How to build Pyramids & Sphinx in Minecraft

The Giza plateau in blocks. The Great Pyramid rises 25 stepped layers of weathered sandstone to a gold capstone, and it is hollow: a chevron-roofed entrance on the north face leads down the descending passage, up the ascending passage and into the Grand Gallery, a tall corbelled hall lit by torches, which climbs to the granite King's Chamber and its open sarcophagus. Around it stand Khafre's pyramid with its smooth casing still on top, three little queens' pyramids, and the Great Sphinx lying in its enclosure facing the sunrise, with outstretched paws, the Dream Stele between them and a striped blue-and-gold nemes headdress. A causeway runs to a red-granite valley temple, palms ring an oasis with a Bedouin tent, and a camel caravan is strung out across the sand round the Great Pyramid.

• DifficultyExpert
• Size156 × 121, 37 layers tall
• Blocks27,529
• Build time14+ hours
• CategoryFamous Landmarks

Open the interactive 3D plan above to build it one layer at a time: every layer has a numbered top-down plan, a block list and full-screen step-by-step instructions you can tick off as you go. You can also download it for Litematica, WorldEdit or Minecraft Bedrock, or view it in your room in AR.

Materials list

Building tips

1. Build the pyramids as hollow shells: each layer is just a one-block square ring, one block smaller on every side than the layer below. From outside the steps hide the empty inside, and it saves thousands of blocks.
2. Mark the four corners of each layer with a different block before filling the ring. Counting from a corner is the easiest way to keep a 49-wide pyramid square.
3. Put the inside passages in before the shell gets too high. They are simple tubes: a floor, two walls and a ceiling, with stairs wherever the floor steps up.
4. The Grand Gallery is corbelled: every two layers the walls step one block inward until they meet. That is how the Egyptians roofed a tall hall without arches.
5. Mix sandstone, smooth sandstone, cut sandstone and a few yellow terracotta blocks at random. A single block type looks like plastic; the mix looks like 4,500 years of wind and sand.
6. Carve the Sphinx's body from overlapping rounded blobs (haunches, body, chest), then add the paws, then the head. Paint the face last: two eyes, a nose that sticks out one block and a mouth.
7. The nemes headdress is the giveaway: stripe its side flaps in blue and yellow, one layer each, and add a gold band and a little cobra on the forehead.

Step-by-step: all 37 layers

1. Layer 1 Sand ×10599, Smooth Sandstone ×2069, White Terracotta ×273, Cut Sandstone ×123, Water ×79, Grass Block ×37, Moss Block ×31, Red Wool ×15, Cobblestone ×1
2. Layer 2 Sand ×1304, Sandstone ×449, Smooth Sandstone ×275, Cut Sandstone ×184, Yellow Terracotta ×55, Red Terracotta ×17, Jungle Log ×14, Brown Terracotta ×8, Sandstone Stairs ×6, Chiseled Sandstone ×5, Oak Fence ×4, Torch ×4, Pink Terracotta ×3, Oak Sapling ×2, Polished Blackstone ×2, Blue Wool ×1, Fire ×1
3. Layer 3 Sand ×846, Sandstone ×486, Smooth Sandstone ×233, Cut Sandstone ×144, Yellow Terracotta ×46, Jungle Log ×14, Red Terracotta ×14, Brown Terracotta ×8, Pink Terracotta ×6, Chiseled Sandstone ×5, Fire ×5, Oak Fence ×4, Polished Blackstone ×2, Block of Gold ×1, White Wool ×1
4. Layer 4 Sand ×389, Sandstone ×314, Smooth Sandstone ×184, Cut Sandstone ×105, Yellow Terracotta ×58, Brown Terracotta ×19, Sandstone Stairs ×16, Red Terracotta ×15, Jungle Log ×14, Blue Wool ×12, White Wool ×12, Red Wool ×10, Brown Wool ×8, Chiseled Sandstone ×5, Pink Terracotta ×5, Block of Gold ×2, Orange Terracotta ×1
5. Layer 5 Sandstone ×293, Sand ×236, Smooth Sandstone ×127, Cut Sandstone ×73, Yellow Terracotta ×39, Jungle Log ×14, Red Terracotta ×14, Brown Wool ×8, Red Wool ×7, Brown Terracotta ×6, Sandstone Stairs ×6, White Wool ×6, Chiseled Sandstone ×5, Pink Terracotta ×2
6. Layer 6 Sandstone ×256, Smooth Sandstone ×166, Sand ×85, Cut Sandstone ×81, Yellow Terracotta ×41, Jungle Leaves ×24, Jungle Log ×14, Brown Terracotta ×13, Red Terracotta ×13, Sandstone Stairs ×6, White Wool ×6, Chiseled Sandstone ×5, Brown Wool ×4, Pink Terracotta ×3
7. Layer 7 Sandstone ×260, Smooth Sandstone ×158, Cut Sandstone ×80, Jungle Leaves ×64, Red Terracotta ×36, Yellow Terracotta ×31, Jungle Log ×14, Brown Concrete ×6, Sandstone Stairs ×6, Orange Terracotta ×3, Yellow Concrete ×2, Lantern ×1, Sand ×1
8. Layer 8 Cut Sandstone ×266, Sandstone ×223, Jungle Leaves ×116, Smooth Sandstone ×114, Yellow Terracotta ×25, Jungle Log ×11, Brown Concrete ×10, Sandstone Stairs ×3, Blue Concrete ×2
9. Layer 9 Sandstone ×221, Smooth Sandstone ×116, Jungle Leaves ×113, Cut Sandstone ×101, Yellow Terracotta ×21, Yellow Concrete ×16, Brown Concrete ×10, Jungle Log ×6, Sandstone Stairs ×3, Lantern ×2
10. Layer 10 Sandstone ×212, Smooth Sandstone ×87, Cut Sandstone ×81, Jungle Leaves ×73, Blue Concrete ×21, Yellow Terracotta ×17, Sandstone Stairs ×3, Brown Concrete ×2, Torch ×2, Jungle Log ×1, Lantern ×1
11. Layer 11 Sandstone ×168, Smooth Sandstone ×110, Cut Sandstone ×87, Yellow Concrete ×19, Yellow Terracotta ×17, Sandstone Stairs ×15, Jungle Leaves ×13, Torch ×2
12. Layer 12 Sandstone ×167, Polished Blackstone ×105, Smooth Sandstone ×93, Cut Sandstone ×72, Red Terracotta ×41, Blue Concrete ×19, Sandstone Stairs ×17, Yellow Terracotta ×14, Pink Terracotta ×7, Orange Terracotta ×3, Torch ×2
13. Layer 13 Sandstone ×158, Smooth Sandstone ×78, Cut Sandstone ×71, Red Terracotta ×34, Yellow Terracotta ×25, Yellow Concrete ×19, Sandstone Stairs ×13, Pink Terracotta ×11, Polished Blackstone ×10, Torch ×8, Block of Gold ×3, Polished Blackstone Bricks ×2, Chest ×1, Chiseled Sandstone ×1
14. Layer 14 Sandstone ×134, Smooth Sandstone ×97, Cut Sandstone ×75, Red Terracotta ×37, Blue Concrete ×19, Yellow Terracotta ×11, Polished Blackstone ×10, Pink Terracotta ×8, Torch ×2, Block of Gold ×1, Yellow Carpet ×1
15. Layer 15 Sandstone ×134, Smooth Sandstone ×82, Cut Sandstone ×67, Red Terracotta ×37, Yellow Concrete ×19, Yellow Terracotta ×14, Pink Terracotta ×8, Black Concrete ×2, White Terracotta ×2
16. Layer 16 Sandstone ×125, Cut Sandstone ×85, Smooth Sandstone ×77, Red Terracotta ×38, Blue Concrete ×19, Pink Terracotta ×10, Yellow Terracotta ×6
17. Layer 17 Sandstone ×127, Cut Sandstone ×95, Smooth Sandstone ×56, Red Terracotta ×37, Yellow Terracotta ×18, Yellow Concrete ×15, Pink Terracotta ×11, Block of Gold ×7, Lantern ×1
18. Layer 18 Red Terracotta ×117, Sandstone ×107, Cut Sandstone ×85, Smooth Sandstone ×65, Pink Terracotta ×36, Blue Concrete ×18, Yellow Terracotta ×15, Yellow Concrete ×4, Block of Gold ×1
19. Layer 19 Sandstone ×85, Cut Sandstone ×59, Smooth Sandstone ×51, Blue Concrete ×27, Yellow Concrete ×27, Yellow Terracotta ×11, Block of Gold ×1
20. Layer 20 Sandstone ×81, Cut Sandstone ×52, Smooth Sandstone ×41, Block of Gold ×7, Yellow Terracotta ×4
21. Layer 21 Sandstone ×85, Smooth Sandstone ×40, Cut Sandstone ×38, Yellow Terracotta ×3
22. Layer 22 Sandstone ×59, Smooth Sandstone ×57, Cut Sandstone ×16, Yellow Terracotta ×4
23. Layer 23 Smooth Sandstone ×60, Sandstone ×43, Cut Sandstone ×15, Yellow Terracotta ×2
24. Layer 24 Sandstone ×44, Smooth Sandstone ×42, Cut Sandstone ×12, Yellow Terracotta ×6
25. Layer 25 Sandstone ×48, Smooth Sandstone ×35, Cut Sandstone ×15, Yellow Terracotta ×6
26. Layer 26 Sandstone ×40, Smooth Sandstone ×26, Cut Sandstone ×13, Yellow Terracotta ×9
27. Layer 27 Sandstone ×42, Smooth Sandstone ×19, Cut Sandstone ×10, Yellow Terracotta ×1
28. Layer 28 Sandstone ×28, Smooth Sandstone ×19, Cut Sandstone ×9, Yellow Terracotta ×1
29. Layer 29 Sandstone ×24, Smooth Sandstone ×19, Cut Sandstone ×12, Yellow Terracotta ×1
30. Layer 30 Sandstone ×23, Smooth Sandstone ×15, Cut Sandstone ×7, Yellow Terracotta ×3
31. Layer 31 Sandstone ×26, Smooth Sandstone ×6, Cut Sandstone ×5, Yellow Terracotta ×3
32. Layer 32 Sandstone ×16, Smooth Sandstone ×8, Cut Sandstone ×4, Yellow Terracotta ×4
33. Layer 33 Sandstone ×15, Smooth Sandstone ×15, Cut Sandstone ×2
34. Layer 34 Sandstone ×13, Smooth Sandstone ×10, Cut Sandstone ×1
35. Layer 35 Block of Gold ×16
36. Layer 36 Block of Gold ×8
37. Layer 37 Block of Gold ×1

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