Definition: The Great Pyramid at Giza* or the Great Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops as the pharaoh was called by the Greeks) was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, and is the only one of the 7 wonders still visible today. The Great Pyramid at Giza is also noteworthy for having been the tallest structure in the world for more than 4300 years. The pyramid originally stood about 481 feet (146.6 m) high, with sides about 755 feet wide. It was built from about 2,000,000 blocks of stone averaging about two tons each.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu was built around 2560 B.C. (for the context of that date, see the major events timeline), taking about 20 years to complete, as the final resting place of the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Khufu.
Archaeologist Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie investigated the Great Pyramid in 1880.
Also Known As: Great Pyramid of Cheops, Great Pyramid of Khufu
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In photographs, the Pyramid of Cheops usually appears the tallest of the three pyramids at Giza and is the furthest north and east. *Giza is also spelled Gizeh, as on the inset reference map of the Nile Delta on Maps of Egypt.
