Pyramids: Solving the Mystery

The Pyramid of Khufu is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World which can still be seen in its original state. 146 metres high, 230 metres wide, and made from almost 2.5 million blocks, the Pyramid of Khufu breaks all the records. Today, Egyptologists and archaeologists have a new tool at their disposal: archaeology 2.0, which will help them unravel the mysteries.

At the heart of Saqqara, the largest necropolis in Egypt, which was built around 2600 BC, is the Step Pyramid of Djoser. This pyramid, with its unusual design, is the first and most complex of all. For almost two centuries now, scientists and Egyptologists have been using new technologies to piece together these subterranean labyrinths to understand the mysteries behind their construction.

Meidum is the least known of the pyramids of Egypt, but the most mysterious. It stretches skywards and resembles a castle keep. Thanks to archaeology 2.0 and its drones, scientists can delve into the heart of this building. They can unravel the stages of its monumental construction and uncover the revolutionary techniques, which have helped this monument withstand the test of time.

On the site of Dahshur, 40 km to the south of Cairo are two revolutionary monuments which would seem to be the first real pyramids. A link in the chain, which is essential to understanding the evolution in the building of pyramids. To the south is the unusual rhomboidal Bent Pyramid. To the north is the Red Pyramid which may well be the very first triangular pyramid to have been built.

The whole world has its eyes riveted on the Pyramid of Khufu, in Egypt. Yet, nearby, on the Giza plateau, other architectural masterpieces stand up to the test of time: the sphinx, the lion with a human head, and the pyramids of Pharaohs Khafra and Menkaure. How and why are the two biggest pyramids in the world aligned? What secrets do these monuments still have to reveal?

You have to climb and follow paths that don't always appear on maps in order to discover one of the best-kept secrets of the dynasties of pharaohs which was long hidden in the sand. Here, Egyptologists believe there was a perfect pyramid which served as a tomb for the pharaoh Djedefre. Djedefre's Pyramid in Abu Rawash remains a key component in understanding the secrets of Egyptian architects.