Ancient Marvels
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett

Pyramid building in Egypt reached its zenith during the 4th dynasty (about 2575-2450 B.C.), when, over a period of some 80 years, crews of Egyptian laborers constructed the tombs of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure (front to back). Excavations near the pyramids are beginning to reveal how this ancient society assembled, fed, equipped, and managed tens of thousands of laborers to carry out one of the largest building projects in the history of humankind.