Which is the world's largest pyramid? According to the Guinness Book of Records, the answer is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in Puebla, Mexico. However, the answer might not be as simple as it sounds. It all depends upon your definition of 'large' and, indeed, your definition of a 'pyramid'. Guatemala and Egypt are both making alternate claims.
What do you mean, you can't see a pyramid? All of it is the pyramid! It got covered over with soil and turf, then the Spanish built a church on the summit.
The issue seems to be with the fact that pyramids were built differently by different people. The Egyptians have a base with steep, sloping sides, which then meet at a point at the top. The Mexicans and Guatemalans both have pyramids built by people from similar cultures. The magnificent structures here, known as Traidic Pyramids, have tiered terraces or else those which rise up into a single platform, with a building on top of that.
(l-r) Egyptian style and Mexican style
Guatemala's El Mirador is the tallest pyramid in the world, but its base isn't as wide as Mexico's Cholula. Then there are those who argue that you cannot include the entire complex in your calculations. In the case of stepped pyramids, then only those slopes fundamental to supporting the top should be counted as the main structure.
If this is so, then the majority of both Cholula and El Mirador's sites have to be discounted. Then the winner, by volume of pyramid, is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, in Egypt.
A strip-away model and an artist's impression of Cholula in its heyday may help illustrate the debate. In order for the Great Pyramid of Khufu to be the largest, then only the part immediately beneath Cholula's church can be calculated. The rest has to be considered merely a platform base.
It is difficult to get a sense of scale from pictures alone. It may be helpful to point out that, even if the base is discounted, then Cholula would still make it as the third largest pyramid in the world. Once the platform is added again, as part of the whole structure, then it positively dwarves those at Giza, in Egypt.
* El Mirador has a series of 35 small pyramids on top of its massive, terraced platforms. It is therefore difficult to calculate the length and depth of them, as there would be 35 different measurements to add here. None of them would be bigger than Cholula nor Khufu.
The height has been calculated from La Danta Temple, which is the tallest structure there. La Danta is the largest groups of pyramids there and has been calculated with 300m (984ft) in length and the same in depth. But if they are being judged as a collective, then all of the Giza pyramids should be grouped together too. That would elevate Egypt undoubtedly as the largest. (Thank you to Andy Robinson for highlighting this point.)
Entrance to Cholula
So is the largest pyramid in the world in Mexico? Naturally we are going to go with the Guinness Book of Records here, as we are proud Mexicans. The rest of you have to make your own minds up, about whether you are including platforms, as part of the overall structure.
What do you mean, you can't see a pyramid? All of it is the pyramid! It got covered over with soil and turf, then the Spanish built a church on the summit.
The issue seems to be with the fact that pyramids were built differently by different people. The Egyptians have a base with steep, sloping sides, which then meet at a point at the top. The Mexicans and Guatemalans both have pyramids built by people from similar cultures. The magnificent structures here, known as Traidic Pyramids, have tiered terraces or else those which rise up into a single platform, with a building on top of that.
(l-r) Egyptian style and Mexican style
Guatemala's El Mirador is the tallest pyramid in the world, but its base isn't as wide as Mexico's Cholula. Then there are those who argue that you cannot include the entire complex in your calculations. In the case of stepped pyramids, then only those slopes fundamental to supporting the top should be counted as the main structure.
If this is so, then the majority of both Cholula and El Mirador's sites have to be discounted. Then the winner, by volume of pyramid, is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, in Egypt.
A strip-away model and an artist's impression of Cholula in its heyday may help illustrate the debate. In order for the Great Pyramid of Khufu to be the largest, then only the part immediately beneath Cholula's church can be calculated. The rest has to be considered merely a platform base.
It is difficult to get a sense of scale from pictures alone. It may be helpful to point out that, even if the base is discounted, then Cholula would still make it as the third largest pyramid in the world. Once the platform is added again, as part of the whole structure, then it positively dwarves those at Giza, in Egypt.
| Cholula with base | Cholula without base | El Mirador with base | El Mirador without base | Great Pyramid of Khufu | ||||||
| Length | 450m (1475ft) | 295m (968ft) | 310m (1017ft) | * See note | 230m (755ft) | |||||
| Depth | 450m (1475ft) | 270m (886ft) | 590m (1936ft) | * See note | 230m (755ft) | |||||
| Height | 66m (217ft) | 55m (180ft) | 105m (345ft) | 70m (230ft) | 139m (455ft) | |||||
| Volume | 4.45 million m³ | 1.8 million m³ | 2.8 million m³ | 0.9 million m³ | 2.58 million m³ |
* El Mirador has a series of 35 small pyramids on top of its massive, terraced platforms. It is therefore difficult to calculate the length and depth of them, as there would be 35 different measurements to add here. None of them would be bigger than Cholula nor Khufu.
The height has been calculated from La Danta Temple, which is the tallest structure there. La Danta is the largest groups of pyramids there and has been calculated with 300m (984ft) in length and the same in depth. But if they are being judged as a collective, then all of the Giza pyramids should be grouped together too. That would elevate Egypt undoubtedly as the largest. (Thank you to Andy Robinson for highlighting this point.)
Entrance to Cholula
So is the largest pyramid in the world in Mexico? Naturally we are going to go with the Guinness Book of Records here, as we are proud Mexicans. The rest of you have to make your own minds up, about whether you are including platforms, as part of the overall structure.
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