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Secondary sourcePhotographNovember 2004

Queens' Pyramids East of the Great Pyramid

November 2004

A 2004 photograph of the small pyramids built for Khufu's queens beside his Great Pyramid at Giza.

Shows the queens' pyramids built near Khufu's Great Pyramid, part of his royal building complex.

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Ruins of small stepped pyramids of stone blocks under a partly cloudy blue sky, with a flat paved courtyard in the foreground. Several people stand near steps at the right, and one person sits on a block at the lower center.
Photograph of the queens' pyramids east of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Giza, November 2004.

About this source

What it is

This 2004 photograph shows the ruins of three small stepped pyramids located east of the Great Pyramid at Giza. These structures were built for queens connected to Khufu.

Why it matters

The queens' pyramids reveal how Khufu's building program extended beyond his own tomb to honor royal women in his family, showing the scale and organization of his reign's monumental architecture.

Look closer

  • How does the condition of these pyramids compare to what you know of the Great Pyramid?
  • Why might smaller pyramids have been built specifically for queens?
  • What does the presence of visitors in the photo tell you about these sites today?

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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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.Artifact

Primary source

Great Pyramid of Giza

c. 2560 BCE

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

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