Average stone weights: core - a quarter to a half ton, facings - half a ton (measuring 4'x 2' x 1'). Required 14 men to lift.
Construction material: white limestone.
Excavation/restoration: Cecil M Firth was responsible for excavation work at Saqqara from 1920-1931. He was joined in 1927 by Jean-Philippe Lauer who is largely responsible for restoration of the Step Pyramid and its complex since 1932.
Opening hours: 9am-4pm.
Notes: large entrance fee which includes Zoser enclosure, Unas Pyramid and Causeway, Mastabas of Idut and Nebet, the Teti Pyramid, Mastabas of Mereruka, Ti, Kagmeni, Ankh-ma-or and Ptah-hotep, the Persian Shaft and the Serepeum.
[M 002 / Collapsed Pyramid of Meidum]:
Built: c. 2637-2589BC.
Height: 307' (original).
Base: 482' each side (original).
Incline: 51 degrees 53' (original).
Average stone weights: core one-and-a-half tons, facings one-and-a-half tons. Required 42 men to lift.
Construction material: limestone.
Excavation/restoration: the site has been cleared, but not restored.
Opening hours: N/A.
[M 002 / DAHSHUR]:
The two pyramids built by Snefru at Dahshur total some nine million tons of stone that was quarried, transported and dressed during the king's reign of 24 years. This is more than three times the quantity of the Great Pyramid.
Average stone weights: core two/ three tons, facing three tons.
Excavation/restoration: John S Perring made the first proper investigation of Dahshur in 1839 while working as manager of public works for Muhammad Ali. This was followed by Jacques J M De Morgan at the end of the 19th century who excavated the two other pyramids at the site. Further extensive work was not undertaken until 1945 when the Antiquities Service created a pyramid studies department under the direction of Abdel Salam Hussein. Excavation work was briefly interrupted by Hussein's death in 1949, but was recommenced in 1951 by Ahmed Fakhry who cleared the Bent Pyramid.
Opening hours: closed to civilians due to location in a military zone.
Red (Low) Pyramid:
Built: c. 2613BC-2589BC.
Height: 341'.
Base: 721' each side.
Incline: 43 degrees 40'.
Average stone weights: N/A.
Construction material: pink limestone.
Excavation/restoration: see Bent Pyramid.
Opening hours: closed to civilians due to location in a military zone.
Notes: It considerably exceeds the Pyramid of Khafre in volume, thus it is the second largest Egyptian pyramid.
[M 002 / GIZA]:
The [P 002 / pyramids] are encircled by several small pyramids of the royal family, and hundreds of mastaba tombs of civil and religious functionaries of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, followed by important dignitaries of the Saite Era (XXVI Dynasty) and of the Persian Period (XXVII Dynasty) who wanted to be buried with splendor alongside the majestic pyramids.
[M 014 / P 003 /Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)]:
Built: c.2589-2566BC.
Height: 481'.
Base: 775 3/4' each side.
Incline: 51 degrees 50'.
Average stone weights: core two-and-a-half tons, facings four tons. Required 112 men to lift.
Construction material: limestone, basalt and granite.
Excavation/restoration: surveyed in early 1800s by Richard Howard-Vyse, John Perring and Giovanni Caviglia.
Opening hours: interior 9am-4pm; site always open. Note: it is illegal to spend the night alone inside the pyramid. However you may apply for permission to stay for two hours when the interior is closed to regular visitors. It costs $300 for up to 15 people and $15 for each additional person above that number.
Notes: built from 2,300,000 blocks covering 13 acres and requiring the equivalent of 200 million man-loads (80 lbs), or 6,500,000 tons of material. The casing stones (when intact) covered a surface of 22 acres. It is estimated that 84,000 people were employed 80 days annually for 20 years to build the pyramid.
Pyramid of Chephren (Khafre):
Built: c.2558-2532BC.
Height: 471' (original).
Base: 707 3/4' each side.
Incline: 53 degrees 8'.
Average stone weights: core two to three tons, facings six tons.
Construction material: limestone and red granite.
Excavation/restoration: extensively explored in 1818 by the Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni. Surveyed shortly after by Richard Howard-Vyse, John Perring and Giovanni Caviglia.
Opening hours: interior closed; site always open.
[M 010 / P 006 / Pyramid of Mycerinus (Menkaure)]:
Built: c. 2532-2504BC
Height: 218'.
Base: 356 1/2'.
Incline: 51 degrees.
Average stone weights: N/A.
Construction material: limestone and red granite.
Excavation/restoration: surveyed in early 1800s by Richard Howard-Vyse, John Perring and Giovanni Caviglia.
Opening hours: interior closed; site always open.
[M 008 / P 004&P005 / Sphinx]:
Built: undetermined.
Height: 66'.
Length: 240'.
Other: chin to head 30', face 20' wide.
Construction material: soft limestone.
Excavation/restoration: built from inferior rock, the Sphinx has been undergoing restoration since Ptolemaic times. Today it is under constant threat of disintegration and efforts to save the Sphinx are ongoing. Also, sand needs to be continually cleared, otherwise it will become buried within 20 years. Napoleon's expedition was the first to attempt clearing the statue, but this was not actually accomplished until 1925.
