4. Antiquity’s Most Famous Queen Was Closer to Us Than to the Pyramids
The civilization of Ancient Egypt lasted for a seriously long time: from before the construction of the Great Pyramids, to the annexation of Egypt by the Romans, circa 30 BC. To put into perspective just how long that was, consider this: we are closer in time to one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous queens, Cleopatra, than she was to the Great Pyramids.
Fewer years separate us from Cleopatra (69 – 30 BC), than separate Cleopatra from the Pyramids. Cleopatra famously committed suicide in 30 BC, or 2050 years ago at the time of this writing. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2580 BC, about 2510 years before Cleopatra was born. So we are roughly 461 years closer to Cleopatra, than she was to the Great Pyramid. And the Great Pyramid was not built at the start of Ancient Egypt’s civilization, but over five centuries after it began, sometime around 3150 BC.