2670BCc. 2670–2500 BC · Giza plateau
Building of the pyramids of Saqqara and Giza
In about two centuries Egypt's Old Kingdom rulers moved from Djoser's stepped tomb at Saqqara, through the experimental pyramids at Dahshur, to Khufu's Great Pyramid at Giza. The work needed a state that could organise thousands of labourers, food and stone, and the monuments remain the clearest record of how one of the first nation-states used its power.
Sites
- Site 1: Giza pyramids and Great SphinxKhufu's Great Pyramid, the Sphinx and the excavated workers' town.Map ↗
- Site 2: Step Pyramid of Djoser, SaqqaraThe earliest large stone building, with its walled enclosure and courts.Map ↗
- Site 3: Bent and Red Pyramids, DahshurTwo experimental pyramids showing how builders found a stable angle.Map ↗
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