OIKOPAEDIA

Giza

Publication date: 25.05.2025

Giza
Region:
Northeastern Africa
Timespan:
30th — 4th centuries BC
Coordinates:
29.98
31.13

GIZA — one of the main Memphite necropolises, situated on the west bank of the Nile River, now a suburb just South-West of Cairo 

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Fig. 1. Map of Ancient Egypt, with Main Urban Centres and Archaeological Sites

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Fig. 2. Giza Necropolis. Aerial View. 
Photo: © ARNIS SAMARINS / Shutterstock.com

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Fig. 3. Plan of the Main Archaeological Sites of the Giza Plateau

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Fig. 4. The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure in Giza. 
Photo: © Daily Travel Photos / Shutterstock.com

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Fig. 5. The Pyramids in Giza, South-West View. 
Photo: © Fahed3339 / Shutterstock.com

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Fig. 6. Mastabas of Priests and Officials in the Giza West Field. 
Photo: © S. E. Malykh.

GIZA — one of the main Memphite necropolises, situated on the west bank of the Nile River, now a suburb just South-West of Cairo.

Name 

Giza traces its name to an Arabic toponym ‘El-Giza’, after a 7th century AD settlement (Arabic ‘el-Gīza’). 

Chronology 

Most of the sites here date back to the peak of the Old Kingdom (Dynasties IV–VI, 26th — early 22nd century BC). There are also isolated tombs, including so called Covington’s tomb, dated to the Early Dynastic Period (30th–29th centuries BC) [Covington 1905; Petrie 1907: 2–8], First Intermediate Period [Malykh 2017], New Kingdom, and Late Period [Zivie-Coche 1991].

History of Scientific Exploration and Contemporary Researches 

The study of Giza (Fig. 1) began in the first half of 19th century (Nestor L’Hote, a member of J.‑F. Champollion’s group, and later K. R. Lepsius, A. F. Mariette, and W. M. F. Petrie) [Lepsius 1897: 24–127; Mariette 1889: 488–571; Petrie 1883; 1907: 2–9; Lebedev 2018]. The systematic archaeological research of Giza started when the site was split into three concessions: German (L. Borchardt, W. Hoelscher, and later H. Junker and K. Kromer) [Junker 1929–1955; Kromer 1972; 1978; 1991], Italian (E. Schiaparelli), and American (G. A. Reisner, C. Fisher, W. Simpson, D. Dunham, E. Brovarski, P. Der Manuelian).

Outstanding finds, such as the cache tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, the mastaba of Queen Meresankh III, the mastaba of Seshemnefer III, and others, allowed to acquire information about the layout and architecture of the royal pyramid complexes, structure and decoration of the private tombs, their owners’ social status, and to form collections of objects that offer insight into the Egyptian material culture of the third millennium BC [Reisner 1931; 1942; Reisner, Smith 1955; Fisher 1924; Dunham, Simpson 1974; Der Manuelian 2009; Brovarski 2000].

From 1930s Egypt actively developed its national archaeology (S. Hassan, A. Fakhry, A.-M. Abu-Bakr). Excavations focused on the Central and Western Giza Plateau [Hassan 1932–1960; Abu-Bakr 1953; Handoussa, Brovarski 2021], also, the unearthing and conservation of Khufu’s Solar Boat, relocated at the moment to the Grand Egyptian Museum, were performed [Jenkins 1980].

The most important discoveries in South-Eastern Giza in the 1990s were the so-called ‘city of the pyramid builders’ dated to the Forth Dynasty by M. Lehner [Lehner 2002; Lehner, Wetterstrom 2007] and the ‘cemetery of the pyramid builders’ dated to the Forth — Fifth Dynasties by Z. Hawass [Hawass 2008].

Contemporary archaeological research in Giza is conducted by Egyptian, American, Japanese, and Russian teams. Japanese experts have completed the recovery of Khufu’s second boat from the hidden rock pit and started the conservation process. Egyptian archaeologists have initiated the demolition of Nazlet el-Samman village adjacent to the archaeological site and are currently clearing Khufu’s ‘ascending’ (processional) causeway and searching for his Valley Temple. Russian archaeologists are focused on researching rock-cut tombs of Eastern Giza and the surrounding ‘minor cemeteries’ [Kormysheva, Malykh 2010; Kormysheva et al. 2010; 2012; 2015; 2018; 2021].

Layout and Features

The archaeological site occupies a rock plateau formed by Eocene limestones of the Mokattam Formation, partially covered by the Libyan Desert sands (Fig. 2, 3). The core of the Giza Necropolis are pyramid complexes of the Forth Dynasty kings: Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure (Fig. 2, 4, 5). The pyramids were constructed from the local limestone mined at the site (which is evidentially supported by the remnants of quarries at Khufu’s and Khafre’s pyramids) and cladded with transported materials (Tura limestone and Aswan granite). Royal complexes are surrounded by an extensive necropolis (circa 150 hectares) of royal relatives, high nobility, officials and priests of the middle and lower classes, and ordinary workers. This necropolis is located on the so-called West (Fig. 6), Central, and East Fields, Giza I South Cemetery (GIS Сemetery) and in South-Eastern Giza.

Apart from the pyramid itself, Giza royal pyramid complexes include mortuary (upper) and valley (lower) temples (Fig. 7), a processional road (causeway) connecting them, and royal barques burials. The extensive necropolises of the nobility that surround the pyramids clearly indicate the preliminary planning in the arrangement of Early Forth Dynasty mastabas at the Western and Eastern Giza plateaus and the GIS cemetery. The most common shape for a private tomb was an above-ground stone mastaba with a small cult chapel and modest relief decorations (‘Cheops style’) and one or two shafts leading to the burial chambers.

Subsequently clear areas of the necropolis were filled with high nobility mastabas and family tombs (with three and more burials), richly decorated with cult and daily life scenes. From the second half of Forth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs appear in Giza, some of which are located in the quarries. At the end of the Old Kingdom, due to the overall economic decline in Egypt, the most popular forms of Giza burials were mud brick mastabas and shaft burials, which formed the so-called minor cemeteries around large private mastabas [Simpson 1976; 1978; 1980; Roth 1995; Weeks 1994; Malykh 2014].

The New Kingdom and Late Period saw Giza’s Renaissance as a sacred space, when the Sphinx Temple (reign of Amenhotep II, 1438/36–1412 BC) and Temple of Isis [Hassan 1953; Zivie-Coche 1991] were erected. During the Late, Ptolemaic, and Roman Periods Giza tombs were used as secondary burials [Kormysheva et al. 2018; Malykh 2022]. During the Saite Period new shaft burials were cut into the Giza Central Plateau, and a separate necropolis, consisting of limestone block tombs, was built in the southern part of Giza.

The Giza Necropolis is a multi-layered archaeological site which, for a long time, also functioned as a settlement. Apart from the ‘city of the pyramid builders’ itself, dwellings of priests were discovered in the Valley Temple of Menkaure and to the south of it, and to the west of Khafre’s Pyramid workers’ ‘barracks’ were found [Reisner 1931: 49–54; Saleh 1974; Conard, Lehner 2001]. Many rock-cut tombs on the eastern edge of Giza were used as living quarters during the Medieval and modern times. In the 19th century some of them became temporary dwellings of the early explorers, such as G. B. Caviglia, H. Vyse, N. L’Hôte, A. Mariette, and W. M. F. Petrie [Lebedev 2020a; 2020b]. 

Archaeological Finds

The objects discovered at the site date from the Early Dynastic Period to the modern era. Those that relate to the Old Kingdom are associated with burial rites and mortuary cults, and include ceramic and stone vessels and their miniature models, stone and copper tools and their models, jewellery and amulets made of faience, copper, semiprecious stones, gold and silver, wooden furniture and stone headrests. Later objects dated from the 1st millennium BC to 2nd millennium AD include household ceramics, glass, faience, porcelain and bronze vessels, iron tools, smoking pipes, and various coins (dated from Ptolemaic Period to the present) [Malykh 2018; 2020; Goncharov, Malykh 2020; 2021].

The Giza Necropolis is significant for the study of the material culture of Ancient Egypt, its funeral rites and mortuary cults. Throughout the years, the pyramids, clearly visible from the distance and easily accessible, were a subject of widespread plundering. In the nowadays, the proximity of the metropolis, touristic activity and climatic changes are adversely affecting the site.

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Fig. 7. Upper (Mortuary) Temple of Menkaure, Giza. 
Photo: © Stock Photos 2000 / Shutterstock.com

Malykh Svetlana E.

Malykh Svetlana E.


Ph. D. Senior Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Member of the Russian Archaeological Mission of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the RAS in Giza & the Russian-Egyptian Mission to Gebel el-Nur.
All author’ articles

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Ahmed Fakhry Ancient Egypt burials of royal boats cache tomb of Queen Hetepheres I causeway Central and Western Plateaus of Giza ceramic and stone vessels Chapel of Isis Clarence Fisher Covington’s Tomb cult chapel Early Dynastic Period Edward Brovarski El-Giza faience First Intermediate Period Giza Grand Egyptian Museum Jean-François Champollion jewellery and amulets Karl Kromer Karl Richard Lepsius Khafre Khufu limestone from Tura Ludwig Borchardt Mark Lehner mastaba mastaba of Queen Meresankh III Memphis Menkaure mudbrick mastabas Nestor l'Hôte New Kingdom Old Kingdom pyramid builders' cemetery Pyramids relief decoration rock-cut tombs rock-cut tombs of the eastern edge of Giza royal pyramid complexes Seshemnefer III shaft tombs "solar" boat of Khufu southwestern outskirts of Cairo Sphinx Temple Юнкер, Г. Данэм, Д. Хассан, С.