Pyramids of Giza History | Purpose, Construction, Timeline & More

Built c. 2600–2500 BC
To the east of the Great Pyramid of Khufu's, there are three small pyramids, some just 20m high. These are the tombs of Khufu’s wives and sisters, popularly known as the Queens' Pyramids. They include the Pyramid of Hetepheres, Khufu’s mother, and the Queens Meritites and Henutsen, his wives. South of the Pyramid of Menkaure are three more small Queens’ Pyramids, however, it is unknown who is buried there.

Built c. 2500–2100 BC
Surrounding the three pyramids are many flat-topped funerary structures called mastabas. They were used for the burials of lesser relatives or officials of the kings and were arranged along streets and avenues. These were built between 2575–2465 BC. You can also see tombs belonging to the workers who spent up to 85 years to complete building the three pyramids and the rest of the Giza complex.

c. 2600–2500 BC
The three Pyramids of Giza were built during the Fourth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, between 2600 and 2500 BC. The oldest of these structures is the Pyramid of Khufu. It’s believed that a workforce of 20,000 – 40,000 paid laborers took between 20 to 30 years to build each of the three Pyramids. They were built on the west bank of the Nile, which was thought of as the site of the setting sun and associated with the realm of the dead.

c. 2500–2100
The pyramids were constructed as burial monuments for the deceased pharaohs. The ancient Egyptians believed that when a pharaoh died, they would live on in the afterlife as gods. So, they needed to be buried with the items they might need in their afterlife, and so the pyramids were used to store the pharaoh’s treasures. They were also built with mortuary temples where priests worshipped the deceased pharaohs.

c. 1570–1069 BC
By the time of the New Kingdom (1570–1069 BC), the Giza complex was still an active site. The Pharaohs Thutmose I, Amenhotep II, and Thutmose IV  built various temples near the Sphinx. Later kings such as Tutankhamun and Ramesses II also added new structures to the complex.

c. 480 BC–400 AD
After Egypt was annexed by the Romans between 32–30 BC, the Pyramids of Giza were regarded as antiquities. They became a popular tourist destination, even among Roman Emperors. The Sphinx was even restored in 60 AD in honor of Emperor Nero, and a stairway and podium were added to help visitors view the structure.

820 AD–1500
In the Middle Ages, Egypt was conquered by Islamic Caliphs. The early rulers were fascinated by the Pyramids, and in 820 AD, Caliph Al-Ma'mun is said to have tunneled into the side of the Great Pyramid to explore what was inside. The writer Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi also studied the pyramids in 1200 AD, praising them as works of engineering genius, and the Islamic historian Al-Maqrizi further explored the Great Pyramid in the 1400s, including the sarcophagus in the coffin chamber.

12th Century
In 1196 AD, Al-Aziz Uthman, the second Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, tried to destroy the Pyramids of Giza, starting with that of Menkaure. His workers tried to pull down the pyramids for eight months but found that they were as expensive to destroy as they were to build. Since they were only able to remove one or two stones each day, Al-Aziz was unsuccessful. His expensive efforts merely left a long gash on the northern face of the Pyramid of Menkaure

1798
During the French invasion of Egypt in 1798, Napoleon visited the Pyramids of Giza before the Battle of Pyramids. He is said to have spent a few nights in the Pyramid complex before the battle and asked his soldiers to scale the exteriors of the pyramid. However, despite the legends saying that he spent the night alone inside the Great Pyramid, the truth is that he never ventured inside.

1798–1890s
After the French discovered the Rosetta Stone in 1799 and deciphered Hieroglyphics, Egypt was captured by the British in 1801. European historians soon began to show more interest in ancient Egypt and the pyramids. Important events include the first modern archaeological dig of the site in 1817, supervised by Giovanni Belzoni, and Howard Vyse’s explorations inside the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure.

1914–1918
During World War I, British soldiers were posted in Egypt to protect the Suez Canal. Many soldiers and nurses from Australia and New Zealand stayed in tents near the Giza complex. As a result, British and Imperial soldiers serving here followed the tourist routes and posed in front of tourist attractions including the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.

1920s–present
After a resurgence in interest in Egypt, following the discovery of Tutankhamun’s fabulous tomb in the 1920s, several modern Egyptologists have explored the site to find valuable discoveries about the pyramids. These include the excavation of the workers’ village, the discoveries of Khufu’s solar boats, and the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I.