Rocks from Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Pyramid of Khufu), one of the 3 pyramids at Giza

The Great Pyramid is made of limestone. Limestone is very soft and crumbly, but is easy to quarry. Since the builders didn't have advanced tools, it was not difficult for them to cut it from the quarry.

limestone quarried on the Giza plateau itself.

It is estimated that 5.5 million tons of limestone, 8,000 tons of granite (imported from Aswan), and 500,000 tons of mortar were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid.[19]

Limestone rocks are sedimentary rocks that are made from the mineral calcite which came from the beds of evaporated seas and lakes and from sea animal shells. This rock is used in concrete and is an excellent building stone for humid regions.

Limestone is usually made of the tiny calcite skeletons of microscopic organisms that once lived in shallow seas

Limestone is a kind of sedimentary stone that is very common all over the Mediterranean and Europe. Limestone is made out of the shells of zillions of little tiny sea snails and creatures like that. These snails and stuff lived in the sea, billions of years ago, and when they died they fell to the bottom of the sea and rotted, but their shells, which were made of calcium like your teeth, did not rot and just stayed there. Pressure from other shells, and from the water, and from sand being washed over the shells, squashed them all together into rock.
Many many years later, the sea changed where it was, and all this calcium-rock (limestone) was left on the land where people could quarry it (dig it up)

When limestone gets even more squashed, it can turn into travertine or marble.

Like most other sedimentary rocks, limestones are composed of grains; however, most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.

Weathering and Limestone LandscapesFormation of LimestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock formed from material deposited on the bed of warm clear seas (which provides further evidnece that Britain was once located in warmer latitudes!)

Limestone contains many fossils, particularly corals & shellfish - it therefore has high concentrations of calcium

It is a hard, grey rock with 80% calcium carbonate

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIMESTONEThere are 3 important characteristics of limestone which affect its weathering:It is structured in horizontal beds of rock, separated by horizontal bedding planes and joints at right angles (it is these bedding planes / joints which provides a weakness which can be exploited by weathering;

Limestone is pervious (passable) , but not porous (full of pores), water doesn't pass through the actual rock, but it does pass down joints;

Calcium carbonate is soluble.

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The names of the 3 pyramids at Giza are: The Great P

yramid = Khufu The centre pyramid = Khafre The smallest pyramid = Menkaura
. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu[1] (Cheops in Greek) and constructed over a 14 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially at 146.5 metres (480.6ft), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, the longest period of time ever held for such a record.

Did you know that the Pyramids where said to be built around 3,000-5,000 years ago. No one knows exactly when they were made. It took over 30 years to build all of the Pyramids of Giza. The Pyramids of Giza took over 10 football fields of space to build them on. Year(s) Built:2600 to 2500 BC

MATERIALSThe Great Pyramid consists of an estimated 2.3 million limestone blocks with most believed to have been transported from nearby quarries.

The Tura limestone used for the casing was quarried across the river. The largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the "King's" chamber, weigh 25 to 80 tonnes and were transported from Aswan, more than 500 miles away.

Traditionally, ancient Egyptians cut stone blocks by hammering wooden wedges into the stone which were then soaked with water. As the water was absorbed, the wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid.[

It is estimated that 5.5 million tons of limestone, 8,000 tons of granite (imported from Aswan), and 500,000 tons of mortar were used in the construction of the Great Pyramid.[19]

CONSTRUCTIONThe rest accept that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry, being unable to agree only on whether they were dragged, lifted, or even rolled into place