logo
episode-header-image
May 2025
48m 14s

How They Built the Pyramids

THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
About this episode
In 2013, a group of French and Egyptian archaeologists discovered of cache of papyri as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Some of the texts were written by people who had worked on the pyramids: a tally of their daily labour ferrying stones, for instance, between quarry and building site, and the payment they received in fabrics and beer. Robert Cioffi revie ... Show More
Up next
Sep 10
On Politics: Germany's Far-Right Future?
On Sunday, the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won the state election in Saxony-Anhalt with 44 per cent of the vote, the highest share for any far-right party in post-1945 Germany. Among the many surprising aspects of the result was the broad, multigenerational ... Show More
1h 4m
Sep 6
The Romantic History of the Bayeux Tapestry
The story of why, and how, an arrow ended up in Harold's eye in the Bayeux Tapestry is tied to the politics of the early 19th century, to Napoleon's ambitions and Britain's national pride, and the work of two antiquaries, Anne and Charles Stothard, who travelled to northern Franc ... Show More
59m 54s
Sep 3
Roman Scandinavia
In the late 160s AD, the Roman armies of Marcus Aurelius recruited large numbers of troops from the islands east of Jutland, in what is now Denmark. After Marcus’ death in 180, his German campaigns were abandoned and the Romans withdrew to the Danube. Some of the demobilised troo ... Show More
34m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
The puzzle of the pyramids
The Great Pyramids of Giza are awesome feats of engineering and precision. So who built them - and how? Was it a mysteriously super-advanced civilization now oddly extinct? Was it even aliens?Nah, course not! Rutherford and Fry investigate how these inspiring monuments were reall ... Show More
27m 57s
Jan 2023
The Puzzle of the Pyramids
The Great Pyramids of Giza are awesome feats of engineering and precision. So who built them - and how? Was it a mysteriously super-advanced civilization now oddly extinct? Was it even aliens? Nah, course not! Rutherford and Fry investigate how these inspiring monuments were real ... Show More
36m 9s
Jul 2015
How Egypt's Pyramids Work
<p>Pyramids can be found in ruins around the world, but no civilization perfected the feat of engineering like Pharaonic Egypt. Learn about the mysteries that still surround these giants.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.co ... Show More
48m 18s
Nov 2021
Ancient Egypt: Pyramids
The Great Pyramids of Giza are some of the largest, most foreboding structures on the planet, but the mystery of how they were built still plagues historians today. Some Egyptologists think aliens provided advanced technology, while engineers see evidence they were ancient nuclea ... Show More
46m 2s
Jun 2021
The Egyptian Pyramids (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined by Prof Sarah Parcak and comedian Maria Shehata to learn all about the magnificent Egyptian pyramids. We discover how and why pyramids were built, who constructed them, and how space archaeology can help us discover and protect hundreds of pyramids and tombs ... Show More
29m 2s
Sep 2020
The Egyptian Pyramids
Host Greg Jenner is joined by Prof Sarah Parcak and comedian Maria Shehata to learn all about the magnificent Egyptian pyramids. We discover how and why pyramids were built, who constructed them, and how space archaeology can help us discover and protect hundreds of pyramids and ... Show More
53m 3s
Nov 2023
Ancient Egyptian pyramids: everything you wanted to know
For millennia, Egypt’s mighty pyramids have acted as emblems of the vibrant ancient civilisation that once straddled the Nile Valley. From mysteries surrounding their design and construction and the discovery of new passageways, to the enigma of the Great Sphinx, the pyramids con ... Show More
56m 48s
Feb 2013
06b: The Diary of Merer
Building the Giza monuments. In the last years of Khufu’s reign, work on the Great Pyramid was nearing completion. From this period, the Diary of Merer provides unexpected testimony: a record of workers contributing to the Giza project… Date: c. 2600 BCE. The Diary of Merer: Engl ... Show More
36m 33s
Oct 2025
The Pyramids
Sakkara, Egypt, 2,630BC. A man stands atop a structure of dizzying height as the final block grinds into place. For Imhotep, it is the culmination of his life’s work: a mountain made by man. He checks the joint while his workers wait in silence. Then, he gives a barely perceptibl ... Show More
57m 29s
Sep 2024
Ancient Egypt | 3. culture
What would an average ancient Egyptian citizen's relationship have been with the pyramids? Why did they wear gooey wax cones on their heads? And what was it like to attend an Egyptian religious ritual? In this third episode of our series Ancient Egypt: the big questions, Emily Br ... Show More
48m 48s