The Pyramid of Khafre is the second largest pyramid in Egypt, situated in the centre of the Giza Plateau and standing some 136.4 metres or 448 feet tall. Today it is somewhat dilapidated – we’re of course not seeing its final form, and on completion, it is thought to have been around 7 metres or 23 feet taller.

This means that in the 4th dynasty, 4 and a half thousand years ago, the Khafre Pyramid would have been just 3 metres shorter than the Great Pyramid… but was this really the plan? Wouldn’t Khafre try and top the building achievement of his father and build an even bigger pyramid? Well, funnily enough, there is a hypothesis out there, that the Pyramid of Khafre, as we know it today, was not how it was originally planned.

Italian scholars Maragioglio and Rinaldi suggested that Khafre’s architect planned a pyramid that was not just wider, but also nearly 20 metres taller than his father’s Great Pyramid, which really is quite substantial.

In this video, as well as presenting their hypothesis, we also have my own adaptation, one that may explain the evidence even better - that all the Giza pyramids had a very specific construction process. Enjoy!