The Great Pyramids of Egypt were built not by slaves, as is commonly believed, but by free workers of such high status that their tombs lie near the king's. The laborers built the Khufu and Khafre pyramids, and the research made public today sheds new light on graffiti describing the workers as " friends of Khufu, " the chief archaeologist on the project tells Reuters.
"These tombs were built beside the king's pyramid, which indicates that these people were not by any means slaves," said the archaeologist. "If they were slaves, they would not have been able to build their tombs beside their king's."
(More Pyramids stories.)