The Giza Pyramids, built to endure an eternity, have done just that. The monumental tombs are relics of Egypt's Old Kingdom era and were constructed some 4500 years ago.

Egypt's pharaohs expected to become gods in the afterlife. To prepare for the next world they erected temples to the gods and massive pyramid tombs for themselves—filled with all the things each ruler would need to guide and sustain himself in the next world. Each of the three massive pyramids is but one part of a larger complex, including a palace, temples, solar boat pits, and other features. Here’s what to know about who built them, how they were built and the treasures we’ve discovered inside.

Pharaoh Khufu was the first Egyptian king to build a pyramid in Giza, a project he began in 2550 BC. His Great Pyramid is the largest in Giza and originally towered some 147m above the plateau—it’s a bit shorter now with its smooth casing stones long gone. Its estimated 2.3 million stone blocks each weigh an average of 2.5 to 15 tons.

Khufu's son, Khafre, built second pyramid at Giza, 2520 BC. His necropolis, or burial ground, stands out on the landscape because it also includes the Sphinx, a mysterious limestone monument with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh. The Sphinx, which before the 1800s spent thousands of years buried in the sand with only its head visible, may stand sentinel for pharaoh’s tomb complex, although there’s no definitive proof that he built it.

The third of the Giza Pyramids is considerably smaller than the first two less than half their height at about 218ft. Built by Khafre’s son Menkaure 2490 BC, the pyramid’s elaborate complex includes two separate temples connected by a long causeway and three individual queens’ pyramids. Menkaure’s chambers include niche decorations unique to Giza and a vaulted ceiling in his burial chamber itself. The pharaoh’s elaborate sarcophagus was lost at sea near Gibraltar in 1838.

Ancient engineering feats at Giza were so impressive that even today scientists and engineers can't be sure exactly how the pyramids were built. Yet they have learned much about the people who built them and the political power necessary to make it happen. The builders were skilled Egyptian workers who lived in a nearby temporary city sprawling over some 17 acres. The remains of bakeries and piles of animal bones show that they were very well fed for their labor. Archaeological digs on the fascinating site have revealed a highly organized community, rich with resources, that must have been backed by strong central authority.

Archaeological sites across Egypt and records written on ancient papyri show that boatmen used Nile and a network of artificial waterways to bring materials to the Giza Plateau, including granite from Aswan quarries, copper cutting tools fromSinai Peninsula, and timber from Lebanon. To sustain workers, they also delivered cattle from farms near Nile Delta. It's likely that communities across Egypt contributed workers, as well as food and other essentials, for what became in some ways a national project to display the wealth and control of the ancient pharaohs. Scientists and engineers are still debating exactly how pyramids were constructed. It’s generally believed that the Egyptians moved massive stone blocks to heights along large ramps, greased by water or wet clay, using a system of sledges, ropes, rollers, and levers. Some suggest exterior ramps either zig-zagged or spiraled around each pyramid, while a more controversial theory suggests internal ramps were used. These secrets of pyramids’ construction may lie below surface. Perhaps as future imaging technology reveals arrangements of blocks inside, they will provide a blueprint for how Egyptian builders created these timeless monuments.

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