At 146.5 m (481 ft) high, the Great Pyramid stood as the tallest structure in the world for more than 4,000 years. Today it stands at 137 m (449.5 ft) high, having lost 9.5 m (31 ft) from the top.

The Pyramids of Giza rise from the west bank of the Nile River almost as an act of defiance, perfectly symmetrical behemoths imposed upon a flat, barren landscape. The Great Pyramid—the oldest, ...