The Great Pyramid of Giza was originally covered in polished white limestone that reflected sunlight like a giant mirror.

The Great Pyramid originally had an outer layer of 115,000 polished Tura limestone blocks. These casing stones were cut with extreme precision. The gaps between the stones were only 0.01 inches wide. Each stone weighed about 15 tons. This made the pyramid's surface flat and smooth.The limestone was brought from quarries on the eastern bank of the Nile River. In 1303, a large earthquake loosened many of these outer stones. People later took the fallen stones to build mosques and fortresses in the city of Cairo. This is why the pyramid looks rough and brown today instead of smooth and white.The removal of these stones reduced the pyramid's height by about 26 feet. Only a few original casing stones remain at the very bottom of the Great Pyramid. The nearby Pyramid of Khafre still has some of these stones at its very top. Scientists believe the shiny surface was meant to show the pharaoh's connection to the sun god, Ra.