Skip to main content

Primary sourceArtifactc. 2560 BCE

Great Pyramid of Giza

c. 2560 BCE

The largest Egyptian pyramid, built as the tomb of Khufu and the only ancient wonder to survive largely intact.

Khufu commissioned this pyramid as his tomb, making it the central monument of his reign and the archive's core artifact for him.

Ask Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
A large limestone pyramid with a smooth-edged stepped outer surface rises against a clear blue sky over pale desert sand. Small figures stand at the lower left, and rubble and low stone blocks lie at its base.
Great Pyramid of Giza, tomb of Khufu, c. 2560 BCE. Giza, Egypt.

About this source

What it is

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of the Egyptian pyramids and the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, built over about 26 years using millions of quarried stone blocks, with granite imported from Aswan and fine limestone from Tura. Inside are three chambers, including the King's Chamber with a granite sarcophagus. It still stands at Giza, Egypt.

Why it matters

The pyramid shows the enormous organisational power of Khufu's state: the labour, supplies and planning needed to build it reveal how Old Kingdom Egypt mobilised people and resources around the king's burial and divine status. Khufu's vizier Hemiunu is thought by some to have been its architect, and Khufu's son Djedefre is linked to completing his father's funeral rites.

Look closer

  • Why do you think the pyramid's inner chambers have no inscriptions, unlike later pyramids?
  • What does the scale of this structure tell you about how Egyptians viewed their king?
  • What parts of the original structure, like the smooth casing, are missing today, and why?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) sources

Meet the AI Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) →
Vintage postcard showing the Great Pyramid of Giza in grey tones against a pale sky, with a large dark tree in front, two palm trees at left, a camel and rider at lower left, and the caption 'La Grande Pyramide Cheops'. Handwriting and a stamp are on the right.Photograph

Secondary source

La Grande Pyramide Cheops

1903

A small ivory statuette of a seated figure wearing a tall royal crown, with hands resting on the lap, on a clear acrylic base set against a blue cloth. Dark encrusted patches mark the chest and arm.Sculpture

Primary source

Khufu Statuette

c. 2600–2494 BCE (possibly later, 664–525 BCE)

Sepia albumen photograph of the Giza pyramids of Cheops and Chephren, with the Sphinx and the Valley Temple ruins in the foreground, and robed men with camels standing to the right. Caption printed in white script along the bottom.Photograph

Secondary source

Pyramids of Cheops and Chephren and the Sphinx at Giza

The Khufu ship, a large ancient Egyptian wooden solar barque displayed in a museum gallery. Its long hull is supported by a criss-crossed framework of metal and wooden struts, and visitors stand along the walkways and balconies around it under a curved, illuminated ceiling.Artifact

Primary source

Khufu ship

Royal shipwrights of Khufu · c. 2566 BCE

Photograph of a papyrus manuscript covered in dense rows of brown and black hieratic script, with red-ink lines and section markers. Several light patches and damaged areas are visible on the papyrus surface.Book

Secondary source

Westcar Papyrus

c. 1800 BCE

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions