Limestone block from the pyramid of
Khufu
From Giza, Egypt
4th
Dynasty, around 2570 BC
A building block from one of the Seven Wonders
of the World
The largest pyramids of Egypt were constructed
at Giza in the Fourth Dynasty (about 2613-2494 BC), heralding the
transformation of Egyptian culture into the system of harmonious
proportions that guided craftsmen throughout the following three
thousand years.
The three
major pyramids of Giza are the tombs of kings Khufu (Greek:
Kheops), Khafre (Khephren) and Menkaure (Mycerinus). They were
built mainly of limestone quarried on the Giza plateau itself.
However, the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre were given a final
coating of fine limestone cut to the shape of the blocks, in order
that the pyramid would appear smooth-sided rather than stepped. The
nearest source of limestone would have been the quarries at Tura
near Helwan, travelling the twenty-five kilometre journey along the
river by boat. Most of the stone from Tura was quarried off in
later times; it is said that the Islamic monuments of Old Cairo
were built with stone from
Tura.
Only a few large
casing blocks survive around the base of the Great Pyramid of
Khufu, although there is a considerable area surviving near the
apex of the pyramid of Khafre. Menkaure intended to case his
pyramid in granite from Aswan, although it is unlikely that it was
ever finished.
M. Lehner, The complete pyramids (London, Thames and Hudson, 1998)