The Great Pyramid of Khufu
by
Jonathan Margrave
Site Preparation
 True north is located at the site and the
corner of the pyramid is positioned.
 The outlines of the pyramid’s base are
marked.
 A religious ceremony is conducted to bless
the site of the future pyramid.
 The pyramid site is leveled to the bedrock.
Quarry
 Blocks weigh approximately 2.5 tons
apiece.
 Workers used copper tools, such as
chisels, drills and saws and harder stone
tools to quarry the rough stone blocks.
 Rough stone blocks, core blocks, are
used to create the core of the pyramid.
Growing Ever
Higher
 Teams of approximately 20 workers pulled the blocks into position,
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the blocks were aligned and then set into place.
Once the base course of blocks is set, ramps of mud and timber are
constructed to get the blocks to the second level.
Workers then haul the blocks up the ramp and move them into place.
After each course is completed, the ramp is widened and expanded
to reach the next level.
A capstone is placed on top of the the pyramid. The capstone is a
smaller pyramid with a protruding piece that fits into an indentation
on top of the pyramid, thus keeping the capstone firmly in place.
Inner Chambers
 Inner rooms, tunnels, stairways that lead to
dead-ends, and chambers are constructed with
granite blocks as the pyramid gets higher and
higher.
 A burial chamber is constructed for the king.
 The king’s sarcophagus is placed in the burial
chamber, prior to roof
 of the chamber being built.
 The burial chamber walls are decorated with
stories written in hieroglyphics.
Finishing The Exterior
 Packing blocks are carefully cut and fit
onto steps of the pyramid.
 The outer casing blocks made of
limestone are fitted to the packing blocks.
 Limestone casing blocks are precisely cut
and placed on outer casing blocks. The
casing blocks are polished, giving the
pyramid’s sides a clean, flat appearance.
Comprehension Questions
 What part does religion play in the preparation
on the pyramid site?
 How much do the core blocks weigh?
 How many workers, per team, were needed to
haul the blocks into place?
 What kinds of features are constructed inside
the pyramid?
 What material are the outer casing blocks made
of?
Works Cited
– Content Standards for California Schools
http://www.cde.ca.gov/standards/
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www.touregypt.net
www.guardians.net/egypt/pyramids/GP-plan1.htm
http://www.unmuseum.org/kpyramid.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/builders.html
http://www.egyptspyramids.com/html/article.html
http://www.site-ology.com/egypt/RELIG.HTM
www.virtualogy.com
Fun Facts
The core blocks weighed 2.5 tons, or approximately the weight of 25
refrigerators.
At 481 feet, Khufu’s pyramid was the tallest man built structure for over
4,000 years.
Khufu’s pyramid is now 449 ½ feet, having lost 31 ½ feet when casing
blocks were removed.
The limestone casing blocks were removed to pave the streets of Cairo.
The base of the pyramid is so big that nearly 10 football fields (complete
with end zones) would fit on the base of the pyramid.
It is estimated that the builders used over 2,000,000 core blocks. But the
builders had some tricks, they filled some areas with sand or some other fill
material.