Over the past two decades, archaeologists have made huge strides in their understanding of the pyramids. They have uncovered edifices buried for centuries under the desert sand and new technology has enabled them to conduct extensive investigations of the pharaohs' tombs. These discoveries have enabled us to answer some of the fundamental questions that have been asked about the pyramids for centuries: how did a people who lived nearly five thousand years ago, who knew neither iron nor bronze and who lacked mastery of elementary rules of calculation, manage to construct enormous stone structures with a precision seldom matched even by modern architecture? What culture, politics, and religion stood behind this extraordinary achievement? In The Pyramids, Miroslav Verner, one of the world's most celebrated pyramid researchers, presents the most up-to-date account of what we know about the pyramids. He re-creates vividly the history of ancient Egyptian culture before and during the period of the pyramids, as well as the remarkable story of modern Egyptology, which began when Napoleon's troops conquered Egypt two hundred years ago.