Pyramids homepageHow high is the Great Pyramid of Giza? Answered by Science Channel Group Science Channel The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was the largest of Egypt's great pyramids. It was completed more than 4,500 years ago and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that still stands today [source: Brier]. When completed, the Great Pyramid of Giza was more than 480 feet (146 meters) high. The structure is made of more than 2.3 million limestone blocks weighing about 5,500 pounds (2,495 kilograms) each. The pyramid was by far the tallest structure in ancient times and remained the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years. When the Lincoln Cathedral was built in London, it soared only about 44 feet higher than the Giza pyramid. Each of the blocks originally was covered with an outer casing of lustrous white limestone. This layer was later removed and used to build the city of Cairo. After this, the Pyramid's height was reduced by about 30 feet (9.1 meters). Scholars still debate how laborers may have reached the top of the pyramid, particularly hauling the heavy blocks and beams that made up the structure. They likely hauled the blocks from Aswan on huge barges. The engineers and laborers at Giza managed to complete the build of the pyramid itself in about 30 years, which is pretty remarkable considering the lack of machinery and ambitious nature of the project. It was solid, with a virtually level base; each corner was nearly exactly 90 degrees. When Greek historian Herodotus visited the pyramids in 450 B.C., he was one of many historians who tried to solve how ancient Egyptians managed to haul blocks of such massive size to such great heights. He stated that 100,000 people worked on the structure, but modern scholars place the number at closer to 20,000 to 30,000 [source: PBS]. They most likely worked in shifts of sorts, rotating in and out of the labor force that did the heavy lifting, so to speak. More answers from Science Channel »

Pyramids homepage   Pyramids: (Form and Function)Nubian pyramids 



Pyramids of Upper Nubia built between middle of the 8th century BCE until 4th century CE, a period of close to 1100 years.
There are more than 200 Nubian pyramids, compared to Egypt's 90. There are 3 main burial grounds of Nubia which have pyramids. Al-Kurru was used for almost 100 years, 747-653 BCE; Nuri for a period for almost 400 years, 690-308 BCE; and Meroëfor a period of more than 600 years, 270 BCE-350 CE.Gebel Barkal is often attributed with pyramids, but this is really the site also called Nuri.
About 220 pyramids have been identified, the majority are today reduced only to rubble, some have the lower parts in good condition, and a few are reconstructed to their original shape and size. The finest pyramids are found at Meroë, these are also the newest.
The pyramids are far smaller than their Egyptian counterparts, in most cases a large Nubian pyramid is between 20 and 30 metres high. Taharqa's pyramid at Nuri is an exception, having reached 40 or 50 metres. The smallest structures that still are counted for pyramids were 6 metres.
Nubian pyramids were most certainly a continuation of the Egyptian tradition, even if construction techniques had to be reinvented. They were very faithful to their Egyptian ideal, built with a substructure (the actual tomb) and a chapel (for ceremonies for the funeral and remembrance services).

30-meter high building within tomb of China's first emperor?

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16:19, July 10, 2007

Related News  Rare green crystals found in 2,500-year-old tomb in E. China  Comment  Tell A Friend  Print Format  Save Article Research discovered surrounding stair-like walls Chinese archeologists recently announced that they have discovered a building buried within the 50-meter-high pyramid-like tomb of the first Qin Emperor. A research fellow with Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, Duan Qingbo, who has been long engaged in archaeological research of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, said, "The building is 30 meters high, buried within the pyramid-like earth above the tomb's main portion underground. This is actually a feature of Chinese ancient tombs. We discovered this 30 meter building after conducting research on the internal structure." Duan said that the structure is located above the tomb's main portion underground and below the pyramid-like earth. It has four, giant, surrounding stair-like walls, 30 meters above the ground and 6-8cm thick.

	The Great Puzzle of Giza. Pyramids - Form and Function. The 'Snoferu dilemma'. Pyramids: Plugging the Deep.	The Alignmhttp://looklex.com/e.o/nubian_pyramids.htment of Egyptian pyramids. Pyramids - Cross-cultural Similarities. The Bosnian Pyramids. Pyramids and Geometry.
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