Pyramid

This page is about the structure. For the shape, see Pyramid (geometry).

A pyramid is a building in the shape of a pyramid.

Famous pyramids

The Pyramids of Giza

There are famouskhufu buildings with a pyramid shape around the world. The word pyramid actually comes from the Greek word pyramis which meant wheat cake. Pyramids were intended to be houses for eternity. In Egypt (a country in north Africa), kings and queens called pharaohs were buried in very large square pyramids built of stone and these were built about 3,200 years ago.

The first pyramid, which was built, was called the Step Pyramid. It was built for King Djoser. The largest of these huge buildings is the Great Pyramid of Giza near Cairo. It was the tallest building in the world until the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris, in 1889. The Great Pyramid was built by the pharaoh Khafra from the Ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom and amazingly, it took twenty years to build. There is evidence that the pyramids were not built by slaves but paid worked who were loyal to the Pharaoh. Inside the Great Pyramid, some of the most famous man made objects have been found from ancient times. Pyramids were usually equipped with traps to stop tomb robbers from escaping easily. By 1000 BC, many of the pyramids had been robbed of their precious treasures. Tomb robbers were punished by death if they were caught. The Sphinx stands in front of the pyramids in Giza. It has the body of a Lion and the head of a Pharaoh.

The other pyramids were built by Menkaura and Khufu (both from the Old Kingdom). The ancient Greeks called it one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. There are about eighty famous pyramids in Egypt and most of them can be found on the western side of the Nile. Some Egyptologists have different opinions on why the ancient Egyptian Kings built pyramids as their tombs. Pyramids have been excavated for about the last 200 years.

There are also ancient pyramids in Africa, Nubia, Central America, Greece, Rome, North America, France, China and Europe. The White Pyramid in China is thought to be larger than the Great Pyramid.

There is a famous modern glass pyramid in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Luxor Hotel, in Las Vegas, Nevada is also a glass pyramid.