<HTML>Anthony
If khufu's pyramid was the first, why did he not build it slap bang in the middle of the plateau? Did he intend to leave room for his decendants to build two other large pyramids. Most kings I know of did not give much thought about who migh build what and where it might be built after they are gone. So why did Khufu not claim the plateau for himself, by building his pyramid in the middle? Afterall if he built his pyramid where Khafre's is(on top of the hill) it certainly would have looked bigger, and he would not have had the problem of mastabas in the way of the construction site.
He also would not have had any problems with the causeway, it would not have had to have an underbuilding of 40 meters high. When you survey a site for construction you look for the best location possible, you don't stick your house(pyramid) at the edge of a 130 foot high cliff, and then have to build an excessivly high pathway up to it. Not when you have multiple choices of location, for construction.
Khafre's pyramid is idealy situated it has a causeway that slopes gently down to near the base of the plateau. So that would have been a prime location for a first large pyramid.</HTML>