Cleopatra and the Great Pyramid Timeline

Cleopatra and the Great Pyramid 28

3000 BC – 2000 BC Stonehenge Wiltshire, England — Honourable Mention Built in stages over roughly a thousand years on Salisbury Plain in southern England. The monument's iconic circle of massive sarsen stones, each weighing about 25 tonnes, was erected around 2500 BC. Its purpose remains debated — astronomical observatory, ceremonial site, healing shrine or all three. How Neolithic people transported the bluestones 150 miles from Wales remains one of archaeology's great mysteries.
2580 BC – 2560 BC Great Pyramid of Giza -- the oldest Wonder The Great Pyramid of Giza, built for Pharaoh Khufu c.2580-2560 BC, is the oldest and largest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one still standing. It contains approximately 2.3 million stone blocks averaging 2.5 tonnes; the total mass is approximately 5.9 million tonnes. For 3,800 years it is the tallest structure on earth at 146.5 metres. The precision is extraordinary: the base is level to within 2.1 centimetres, the sides aligned to true north within 0.05 degrees. The Merer Papyrus (discovered 2013) -- a logbook of a middle-ranking official -- provides the first direct contemporary evidence of how it was built: organised work gangs, boats transporting limestone from Tura, a ramp system.
2560 BC Great Pyramid of Giza Egypt — Ancient Wonder (still standing) Built as the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. Standing 481 feet tall and composed of an estimated 2.3 million limestone blocks, it was the tallest structure on Earth for over 3,800 years. It is the only one of the original Seven Wonders still standing.
700 BC – 1644 Great Wall of China China — New Wonder A series of fortifications built across northern China's historical borders over more than two millennia, from the 7th century BC through the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The most well-known sections were built by the Ming Dynasty and stretch over 5,500 miles. Contrary to popular myth, it is not visible from space with the naked eye. An estimated 400,000 workers died during its construction.
600 BC – 562 BC Hanging Gardens of Babylon Babylon (modern Iraq) — Ancient Wonder According to tradition, built by King Nebuchadnezzar II to please his wife Amytis, who missed the green hills of her homeland. Described as an ascending series of tiered gardens containing trees, shrubs and vines, irrigated by an elaborate system of pumps drawing water from the Euphrates. Many scholars now doubt the gardens ever existed — no Babylonian texts mention them, and all ancient accounts are second-hand.
550 BC – 430 BC Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Ephesus (modern Turkey) — Ancient Wonder A Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis at Ephesus, on the coast of what is now Turkey. It was rebuilt at least three times. The final version, funded in part by King Croesus of Lydia, was four times the size of the Parthenon, with 127 marble columns each standing 60 feet tall. Antipater of Sidon wrote that it surpassed every other wonder.
435 BC Statue of Zeus at Olympia Olympia, Greece — Ancient Wonder A giant seated figure of the god Zeus, about 40 feet tall, made of ivory plates and gold panels over a wooden framework by the sculptor Phidias. It occupied the western end of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games. The Roman general Aemilius Paullus visited and said it shook his soul.
350 BC Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey) — Ancient Wonder A monumental tomb built for Mausolus, the Persian satrap of Caria, by his grieving wife and sister Artemisia II. Standing approximately 148 feet tall and adorned with sculptural reliefs by four Greek sculptors, it was so famous that 'mausoleum' became the generic word for any grand tomb.
312 BC – 100 BC Petra Jordan — New Wonder The Nabataean capital carved directly into rose-red sandstone cliffs in the deserts of southern Jordan. At its peak around the 1st century AD, Petra was a thriving trade hub of 30,000 people, controlling lucrative incense routes between Arabia, Egypt and the Mediterranean. Abandoned and lost to the Western world for centuries, it was rediscovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
280 BC Colossus of Rhodes Rhodes, Greece — Ancient Wonder A bronze statue of the sun god Helios, approximately 108 feet tall, erected at the entrance to the harbour of Rhodes to celebrate the island's successful defence against a siege by Demetrius Poliorcetes. It took twelve years to build and stood for only 54 years before being toppled by an earthquake.
280 BC – 247 BC Lighthouse of Alexandria Alexandria, Egypt — Ancient Wonder Built on the island of Pharos in the harbour of Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II, it stood between 330 and 440 feet tall, making it one of the tallest structures in the ancient world. A fire burned at its summit, reflected by a great bronze mirror to guide ships. The word 'pharos' became the root of the word for lighthouse in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
226 BC Colossus of Rhodes Destroyed Toppled by earthquake after just 54 years An earthquake toppled the Colossus of Rhodes. The Ptolemies of Egypt offered to pay for its reconstruction, but an oracle advised against it. The massive ruins lay where they fell for over 800 years, still inspiring awe in visitors. The remains were eventually sold as scrap metal around 654 AD.
225 BC Philo of Byzantium Compiles the First List The original Seven Wonders The Greek writer Philo of Byzantium compiled the earliest known list of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in his work On the Seven Wonders. All seven structures were located in the eastern Mediterranean — a reflection of the Greek-centred world view of the time. Structures like the Great Wall of China and Machu Picchu, equally remarkable, were simply unknown to the Greeks.
69 BC – 30 BC Cleopatra VII -- the last pharaoh Cleopatra VII (ruled 51-30 BC) is the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Uniquely among the Ptolemies, she speaks Egyptian as well as eight other languages. Her alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony are attempts to preserve Egyptian independence against Rome. After defeat at Actium (31 BC), she commits suicide on 12 August 30 BC. Egypt becomes a Roman province and 3,000 years of pharaonic civilisation end.
72 – 80 Colosseum Rome, Italy — New Wonder The largest amphitheatre ever built, commissioned by Emperor Vespasian and completed under his son Titus in 80 AD. Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it hosted gladiatorial contests, animal hunts and public spectacles for over four centuries. Its design influenced every major sports stadium built since. Despite earthquakes and stone-robbers, two-thirds of the original structure still stands.
262 – 401 Temple of Artemis Destroyed Plundered by Goths, demolished by Christians The Temple of Artemis was plundered by the Goths in 262 AD and finally demolished by a Christian mob led by St. John Chrysostom in 401 AD. Only the foundation and a single reconstructed column remain at the site today.
475 Statue of Zeus Destroyed Lost in a fire in Constantinople After being removed from Olympia to Constantinople, the Statue of Zeus was destroyed in a great fire in 475 AD, according to the Byzantine historian Zonaras. Nothing of it survives.
537 Hagia Sophia Istanbul, Turkey — Honourable Mention Built in just five years by Emperor Justinian I, the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years. Its revolutionary 182-foot-high dome appeared to float on a ring of windows. Justinian reportedly exclaimed at its completion: 'Solomon, I have surpassed thee!' It served as a church, then a mosque, then a museum, and was reconverted to a mosque in 2020.
600 – 1000 Chichen Itza Yucatan, Mexico — New Wonder A major Maya city on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, built between the 6th and 13th centuries AD. Its centrepiece, the Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo), is a step pyramid that creates the illusion of a feathered serpent descending its staircase during the spring and autumn equinoxes — a deliberate astronomical alignment by its builders.
1113 – 1150 Angkor Wat Cambodia — Honourable Mention Built by King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest religious monument in the world, covering over 400 acres. Its five towers represent the peaks of Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Hindu mythology. It gradually transformed from a Hindu to a Buddhist temple and was never completely abandoned, unlike the rest of the Angkor complex.
1250 – 1500 Moai of Easter Island Rapa Nui (Easter Island) — Honourable Mention Nearly 1,000 monolithic stone statues carved by the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The largest erected moai stands 33 feet tall and weighs 82 tonnes. They were carved from volcanic tuff at the Rano Raraku quarry and transported to platforms around the island's coastline. How the Rapa Nui moved them remains a subject of fascination — recent experiments suggest they were 'walked' upright using ropes.
1303 – 1480 Lighthouse of Alexandria Destroyed Felled by earthquakes over four centuries The Lighthouse of Alexandria was progressively destroyed by earthquakes in 956, 1303 and finally 1323 AD. In 1480, the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay built a fortress on the site using some of the lighthouse's fallen stones. In 1994, French archaeologists discovered remains of the lighthouse on the seabed of Alexandria's harbour.
1450 – 1460 Machu Picchu Peru — New Wonder A 15th-century Inca citadel built at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains of Peru, probably as an estate for Emperor Pachacuti. Abandoned during the Spanish conquest and unknown to the outside world for centuries, it was brought to international attention by the American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. Its precisely fitted dry-stone walls and dramatic mountain setting make it one of the most visited archaeological sites on Earth.
1494 – 1522 Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Destroyed Dismantled by Crusaders for building stone Already damaged by earthquakes over the centuries, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was finally dismantled by the Knights Hospitaller of St John, who used its stones to fortify their Castle of St Peter at Bodrum. Some of the sculptural reliefs were later recovered and are now in the British Museum.
1632 – 1653 Taj Mahal Agra, India — New Wonder A white marble mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. Over 20,000 artisans worked for 21 years to complete it. Its perfect symmetry, intricate inlay work of precious and semi-precious stones, and luminous appearance — which changes colour with the light throughout the day — have led many to call it the most beautiful building in the world.
1922 – 1931 Christ the Redeemer Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — New Wonder An Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ standing 98 feet tall atop the 2,300-foot Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, it was completed in 1931 and has become the defining symbol of both Rio and Brazil. It is the largest Art Deco sculpture in the world.
1969 Moon landing Apollo 11 On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, fulfilling Kennedy's decade-long challenge.
2007 New Seven Wonders Announced Over 100 million votes cast worldwide The results of a global poll organised by the New7Wonders Foundation were announced in Lisbon, Portugal, naming seven New Wonders of the World: the Great Wall of China, Petra, the Colosseum, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and Christ the Redeemer. Over 100 million votes were cast by internet and text message. The Great Pyramid of Giza was granted honorary status as the only surviving original wonder.