Priests and officials usually entered a pyramid complex through a temple near a harbor on the Nile River. This temple was called the valley temple. It was connected to the main pyramid by a causeway, which is a long, covered walkway. The causeway ran up out of the valley and through the desert into another temple called the pyramid or mortuary temple. This temple connected to the main pyramid at the center of its eastern face.
Smaller pyramids called queens" pyramids or satellite pyramids accompanied most pyramid complexes. These smaller pyramids were usually too small to serve as tombs and their purpose still remains a mystery. They might have contained statues of the pharaoh's spirit or an aspect of his spirit called his ka. The queens" pyramids were small, simple versions of the kings" pyramids. Sometimes they had small temples all their own. They were the burial sites of the king's principal wives. .
We don't know the exact time when the pyramids were built but we do have an idea of the timeframe. They were built sometime during the Old Testament, probably around the time of Moses (around 2630B.C. to about 1530). From around 2575B.C. to 2134B.C. (a period in ancient Egyptian history known as the Old Kingdom), Egyptian artists carved hieroglyphs on the walls of the burial chambers, which were designed to "safeguard" the dead person's journey into the afterlife. The hieroglyphic writings included such things as hymns, magical spells, instructions on how to act in front of gods and goddesses, and other pieces of "useful" knowledge. These are commonly known as the pyramid texts.
King Khufu's pyramid, also known as the Great Pyramid, lies west of Giza in the desert and is accompanied by the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, his son and grandson. It was built sometime during Khufu's reign from 2551B.C. to 2528B.C. Some of the outer covering has been stripped away by vandals and erosion but it still remains a majestic wonder out in the middle of the barren desert.