The Pyramid of Khafre, also known as the Pyramid of Chefren, is the second-largest of the ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the fourth-dynasty pharaoh Khafre (Chefren). The pyramid has a base length of 215.5 m and rises to a height of 136.4 m (originally 143.5 m). The Pyramid is made of limestone blocks (weighing more than 2 tons each).
The pyramid sits on bedrock 10 m higher than the pyramid of Khufu which makes it appear to be taller. The pyramid was likely opened and robbed during the First Intermediate Period. During the 18th dynasty the overseer of temple construction robbed casing stone from it to build a temple in Heliopolis on Ramesses II orders. Arab historian Ibn Abd as-Salaam recorded that the pyramid was opened in 1372. It was first explored in modern time by Giovanni Belzoni on March 2, 1818 and the first complete exploration was conducted by John Perring in 1837. Like the Great Pyramid built by the father of Khafre - Khufu, a rock outcropping was used in the core. Due to the slope of the plateau, the northwest corner was cut 10 m out of the rock subsoil and the southeast corner is built up. The pyramid is built of horizontal courses. The stones used at the bottom are very large, but as the pyramid rises, the stones become smaller, becoming only 50 cm thick at the apex.
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