As you can see from the Amazing Step Pyramids list, step pyramids were made by ancient people all over the world. After the ancient Egyptians built the Step Pyramid of Djoser, they quickly changed it into a real pyramid with straight sides. Around 2600 BC, the true pyramid was built. It was used to bury kings and queens until 1550 BC when the Egyptians stopped making pyramids altogether.
Later civilizations got ideas for their tombs from the Egyptians, and even today, architects use the shape of the pyramid to create hotels, casinos, and skyscrapers, among other things. So, our list of the top 10 true pyramids includes pyramids from all over the world and from more than 4,500 years ago.
List of Most Amazing True Pyramids of the World:
Transamerica Pyramid
The Golden Gate Bridge is San Francisco’s most well-known landmark, but the Transamerica Pyramid is also well-known. It is in the Financial District. William L. Pereira, who designed the building, says that a pyramid is the best shape for a skyscraper because it lets more air and light into the streets below. The Transamerica Pyramid is 260 meters (85 feet) tall and was built in 1972.
Pyramid of Cestius
Gaius Cestius Epulo’s tomb, the Pyramid of Cestius, was built in Rome between 18 BC and 12 BC. It is made of brick-faced concrete topped with white Carrara marble. It is exactly 100 Roman feet (22 m) square at the base and 125 Roman feet (27 m) high. It is thought that the pyramid was based on the real pyramids in Nubia, which Rome fought over in 23 BC, rather than the much less pointy pyramids in Egypt.
Ryugyong Hotel
The North Korean government started building a huge hotel in 1987. This was likely in response to the fact that a South Korean company had finished the Stamford Hotel in Singapore the year before. The “Hotel of Doom” was hard to build from the start. After five years, it was stopped for good because of money problems, leaving the city of Pyongyang with a strange, unfinished, 330-meter-tall pyramid building.
It is by far the biggest building in the country and the 24th-highest building in the world. In official pictures of Pyongyang, the Ryugyong Hotel is often lit up at night, but this is because the pictures have been changed.
Gebel Barkal
Egypt’s ancient people were not the only ones who built pyramids in Africa. The Nubian Kingdom of Kush, which was in what is now Sudan and had a culture that was a lot like Egypt’s, also built mounds for their kings and queens to be buried in. About 220 real pyramids were built in three places in Nubia, which is almost double the number of pyramids in Egypt.
At the beginning of the 3rd century BC, a king, possibly Arnekhameni, chose Gebel Barkal as the place for his pyramid tomb and the tombs of his queens. During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, many of his successors chose to build their pyramids at Gebel Barkal. However, his direct successors chose to build their tombs at Mero.
Pyramid of Meidum
Egypt’s strange Meidum pyramid, which looks like a tower and is five miles south of Saqqara, hardly looks like a pyramid at all today. The pyramid was probably built during the rule of the 4th Dynasty pharaoh Sneferu, but some people think that Sneferu’s predecessor, Huni, may have started building it.
The steps of the pyramid were filled with limestone at some point during its construction. This was the first time the ancient Egyptians tried to build a real pyramid.
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Bent Pyramid
The king Sneferu built his second pyramid at Dahshur. It is called the Beny Pyramid. This real pyramid comes out of the desert at a 55-degree angle and then quickly changes to a 43-degree angle that is more gradual. One idea says that because the original angle was so steep, the weight that had to be added above the inner chambers and passageways was too much, so the builders had to change the angle to be less steep. The Bent Pyramid is the only pyramid in Egypt whose smooth limestone casing is still mostly in place.
Red Pyramid
Pharaoh Sneferu wasn’t happy with how his last pyramid turned out, so he started building another one. It took 10 years and 7 months to finish. The top of the Red Pyramid is at the same shallow 43-degree angle as the top of the Bent Pyramid. It is the world’s first successful attempt to build a true pyramid.
At 104 meters, it is the fourth-tallest pyramid Egypt has ever built. What makes the Red Pyramid so special today is that it isn’t as crowded as the rest of the Giza Plateau, and people can get in and out of it without too much trouble.
Giza Necropolis
The Giza necropolis is probably the most well-known ancient place in the world. It is close to the southwest suburbs of Cairo. Khufu, his second-ruling son Khafre, and Menkaure worked on the Giza pyramids throughout three generations. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still stands. It is also the largest.
Over 2 million stone blocks were used to build the pyramid over 20 years, which ended around 2560 BC. The pyramid is awe-inspiringly tall at 139 meters (455 feet), making it the tallest pyramid in Egypt. However, Khafre’s Pyramid, which is close by, looks bigger because it is built higher up.
Frequently Asked Questions:
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What is the most amazing pyramid?
The Great Pyramid of Giza Egyptologists say that the pyramid was built around 2560 BC for the Egyptian king Khufu. At its beginning height of 146.5 m, it was the largest man-made building in the world for more than 3800 years.
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What are the three famous pyramids?
The Great Pyramids of Egypt stand tall. Menkaure (in the front), Khafre (in the middle), and Khufu (the Great Pyramid) are all very tall and can be seen from a long way away.
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How many true pyramids are there?
As of now, roughly 118 pyramids with various definitions have been unearthed throughout Egypt (although sources vary, with some citing 138). Most of these pyramids have been grouped into several clusters or pyramid fields together the west bank of the Nile.
