Pyramids are among the largest man-made constructions.
Ancient monuments
The oldest pyramid is that of Hellinikon in Greece, dating from 2,720 BC. There are more than 16 pyramids spread all over Greece. (See Hellenic Pyramids.)
The pyramids of Giza. The largest pyramids are Menkaure's pyramid, Khafre's pyramid, and the Great Pyramid. Pyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient peoples. The most famous are the Egyptian pyramids — huge pyramids built of brick or stone, used as tombs for pharaohs. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and tallest in the world. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the only one of the seven to survive into modern times. The ancient Egyptians smoothed the faces of their pyramids with gold and polished white limestone, though many of the stones used for the purpose have fallen out over the centuries.
To the south of Egypt the Nubians also built pyramids. They built far more than the Egyptians, but they are much smaller. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a much steeper angle than Egyptian ones and were not tombs, but monuments to dead kings. Pyramids were built in Nubia up until the AD 300s.
The Mesopotamians also built step pyramids, or ziggurats. In ancient times these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of mud-brick, little remains of them. The biblical Tower of Babel is believed to be a Babylonian ziggurat.
A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were also usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuilcuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an ancient eruption of Xictli.
There are other pyramid-shaped ancient monuments found in parts of Asia.
Pyramids were also found in Greece. One of these pyramids in Greece is older than the pyramid of Cheops, as it was dated to 2720 BC.
There is a pyramid in ancient Rome. The 27-meter-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo.
There are quite a few flat-top pyramids in China. The First Emperor of Qin (221 B.C.~), with the terracotta warriors in vicinity, was burried under a large pyramid outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries a dozen more Chinese royalties of Han Dynasty were also burried under flat top pyramidal earth works.
In October 2005, archaeologist Semir Osmanagic announced that a hill near the Bosnian town of Visoko conceals a pyramid 100 metres high and perhaps 12,000 years old. If confirmed, this would be the oldest pyramid in Europe, as well as the world.
Modern pyramids
A modern pyramid, built as a feature and as an entrance to the Louvre Art Gallery.
The CSU Long Beach Pyramid. An example of a modern pyramid can be found in Paris, France, in front of the Louvre Museum.
The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (built 1991) was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.
The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States, is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid.
The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid.