...

Giza pyramids, view from south in late nineteenth century. From left: Menkaura pyramid, Khafra pyramid, Great (Khufu) pyramid.

Of the three, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished limestone casing, towards its apex. Interestingly this pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction — it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume. Photograph of Great Pyramids from a 19th century Stereopticon card, from collection of Infrogmation This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Photograph of Great Pyramids from a 19th century Stereopticon card, from collection of Infrogmation This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Menkaura (Greek Mycerinus) was a pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt (ca. ... Khafra (Greek Chephren) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty, with his capital at Memphis. ... Khufus Cartouche Khufu (in Greek known as Cheops) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypts Old Kingdom. ...

The most active phase of construction here was in the 25th century BC. (26th century BC - 25th century BC - 24th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period 2494 BC -- End of Fourth Dynasty, start of Fifth Dynasty in Egypt. ...

The ancient remains of the Giza necropolis have attracted visitors and tourists since classical antiquity, when these Old Kingdom monuments were already over 2,000 years old. It was popularised in Hellenistic times when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today it is the only one of the ancient Wonders still in existence. Classical antiquity is a broad and perhaps misleading term for a long period of European, Middle East and North African history, that begins roughly with the earliest recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire... ö The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization complexity and achievement - this was the first of three so-called Kingdom periods which mark the high points of civilisation in the Nile Valley (the... Antipater of Sidon (2nd century BC) is an ancient Greek writer and poet. ... The seven wonders of the world are usually taken to be the seven wonders of the ancient world. ...

While, due largely to nineteenth-century images, the pyramids of Giza are generally thought of by foreigners as lying in a remote, desert location, they are located in what is now part of the most populated city in Africa. [1] Consequently, urban development reaches right up to the perimeter of the antiquities site, to the extent that in the 1990s a Pizza Hut restaurant opened across the street. [2] Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... Pizza Hut is a restaurant chain and international food franchise specializing in pizza. ...

Components of the Necropolis

Nineteenth-century tourists in front of the Sphinx. View from South-East, Great Pyramid in background.

• Pyramid of Khufu ("Great Pyramid")
• Pyramid of Khafre
• Pyramid of Menkaure
• Great Sphinx
• Solar Barque

19th Century Tourists at the Sphynx & Pyramids of Giza, from a period stereopticon card photo, from collection of Infrogmation This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 19th Century Tourists at the Sphynx & Pyramids of Giza, from a period stereopticon card photo, from collection of Infrogmation This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Great Pyramid of Giza, (sometimes spelled Gizeh) is the oldest and last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous pyramid in the world. ... The Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx of Giza Khafres Pyramid (29° 58′ 32″ N 31° 07′ 52″ E), is the second largest of the Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the Fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre. ... The Pyramid of Menkaure Menkaures Pyramid is the smallest of the three Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the Fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background. ...

Open questions

• Are the Pyramids of Giza sequenced in straight lines with stars?
• Is the Hall of Records real? If so, where is it? Is it under the Great Pyramid? Is it under the Sphinx?
• How old is the Sphinx? Does the Sphinx date to the predynastic period or the Old Kingdom? What was the purpose of the Sphinx? Which pharaoh was the Sphinx meant to resemble?

The Great Pyramid of Giza, (sometimes spelled Gizeh) is the oldest and last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous pyramid in the world. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza is a large half-human Sphinx statue in Egypt. ... The Predynastic period of Egypt is the period that culminates in the rise of the Old Kingdom and the first of the thirty dynasties based on royal residences, by which Egyptologists divide the history of Pharaonic civilization, using a schedule laid out first by Manethos Aegyptaica. ... ö The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization complexity and achievement - this was the first of three so-called Kingdom periods which mark the high points of civilisation in the Nile Valley (the...

See also

• Egyptian pyramids

The pyramids of Egypt, some of which are among the largest man-made constructions ever conceived [1], constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilisation. ...

Further reading

• Manley, Bill (Ed.), "The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt". Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500051232
• "Mysteries of Egypt" National Geographic Society, 1999. ISBN 0792297520
• Rhys-Davies, John, "Riddles of the monument builders : Who built the Sphinx" Time-Life Video, 1995.
• Bauval, Robert, and Adrian Gilbert, "The Orion Mystery : Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids". 1994. ISBN 0517884542
• Morris, Margaret, "The Egyptian Pyramid Mystery Is Solved". ISBN 0972043403
• Childress, David Hatcher, "Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients". Adventures Unlimited Pre, 2000. ISBN 0932813739

External link

• Giza Plateau on GoogleMaps.