The Pyramids of Egypt

The West Bank of the River Nile is home to iconic monuments, including the Pyramids of Giza.
These pyramids served as tombs for the pharaohs.
Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted nearly three thousand years, but pharaohs only built giant tombs for a few centuries.
Egyptologists are still investigating why the construction of giant pyramids ceased.

Saqqara is located 10 miles south of the Pyramids of Giza.
It's considered the birthplace of pyramid building, predating Giza.
Egyptologist Chris Naughton searches for clues as to why giant pyramids were built for less than 500 years.

Egypt's first pyramid is located in Saqqara: a 200-foot tall mausoleum with six limestone platforms.
The platforms were carefully engineered to distribute the weight and prevent collapse.
Inside, a giant shaft measures 26 feet wide and 82 feet deep, intended as the final resting place for Pharaoh Djoser.
The pyramid's purpose was to secure the pharaoh's body for eternity and ensure he was remembered by the living.
Large granite pieces were used to create a sarcophagus measuring 19 feet long and 11 feet high.

Completed around February, Djoser's pyramid marked an architectural revolution.
It was not only the first pyramid but also the world's first monumental structure built in stone.
Over the next century, Egyptian kings developed the concept, building monumental tombs along the Nile's West Bank.
This included the first geometrically true pyramid (the Red Pyramid) and the Bent Pyramid.

A dynasty of pharaohs subsequently built the Pyramids of Giza, the most iconic monuments in Egypt.

Only a few centuries after the Great Pyramid of Khufu, a new era began, marking the end of giant pyramid construction.