Ancient pyramids are by far one of the greatest relics of our world. For millennium, they have stood in our sight withholding their secrets for the world to wonder about them. How were they built? What’s inside? What do the writings on the wall say? Read on and find out 24 facts about ancient pyramids that most people don’t know.

1 Because of their delicate nature, many rooms inside the ancient pyramids have yet to be explored by modern day humans. 

Hollywood would lead you to believe that many ancient pyramids around the world contain inaccessible areas because of booby traps, hidden-doors, and/or ancient curses, but the truth is that many of these areas have been filled with sand and sealed after their construction as they were solely used for workers to access other areas or as a source of oxygen.

Other areas cannot be explored because the structures are simply too old and historians fear destroying precious artifacts. (source)

2 The United States of America has an ancient pyramid in Collinsville, Illinois that has a base larger than the Pyramid of the Sun. 

Unlike other pyramids the Monks Mound was built of soil and clay instead of stone and it was completed in 1100CE. The name comes from French descendants that claimed the land in the 19th century and donated a portion of the land to Trappist Monks. (source)

3 Researchers now believe Egyptians used wet sand to reduce friction in order to move the large stones to build the pyramids. 

For years scientists, archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists have been trying to figure out how Egyptians were able to move such large pieces of stone to construct the pyramids. Recently, a wall painting that had been misinterpreted as a ritualistic ceremony revealed to be an illustration of the practice used to move the stones. (source)

4 The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only surviving ancient wonder of the world.

Out of the 7 ancient wonders of the world the Great Pyramid still stands today. It took the Egyptians 20 years to build it and it was finally completed in 2560 BC. It was the largest structure in the world for nearly 4,000 years until the Lincoln cathedral was built in 1300 AD.(1,2)

5 It took 18 years to explore the shafts inside the Queens chamber of the Great Pyramid.

In 1993, the German engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink took a first attempt at exploring the shafts by using a crawler robot. After climbing more than 200ft, he discovered that one of the shafts was blocked by something similar to a door made of limestone and eroded copper which seemed to be its handle.

After a second attempt in 2002, where National Geographic Society discovered another wall behind the original one, the Djedi Project (in 2011) used a micro-snake camera that was able to see around the corners rather than look straight ahead. They successfully discovered hieroglyphics written in red paint as well as determine that the limestone had a polished back end, which could mean it was there for a greater reason. They also believe that the copper was there for decorative purposes. (source)

6 Many pyramids have false doors that, according to Egyptians’ belief, were a connection between the worlds of the living and the dead. 

The false doors were usually used as offering chapels for family members to place offerings for the deceased. The majority of these doors face the west side of the pyramids as Ancient Egyptians were associating the west with death.(source)