Bronze and Iron AgesTechnology
Great Pyramid of Giza
c. 2,560 BCETurning pointContested
Built for Khufu, it was the tallest human-made structure on Earth for about 3,800 years.
Contested history
Consensus: Built around 2560 BCE for the pharaoh Khufu by a large, organized Egyptian workforce.
Built by paid and conscripted Egyptian laborersEstablished
Workers' villages, bakeries and tombs have been excavated; the Diary of Merer papyri record hauling limestone.
Built by slavesDebunked
A popular image from later traditions; evidence shows organized labor crews who were fed and housed.
Built by aliens or a lost civilizationUnsupported
Quarries, ramps, tools and step-by-step earlier pyramids document Egyptian methods.
The Sphinx shows water erosion, making it far olderMinority view
Geologist Robert Schoch argues this; most Egyptologists and geologists disagree.
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