The Giza pyramids are but shadows of their former selves: centuries ago they could have radiated otherworldly light — photos, videos

The Giza pyramids are but shadows of their former selves. Centuries ago, they may have radiated an otherworldly light — as suggested by photos and videos. The three Giza pyramids are among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and to this day they are shrouded in puzzles and mysteries that seem unsolvable, whether concerning their construction or their exact purpose. It is certain that they represent outstanding achievements from roughly 4,500 years ago, during the Old Kingdom. In the years following their completion, however, they looked very different. They may have emitted a light so otherworldly that it astonished earthly travellers and perhaps even glinted into the heavens.

Even the first pyramid was built to an impressive scale

During the Fourth Dynasty, between 2570 and 2450 BCE, the Egyptian Old Kingdom was ruled by three pharaohs who decided to have monumental tombs erected at Giza, near the modern city of Cairo. The pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure (their Greek names) are today Egypt’s premier tourist attractions, drawing tens of millions of visitors each year. Far fewer people, however, have seen the oldest pyramid known to us, built at Saqqara about a hundred years before these rulers ascended the throne, by Pharaoh Djoser.

We know that the plans for this pyramid were revised several times. When it was finally completed, the structure rose about 60 metres above the ground, roughly the height of two ten-storey buildings stacked on top of each other. This single monument demonstrates how much Egyptian building techniques improved under the rule of a single pharaoh. The six-step pyramid’s base was made of smaller stones, and stoneworking at that time had not yet reached the level at which a stable, durable building could be produced by precise fitting alone. Consequently, an adhesive material was used. The materials were relatively low-quality limestone, except for the casing: by then, finely quarried Turah limestone was used, giving the structure a remarkable sheen and a kind of internal glow that would have created a staggering impression on contemporary onlookers.

• Strange discovery: Giza pyramids may hide a mysterious underground anomaly

Pharaoh Khufu’s rule marked a peak for the Old Kingdom

These achievements were refined a century later by Pharaoh Khufu. The Old Kingdom, as we understand it today, reached its apex under his reign and those of his successors, which helps explain how Khufu was able to marshal sufficient financial and human resources to undertake the construction of such a monumental mausoleum. A man-made pyramid rising higher than Gellért Hill in Budapest, at over 146 metres tall, remains one of the wonders of the ancient world, although the details of its construction still raise many questions. Even today, it is accepted that it was not built by slaves, nor were the 40–50-tonne stone blocks transported along a Nile waterway (or a now-dried branch of the river) directly to the site.