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Since we’re speaking of hieroglyphs, let’s go back in time, and take a trip to Ancient Egypt. Imagine that you are visiting this land 5,000 years ago where the kings, known as pharaohs, were believed to be gods. These pharaohs lived in palaces, and temples were built to honor them and their ancestors. These temples are the great pyramids of Egypt.

Around 2,550 B.C., King Khufu, the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, began building his tomb at Giza. This was the first and largest pyramid of ten that were built at Giza, and it is known as the Great Pyramid.

Though there is no solid proof, many archeologists believe that this amazing structure only took 30 years to build. What is so amazing about this theory is that over two million blocks of stone were used to build Khufu’s pyramid, each weighing 2.5 tons and transported from quarries as far away as 500 miles! That would be quite an accomplishment if someone built that kind of structure in 2002, imagine how they must have done it 5,000 years ago before they had machines to help them!

How did the ancient Egyptians move these massive stones? It is believed to have taken 100,000 laborers to haul the stones up ramps using rope. Archeologists believe that the ramps were built out of mud, stone and wood and that the ramp alone took ten years to build. When it was finished, it stood 450 feet high and with a base of 755 feet, which covers thirteen acres of land. Today, the Great Pyramid at Giza, and the 9 other Egyptian Pyramids, stand as the oldest and only surviving members of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.