Tallest Structure for 3800 years in the history of mankind.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was so ahead of its time that it stood as mankind’s most significant architectural achievement for several millennia. Built in 2560 B.C. for the pharaoh Khufu, the structure consists of some 2.3 million stone blocks and took an army of workers 20 years to complete. Not only is it the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it is the only one still standing. Perhaps most astonishing of all, at 481 feet tall (now 456 feet after centuries of erosion) the Great Pyramid stood as the world’s tallest structure for over 3,800 years.

Pyramids was not built by slaves.

The life of a pyramid builder certainly wasn’t easy—skeletons of workers commonly show signs of arthritis and other ailments—but evidence suggests that the massive tombs were built not by slaves but by paid laborers. These ancient construction workers were a mix of skilled artisans and temporary hands, and some appear to have taken great pride in their craft. Graffiti found near the monuments suggests they often assigned humorous names to their crews like the “Drunkards of Menkaure” or the “Friends of Khufu.” The idea that slaves built the pyramids at the crack of a whip was first conjured by the Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century B.C., but most historians now dismiss it as myth. While the ancient Egyptians were certainly not averse to keeping slaves, they appear to have mostly used them as field hands and domestic servants.