Nice print titled Deuxieme, troisieme et quatrieme pyramides, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression, approx. page size is 28 x 19 cm, approx. image size is 19 x 13 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes / The Earth and Its Inhabitants, great work of Elisee Reclus.

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Pyramids of Giza,

Arabic: Ahramat Al-Jizah, Giza also spelled Gizeh, three 4th-dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 BC) pyramids erected on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile River near Al-Jizah (Giza), northern Egypt; in ancient times they were included among the Seven Wonders of the World. The ancient ruins of the Memphis area, including the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqarah, Dahshur, Abu Ruwaysh, and Abu Sir, were collectively designated a World Heritage site in 1979.

The designations of the pyramids—Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure—correspond to the kings for whom they were built. The northernmost and oldest pyramid of the group was built for Khufu (Greek: Cheops), the second king of the 4th dynasty. Called the Great Pyramid, it is the largest of the three, the length of each side at the base averaging 7553/4 feet (230 metres) and its original height being 4812/5 feet (147 metres). The middle pyramid was built for Khafre (Greek: Chephren), the fourth of the eight kings of the 4th dynasty; the structure measures 7073/4 feet (216 metres) on each side and was originally 471 feet (143 metres) high. The southernmost and last pyramid to be built was that of Menkaure (Greek: Mykerinus), the fifth king of the 4th dynasty. Each side measures 3561/2 feet (109 metres), and the structure's completed height was 218 feet (66 metres). All three pyramids were plundered both internally and externally in ancient times. Thus, most of the grave goods originally deposited in the burial chambers are missing, and the pyramids no longer reach their original heights because they have been almost entirely stripped of their outer casings of smooth white limestone; the Great Pyramid, for example, is now only 4512/5 feet (138 metres) high. Khafre retains the outer limestone casing only at its topmost portion.

Khufu is perhaps the most colossal single building ever erected on the planet. Its sides rise at an angle of 51°52c and are accurately oriented to the four cardinal points of the compass. The Great Pyramid's core is made of yellowish limestone blocks, the outer casing (now almost completely gone) and the inner passages are of finer light-coloured limestone, and the interior burial chamber is built of huge blocks of granite. Approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone were cut, transported, and assembled to create the 5,750,000-ton structure, which is a masterpiece of technical skill and engineering ability. The internal walls as well as those few outer-casing stones that still remain in place show finer joints than any other masonry constructed in ancient Egypt.

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