Tens of thousands quarried, dressed, moved, and stacked the great stone blocks that became the pyramids of Giza. And huge numbers of cooks, bakers, butchers, toolmakers, woodcutters, and other support troops were needed to keep the workforce working. All this implies that a city of considerable size was bustling on this desert plateau 4,500 years ago. Workers scrapped 5-meter squares to discern walls and features. Photo courtesy Mark Lehner.
Hieroglyphic texts tell of pyramid towns and cite the names of mayors and overseers.
We do not know because such settlements have eluded archaeologists for decades. We believe we have discovered at least part of the lost city of the pyramids. And it is a truly remarkable community. We have found what apparently was a great production complex organized in long streets and corridors, with some of its key structures located to offer at least the possibility of constant surveillance and control of the people who lived and worked there. We have substantially lifted the veil covering the social and economic dimensions of the Giza pyramids and found abundant evidence of the sort of infrastructure that had to accompany these colossal projects.