The Pyramids of Giza Have Eight Sides

We are used to thinking of the pyramids of Egypt as having four perfect identical sides, but did you know that actually have eight? Each of the four sides is ever-so-slightly indented so that the structure is subtly the shape of a star. All three pyramids at Giza are concave octagonal pyramids. The Great Pyramid appeared to be merely four-sided when it was completed, due to a covering of casing stones designed to align the sides. But most of those casing stones were lost when a massive earthquake hit in the year 1303.  

The concavity of the pyramid sides wasn't evident until we had aerial photography to capture the pyramids from above. A study from Akio Kato at the Kanagawa University in Japan determined that the indentation is 11 degrees, and the anomaly added much-needed stability to the pyramids. It's one of the reasons we still have them today. Smaller pyramids have been identified as possible prototypes, or tests, for the structural integrity of the Giza pyramids. Read more about the concave octagonal pyramids of Giza and why they were built that way. -via Strange Company


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