more photos

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site information

0900-1700 daily
E£20 site entry
E£10 student entry

E£20 cheops pyramid
E£10 menkaure pyramid
E£10 camera
no flash

relevant links

travelogue 2/5

history

Old Kingdom
4th Dynasty
Khufu
Khafre
Menkaure

Pyramid of Chephren/ Khafre

Even though this pyramid is actually smaller than that of Cheops, it looks larger. Partly this is because it retains some of its casing stones, but mostly it is because it sits on higher ground than the larger pyramid.

THis one is only 215m square, which is still pretty amazing when you stand at the base of it and look up. It's also a little bit steeper than the other, 53 degrees vs 51 degrees. The blocks were not laid carefuly in some cases - the layers do not run horizontally in some cases, and the joints are quire wide, and ther eis often no mortar between the blocksl. There is a very slight twist at the top of the pyarmid because of the fact that the corners were not quite aligned correctly.

It was excavated later than Cheops' pyramid. Belzoni entered the pyramid in 1818 through the upper entrance. It was not extensively investigated until 1837. Mariette excavated the Valley Temple in 1853 and found the basalt statue of Khafre with the wings of horus around his head. Systematic excavations did not beting until 1909-1910.

LIke Cheops' pyramid, the interior rooms of this one aren't finished, but the they follow the same layout as the passages and rooms in the larger pyramid. THere are also no inscriptions anywhere inside. It is attributed to Chephren based on historic records and inscriptions elsewhere. The pyramid is called 'Khafre is Great'