The Pyramid of Giza took about 20 years and tens of thousands of workers to build. Who were those workers?
The Hebrew-slaves tradition comes from the Book of Exodus, which describes Israelite forced labour in Egypt — but the Exodus narrative is set centuries after the Giza pyramids were built (Giza c. 2580–2560 BC, the Exodus traditionally dated to c. 1446 or 1250 BC), and there is no archaeological evidence for Israelite labour at the pyramids. The actual workforce, based on the excavated pyramid-builders' settlement at Giza, included paid skilled stonemasons working year-round (housed in permanent barracks with substantial meat rations) and conscripted seasonal farm labourers who served during the annual Nile flood when agricultural work was impossible.
Read the full facts →Ancient Egypt was a civilisation along the Nile River that lasted from approximately 3100 BC, when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified under the first pharaoh, until the Roman conquest in 30 BC. It is one of the longest-continuous civilisations in human history.
Related questions
- For which pharaoh was the Great Pyramid of Giza built?
- The tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun was one of the few royal tombs to survive ancient looting substantially intact. Who found it, and when?
- Approximately how long did ancient Egyptian pharaonic civilization last?
- Who began the 1518 Strasbourg dancing plague?