Cheops (Khufu) was an ancient Egyptian ruler who lived circa 2613–2589 BC. He is best known for his massive pyramid tomb at Giza, which is the largest and oldest of the three pyramids in that complex. Cheops also constructed a smaller pyramid for his queen, Hetepheres II, and several mastaba tombs in the vicinity of his larger monument. He has been nicknamed “The Great Pyramid Builder.”
Little is known about Cheops’ life or reign outside of what can be deduced from inscriptions on monuments erected during or after his lifetime. Egyptologists have traditionally ascribed Construction of the Great Pyramid to him based on similarities between his royal titulary and marks found on blocks of stone from the quarry site at Giza. If this attribution is correct, construction of the Great Pyramid began around 2560 BC near the end of Cheops’ reign and continued until completion sometime around 2540 BC.
The most famous structure associated with Cheops is undoubtedly the Great Pyramid, located at Giza. This imposing monument consists of two million blocks of limestone weighing an average of 2.5 tons each. The original height was 481 feet (146 meters), making it the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Today, however, due to erosion and missing parts of its outer casing, it stands only 451 feet (138 meters) tall.
Despite its size and age, much about how the Great Pyramid was built remains unknown today since there are no written records from that time period detailing construction methods or workers’ day-to-day lives. However, archaeologists have uncovered evidence that suggests that huge gangs of laborers were employed to transport blocks from nearby quarries using a system of sledges and barges floated upriver on Nile barges . Once at Giza, these blocks were then lifted into place using a series o