The Hidden Story Behind the Great Pyramids of Iowa
Pyramids are just about the last thing you think of when it comes to Iowa. But these memorials are a sight to see in the Hawkeye State and well worth the trip.
Just how did these structures come to be in the middle of an Iowa cornfield anyway? The story behind it is almost as amazing as the pyramids themselves.
These three sandstone pyramids were built over 80 years ago for a very specific purpose and even have an open entrance in which you can go inside.
The Great Pyramids of Avery
You can find the Great Pyramids of Iowa near the small town of Avery, located in the southern part of the state, about an hour southeast of Des Moines. In fact, they're actually found inside one of Iowa's older cemeteries, where you can find headstones way back into the 1800s. According to the experts, these pyramids have something in common with their counterparts in Egypt: they were meant to be tombs.
The structures were meant to be the same dimensions as the Great Pyramids of Giza, just at a smaller scale, of course. The tallest of the pyramids is around 14 feet.
They were built in 1939 by an avid Egypt Historian, Axel Peterson. Peterson intended to be buried inside one of the pyramids' sarcophaguses, but sadly, for unknown reasons, he ended up being laid to rest in another town, and the insides of all three are empty.
You can learn more about the 'Great Pyramids of Avery' in this article from Iowa Public Broadcasting.
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