Giza Plateau Building complex in Egypt

 Giza Plateau - Discover Egypt's Monuments

The Giza pyramid complex also called the Giza necropolis and also known as the Pyramids of Giza or Egypt, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Giza, that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, between 2600 and 2500 BC. The site also includes several cemeteries and the remains of a workers' village.

The pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx are among the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and indeed already were even in Roman times. Each of these spectacular structures served as the final resting place of a king of the 4th Dynasty (c.2613–2494 BC). The Great Pyramid of Giza was built for king Khufu (c.2589–2566 BC), and the other two for Khafre and Menkaure, his son and grandson. Khufu’s pyramid is both the oldest and largest of the three, and the first building to exceed it in height would not be built for another 3,800 years!

Although the three pyramids dominate the plateau, they are in fact surrounded by many other monuments. Every king’s pyramid was just one element albeit the most important of a larger complex that included smaller, subsidiary, queens’ pyramids; an additional one that acted as a second, symbolic, tomb for the king, called a satellite pyramid; mastaba tombs for nobility and other family members; burials of actual and/or symbolic boats; and a pair of temples linked by a richly decorated causeway. One of these temples, called the valley temple, led into the pyramid complex, and was located on or near a body of water where boats could dock. The other, the funerary (or upper) temple, stood near the base of the pyramid. Priests maintained the mortuary cult of the deceased king in these temples, where his divine aspect was worshiped, and where rich and diverse offerings were presented to his soul so he could have a peaceful and luxurious afterlife.

The Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid, the tomb of King Khufu (c.2589–2566 BC), with its original height of 146.5 meters, was the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years. It remains the last surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and took an estimated 10 to 20 years to build. To this day, it is not entirely certain how this was done.

The Great Pyramid is made of local limestone, but its exterior was once entirely covered with high quality limestone. These casing stones were brought from Turah, south of Maadi, by ship. 

On the inside, the pyramid has three chambers, one cut into the bedrock underneath, and two high up within the masonry itself, a feature that no other pyramid possesses. The sarcophagus in which Khufu was once laid to rest can still be seen in the upper of these two rooms, the King’s Chamber. This room is accessed through the Grand Gallery, a majestic corbelled ascending passage, and a masterpiece of ancient engineering and architecture.

Two large and impressive ships were discovered in pits on the south side of the pyramid in a dismantled state. These are believed to have been used to transport the royal mummy and burial equipment to the tomb.

The Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it was carved out of a low lying spur of the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza. The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the pharaoh Khafre.

The original shape of the Sphinx was cut from the bedrock, and has since been restored with layers of limestone blocks. It measures 73 m (240 ft) long from paw to tail, 20 m (66 ft) high from the base to the top of the head and 19 m (62 ft) wide at its rear haunches. Its nose was broken off between the 3rd and 10th centuries AD. The Arab historian al-Maqrīzī, writing in the 15th century, attributes the loss of the nose to Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr

Tomb of Queen Meresankh III

Under the shadow of the Great Pyramid lies the mastaba of Queen Meresankh III, the wife of Khafre and granddaughter of Khufu. Both very large and exquisitely decorated, this is indeed a tomb worthy of her rank and fortunately also contains the best preserved wall reliefs in the Eastern Cemetery.

These are decorated with a diverse array of scenes, including bread baking, beer brewing, fowling, herding, mat making, metal smelting, and the sculpting of statues, apparently of Meresankh herself.

 These, along with the elaborate scenes of offering-bearers bringing all sorts of gifts to Meresankh, were intended to magically provide her soul with a continuous stream of food and goods in the afterlife. Interestingly, among the objects being brought to her are a canopy with a bed being set up within it, an armchair, and a carrying chair. Actual examples of very similar objects were discovered in the tomb of Hetepheres I, the mother of Kufu, and can be seen today at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Among the most striking features of Meresankh’s tomb chapel is a series of ten large statues of women that are carved out of the northern wall. It is believed that they represent, in addition to Meresankh herself, her mother, and daughters as well.

Eastern and Western Cemeteries

Two of the largest preserved Old Kingdom cemeteries form a part of the pyramid complex of king Khufu (c.2589–2566 BC) in Giza. Called the Eastern and Western Cemeteries after their positions relative to the Great Pyramid, they include the tombs of members of the royal family and the highest-ranking nobles. As such, they contain some of the most beautiful tomb decorations from this period.

The cemeteries consist mostly of mastabas, but rock-cut tombs are attested as well. The term mastaba (Arabic for “bench”) refers to a type of funerary structure that was generally rectangular in shape and built over the tomb proper, which was underground. Most of the mastabas of the Eastern and Western Cemeteries were built during the reign of Khufu, in tandem with his pyramid complex, whereas the rock-cut tombs were for the most part built later.

Most of the tombs of the Eastern Cemetery dating to the reign of Khufu were intended for his closest relatives. The rock-cut tomb of his mother, queen Hetepheres I, along with her funerary equipment, was discovered here, and it is the site of the mastaba of his half-brother Ankh-haf, who had an important administrative position in the construction of the Great Pyramid. 

On the other hand, the mastabas of the Western Cemetery, which are mostly arranged in an orderly grid, were reserved for very high-ranking noblemen that were not as closely related to the king. Among them is the monumental mastaba of Hemiunu, who oversaw the building of the Great Pyramid.