What's Inside the Egyptian Pyramids?

Egypt has 47 pyramid groups that have a total of about 118 pyramids. Most of them were used as giant tombs. Most of the pyramids in Egypt have a room where a ruler was buried, and there might be other rooms where their wives or others were buried. The pyramids were built over thousands of years, and each one is unique. They differ in construction, contents, and state of preservation.

People have discovered passageways and rooms inside the pyramids in the three most popular pyramid clusters at Giza, Dahshur and Saqqara. Some of these pyramids can be entered, and pyramid touring excites a lot of people.

Most tourists want to enter the biggest pyramids in Egypt on the west bank of the Nile in Cairo. But other pyramids people want to enter and see are at Dahshur and Saqqara that are both within about 40 km (25 mi) south of Cairo. The contents of the pyramids in these three groups are described below.

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1. Inside the Giza Pyramids

The Major Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

The three Cairo pyramids on the Giza plateau are world famous. The Great Pyramid is the biggest one, and it thought to have been built for Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops, in Greek) (reigned 2589-2566 BC). The second biggest one was for Khufu's son Pharaoh Khafre (reigned 2558-2532 BC), and the smallest and southernmost one was for Khafre's son Menkaure (reigned 2532-2503 BC). Near them, there are 11 small pyramids.

1) Inside the Pyramid of Khufu

The Great Sphinx and Khufu Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

People are still making discoveries about what is inside and are speculating about the purpose of it all. So far, six rooms have been found in the Great Pyramid.

The six rooms from the top to the bottom:

The Big Void – a large potato-shaped tank-like room with a roof a little higher than the King's Chamber and a floor a little lower.
King's Chamber – the room containing the pharaoh's sarcophagus.
The Grand Gallery – a passageway leading to the King's Chamber.
Queen's Chamber – Perhaps it was a storage room.
Small Void – a small room similar to the Big Void close to one side of the pyramid that is at the same height as that of of the Queen's Chamber.
Lower chamber – a subterranean chamber.

The Pyramid of Khufu is the largest of all the Egyptian pyramids. It is 40 stories tall, and it is thought to have been the tallest building for thousands of years until the Lincoln Cathedral was built in England with a height of 160 meters about the year 1300 AD. Each big block of Tura limestone and Aswan red granite that went into building the Great Pyramid weighed between 1 and 70 tons.

You might think such a huge building has a lot of rooms and corridors, but so far, only a few rooms, corridors and air shafts have been found. But further investigations are making new discoveries.

The entrance is located on the north face, and a corridor leads via a series of corridors to the Queen's and King's chambers. The King's chamber was made with huge red granite slabs weighing up to 70 tons. Around the chamber, the joints of the wall, floor, and ceiling match exactly and are smooth even though this building is at least 4,500 years old. The King's Chamber has an empty sarcophagus.

Many sections of the corridors are less than 1.5 meters in height. Handholds, lights and wooden boards on the floor have been installed to make walking easier. Visitors need to bend down as they walk inside. There are few artifacts inside. Below the pyramid, there is a chamber whose function is still a mystery.

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2) Inside the Pyramid of Khafre (The Second Tallest in Egypt)

A picture from inside the tomb of King Khafre

This pyramid is much simpler than the pyramid of Khufu, but it is almost as tall. It just contains an entrance hall, a columned court, five niches for statues of the pharaoh, five storage chambers, and an inner sanctuary.

The Pyramid at Khafre has 2 entrances that lead to only one burial chamber. Similar to the Great Pyramid, you can enter to see the sarcophagus.

3) Inside the Pyramid of Menkaure

Pyramid of Menkaure, Cairo, Egypt

Menkaure's pyramid chambers are complex. The entrance of the pyramid is about 4 meters above ground level on the northern side. At the entrance, there is an inscription that states the month and day that the king died. There is a horizontal corridor which slopes into a small passageway. Then, there is a chamber that is decorated with beautifully crafted stone panels.

There is a passageway in the antechamber that goes to the pyramid's burial chamber. As you head to the burial chamber in the passageway, you'll find a room with 6 deep niches. It is believed these were used for storing things.

Under the pyramid, the burial chamber has a pink granite lining. It is said that two explorers found a basalt sarcophagus on the west wall that held the remains of Menkaure. It is said that it was lost at sea in 1838 as it was transported to England.

Inside the Adjacent Small Pyramids

West of the Khufu pyramid, there are three small pyramids that are in ruins. There are another three small pyramids near the pyramid of Menkaure. Unlike the Great Pyramid, the structures have large passageways containing a burial room and a tomb.

2. Inside the Dahshur Pyramids

The Dahshur Pyramids

In Dahshur, about 40 kilometers southwest of Cairo, 7 pyramids or their remains have been found. The Red Pyramid is the third tallest Egyptian pyramid, and its neighbor, the Bent Pyramid, is almost exactly the same height and is the fourth tallest Egyptian Pyramid. Dahshur is the southern end of a vast mausoleum and pyramid area west of the Nile, and Giza is the northern end.

Two of the newer pyramids at Dahshur have been completely destroyed, and several others such as the Black Pyramid (12th Dynasty, 1929–1885 BC) are badly damaged, but the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid are two of the best-preserved pyramids in Egypt. These were built during the reign of King Sneferu (2613-2589 BC) who was the founder of the 4th Dynasty. It is amazing that the oldest pyramids that are about 4,600 years old were also the best built ones in Egypt.

Inside the Bent Pyramid

The Bent Pyramid, Egypt

The Bent Pyramid is 189 meters (620 feet) square at its base and 104.71 m (344 feet) tall with a total volume of 1,237,040 cubic meters (43,685,655 cu ft), and it is the fourth largest pyramid and fourth tallest pyramid of Egypt. It is almost as tall as the Red Pyramid. It is about a foot shorter.

Inside this huge volume, there are several large chambers, low winding passageways, a long descent, and a bat colony. The Bent Pyramid is difficult to get inside and get around. Touring around inside is not for someone who does not like tight spaces, bat smells, and climbing lots of stairs.

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Inside the Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid is the largest structure in Dahshur and also the most accessible. It is the third tallest and the third largest pyramid of Egypt with a total height of 105 meters. It has a shallower slope, so its volume is much greater than that of the Bent Pyramid. It has a total volume of 1,694,000 cubic meters (59,823,045 cu ft). Its contents are similar to the pyramids in Giza—just a few passageways and chambers, no inscriptions, and nothing much in terms of artifacts to see. But the amazing preservation and engineering as well as the acoustics are the highlights.

The Red Pyramid is much easier to enter and walk around in and less cramped than the Bent Pyramid. But there are bats inside. Many people think the bats, the bat smells, and also the rigorous climbing are better avoided. Handles along the walls and wooden slats on the floors help people keep their footing and not slip. There are no inscriptions on the walls, and it is apparent that it was not designed to be easy to walk around inside. In fact, newly constructed wooden stairs lead from one room to another. Maybe it was meant to be permanently closed. This makes the use for the corridors or shafts leading to the rooms inside a mystery.

The First Chamber of the Red Pyramid

The entrance to the Red Pyramid is high up on the northern face. From the entrance, there is a small passageway that gradually descends at a 27-degree angle into the guts of the structure. The passageway is only 3-feet tall, so most adults will have to crouch or crawl in. It proceeds in a southward direction and leads to the first chamber with a corbelled roof that is 12 meters or 40 feet high and that rises and narrows in eleven corbelled steps. The long axis of the room is aligned north-south. The acoustics in this room and in the Second Chamber is amazing.

Second Chamber of the Red Pyramid

At the southern end of the first chamber, but offset to the west, is another passageway that leads to the second chamber. The second chamber is identical to the first one, but it is located directly underneath the apex of the pyramid.

The Hidden Chamber of the Red Pyramid

High up on the southern wall of the second chamber, at a height of 7 meters or 25 feet, there is another little entrance. Today, a wooden staircase has been built to make this entrance more accessible to tourists. Once through, there's a short horizontal passageway that leads to the third and final chamber. This final room is unlike the other two. The long axis of this chamber aligns along the east-west line and the roof is taller at 15 meters or 50 feet.

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Inside the Black Pyramid

The Black Pyramid was built by King Amenemhat III during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt

The crumbling Black Pyramid actually looks like a weathered natural sandstone mesa in the southwest of the US. It is crumbling because it is made of dark mud brick. It is not made of stone huge blocks. It was built by Amenemhet III from about 1818–1770 BC.

Inside, there is a complicated tunnel structure. The two entrances are connected by corridors. The easterly entrance features a descending staircase that takes you to numerous passages and chambers. There is an underground royal burial chamber with a vaulted roof and covered with white limestone and includes a vaulted roof on top. There is a huge empty sarcophagus made of pink granite.

Another entrance is on the west side. It leads to two burial chambers of two queens. These are believed to be for the wives of the king. You can reach the first chamber by taking the descending corridor. A sarcophagus was discovered in the chamber of Queen Aat. The decorations on it are like those found on the king's sarcophagus. The second chamber of the other queen has a sarcophagus too. The chambers of the king and his queens are connected by numerous passageways.

For more information about the location of Dahshur and how to go there from Cairo, see: Where Are the Egyptian Pyramids?

Top sights: The Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid

Recommended visiting duration: 1 day

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Inside the Saqqara Pyramids

The Pyramids of Saqqara, Egypt

Another popular cluster of pyramids is at Saqqara. Saqqara is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Cairo. Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 kilometers (4.3 by 0.9 mi). Saqqara contains the oldest complete stone pyramid in Egypt. Unlike the true pyramids such as the Red Pyramid and the pyramids of Giza, the stone Pyramid of Djoser is a stepped pyramid. He ruled from about 2640 BC to 2611 BC.

The Stepped Pyramid is 58 meters tall, and its base is 123 meters by 107 meters. Because it is crumbled and broken down, it is difficult to determine its volume since it no longer has a regular shape. However, originally it was about 62.5 meters (205 feet) tall built in six layers. The pyramid was constructed using 330,400 cubic meters (11.6 million cubic feet) of stone and clay. Though it is crumbling, tourists can go inside.

There is an entryway outside the pyramid that leads down steps to a well-lit horizontal corridor that leads to a deep pit and huge cavernous room. The total depth of the pit is perhaps 10 stories, and tunnels branch out. The tunnels beneath the pyramid form a labyrinth at least 3.5 miles (5.5 kilometers) long, but perhaps there are more tunnels yet unknown. People speculate that the tunnel system under the surface in Saqqara may predate the pyramid itself.

In various rooms and corridors under the pyramid, there is artwork, tiled decorations, and inscriptions. Visitors can step inside the burial chamber and see a massive granite sarcophagus. There are chambers decorated in blue tiles and carved reliefs of the pharaoh.

Inside the Pyramid of Teti

There are ruins of more recent pyramids at Saqqara, but the Pyramid of Teti is the most interesting of the newer ones for tourists to enter. It is so disheveled it looks like a natural hillock. Teti was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty who lived about 2345 BC. His inscribed basalt sarcophagus still lies inside the burial chamber. Pyramid Text Hieroglyphics adorn the interior walls. A starry night is carved into the ceiling of one chamber.

For more information about the location of Saqqara and how to go there from Cairo, see: Where Are the Egyptian Pyramids?

Inside Other Famous Pyramids

The 5th Dynasty Pyramid of Unas, located in the Saqqara, Egypt

Other notable pyramids in Egypt include the Meidum Pyramid, the Pyramid of Unas, and the Pyramid of Lahun. You can enter all three.

The Pyramid of Unas: It was thought to have been constructed in 2360 BC. It is a small, largely ruined pyramid, and has the oldest known Egyptian religious texts inscribed on the walls of its subterranean chambers. There are three rooms inside and an empty sarcophagus.

The Pyramid of Lahun: It was built by Senwosret II about the year 1180 BC. It is now a ruin, but it has inner rooms. A vaulted corridor leads to a hall with a well and into the granite burial chamber that has a spectacular arched roof and a red sarcophagus. An alabaster table sits next to the sarcophagus.

The Pyramid of Meidum: The Meidum Pyramid was built about the year 2600 BC. It is almost as tall as the Pyramid of Menkaure in Giza, and it is thought that Sneferu had a hand in building this pyramid also. It was first built as a series of steps like the Step Pyramid. The entrance to the pyramid is high above the ground, and it leads to a descending corridor. A small ladder at the end leads up into the burial chamber.

For more information about the pyramids of Egypt and the structures that surround them and the discoveries underground, see:

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The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

For anyone who is willing to explore more of the Egyptian pyramids, going inside them is no doubt an essential experience. With a Global Highlights tailor-made trip, you can enjoy the journey at your own pace as everything is well taken care of.

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