The Great Pyramid of Giza - Fun Facts for Kids
Updated: Jun 20, 2023
The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the world's most recognisable historical structures. But just how 'great' is it? Find out with these fun facts!
Here's some fun Giza facts to blow your mind:
Height: The Great Pyramid of Giza is approximately 147m tall (that's 33 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other!)
The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure for another 3,800 years,
Fun fact: the pyramid has shrunk! It is actually ten metres shorter today than when it was built. Maybe that's because all of the limestone cladding has since been removed. What we see today is actually the undersurface of the Pyramid.
Why did the cladding fall off? That's due to a big earthquake in the 14th century which shook most of the limestone lining off. It was then reused to build other things in the city of Cairo.
Made from: Approximately 2,300,000 limestone blocks, each block weighing at least 3 tons (the same weight as a Hippo).
How did the Egyptians move these massive blocks? Egyptologists now believe they were dragged on giant wooden sleds.
Construction Time: It took just 20 years to build. That means setting 1 limestone block into place every 5 minutes! Yep, through the night too.
It took 20,000 people to build the Great Pyramid, we're still not entirely sure how they did it!
The Pyramid was built to house the mummified remains of Pharaoh Khufu. Many Egyptologists believe it was his vizier, Hemiuni, who designed the Pyramid.
Slaves didn't build the Great Pyramid, everyone was paid for their labour, they also received food and housing.
Are your pupils loving learning about Ancient Egypt? Then you'll definitely want Imagining History to bring their 'Ancient Egypt: A Time Travel Tour' Interactive workshop to your school.
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Further Reading:
Check out the Great Pyramid of Giza's neighbour, The Sphinx.
Find out more about the first ever Egyptian Pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser.
Or discover where most of Egypt's Pharaohs were really buried, the Valley of the Kings.
