One of the great mysteries surrounding these awe-inspiring ancient sites is the reason they were built in the first place.
Many historians and Egyptologists believe that the Great Pyramid was built as an extravagant tomb for one of the ancient empire’s Pharaohs, and that the smaller ones surrounding it were to hold his wives – but no one really knows for sure.
There are many theories about these incredible structures, but much of their origins remain shrouded in mystery – until recently, when archeologists found new evidence that might answer all of the questions around the pyramids.
Millions of tourists come to visit the pyramids of Egypt every year. It’s not just historians and Egyptologists who flock to the site – people of all walks of life are interested to learn more about the history of the pyramids, and to see for themselves first-hand one of the most awe-inspiring sights in the world.
Everybody wants a photo in front of a pyramid!
The incredible history of the pyramids and the mystery surrounding them means that the site welcomes over 5 million people per year.
We know that the pyramids of Egypt are more than 4,000 years old. Of the fabled Seven Wonders of the ancient world, only the pyramids remain.
Let’s put that into perspective a little: Ancient Rome, for example, was just over 2,000 years ago, and so the pyramids were built another 2,000 years before that. That means that during Roman times, the pyramids were as old as Ancient Rome is for us today!
That really shows just how incredibly ancient these amazing structures are.
While all the pyramids are amazing, the most awe-inspiring one of all is well-known to be the Great Pyramid of Giza. This mammoth edifice held the title of the tallest manmade structure in the world for nearly 4,000 years, before the construction of the Lincoln Cathedral in the UK in 1311.
The great pyramid stands at over 481 feet and it’s truly a gigantic testament of ancient engineering.
It’s the incredible sight of this structure and the mysteries contained within it that keep people enthralled by it year after year – and what made this later discovery so powerful.
Next to the pyramids lays another magnificent monument, the Great Sphinx of Giza. This colossal structure is a limestone statue of a sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human.
The Sphinx was originally cut from bedrock and has been restored with layers of blocks. It stands at 66 feet high and 240 feet long.
Much like the pyramids next to it, the Great Sphinx, though long an object of wonder and admiration, is still shrouded in mystery in terms of who built it, when, and for what purpose.
One particular rumor about both the Sphinx and the pyramids is that their construction actually predates Ancient Egypt itself. Could this be true?
Historians and authors Malcolm Hutton and Gerry Cannon believe that the Sphinx is at least 12,000 years ago, because this is when it would have been possible to carve the natural rock.
“You can’t carve a rock when it’s under sand. When it was not under sand was about 12,000 years ago and the Egyptians weren’t there,” Cannon said.
However, this is not a common theory, and not widely accepted – unlike the incredible revelation that was soon to come.
One thing we do know is that the pyramids were built using giant stone blocks. The size and strength of these monumental blocks is one of the reasons why the pyramids are still standing today. Such huge stones are able to weather the forces of destruction presented by both nature and man.
The lightest of the stones weight two tons, and some blocks are much heavier. Many of them weigh as much as 10, 20, or even 50 tons. It’s incredible to even think about it!
Despite the many conflicting theories about the Egyptian pyramids, almost everyone agrees that the building blocks were indeed what were used to construct them.
But not everyone agrees on exactly how this was done.
Some people believe that manual workers carved the boulders for the pyramids using copper chisels nearby. Others think that the bricks were dragged from far away. But, as with so much of the history of the pyramids, the real truth is shrouded in mystery. Little did the historians of the time know that a new discovery was soon to blow their previous theories out of the water.
Another of the many questions surrounding the building of the pyramids is what type of material was used to hold the stone bricks together.
Archaeologists have studied the chemical makeup of the mortar, but to this day no one has been able to find a definite answer as to what this material is. Despite the remaining mystery, it’s clear that the mixture does what it’s supposed to, as the pyramids are still standing after several millennia.
Millions of people have been trying to solve the mystery of the pyramids in Giza over the centuries. And while nobody can say for sure how they were made, who built them, and why, there have been a great deal of different theories claiming to answer these questions.
As with any long-standing archaeological mystery, the theories are varied and conflicting, and no one could really know for sure. That is until one modern discovery changed everything we thought we knew about the pyramids.
Here are some of the most popular theories and the incredible discovery that followed.
