Discover amazing facts about the ancient Wonder of the World. Did you know the Great Pyramid of Giza is as tall as a 32-story building and mysteriously has NO hieroglyphics inside? Unravel the conspiracy theories, including the mysteries surrounding Pi and the correlation with Orion’s Belt. Find out about cool robot explorations and the secret chamber uncovered using modern scanning technology! And don’t miss the shocking story of stolen gold tops and the largest pyramid in the world located in Mexico!
The Gregorian Calendar
When talking about the most impressive pyramids around the world, part of the “wow” factor comes from how long ago the pyramid was built. To talk about dates, most people use the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the most common calendar used in most countries. The Gregorian calendar was established by Pope Gregory XIII (13th) of the Catholic Church in the year 1577. The Gregorian calendar uses “B.C.” and “A.D.”
- BC stands for “before Christ,” referring to Jesus Christ, the founder of the religion Christianity. He was born in the year 4 BC.
- AC stands for “Anno Domini,” a Latin phrase meaning “in the year of our Lord.”
- The abbreviation BCE means the same thing as BC, and AD means the same thing as CE.
- “BCE” means “before the common era.”
- “CE” means “common era.” A story in a modern building is about 14 feet high.
Great Pyramid of Giza
Located in Giza, Egypt, the Great Pyramid of Giza is 454 feet tall. That’s about a 32-story high building. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built in the year 2560 BC. That means in the year 2024, the pyramids were built about 4,584 years ago. Today, the Great Pyramids can be visited, but visitors are not allowed to touch the pyramids.
Amazing, Cool Facts About the Pyramid of Giza
- The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last standing wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
- Ancient Egyptians measured things in “cubits.” A cubit is just over 20 inches long, or about 7 palms length.
- An aerial view of the great pyramids can be seen on Google Earth.
- The Digital Giza project at Harvard University offers a webpage online where viewers can go inside of the pyramid virtually.
- Napoleon Bonaparte calculated that all of the stones from the pyramids could build a ten foot wall around the entirety of France.
The Only Hieroglyphics Found
The only “hieroglyphics” found at the great pyramids of Giza are three red figures, suspected to be measurements. The Encyclopaedia Britannica writes: there are no hieroglyphic texts, treasures or mummies found at the pyramids of Giza. On the exterior of the pyramids, videos from paragliders show graffiti on the exterior of the pyramid.
Artifacts Found at the Great Pyramids of Giza
The “Dixon relics” were recovered in 1872 by Waynman Dixon. Originally, there were three artifacts discovered: a ball, a hook, and some small wooden fragments.The wooden fragments were lost for years, until 2020, when an archaeologist discovered them at a university in Scotland. The lost relics were rediscovered accidentally misfiled in the Asia section.
Robot Exploration of the Great Pyramids
The Djedi robot, named after an Egyptian prince, explored and video taped part of the inside of the pyramid in 2010. The robot weighs just over three kilograms, or six pounds. Up until the Djedi robot explored a small shaft within the pyramid, there were no hieroglyphics found at the Great Pyramids of Giza. The robot’s video revealed three red figures. One expert in Egyptian mathematics believes the numbers reflect the length of a cubit.
The first pyramid was commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu in the year 2550 BC. The second pyramid was built in 2520 BC by Pharaoh Khufu’s son, Khafre. Alongside the pyramid is a limestone sphinx, said to protect and watch over Khafre’s pyramid.
Great Pyramid Conspiracies
The Pyramid and Pi
A few mystic researchers have suggested that the pyramids in Egypt signify the number pi: 3.14. The perimeter of the pyramid divided by height is close to the number pi. However, the Rhind Papyrus (old Egyptian math textbook, Khan Academy but make it like 5,000 years ago) shows that Egyptians had no idea about pi. In fact, in “Mathematical Mysticism and the Great Pyramid,” Walter Rowe remarks that out of all ancient people, the ancient Egyptians’ value of pi is the second worst.
Orion’s Belt Pyramid Correlation Theory
A researcher named Robert Bauval wrote a book in 1995 called The Orion Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids, where Bauval suggests that the pyramids were created as a passageway to the stars. Each of the pyramids was suspected to be correlated with stars in the Orion’s Belt constellation.
While the theory is just that– a theory, others say that The Orion Mystery is an example of pareidolia. Pareidolia is the tendency for people to see faces or patterns on random objects.
Napoleon Shot Cannons at the Great Pyramids
The Battle of the Pyramids took place on July 21, 1798. Two decades later, an artist named Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau painted “The Battle of the Pyramids” using oil paint on canvas, where the battle is depicted as taking place with the pyramids directly in the background. However, the painting is not true to reality and the battle actually took place further away from the pyramids.
In a movie about Napoleon released in 2023, Napoleon is shown firing cannons at the Great Sphinx of Giza as target practice. In reality, the battle happened very far away, and Napoleon dared his partners to climb up the pyramid. After Napoleon’s visit, his team did the math to find that all of the stones of the pyramids could build a 10 foot wall around all of France.
| Famous Tall Structures | |
| Burj Khalifa | 2,716 feet |
| Eiffel Tower | 984 feet |
| Empire State Building | 1,250 feet |
| Great Pyramid of Giza | 454 feet |
| The Great Pyramid of Cholula | 214 feet |
There is so much to still be discovered about the Great Pyramids of Giza. Even in the year 2023, scientists discovered a never-before-seen secret chamber using modern scanning technology.
Robbery! Stolen Gold Tops
The pyramids have been standing for so long, one might find it hard to believe that the great Egyptian pyramids were once covered with shiny, fine, white limestone. Today, visitors can see some of the original limestone at a museum in Scotland. In addition to the white limestone, the pyramids originally had gold and silver capstones called pyramidions.
The Largest Pyramid in the World
The largest pyramid in the world is located in Puebla, Mexico. Built some time in the 9th century AD, the Made-By-Hand Mountain is 217 feet tall. That’s about 15.5 stories. In the local indigenous language, Nahuatl, the pyramid is referred to as “made-by-hand mountain.” The pyramid is also referred to as the Great Pyramid of Cholula.
The pyramid was built over the course of a thousand years, from 300 BCE until 900 CE. The pyramid consists of several different structures built atop each other. Today, visitors can explore a fraction of the largest pyramid in the world and tour the interior tunnels and structures.The pyramid uses a variety of construction techniques and materials like clay, limestone and volcanic rock.
