Khafre built the second largest pyramid at Giza and in Egypt , the third pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty. Khafre, also known in history by the Greek name Chefren. He was the son of Khufu, who is the Great Pyramid, grandson of Sneferu, another great builder of Ancient Egypt.

Khafre lived during the ‘golden age’ of the Old Kingdom. He built the pyramids ,with his family, were the greatest in the history of Egypt .

His father, Khufu, is credited with refining pyramid design and building the largest structure of the ancient world. Khafre’s pyramid is smaller and without some of the highly refined stonework that his father’s displays, suggesting that the 4th Dynasty may already have been in decline during his rule. He did, however, make some unique additions to the Giza Necropolis.

History of khafre pyramid

The pyramid was likely opened and robbed during the first intermediate period. During the nineteenth dynasty, the overseer of temple construction took casing stones to build a temple in Heliopolis on RamsesII’s orders.

Arab historian Ibn Abd al-Salam recorded the opening of the pyramid in 1372 AD.On the wall of the burial chamber, there is an Arabic graffito that probably dates from the same time.

It is not known when the rest of the casing stones were robbed; they were presumably still in place by 1646, when John Greaves , professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford in his pyr pyramidographia, wrote that, while its stones were not as large or as regularly laid as in Khufu’s, the surface was smooth and even free of breaches or inequalities, except on the south.

Giovanni Belzoni  first explore the pyramid in modern times on March 2, 1818. When he found the original entrance on the north side. Belzoni had hopes of finding an intact burial but the chamber was empty except an open sarcophagus and broken lid.

John perring conducted the first complete exploration in 1837. In 1853, Auguste Mariette  partially excavated Khafre’s valley temple, and, in 1858. While completing its clearance, he managed to discover a diorite statue of khafre .