, which unlike the older pyramids, were of smooth-sided shape. They originally had an outer casing of carefully dressed limestone, but it has disappeared except near the top of the pyramid Khafre. This pyramid, almost 136 m (446 ft) high, was built without the use of cranes, pulleys, or lifting tackle, and archaeologists are still not certain how this was accomplished. Cheops, the first to be completed took about twenty years to complete. It was originally 481 feet high, and its base covered over 13 acres. It was made of over two million stone blocks, each weighing two to fifteen tons. The area covered by the Cheops Pyramid can accommodate St Peter's in Rome, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, and Westminster and St Paul's in London combined.
             Each of the three structures differs slightly from the others in details of design and construction, but the essential features are shown in the section of the earliest and largest, that of Cheops. The Pyramid contains two interior chambers and a number of corridors, galleries, and escape shafts, which either lead to the King's burial chamber, or serve other functions. It has been calculated that certain stars in the Orion constellation used to line up perfectly with these shafts thus bringing their light into the chamber. The ancient Egyptian purposely did this because they worshiped the god Osirus with whom they associated the constellation Orion. Unlike previous ancient tombs, the burial chamber is now near the center of the structure, only accessible through the Great Gallery and an ascending corridor, rather than belowground. However beneath the Cheops pyramid, a false tomb chamber was built to confuse thieves that would try to steal the tombs treasures. The pharaohs of Egypt were buried with many objects, because the Egyptian belief was that the kings would bring the items with them to the afterlife. As opposed to popular belief, the pyramids were not erected as isolated...