The Egyptian pyramids are dazzling; in particular, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. So, although dozens of these structures dot the landscape, is it known exactly how many ancient Egyptian pyramids are still standing today?

If you type this question into Google you will see the number 118 at the top of the screen, the answer is taken from Wikipedia. But LiveScience talked to some scientists and found that the answer to this question is actually quite complicated.

“I don’t think that’s an answerable question,” Ann Macy Roth, clinical professor of art history and Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University, told Live Science in an email. Roth noted that scientists disagree on what constitutes the Egyptian pyramid.

For example, during the 25th Dynasty (c. 712 – 664 BC), Egypt was ruled by pharaohs from Nubia (now modern Sudan and parts of southern Egypt). These Nubian leaders built pyramids in Sudan, but they were also rulers of Egypt, so it is a matter of debate whether the pyramids they built in Sudan should be counted.

Another issue is whether the smaller pyramids located next to the larger pyramids, sometimes called “queen pyramids”, should be counted in the total. For example, in Giza, in addition to the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaur, there are at least eight other smaller pyramids. Modern scientists also call these smaller pyramids, sometimes poorly preserved, “secondary pyramids.”

Mark Lehner, president of Ancient Egypt Research Associates and author of The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries (Thames & Hudson, 1997), noted other problems with pyramid counting. “This depends partly on what you call a pyramid,” Lehner told Live Science in an email. One problem is that not all of the pyramids are completed. And in some cases, pyramid construction stopped shortly after it began, raising the question of “whether incipient pyramids should be counted,” he said.

Lehner also noted that during the New Kingdom (1550 – 1070 B.C.) private individuals sometimes built small pyramids next to their graves, and it was debated whether these tiny pyramids should be counted. “If you try to include the non-royal pyramids of the New Kingdom, which were generally quite small and often completely destroyed, there are many examples that are completely lost or whose foundations have not yet been laid, and probably many more to be excavated,” Roth said.

Although the number of Egyptian pyramids is controversial, one scientist said the number 118 may not be too far off. “I believe this number is probably accurate, but I have not personally counted them all,” David Lightbody, an Egyptologist and assistant professor at the University of Vermont, told LiveScience in an email. Most of these, he noted, will be smaller, specialized pyramids.

Although Egypt is known for its pyramids, Sudan actually has more pyramids than Egypt, Lightbody said. In fact, numerous pyramids continue to be found in Sudan’s ancient cemeteries, although they are much smaller than those built at Giza.