The Great Pyramid is estimated to have been completed around 2600 BC, the first and largest of the three great pyramids in the Giza necropolis outside Cairo. 

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It was the tallest building on Earth for 3,800 years until it was surpassed by the spire of Lincoln Cathedral in England in the 14th century and the tallest stone building in the world until well into the 19th century, when it was surpassed by the spire of St. Nicholas Church in Hamburg.

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Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu in ancient Egyptian) initiated the design of the first pyramid at Giza around 2550 BC. His Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid at Giza and originally rose 147 metres above the plateau. Its Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid at Giza and originally rose 147 metres above the plateau; today it is slightly lower, as its smooth facing stones have long since disappeared. Its 2.3 million stone blocks are estimated to weigh between 2.5 and 15 tons each. 

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The son of Cheops, Pharaoh Chephren (Khafre in ancient Egyptian), built the second pyramid at Giza in about 2520 BC. His necropolis stands out in the landscape because it also includes the Sphinx, a mysterious limestone monument with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh. The Sphinx, which before the 19th century spent thousands of years buried in the sand with only its head visible, may be the sentinel of the pharaoh's burial complex, although there is no definitive evidence that he built it. 

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The third of the Pyramids of Giza is considerably smaller than the first two: it is less than half their height, about 66 metres. Built by Menkaure, son of Jaffre, around 2490 BC, the pyramid complex includes two separate temples connected by a long causeway and three individual queen pyramids. Menkaure's chambers include niche decoration unique to Giza and a vaulted ceiling in his burial chamber. The pharaoh's elaborate sarcophagus was lost at sea near Gibraltar in 1838.