There are great numbers of these structures in Egypt, and about eighty in Nubia. Those of the former country are all situated on the west side of the Nile, and extend, in an irregular line, to the distance of nearly seventy miles. The most famous are those of Jizeh, opposite the city of Cairo. The largest, which is said to have been built by Cheops, a king of Egypt, about 900 years B. C., is by far the greatest structure in stone that has been reared by the hand of man. Near this great pyramid, are two others, of considerable size, and several smaller ones. All have square foundations, and their sides face the cardinal points. The largest pyramid excited the wonder of Herodotus, who visited Egypt 450 B. C. He says that one hundred thousand men were employed twenty years in building it, and that the body of Cheops was placed in a room beneath the bottom of the pyramid. The second pyramid is said to have been built by Cephrenes, the brother of Cheops, and the third by Mycerines, the son of Cheops. The great pyramid consists of a series of platforms, each of which is smaller than the one on which it rests, and consequently presents the appearance of steps. Of these steps there are two hundred and three. They are of unequal thickness, from two feet and eight inches, to four feet and eight inches. The stones are cut and fitted to each other with great nicety. The whole height is four hundred and fifty-six feet. The top is a platform, thirty-two feet square. The foundation is seven hundred and sixty-three feet on each side, and covers a space of about thirteen acres. [Illustration (pyramids of Egypt)] The pyramid has been entered, and has been found to consist of chambers and passages, some of great extent. The material of which the pyramids are built is limestone, and it is probable that this was obtained from limestone quarries contiguous to the place where they now stand. The stones of the great pyramid rarely exceed nine feet in length, six and a half in breadth, and four feet eight inches in thickness. The ascent is attended with great difficulty and danger, on account of the broken state of the steps; yet it is frequently accomplished, and sometimes by females. The scene from the top is described by travellers as inconceivably grand.