Early Egyptian stone tombs were square and flat-topped. They were called mastabas from the Egyptian word for bench. About 3000 BC a king called Djoser decided to be buried in a tomb made of six mastabas of decreasing size placed one on top of the other. This tomb, which is over 60 meters high, is known as the Step Pyramid. Later pharoahs built similar structures but had the steps filled in to form a sloping surface. There is one like this at Meidum built for King Snofru. His son, Khufu, usually known as Cheops, designed a true pyramid and it was put up at Giza.

Khufu's Great Pyramid is made of more than 2 million granite and limestone blocks. It rises to 145 meters and each side is 225 meters long. The blocks were cut in quarries on the other side of the Nile and floated across on rafts. They were dragged up earth ramps to be set in place. Two other pyramids stand nearby. The so-called Second Pyramid was built to house the body of Khafra, Khufus son. In the hope of frightening off tomb robbers, the Great Sphinx - a large statue with the face of Khafra and the body of a lion - was built to guard it. The Sphinx represented the dead pharoah as a god and its face was painted red. Now it is damaged and scarred by sand. It did not frighten off thieves who broke into the pyramids to get at the treasures inside. In later ages, pharoahs were buried in the Valley of Kings - a remote spot in the western desert. It was here that Tutankhamen's body was found.