The main period of pyramid building in Ancient Egypt was the earliest time - known as the Old Kingdom time. The first pyramid was a stepped pyramid and built for King Djoser, but as time went by the pyramids built for kings became larger and larger.

The Great Pyramids were built for three kings: Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. The result of building these royal tombs was nearly to bankrupt Egypt and so pyramid-building stopped after these gigantic monuments were completed.

The pyramids were each enclosed by courtyards, and long avenues reached down to a special canal that was dug from the Nile. At the top and bottom of the avenue (known as a causeway) there was a temple to the dead (a mortuary temple).

The Pyramids at Giza are the only surviving one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.