Learn about the plateau hosting most famous necropolis of ancient Egypt.
The Giza plateau is located on the West Bank of the Nile, and was considered by ancient Egyptians as the domain of the dead.
The pyramidal complexes found there were built over the span of three generations, during the reign of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure.
The Giza area, now famous for its three pyramidsm is part of a wider grouping of funerary complexes. Rulers from this period generally elected to be buried in the area.
The focal point of the entire region was the city of Memphis, chosen as the capital of Egypt at the beginning of the Old Kingdom.
The placement of the Giza monuments and particularly that of the pyramids, followed a practical, yet strict alignment. First they focused on cardinal points, and then they accounted for the natural geology of the plateau.