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Secondary sourcePhotograph1903

La Grande Pyramide Cheops

1903

A 1903 postcard-style photograph showing the Great Pyramid of Giza, built as Khufu's tomb.

This 1903 photograph shows the Great Pyramid, the massive tomb built for Khufu.

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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, La Grande Pyramide Cheops, 1903. Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive, Greece.

About this source

What it is

This is a vintage postcard-style photograph from 1903, showing the Great Pyramid of Giza in grey tones, with trees, palm trees, and a camel and rider in the foreground. It is held by the Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive in Greece.

Why it matters

The Great Pyramid was built as the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops) during Egypt's Fourth Dynasty. This early photograph shows how the monument was seen and marketed to travelers in the early twentieth century, long after Khufu's time.

Look closer

  • What details suggest this image was made for tourists rather than scholars?
  • What does the presence of a camel and rider tell you about how the pyramid was being presented to visitors?
  • What does the photo leave out about who actually built the pyramid?

This photograph 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.

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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

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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

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