Pyramid

Both the solid figure with a polygonal base whose faces meet at a single apex, and the ancient monumental structures built in that shape; the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is the best known.

The Great Pyramid of Giza looked nothing like today: built around 2560 BC, it was sheathed in polished white limestone from Tura — mirror-smooth, reflecting desert sun for kilometres. Medieval Cairo builders stripped most casing stones away from the 14th century onward.

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Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The pyramid was finished around 2560 BC, Cleopatra was born in 69 BC, and Apollo 11 landed in 1969 AD. To her, the pyramids were already a 2,500-year-old relic.

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