Exploring the Great Pyramid of Khufu | A Glimpse into the Pharaoh's Enduring Legacy

Khufu (c.2589–2566 BC) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and the second ruler of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdon. He was the son of Queen Hetepheres and the Pharaoh Sneferu, who was responsible for building the first true pyramid, the Red Pyramid at Dashur. Khufu is also known by his Greek name Cheops and is most famous for designing the Great Pyramid at Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Khufu ruled for over 20 years and began work on the Great Pyramid of Giza almost as soon as he assumed the throne. Most of the information about Khufu comes from a few inscriptions at Giza and later documents by Greek historians written over 2,000 years after his death.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built using over 2.3 million blocks of stone, some of which weighed more than 80 tons. Khufu’s pyramid was constructed of limestone and granite which was often quarried at Giza. However, as detailed in a 4,500-year-old papyrus by a supervisor called Merer, some stones were transported by boat from far away sites like Tura and Aswan.

The inner chambers are of red granite blocks, while the outer core is of yellow sandstone, and was once covered by a casing of fine white limestone. A workforce of about 20,000 lived on-site for over 20 years and helped build the pyramid.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu began construction around 2580 BC, and was completed around 2560 BC. Pyramids were burial monuments for the powerful pharaohs and are though to have been designed to represent “benben”, the primeval mound from which the Egyptians believed the world was created.

At a height of 137m, this pyramid was considered to be the tallest man-made structure for thousands of years.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was also once covered with highly polished white limestone that reflected sunlight. Unfortunately, these stones were destroyed or removed and used to build other structures.

The very first restorations of the Pyramid of Khufu were done by later pharaohs of the New Kingdom, including Amenhotep II. Unfortunately, throughout antiquity the pyramid was looted several times, including by Caliph al-Mamun in 820 AD.

The first modern traveler to see the inside of Khufu’s pyramid was an English traveler, Nathaniel Davison in 1765. Following this, there was the first real excavation, led by Giovanni Belzoni, and later continued in 1835 by Colonel Vyse, who discovered four additional chambers.

In the 20th century, the cemeteries next to the pyramid were excavated leading to the discovery of the tomb of  Queen Hetepheres and two boat pits containing the king’s funeral ships.

The Great Pyramid features three burial chambers inside, which can be accessed by a sloping passageway named the Grand Gallery and various corridors and shafts. These three chambers include what is known as the “Queen’s Chamber”, the King's Chamber, and the Subterranean Chamber.

These interior chambers are all built of closely fitting slabs of red granite, some of which weigh over 400 tons.

While you can still see the ornamental original entrance on the north face of the pyramid, modern tourists use the Robbers' Tunnel located lower down.