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.

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You can find the Great Pyramids of Iowa in the southern part of the state, around an hour southeast of Des Moines. They're actually located inside one of Iowa's older cemeteries, where you can find headstones from the 1800s. In fact, the pyramids 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.

Check out an in-depth video of the Great Pyramids of Iowa in the YouTube video below. You can even see what they look like on the inside.

Story Source: Roadside America

Story Source: Leak Project via YouTube

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