The construction of the Egyptian pyramids remains an enigma, an unsolved mystery. But today, Egyptologists and archaeologists have developed a new tool which uses aerial and satellite images to provide valuable fresh clues about the position, construction, and evolution of these edifices. This series sets out to decode the mysteries of the pyramids' construction, and to recreate Egypt as it was more than 5000 years ago.
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The Pyramid of Khufu is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World which can still be seen in its original state. 146 meters high, 230 meters wide, and made from almost 2.5 million blocks, including 63-tonne granite slabs, the Pyramid of Khufu breaks all the records.
At the heart of Saqqara, the largest necropolis in Egypt, which was built around 2600 BC, is the Step Pyramid of Djoser. It is surrounded by a wall, covered in hieroglyphics which form a priceless book of the dead, the greatest body of texts in all humanity. This pyramid, with its unusual design, is the first and most complex of all.
Meidum is the least-known of the pyramids of Egypt but the most mysterious. It stretches skywards and resembles a castle keep. The compound in which it is located is one of the largest monuments in the world. Thanks to the exceptional use of archaeology 2.0 and its drones, scientists can delve into the heart of this building which opens up to the skies. They can unravel the stages of its monumental construction and uncover the revolutionary techniques used.
On the site of Dahshur, 40km to the south of Cairo, are two breathtakingly beautiful pyramids. Two revolutionary monuments which would seem to be the first real pyramids, a link in the chain which is essential to understanding the evolution in the building of pyramids. To the south is the unusual rhomboidal Bent Pyramid. To the north is the Red Pyramid, which may well be the very first triangular pyramid to have been built.
The whole world has its eyes riveted on the Pyramid of Khufu, in Egypt. Yet, nearby, on the Giza plateau, other architectural masterpieces stand up to the test of time: the sphinx, the lion with a human head, and the pyramids of Pharaohs Khafra and Menkaure.
You have to climb and follow paths that don't always appear on maps in order to discover one of the best-kept secrets of the dynasties of pharaohs which was long hidden in the sand. Here, Egyptologists believe there was a perfect pyramid which served as a tomb for the pharaoh Djedefre - a pyramid which hides in its midst a room of almost 20 metres deep and an immense passage that leads deep into the pyramid's heart.
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