Expedition Week

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Unlocking the Great Pyramid

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OverviewOverviewVideoVideoPhotosPhotosPyramid FactsPyramid Facts Pyramids representing National Geographic Channel show Egypt Unwrapped: Unlocking the Great Pyramid

Pyramids representing National Geographic Channel show Egypt Unwrapped: Unlocking the Great Pyramid

THE ONLY STANDING WONDER

The Great Pyramid at Giza is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still standing and no one knows how it was built. For centuries archaeologists have been trying to figure out how ancient Egyptians moved huge stones to the top of the Pyramid.

It took approximately 20 years to build the Great Pyramid; that means that on average a block was put in place every 3 minutes.

More than two million blocks of limestone averaging two and a half tons each were used to build the Great Pyramid.

The blocks of stone in the Great Pyramid were pulled on sleds; as far as we know, no wheeled vehicles were used to build the pyramid.

Slaves did not build the Great Pyramid; almost all the labor was done by free Egyptians.

The largest blocks in the Great Pyramid weighed approximately 63 tons.

Until the Eiffel Tower was built in the 19th century, there was no structure on earth significantly taller than the Great Pyramid.

The entrance that tourists use when they go into the Great Pyramid was made by thieves more than a thousand years ago; the original entrance is just above the thieves? entrance.