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3,800 yrs
The Great Pyramid was the tallest human-made structure on Earth for about 3,800 years.
5 min readLast updated
The short answer
Yes. Built for the pharaoh Khufu around 2560 BC, the Great Pyramid stood about 146 meters tall and held the record for tallest human-made structure until Lincoln Cathedral's spire surpassed it around 1311.
Why it's true
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built during Egypt's Fourth Dynasty as a tomb for the king Khufu, known to the Greeks as Cheops. When complete it rose about 146.6 meters, roughly 481 feet. Its builders stacked an estimated 2.3 million stone blocks, many weighing more than two tonnes, into a shape so precise that its sides are aligned closely with the four compass points.
For an astonishingly long time, nothing taller was built anywhere. Temples, palaces, towers and cathedrals came and went, but none topped the pyramid until the central spire of Lincoln Cathedral in England was completed in the early fourteenth century, reaching an estimated 160 meters. That spire collapsed in 1548, but by then the pyramid's record was already broken.
Today the pyramid is about 138.5 meters tall, because its smooth outer casing stones and capstone are gone.
By the numbers
~146.6 m
Original height
2.3 million
Estimated stone blocks
~230 m
Length of each side of the base
~1311
Record finally broken in Lincoln
How we know
Egyptologists date the pyramid to Khufu's reign using king lists, inscriptions and radiocarbon dating of organic material in the mortar. Marks left by work gangs inside the structure name Khufu, and papyri found at Wadi al-Jarf, a Red Sea harbour, record an official named Merer transporting limestone blocks by boat for the project. These diaries are among the oldest inscribed papyri ever found.
The original height is calculated from the angle of the remaining faces and the base length of about 230 meters per side. The missing casing was made of fine white Tura limestone that once gave the pyramid a smooth, gleaming surface. Much of it was removed in later centuries, especially after an earthquake in 1303 damaged Cairo, and builders reused the stone for mosques and fortifications.
Worth remembering
- The Great Pyramid was built around 2560 BC for the pharaoh Khufu.
- At about 146 meters, it was the tallest human-made structure for roughly 3,800 years.
- It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
In context
It helps to picture the timescale. When the pyramid lost its height record, it was already older to those medieval builders in Lincoln than Lincoln Cathedral is to us several times over. Empires such as Persia and Rome rose and fell in the meantime, and the pyramid simply kept standing.
Height records changed hands quickly once tall cathedrals and later steel skyscrapers arrived. In just the last century and a half, the title passed to the Washington Monument, the Eiffel Tower, a series of skyscrapers and radio masts, and today's towers in the Middle East.
A closer look
A precise piece of engineering
The pyramid's base is almost perfectly level and square, with only small differences between its sides. Its faces line up closely with true north, south, east and west, a remarkable result without modern instruments.
Researchers think the builders used careful observation of stars or the Sun to find north, then measured with cords, rods and water to keep things level.
Inside the mountain of stone
The interior holds passages and chambers, including the King's Chamber lined with red granite brought from Aswan, hundreds of kilometers south. Above it, stacked relieving chambers spread the immense weight of stone.
In 2017, a team using cosmic ray particles called muons detected a large, previously unknown void above the Grand Gallery, showing the pyramid still holds surprises.
Why it survived
Pyramids are naturally stable shapes, wide at the base and narrow at the top. Egypt's dry climate also helped preserve the stone.
Human stone robbing caused more damage than time did, stripping away the casing but leaving the massive core in place.
Related facts
To grasp how ancient the pyramid really is Cleopatra lived closer to the Moon landing than to the pyramids.
Another mind-bending pyramid timeline woolly mammoths were alive when it was built.
A later holder of the tallest title the Eiffel Tower was meant to be temporary.
Some structures encode their measurements on purpose the Monument in London's clever height.
Key terms
- Casing stones
- Smooth, finely cut blocks that once covered the outside of the pyramid.
- Fourth Dynasty
- A period of ancient Egyptian rule, around 2600 to 2500 BC, known for great pyramids.
- Muon imaging
- A method that uses particles from cosmic rays to see inside large structures.
Myth vs reality
Myth
Slaves built the pyramids.
Reality
Evidence from workers' villages and tombs near Giza points to organised, fed and housed labour crews, not slaves in the popular sense.
People also ask
How tall was the Great Pyramid originally?
About 146.6 meters, or 481 feet. It is now about 138.5 meters because the outer casing stones and the top have been lost.
What finally became taller than the Great Pyramid?
The central spire of Lincoln Cathedral in England, completed around 1311, is usually cited. It reached an estimated 160 meters before collapsing in 1548.
Who built the Great Pyramid?
Crews of skilled workers and seasonal labourers organised by the Egyptian state. Archaeologists have found their village, bakeries and tombs near the site.
How long did it take to build?
Estimates usually suggest about twenty years, roughly the length of Khufu's reign. Exact construction methods are still debated.
Is the Great Pyramid the oldest of the Seven Wonders?
Yes. It is both the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one that largely survives.
