أهرامات الجيزة | |
All of the six pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex
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Location | Giza City, Giza, Egypt |
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Region | Middle Egypt |
Coordinates | 29°58′34″N 31°7′58″E / 29.97611°N 31.13278°ECoordinates: 29°58′34″N 31°7′58″E / 29.97611°N 31.13278°E |
Type | Monument |
History | |
Periods | Early Dynastic Period to Late Period |
Official name | Memphis and its pyramid complex – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, iii, vi |
Designated | 1979 (3rd session) |
Reference no. | 86 |
Region | Arab States |
The Giza pyramid complex (Arabic: أهرامات الجيزة, IPA: [ʔɑhɾɑˈmɑːt elˈɡiːzæ], "pyramids of Giza") is an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.
This complex of ancient monuments includes the three pyramid complexes known as the Great Pyramids, the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers' village and an industrial complex. It is located in the Libyan Desert, approximately 9 km (5 mi) west of the Nile river at the old town of Giza, and about 13 km (8 mi) southwest of Cairo city centre.
The pyramids, which have historically loomed large as emblems of ancient Egypt in the Western imagination, were popularised in Hellenistic times, when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.
The Pyramids of Giza consist of the Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu and constructed c. 2560–2540 BC), the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren) a few hundred meters to the south-west, and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinos) a few hundred meters farther south-west. The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex. Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre. Along with these major monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as "queens" pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids.