This important Map of Giza was created by German Egyptologist, Karl Richard Lepsius, between 1849 and 1859. It records the way that Giza appeared in the mid-19th century before many of the excavation projects in the 20th century. On this map, you can see that many of the tombs and temples were still buried in the sand and have yet to be uncovered to be understood by egyptologists.
Only very few tombs are labeled and numbered in this map, and you can see the places where the sand has covered the Great Sphinx, monumental causeways between Pyramid and Valley temples, and gathered around the bases of the pyramids.
You can also see the edges of the plateau at the bottom right where today the modern day city of Giza, a part of the greater Cairo metropolitan area, has grown to incorporate. The causeway from Khufu’s Valley Temple up to the Khufu Pyramid Temple is more prominent in the map drawing than looking at modern satellite photography of the plateau.
The map serves as an important historical document for the modern history of Giza while Lepsius traveled through Egypt. Extensive survey methods were used to create it with as high of degree of accuracy as possible at the time.
