Welcome to the Egyptian history podcast.

Episode 7. He appears like the sun.

Towering over the Western skyline,

the largest stone monument in early human history, had been completed.

Over 140 meters high, and with approximately 2.3 million stone slabs used to build its masonry, the Great Pyramid of Kufu was a triumph of Egyptian

engineering and mathematical precision. Its angles and sides are accurate to a phenomenally

close margin, with less than a centimetres difference between each side.

Within the pyramid itself, the burial chamber sat high up within the masonry,

a feat unmatched in Egyptian funeral architecture before or since.

Outside, the pyramid dominated a vast plateau west of the Nile, and the extensive field of

master Batums enshrined the bodies of the King's loyal nobility and relations.

But what next?

Having orchestrated a building work the likes of which had never been seen, where was Kufu going to go from here?

The answer is nowhere.

The king died after approximately 23 years on the throne and his legacy was conflicted.

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that he was remembered as a tyrant, but an Egyptian tale

from the fifth dynasty remembers him as a wise ruler capable of seeing the importance of stability and justice in governance.

It was undeniable that under his rule Egyptians had achieved some great things,

but what input did Kufu really have into this achievement and how much had his people sacrificed to build what was essentially the largest grave in the world?

The extent of Egypt's sacrifice will forever be unknown.

The excavated remains from Giza are those of the wealthy,

granted leave to build their terms west of the Great Pyramid,

...