Finally we have arrived at the number one of our Ancient World Wonder countdown and what a well deserved winner! This fantastic structure, built nearly 5000 years ago, is the oldest and largest of all the pyramids and ancient wonders and is the only one still in existence today. This great wonder was built as a tomb for Pharoah Khufu (hence it is sometimes called the Pyramid of Khufu instead of Giza which is where it is located) and archaeologists estimate that it may have taken some two decades to build (that's 20 years). The pyramid was the tallest structure built by man for nearly 4,000 years until the Lincoln Cathedral was completed in 1300, that's pretty impressive! In fact the pyramid as we see it today is not the full structure and rather the interior (inside); there was an outer layer of clear casing stones over the sandy desert stones we see forming the wonder's walls today but this outer layer was gradually eroded over time by weather. We can only wonder at how the pyramid would have looked in all its magnificence brand new and with its protective casing stone layer and pyramidion* at its peak (top) but even today in its much weathered state it is still a wonder to behold and is far taller in real life than a picture can capture. If you get the chance to travel to Egypt I strongly advise visiting Cairo for the Great Pyramid and museums of Ancient Egypt.
With such a great building there are many questions asked as to how it was built considering that the Ancient Egyptians had no modern tools, no cranes to lift heavy objects, everything had to be done by hand and hard manual labour and it seems an impossible task considering the weight of the great stones to layer them on top of one another. This is the most common theory that hundreds of workers all united to drag these great stone blocks from a quarry up the sides of the already erected (built) stones and positioned on top like steps. However many scientists and historians debate whether it would really have been possible to drag such weight sideways up a triangular building without it falling back down and there are several other theories as to how this wonder was constructed. Some say the bricks were rolled into place though they are not circular so this would be difficult, some say they were lifted though this seems an impossiblity due to their great size and weight, we cannot know for sure.
However one thing that is known is that unlike popular belief the pyramids (or at least this pyramid) was not built by slaves worked to death as is so often depicted in History books but was actually built by a series of skilled workers paid and fed well. This would make sense because although slavery did exist in the Ancient World, to build such a wondrous building that was to be tomb for the Pharoah the Ancient Egyptians could not risk damages or collapse and did not want the project to take longer than necessary. Therefore it makes logical sense that they would have employed skilled craftsmen to ensure that the wonder lasted as long as it has. Apart from this logic we know the pyramid was built by craftsmen because of records stating so found by archaeologists near Cairo so just remember that although History is often about facts make sure to double check your facts because there are often assumptions (guesses) made when there is a lack of information and it can be misleading. I hope you enjoyed reading about the seven wonders of the Ancient World and if you're surprised as to why the great Colosseum or Trajan's Column or any great Roman Building isn't on the list it's because the Greeks wrote the list before the Roman Republic let alone Empire was established! Don't worry though we'll be sharing all things Roman in the future here in the Ancient World! Drop a comment with what you'd like to hear first, after all, what did the Romans do for us?
Pyramidion - A pyramidion is the top piece of a pyramid (the capstone, almost like a hat shields your head from the harshness of the sun so too did this for the pyramid) which was usually engraved with the name of the Pharoah or person for whom the pyramid was built. Unfortunately because they were made of granite rather than the more brittle bricks of the pyramids most of these have not survived to modern day.
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