There’s something wrong with the Great Pyramid of Giza… and people aren’t happy
The enormous structure, built over 4,500 years ago, is often hailed as a marvel of design, but the Ancient Wonder has a serious structural flaw
IT may be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but the Great Pyramid of Giza has one small flaw which is definitely less than wonderful.
The enormous structure, built over 4,500 years ago, is often hailed as a marvel of design, and the famous pyramid remains the only Ancient Wonder to remain largely in tact.
It may be a remarkable construction, but the incredible monument does have a small design flaw which has upset a fair few people.
New research has shed some light on the iconic Egyptian structure, and it turns out that the west side of the pyramid is slightly longer than the east side - meaning that its base isn't actually square.
The wonky wonder is only off by 14.1 centimetres, but that's enough to mess up the supposedly precise dimensions of the 455 ft tall pyramid.
Engineer Glen Dash was part of the team who investigated the lopsidedness of the Ancient Wonder, which was no easy task for the researchers.
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He explained that the pyramid's limestone casing had crumbled in parts, making it tricky to measure the base precisely.
He said: "Most of those casing stones were removed centuries ago, leaving the pyramid as we see it today, without most of its original shell."
But the leaning Pyramid of Giza is still surrounded in mystery, with scientists uncertain as to why the base ended up so wonky - and how the structure was even built in the first place.
Glen added: "We hope to eventually figure out how the Egyptians laid out the pyramid with such precision and, in doing so, hope to learn much about the tools and technology they had at their disposal."
Experts believe that the lopsided pyramid was originally built as a tomb over a 10-20 year period, and that it was once taller than it is today.
In its more youthful days, the pyramid was 481 ft tall, making it the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years.
But, over time, parts of the triangular tomb have eroded and collapsed, leading to 25 ft of limestone casing falling off in the millennia since it was built.
However, a bit of weather damage would surely be the least of the ancient Egyptian's worries if they knew that they had got their measurements wrong in the first place.
What were they Sphinxing?