Editing Great Pyramid of Giza (section)

== Pyramidion and missing tip ==
The pyramid was once topped by a capstone known as a [[pyramidion]]. The material from which it was made is subject to much speculation; limestone, granite or basalt are commonly proposed, while in popular culture it is often solid gold, gilded or [[electrum]]. All known 4th dynasty ''pyramidia'' (of the [[Red Pyramid]], [[Pyramid G1-d|Satellite Pyramid of Khufu]] (G1-d) and Queen's Pyramid of Menkaure (G3-a)) are of white limestone and were not gilded.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jánosi|first=Peter|url=http://giza.fas.harvard.edu/pubdocs/473/full/|title=Das Pyramidion der Pyramide G III-a. Bemerkungen zu den Pyramidenspitzen des Alten Reiches.|year=1992}}</ref> Only from the 5th dynasty onward is there evidence of gilded capstones; for instance, a scene on the causeway of [[Pyramid of Sahure|Sahure]] speaks of the "white gold pyramidion of the pyramid Sahure's Soul Shines".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lehner|first=Mark|date=2005|title=Labor and the Pyramids: The Heit el-Ghurab "Workers Town" at Giza|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303875906|journal=International Scholars Conference on Ancient Near Eastern Economies|volume=5|pages=465}}</ref>

The Great Pyramid's pyramidion was already lost in [[classical antiquity]], as Pliny the Elder and later authors report a platform on its summit.{{sfn|Pliny the Elder|1855|p=36.16–17}} Over time more stones were removed from the peak, and nowadays the pyramid is about {{Convert|8|m|ft}} shorter than it was when intact, with about {{Convert|1000|t|lbs}} of material missing from the top.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Petrie's corrected Great Pyramid course elevations |url=https://www.ronaldbirdsall.com/gizeh/errata/levels.html}}</ref>

In 1874 a mast was installed on the top by the Scottish astronomer [[David Gill (astronomer)|David Gill]] who, while returning from observing a rare [[Transit of Venus|Venus transit]], was invited to survey Egypt and began by surveying the Great Pyramid. His measurements of the pyramid were accurate to within 1&nbsp;mm.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dash|first=Glen|url=http://glendash.com/downloads/archaeology/working-papers/The-Man-and-the-Mast.docx|title=The Man Who Put the Mast Atop the Great Pyramid|access-date=30 March 2021|archive-date=8 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708204048/http://glendash.com/downloads/archaeology/working-papers/The-Man-and-the-Mast.docx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gill |first=David |date=2018 |title=David Gill FRS (1843–1914): The Making of a Royal Astronomer |url=https://homepages.abdn.ac.uk/npmuseum/article/JHA.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128191701/https://homepages.abdn.ac.uk/npmuseum/article/JHA.pdf |archive-date=2021-11-28 |website=Preprint of article in Journal for the History of Astronomy, 2018}}</ref> The mast was damaged in 2019 by a man who evaded security and climbed the pyramid; however, as the mast was periodically changed due to erosion and so was considered a modern object, the trespasser did not violate Egypt's strict laws regarding antiquities.<ref name="EgyptToday">{{cite web |last=Kandil |first=Amr Mohamed |date=2 May 2019 |title=Police fail to prevent Egyptian man from climbing Great Pyramid |website=[[Egypt Today]] |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/6/69987/Police-fail-to-prevent-Egyptian-man-from-climbing-Great-Pyramid |access-date=14 December 2024 }}</ref>