Seven Wonders of The World: Do the Original Still Exist?

Today only one of the original ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ still exists. There has long been doubts as to whether all seven ever existed, but there is no disputing the existence of the Pyramids of Giza.

Constructed around 2560 B.C, The Pyramids of Giza is an ancient Egyptian necropolis consisting of three pyramids. The oldest of these pyramids is the Pyramid of Khufu also known as the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is believed to have been completed over four and a half thousand years ago.

The Khufu pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for well over 3,800 years. It was long believed that the pyramids were built by thousands of slaves, but contemporary archaeological evidence seems to indicate that this was not the case. Rather, there seems to have been a system much like the feudal system where vassals of lords had to perform obligatory work for a small period of time (like modern-day military service), implying that the pyramid builders were ordinary laborers doing small periods of contract work for their leaders.

Also according to experts, the Great Pyramid is the most accurately aligned structure ever created by human beings. It is said that the pyramid faces true north with a mere 3/60th of a degree of error. It is assumed that when it was initially raised that it was precisely aligned with the North Pole, the position of which has shifted slightly over time. But this isn’t even the most puzzling aspect of the geographical positioning and of the pyramid.

Study more about these ancient structures in Egypt and the origins of math in our coming stories of fascinating places in Africa and the world.