Pyramid of Menkaure

29.9722°N, 31.1278°E.

Smallest of the three principal Giza pyramids, attributed to the fourth-dynasty pharaoh Menkaure (~2510 BCE), son of Khafre. Original height: 65 metres on a 102.2-metre square base — a fraction of his predecessors' scale, possibly indicating a contracted reign or a deliberate aesthetic shift. The lower 16 courses of the casing are red granite from Aswan rather than the white limestone used at the upper levels, an unusual two-color finish. The mortuary temple immediately east of the pyramid contains the largest single block of stone used in any Old Kingdom structure: a 200-tonne lintel of granite. The 12th-century CE Sultan al-Aziz Uthman attempted to demolish the pyramid for stone; after eight months of work he succeeded only in cutting a vertical scar 9 metres deep into the north face, still visible.

Menkaure's pyramid is one-tenth the volume of Khufu's — and a 12th-century sultan with a thousand workers and eight months gave up after carving a single notch into the side.