Description: The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the most famous monuments of the ancient world. Besides being the symbol of the most outstanding culture, it demonstrates the top engineering concepts as well. It is the largest stone structure and the last of the ancient “Seven Wonders of the World” that remains almost intact. For thousands of years the Great Pyramid has been attractive in its mystery not only to the historians, but also to the researchers from very different fields of study. How was it built? And who it was built by? In 2017 the researchers discovered the previously unknown cavities inside the Great Pyramid. And, this fact proves that the monument still keeps its unrevealed secrets hidden from us. There are a thousand and one publications out there, and the researchers from various areas of knowledge try to solve the old riddle, but more and more questions are raised about this mysterious structure. Alternative names: Pyramid of Khufu,Pyramid of Cheops Lepsius No: 4 Type: True Pyramid Location: Giza Plateau Country: Egypt
Translation: ‘Akhet Khufu’ (‘The Horizon of Khufu’).
Translation: ‘Horizon of Cheops’.
Translation: ‘Khufu’s Horizon’.
Additional Data
Legends about treasures hidden in Khufu's Pyramid have been preserved. They got into a tale in the 'Thousand and One Nights', where it is said that Caliph Al-Ma'mun, son of Haroun al-Rashid, was the first to break into it around 820. However, it is possible that the passage actually already existed and were made by the ancient Egyptians, who were familiar with the internal structure of the Pyramid. It appears that whoever performed the operation knew of the structure within and bypassed the granite portcullises at the junction of the ascending and descending corridors. And Al-Ma'mun only widened the passage. In the Saite period (26th dynasty), the priests may have been repairing the structure, since in those days restoration work was actively carried out on the monuments of the Old Kingdom. A more credible version comes from Abu Szalt from Spain. He tells of the people of Al-Ma'mun who were clearing an ascending passage, at the end of which was a quadrangular chamber containing a sarcophagus. "The lid was broken, but nothing was found, except for some bones, completely destroyed by time." But the description of Dionysius Telmaharensis, Patriarch of Antioch, casts doubt on this. He accompanied the Al-Ma'mun crew and states that the Great Pyramid had already been opened during their visit. The burial chamber was probably already stripped of its contents some time between the end of Khufu's reign and the collapse of the Old Kingdom (around 2134 BCE). Those who first broke open the sarcophagus and robbed the royal mummy probably made a noticeable breach in the corner of the sarcophagus in order to lift the heavy lid. The only known figure of Pharaoh Khufu is a tiny figure about 7.6 cm (3 in) high, found at Abydos. His Horus name, Her-Mejedu, is inscribed on the throne. The Great Pyramid was built by Pharaoh Khufu, son of Sneferu. For the construction of the Pyramid, the Giza Plateau, 40 km north of Dahshur, was chosen.
Khufu supposedly left the royal necropolis at Dahshur because there was not enough place for a large pyramid complex and because there was not enough limestone nearby for construction. He may also have been concerned about the instability of the ground at Dahshur, which consisted of shale clay, so he decided to build his pyramid on a rocky outcrop in the desert near present-day Giza, a site that provided not only a stable foundation for the pyramid, but also an abundant supply of high-quality limestone. It is noteworthy that not a single image of the ruler was found in the entire huge complex of the Pyramid of Khufu. Thus, the only identifiable depiction of the builder of the Great Pyramid is a small 9 cm high ivory figurine displayed in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo (accession number: JE 4244). The figurine was discovered by F. Petrie in 1903 under dramatic circumstances during excavations in the temple of Osiris in Kom-el-Sultan, not far from Abydos. The 19th Dynasty prince Khaemuase devoted himself to rebuilding not only the Djoser complex, but also the damaged parts of the Great Pyramid, and it is possible that further repairs were made during the Saite period. In addition, the comment of Diodorus Siculus that there was a platform almost three meters wide and three meters long on top of the Great Pyramid, this indicates not only that the pyramidion (which may have been covered with gold) was already missing at that time, but and that part of the casing was damaged.
When Snofru died around 2600 BCE, Khufu, a diminutive of "Khnum-khuf-ui" ("Khnum protects me"), became his heir. Then he was already in adulthood: the son of Snofru and Hetepheres I, he should have reached about 15 years of age even when his father came to the throne, and therefore, when Khufu came to power, he was already 40 years old, if not more . Khufu is best known in the Greek version of his name - Cheops, already used by Herodotus long before Manetho, who apparently borrowed this name from there. According to Herodotus, Cheops had a bad reputation among the Egyptians. However, his funeral cult continued to exist even in the Saite and Persian eras, and this is not at all consistent with the stable tradition of hostility towards him. According to Herodotus, the reign of Cheops lasted 50 years, according to Manetho - 63 years; in both cases, this figure looks exaggerated. The Turin Papyrus gives him a reign of 23 years. Cheops is one of those pharaohs about whom we have the least historical data. Only four years of his reign are preserved on the Palermo stone. The construction of the mortuary complex on the Giza Plateau seems to have been the main concern of Cheops. The fourth tale in the Westcar papyrus describes how the pharaoh "spent all his time in search of (...) these secret chambers of the sanctuary of Thoth, for he wanted to make similar ones in his tomb." How exactly the huge mass of masonry blocks that make up this Pyramid was erected still raises questions. According to Herodotus, the construction of the Great Pyramid alone took 20 years. This seems likely, since one of the inscriptions, in a boat pit discovered in 1954 at the foot of the Pyramid, mentions the 11th census, that is, the 21-22 year of the reign, which can only be the reign of Cheops. For before it was dismantled and laid in a pit, the boat, most likely, served at the burial of the king. Consequently, the burial occurred at the earliest in the 21st year - or after this date, if the inscription was inscribed after the removal of the stone; this agrees well with the 23 years of the reign attributed to Cheops by the Turin Papyrus. Another inscription, written in paint in one of the relieving chambers, refers to the 17th year and shows that by that time the Pyramid was already four-fifths finished, thus confirming the testimony of Herodotus. Due to destruction or accidents during excavations, the royal iconography of Cheops is extremely poor.
Almost nothing is known about the history of the Great Pyramid during the Middle Kingdom. It is also unclear whether the building remained open, or whether some pious pharaoh took care to close it. However, it is known that at that time the Egyptians did not revere the temples at the pyramids too much. They used the temples at Giza as quarries for building the northern pyramids of Lisht, which date from the early years of the 12th Dynasty. It is known for sure that during the Roman period, the interior of the Great Pyramid was open and accessible to visitors. Some rooms were partly filled with rubbish and used for late burials. The entrance was then blocked by a heap of windblown desert sand and falling debris, and thus eluded the attention of those who sought it. The Pyramid was rediscovered in the 9th century, during the reign of Al-Ma'mun, the son of Caliph Harun ar-Rashid. Al-Ma'mun's men were unable to find the real entrance, but they forced a corridor through the stonework and reached the interior. Writers of the time told fantastic stories about Al-Ma'mun's work. An analysis of these stories suggests that the original burial had already been plundered and the mummies and coffins found there belonged to later intrusive burials. Herodotus mentions inscriptions that are said to have covered the casings of the Pyramid. Even under the Arabs, Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi (in 1179) mentioned that these inscriptions, if copied, would take up 10,000 pages. Unfortunately, graffiti and other inscriptions left by visitors over the centuries were lost when the casing was removed in the 13th century and later. Since then, the Great Pyramid has begun to look much the same as it does today, although now its interior has already been completely cleared and examined, and the base has been freed from the mountains of sand, rubble and stone blocks that have gathered around it. Very little is also known about Pharaoh Khufu himself, the man who ordered the construction of the Great Pyramid - the eternal abode of his mortal body. He was the son and heir of King Sneferu from Queen Hetepheres. He had more than one wife and many sons and daughters. Some ancient authors wrote that Khufu was a terrible tyrant and his subjects hated him, because he turned the whole people into slaves, forcing him to build his great tomb. However, the history of Ancient Egypt does not confirm such stories. According to this story, the construction of the Great Pyramid and the road to it took up to thirty years: ten for the road and twenty for the Pyramid itself. However, according to ancient records, Khufu reigned for only twenty-three years.
The upper temple of Khufu is located to the east of the Great Pyramid. Nothing remained of it, except for the foundation carved into the bedrock and part of the basalt slabs of the courtyard. However, although these remains are fragmentary, they provide enough information to allow Egyptologists to reconstruct the plan of the eastern part of the temple. The temple is completely different from the previous and subsequent mortuary temples. The entrance opened into a large courtyard with a colonnade, the long axis of which was oriented from north to south. The roof of the portico was supported by granite columns, of which only fragments remain. The westernmost part of the temple was completely destroyed, but it could not be very complex, since the space it occupied is too small and narrow. In his reconstruction of the temple, H. Ricke suggested that there were five niches with statues. However, there is no evidence of their existence, and we must remember that in the Sneferu pyramid complex at Dahshur there were only six of these niches and they were located in the lower temple. Several fragments found here indicate that the walls of the upper temple were built of limestone. These walls, combined with the basalt slabs of the courtyard and the red granite columns, must have looked very impressive.
The upper temple was destroyed to the ground over the centuries. A part of the black basalt covering of the open courtyard, sockets for granite columns of the surrounding colonnade, a western recessed niche, and cuts in the bedrock for the outer wall have been preserved from the temple, which was originally square at the base. The walls of the temple were made of fine limestone with relief carvings. The temple also had an inner sanctuary and storerooms.
From the upper temple, which originally stood somewhat to the side at the foot of the eastern side of the Pyramid, no more than a few fragments of reliefs and a pavement remained. Since the destruction of the temple began in the Old Kingdom, it is very difficult to restore its original architecture today. The expedition of S. Hassan found only a few fragments of ornaments with scenes of the Heb-sed festival, the white hippopotamus festival and other motifs. Some fragments were reused in the construction of the wall of the medieval tower of Bab el-Futuh in Cairo. It is also believed that some of the blocks used as building material in the Pyramid complex of Amenemhat I at el-Lisht were part of the original decoration of the upper temple of Khufu at Giza. The open courtyard of the upper temple with columns was paved with basalt blocks, and in its center there was probably an altar. In the floor of the courtyard, the remains of a drainage system designed to drain rainwater were found. In the western part of the temple, behind three narrowing rows of columns, there was a portico - the main cult place of the temple. According to Jean-Philippe Lauer, there was a false door in the cult place, but according to Herbert Ricke - five niches with statues of the ruler. In his reconstruction, Lauer placed the chapel of Upper Egypt in the southwest corner of the courtyard and the chapel of Lower Egypt in the northeast corner.
All that remains of the upper temple to the east of the pyramid is a black basalt pavement, depressions for the granite pillars of the surrounding colonnade, and a few stones hewn from the limestone bedrock for the outer walls. Based on archaeological findings, it is most likely that the basalt pavement slabs come from Widan el-Faras, north of Lake Fayum. Traces of sawing basalt slabs with a drag saw are visible on several blocks of the pavement. The upper temple had a rectangular plan, about 52.5 m wide. Consequently, it was much larger than the small temples adjacent to the earlier pyramids.
In the late 1980s, the project uncovered extensive evidence that the Old Kingdom settlement extended far beyond the Giza Plateau under the modern city. The main works of the consortium, known as AMBRIC, to install sewers were made by a network of trenches and boreholes in the valley floor east of the Sphinx and the pyramids. Archeology was led by Zahi Hawass and overseen by Michael Jones. Remains discovered over a wide area included the foundations of Khufu's causeway and a basalt pavement that probably marks the lower temple.
The lower temple of the Great Pyramid has never been excavated. Perhaps it is located at the end of the causeway, under the modern village of Nazlet El-Semman or slightly to the east of it.
The remains of the lower temple lie northeast of the Great Pyramid, on the edge of the desert, partly just below the village of Nazlet el-Samman. During excavations in the area, Z. Hawass recently discovered the remains of a basalt pavement, and at its end an 8 m thick mudbrick wall, suggesting that the pyramid city may have originally existed next to the lower temple in the valley.
The walls of Khufu's causeway must have been covered with fine relief carvings - as we know from the evidence of Herodotus and the finds of several fragments. The foundation of the causeway was raised to a height of over 40 m (131 ft) to lead a corridor from the edge of the plateau down to the lower temple. To the east of the escarpment, these foundations still existed at the turn of this century.
A causeway to the east of the Great Pyramid was described by Herodotus, but no remnants of walls of 'polished marble adorned with animal figures' survive today. Traces of the causeway are visible further in the cultivated land.
The causeway has only been partially explored. Its total length was originally about 825 m (according to Z. Hawass), and about 125 m from the lower temple in the valley the causeway turned to the southwest. Herodotus described a 1 km long causeway adorned with reliefs, but this evidence is highly disputed by Egyptologists.
When R. Lepsius visited Egypt more than a hundred years ago, he found the causeway almost untouched; only the white limestone pavement and the passage under it were damaged, which allowed people to cross to the other side without bypassing the pyramid complex. Herodotus greatly admired the causeway, claiming that it was a work almost equivalent to building the Pyramid itself. He also said that the causeway was decorated with sculptures. Today, many blocks of the causeway are still in place, testifying to the sheer size and strength of the structure. In 1938, in front of the Pyramid, Selim Hassan discovered several blocks from the upper end of the causeway, decorated with reliefs.
The Great Pyramid was surrounded by a wall made of fine Tura limestone over 8 m (26 ft) high, enclosing a 10.2 m (33 ft) wide limestone paved courtyard. Access to this court was carried out only by passing through the lower temple, the causeway and the upper temple.
A huge wall, about 3 m high, completely surrounded the Pyramid around the perimeter. The wall was only 10 me from the Pyramid, so the courtyard between them was not very large. Later, Djedefre probably extended the wall.
The Great Pyramid was surrounded by a wall, of which only the foundation remained. Its northern and western sides were 23.6 m from the base of the Pyramid, the southern side was 18.5 m.
Khufu built four satellite pyramids: three pyramids for queens (referred to from north to south as Gl-a, Gl-b and Gl-c) and Gl-d, Khufu's cult pyramid, possibly for his Ka. Unlike the leveled foundation of the Great Pyramid, the pyramids of the queens are adapted to the slope of the bedrock. They may have been planned to an ideal side length of 88-89 cubits, one-fifth the length of Khufu's Pyramid, and at an inclination of about 52°. Each of the pyramids had a stepped inner core and a casing of fine limestone. The entrance to each pyramid is located along the central axis from its northern side. GI-a may have been intended for Queen Hetepheres, considered the mother of Khufu. Gl-b may belong to Queen Meritetes who lived during the reigns of Sneferu, Khufu and Khafre, based on an inscription found in a mastaba temple east of the pyramid. The southernmost pyramid, Gl-c, could belong to Queen Henutsen, whose name became known only much later, during the 21-26 dynasties, when the chapel in the center of the eastern side of the pyramid was transformed into a temple of the goddess Isis. The cult Gl-d pyramid went unnoticed until 1992, when it was discovered by Zahi Hawass during an operation to remove a modern road from the east side of the Great Pyramid. The Gl-d pyramid is tiny, only 20 m (66 ft) on each side, and has a T-shaped descending passage and a chamber whose side walls slope inwards.
Three satellite pyramids are located on the eastern side of the Great Pyramid. The North Pyramid is believed to have had a base length of 172 ft 6 in (52.58 m) and a height of 111 ft (33.83 m). The angle of slope of the faces was 52° 10'. The pyramid was almost completely destroyed, and a large cavity formed in its center. The entrance to the pyramid is located in the center of its northern face. The opening of the pyramid required very little work. A shallow niche on the western side of the burial chamber may have been intended to receive a sarcophagus. Judging by some of the fragments that Perring discovered, the sarcophagus was made of basalt, highly polished, but quite simple. Since this pyramid had obviously been looted, it was not cleared. Several pieces of bones and rusty metal were found in the chamber in the sand brought by rainwater through the entrance. The middle pyramid is supposed to have had a base length of 172 ft 6 in (52.58 m) and a height of 111 ft (33.83 m). The angle of slope of the faces was 52° 10'. This pyramid is usually considered to be the tomb of the daughter of Cheops. The entrance to the pyramid is located in the center of its northern face. Twelve or thirteen skulls were found in the pyramid, as well as many bones and broken planks of a wooden sarcophagus. The southern pyramid is believed to have had a base length of 160 ft (48.77 m) and a height of 101 ft 9 in (31.01 m). The angle of slope of the faces was 52° 10'. The entrance to the pyramid is located in the center of its northern face. A large amount of broken stones and sand was found in the burial chamber, but the sarcophagus could not be found.
The Khufu Pyramid complex included three small satellite pyramids, which are designated Gl-a, Gl-b and Gl-c on the archaeological map of the Giza necropolis. They stand on a slope surface southeast of the Great Pyramid, so a special foundation had to be built for the lowest of them (Gl-c). In terms of size, design, and method of construction, the satellite pyramids are very similar to each other. Gl-a, the northernmost pyramid, was formerly attributed to Queen Meretites, who was probably one of Khufu's older wives. She is believed to have been the mother of Prince Kauab and may have passed from Snefru's harem to Khufu's harem. Today, based on a recently published work by M. Lehner, Gl-a is believed to be the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, Snefru's wife and probably Khufu's mother. According to this view, Meretites was buried in the Gl-b pyramid. The length of the base of the pyramid was 45.5 m x 47.4 m x 46.5 m x 45.7 m, the height was about 29 m, and the angle of the face was 51° 50'. Pyramid Gl-b resembles Gl-a. It is possible that Queen Meretites was buried in this pyramid. The length of the base of the pyramid was 47.8 m x 49.4 m x 48.2 m x 47.1 m, and the angle of the face was 51° 50'. It is believed that the southernmost of the satellite pyramids, Gl-c, belongs to Queen Henutsen. The length of the base of the pyramid was 45.5 m x 46.7 m x 46.8 m x 45.2 m, and the angle of the face was 52° 40'. Recently, Z. Hawass discovered not far from the southeast corner of the Great Pyramid the ruins of a small cult pyramid, including its pyramidion. This discovery put an end to both doubts about the existence of the cult pyramid in the Khufu complex, and speculation regarding its identification with the so-called 'test passageways.'
To the east of the Great Pyramid are three satellite pyramids. All three pyramids were built of limestone, possibly for the three wives of King Khufu, although ancient tradition attributes two of them to his daughters. The length of the base of the northern pyramid is 45 m, the preserved height is about 6 m, the angle of slope is about 51°. The entrance to the pyramid is located above the level of the base in the center of the northern face and is covered on top with a huge limestone slab. A steep corridor 16.5 m long leads to an antechamber, from where another corridor descends into the burial chamber. On the eastern side of the pyramid are the remains of a mortuary chapel, and on the southern side there is a large pit carved in stone for a boat. In the central pyramid, the core is made of local limestone, but it was cased with fine white limestone, several rows of which are still visible on the east side. The pyramid stands on a platform of limestone slabs and, like its northern neighbor, has a side length of 45 m. At present, its height is only 9 m, the angle of slope is about 52°. The entrance, located on the north side, leads to rooms resembling the northern pyramid in plan. On the east side are the remains of a small chapel. To the south of the pyramid is a boat pit, discovered in 1952, but it was closed because it went into the road that passed over it. The southernmost of these pyramids was built for Princess Henutsen, according to a stele found in the adjoining temple of Isis. The pyramid is much better preserved than its neighbors. It is built of rough local limestone and has a white limestone casing, many layers of which have been preserved on the east and south sides. The length of the base of the pyramid is 45 m, the preserved height is about 12 m, the angle of slope is about 51°. The entrance and underground rooms are the same as those of the other two pyramids.
The large number - and size - of the boat-shaped pits to the east of Khufu's Pyramid give it the appearance of a royal bay or pier on the way from this world to the next. One pit is located parallel to the causeway and, therefore, at the very threshold of the funerary temple. On either side of the temple, to the north and south, are two even larger boat-shaped pits, possibly for boats to take the king to the starry destinations. Next to the pyramid of the queen (GI-a) is a fourth pit in the shape of a boat, and to the east of the cult pyramid (GI-d) a fifth was found, possibly for a symbolic transfer of the statue of the king. On the south side of the Great Pyramid are two more boat pits that are often discussed along with those mentioned above, but which actually differ in one important respect. They are long, narrow, and rectangular rather than boat-shaped, and contain disassembled parts of real boats. They were discovered in 1954, each covered with huge limestone slabs. When one of the slabs was lifted from the first pit, the planking of a large boat was visible, completely dismantled, but laid in a semblance of a finished form. The boat was removed piece by piece from the pit under the supervision of Ahmed Youssef, a master restorer who worked on the Hetepheres funerary furniture. The boat was made from 1224 individual pieces of cedar wood, originally sewn together with rope. It has a width of 5.9 m and an overall length of 43.3 m (142 ft). The displacement of the boat is 45 tons. The maximum draft is 1.48 m (5 ft). The second pit, located to the west, was explored in 1985 by a National Geographic team in conjunction with the Egyptian Antiquities Authority. It was found that the pit did indeed contain disassembled parts of the boat. The southern rook pits do not appear to have been part of the symbolic layout of the entire Khufu complex, but rather a deliberate ritual disposal. The pits were located outside the Pyramid's enclosure wall, which is now missing.
Five boat pits were discovered in the immediate vicinity of the Great Pyramid. Two of them are located on the east side, and they are now empty. Their walls were probably cased with limestone slabs, which reduced the width of the pit and made it easier to build a covering over them. The dimensions of the northeastern and southeastern boat pits are: length 52 m, width 7.5 m, depth 8 m. The third pit is located on the upper northern edge of the causeway, has a concave floor and a stairway. The remaining two pits, in which the preserved boats were found, are located on the southern side of the Pyramid. On the walls of the pit with the boat, which is now exhibited in a special museum, there were also many signs and inscriptions of the builders, including eighteen cartouches with the name of Pharaoh Djedefre. From this we can conclude that some parts of the Khufu's complex were not completed before his death. V. Dobrev recently suggested that two boat pits on the south side of the Great Pyramid were built by Djedefre as a sign of filial piety associated with the establishment of a local divine cult of his father Khufu, as the founder of the royal necropolis at Giza. The cedar boat, originally disassembled into 1224 separate parts, was reconstructed. The length of the boat is 43.3 m. To the west is another pit with the same contents. The royal boat has not yet been taken from it. In 1987, the American National Geographic Society, in collaboration with the Egyptian office for historical monuments, explored this pit by drilling a hole in it and inserting a micro-camera and measuring equipment into it. Photographs and air measurements were taken, after which the pit was resealed. The discovery of Khufu's royal boat opened up a discussion about the significance of the boat pits in the Great Pyramid complex and in royal tombs in general. According to Jaroslav Černý, the four boats buried near the eastern and southern walls of the Great Pyramid were intended to be used by the pharaoh on his journey to the afterlife in all four main directions. The fifth pit near the causeway was supposed to contain a boat on which the king's mummy was transported in order to use it to travel across the celestial ocean after the sun god Ra. Finally, the Egyptian archaeologist Abdel Moneim Youssef Abu Bakr claimed that all the boats buried near the Great Pyramid were originally used to transport the pharaoh to the holy places of Egypt during pilgrimages and other ceremonies. However, according to Z. Hawass, the boats have never been on the water. Traces of shaving around the boat pit show that they were built right next to the Pyramid - but he also tends to view the boat's significance as connected with the cult of the sun.
The Cheops Boat was discovered in 1954. The length of the boat is 43.4 m (83 cubits), and it consisted of 1224 pieces of wood, mainly Lebanese cedar in the form of beams and boards, of which the longest reached a length of 22 meters. Three other boats of the same size were buried near the Pyramid after the burial of Cheops. One of the discovered inscriptions in the pit mentions the 11th census, that is, the 21-22 year of the reign, which can only be the reign of Cheops. For before it was dismantled and laid in a pit, the boat, most likely, served at the burial of the king. Therefore, the burial occurred at the earliest in the 21st year - or after this date, if the inscription was inscribed after the removal of the stone.
In the 1920s, G. A. Reisner cleared out the boat pits on the eastern side of the Great Pyramid, and found fragments of gilded wood and pieces of rope in one of them. Near the Pyramid, 5 boat pits were discovered: 2 pits on its southern side, 3 pits on the eastern side (one of which is parallel to the causeway). In May 1954, the Egyptian architect Kamal el-Mallakh, while clearing the south side of the Great Pyramid, discovered an intact cedar boat in a rock-cut pit. The other boat lay in a pit directly to the west of it. The discovered pit is located 17.85 m south of the base of the Pyramid. It is 31.2 m long, 2.6 m wide and 3.5 m deep. It was covered with 42 limestone slabs. The large stones are 4.8 m long, 0.85 m wide and 1.6 m high, with an average weight of about 16 tons. The boat was dismantled before it was placed in the pit, but its parts were placed so close to the original position that the boat looked intact. The dimensions of the boat are as follows: length from bow to stern - about 43.5 m; height at the bow - 5 m; the height at the stern is 7 m. It consists of 651 pieces of wood, mainly Lebanese cedar, as well as many hundreds of small pieces of rope, nails, mats and other details. On deck, there is a large cabine with three palm-shaped wooden columns that supported the ceiling. The discovered pits for the boats undoubtedly belong to Khufu, but it is obvious that they were closed after his death and that this work was completed by his heir. In accordance with ancient Egyptian custom, almost every stone that covered the pit was marked with quarry marks and graffiti; the only royal name found on them is that of Redjedef, Khufu's heir. It was on his shoulders that the duty fell to bury Khufu and complete his unfinished monuments.
Additional Information about the Pyramid Complex
In addition to the Great Pyramid and its complex, Khufu also built a mastaba cemetery: on the western side of the Pyramid for his senior officials, and on the eastern side for his closest royal relatives - all this was systematized and unified. In the late 1980s, the project uncovered extensive evidence that the Old Kingdom settlement extended far beyond the Giza Plateau under the modern city. The main works of the consortium, known as AMBRIC, to install sewers were made by a network of trenches and boreholes in the valley floor east of the Sphinx and the pyramids. Archeology was led by Zahi Hawass and overseen by Michael Jones. Remains discovered over a wide area included the foundations of Khufu's causeway and a basalt pavement that probably marks the lower temple. In a deep trough along the modern canal about 50 m (165 ft) south of the possible location of the lower temple, a continuous layer of mud-brick buildings began. It is possible that 'Gerget Khufu' ('Khufu settlement') was located here. Thousands of fragments of everyday pottery, bread tins, pots, jugs, trays and bowls have been found, as well as animal bones, grindstones and large amounts of charcoal and ash. Approximately east of the south side of Khufu's Pyramid, a trench cut through the massive mudbrick walls of a very large building - possibly Khufu's palace. Later, in 1994, construction work unearthed a huge wall of limestone and basalt 500 m (1,650 ft) east of the lower temple. Its orientation is consistent with some of the older drainage channels in the area, and it may mark the boundary of the floods or the harbor facing Khufu's lower temple.
In front of the northern face of the Pyramid, a pavement was discovered that extends for a distance of 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m). The blocks are 1 ft 9 in (0.53 m) thick. A crevice was found in the pavement, which was broken open and partially explored in search of a passage mentioned by Herodotus. The crevice was subsequently excavated to a depth of about 47 ft 6 in (14.48 m) and was found to be a natural fissure in the rock. Initially, it was filled in, filled with masonry and hidden by the pavement. In those places where the pavement was supposed to serve as a foundation, it was aligned with the greatest precision, and the joints between the blocks were made perfectly even.
To the north of the causeway, corridors were carved into the bedrock. These corridors imitate on a smaller scale (approximately 1:5) part of the substructure of the Great Pyramid: the descending and ascending corridors, the lower part of the grand gallery, and indirectly even the horizontal passage leading to the queen's chamber. It has been suggested that this is the model used by the builders of the Great Pyramid to test methods of blocking passages.
The monuments to Khufu were used instead of quarries by some pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom.
The Great Pyramid contains about 2,300,000 blocks of stone, which are often said to weigh an average of about 2.5 tons. This may be somewhat exaggerated, as the stones certainly become smaller towards the top of the Pyramid, and we do not know if the inner core masonry is as well-cut and uniform as the stone courses now exposed. Some of the blocks at the base can weigh up to 15 tons, and the large granite beams covering the burial chamber and the relieving chambers above it are estimated to weigh between 50 and 80 tons. The Great Pyramid, like the pyramids built by Sneferu, consisted of casing stones and core stones laid in horizontal rows, with backing stones between them. Large amounts of gypsum mortar were used in the often wide spaces between core blocks. In contrast to the rough laying of the core blocks, the greatest accuracy was achieved when laying the fine outer casing. Higher quality limestone was used in the corners and towards the top due to the need for greater precision and control. The base of the Pyramid is leveled to within just 2.1 cm (under 1 in); the average deviation of the sides from the cardinal directions is 3’ 6” of arc, and the largest difference in the length of the sides is 4.4 cm (1.75 in). For the royal designers, such precision may have been imbued with a symbolic and cultic meaning that now eludes us. A more practical explanation is that this could be a response to the 'architectural disaster' of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. To avoid repetition, the builders laid the outer casing on a specially leveled platform built on rock, leaving a low natural rock mass inside the Pyramid.R. Stadelmann, in his study of the reign of the first pyramid builders, concludes that, like his father Sneferu, Khufu ruled longer than the 23 years indicated in the Turin Papyrus, compiled 1400 years later than Khufu's reign. Even with a reign of 30 to 32 years, the estimated combined mass of 2,700,000 m3 (95,350,000 cu. ft) for his Pyramid, causeway, two temples, satellite pyramids, and official mastabas means that Khufu's builders had to erect a staggering 230 m3 (8,122 cu. ft) blocks per day, based on one medium-sized block every two or three minutes during a ten-hour working day.
The bulk of the blocks that make up the Great Pyramid were taken from the bedrock on which it was built. In preparing the base of the Pyramid, appropriate measures were taken to ensure the stability of the superstructure by leveling the rock to a flat foundation. The height of the rocky hill on which the Pyramid was built, in the service shaft, reached 22 ft (6.71 m) above the base level. Outside the Pyramid, in the northeast corner, the rock rises to a height of 13 ft 4 in (4.06 m) above the base. Blocks of masonry, roughly hewn, roughly square in shape, laid in regular courses from 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) to 2 ft 2 in (0.66 m) high, and carefully matched with mortar at the joints. Wherever courses of masonry are open to view, such as on the platform at the top of the Pyramid, in the queen's chamber and in the passage leading to it, as well as in some other places on the outer corners, round holes about 8 in (0.20 m) in diameter and 4 in (0.10 m) deep are visible. Perhaps the holes were intended to support the mechanisms mentioned by Herodotus to lift stones from one level of masonry to another. It appears that the blocks were finished in front of the northern face of the Pyramid, where several rows of round holes are observed, at distances of 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5 m) from each other, three or four holes in a row, with a diameter of about 12 in (0.30 m) and 8-10 in (0.2-0.25 m) deep, obviously to accommodate a processing mechanism or a scaffolding for turning and moving blocks. Fragments of stone and debris were thrown in front of the rock, where they remained in huge quantities. The mortar used for the exterior casing and leveling of the passage walls was entirely lime. However, in the core of the Pyramid, it consisted of ground red brick, gravel, Nile mud and crushed granite, or limestone and lime. In some places, only sediment load or sand and gravel slurry was used. Nothing can beat the beauty of the casing blocks, two of which were perfect when first discovered. They were polished to a single, uniform surface, the joints barely visible and no wider than the thickness of silver paper. The cement that held the casing blocks together was so strong that a fragment of what had been destroyed remained exactly in place, despite the effort with which it was exposed, and they could hardly be removed without breaking. The dimensions of the discovered casing blocks are as follows: top side 4 ft 3 in (1.25 m), perpendicular side 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m), base 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m), sloping side 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m).
The dimensions of the blocks of the Pyramid of Khufu are slightly different in width, but they are aligned in height. The outer walls of the core are built of blocks laid in horizontal layers. The height of the blocks averages between 0.80 and 1.20 m. Between the core and the casing, another layer of stones of a somewhat smaller size was bonded to the mortar, which increased the adhesion of both the two materials and the two masonry structures. In archaeological terminology, this intermediate layer is known as "backing stones".
The Great Pyramid was built on a leveled rocky base, which made it easier to build the core of the Pyramid and at the same time strengthened it. The rock was leveled with great precision. Because of this accuracy, L. Borchardt considered the east side to be the baseline used for the measurements. The building material for the core of the Pyramid was quarried from the quarries to the southeast of it. The limestone blocks were transported along a ramp to the construction site. J.P. Lauer suggested that the Pyramid was built with a system of ramps, including a 50 m wide main ramp that led from the quarries to the construction site. It is likely that other, smaller ramps end up being part of the core of the Pyramid. This simple and effective method made it possible to lift blocks weighing from 3 tons (on the lower levels) to 1 ton (on the upper levels). Some blocks were even heavier. For example, to build a burial chamber, blocks of rose granite weighing 40-60 tons had to be transported to a height of about 70 m. Borchardt agreed with the opinion of K. R. Lepsius that the laying of the core of the Pyramid was built in inclined layers. However, recent studies by French geophysicists have shown that the structure of the core is extremely heterogeneous. Perhaps it also has places filled with sand. The irregular voids, which could also have been filled with fine rubble and other debris from the construction site, distributed the pressure inside the Pyramid more efficiently than solid masonry. This was to be useful during the occasional earthquakes occurring in Egypt. The outer surface of the core consists of huge blocks laid in horizontal rows. The original number of rows was 210. Today their number is only 203 rows. The height of the blocks ranges from 1 to 1.5 m. As with the earlier Red Pyramid, the slightly concave faces were intended to increase the stability of the Pyramid's casing. The casing of the Pyramid was made of large blocks of fine white limestone. Some of these blocks are still in place. Between the core and the casing of the Pyramid there is another layer of smaller blocks (in archaeological terminology, this layer is known as 'backing stones'), bonded with mortar, which increased the adhesion of the two materials and two masonry structures. The top of the Pyramid, the pyramidion, has disappeared, probably forever. The sequence of construction of the Great Pyramid is a matter of debate between those who believe that the Pyramid was built in stages and those who believe that it was built according to a single plan. The point of view of the first group is perhaps best represented by Borchardt. According to him, the Pyramid was built in three stages, during which the location of the burial chamber gradually changed: 1. the burial chamber was underground, and the stage ended when the superstructure reached a height of about 13 m; 2. The Queen's Chamber was chosen for burial, but it also remained unfinished, work was stopped and the chamber was not cased; 3. construction of the grand gallery and the King's Chamber (burial chamber), as well as a service shaft. In particular, Maragioglio and Rinaldi put forward convincing arguments against Borchardt's theory. In their opinion, the whole structure forms a single whole and, therefore, had to be planned at the same time, where the underground chamber was a reserve burial place in case of an unexpected death of the ruler. R. Stadelmann also believed that the Great Pyramid had a single, unified construction plan.
The Great Pyramid was surrounded by a kind of pavement or platform of limestone blocks, and partly built on it. Fragments of these blocks can still be seen on its northern and eastern sides. The main masonry of the Pyramid's core consists of large blocks of local limestone cut from a nearby quarry and laid on a rocky ledge. The size of this rock cannot be determined today, since it is completely built up by the Pyramid. It is believed that the finished Pyramid was composed of about 2,300,000 blocks, weighing an average of 2.5 tons, although some weighed up to 15 tons. Egyptologists believe that the Great Pyramid has survived several rebuildings. It was originally planned on a much smaller scale, but the builders decided to enlarge it even before the first burial chamber was completed. After the construction of the second burial chamber, the builders changed the plan again. They expanded the building and erected a third burial chamber, even higher.
Pyramid Base
54177.0 m2
Volume
2583283.0 m3
2520988.0 m3
Weight
6848000.0 ton
Main Building Material
Limestone
Limestone
Limestone
Limestone
Limestone
Casing Material
Fine limestone
Fine limestone
Fine limestone
Fine limestone
Fine limestone
Additional Data
The length of the original base line of the Great Pyramid was 921.44 m (3023 ft), of which only 54.44 m (179 ft) remain today. Of the original level of the platform, only 212.48 m (697 ft) remain. It is on the basis of these preserved sites that surveyors can reconstruct the original structure with amazing accuracy.
Colonel Howard Vyse excavated in the center in front of the northern face of the Pyramid to find out if there was a lower entrance corridor that could lead to an underground chamber in which, according to Herodotus, the body of Cheops was buried on an island surrounded by the waters of the Nile. These excavations led to the discovery of casing stones and a pavement that was around the Pyramid. The pavement was 1 ft 9 in (0.53 m) thick and extended 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m) from the base of the Pyramid. Excavations to the east and west of the center of the Pyramid revealed that the pavement was over 12 or 13 ft (3.66 or 3.96 m) wide. The blocks that make up this pavement are not rectangular, but carefully stacked together. Under this covering, a fissure in the bedrock was discovered, which was filled with small stones, filled with sand mortar, and covered with wedge-shaped masonry. This fissure was cleared to a depth of 47 ft 6 in (14.48 m), and of sufficient length east and west of the center to prove that there was no lower entrance to the Pyramid at this point, since the corridor must have crossed the fissure. The part of the casing that was exposed extended about 9 ft (2.74 m) beyond the current base of the Pyramid. The removal of the casing of the Pyramid is usually attributed to the famous Sultan Saladin, whose vizier or architect Baha al-Din Qaraqush used blocks in the construction of various public buildings in Cairo, and especially in the construction of the aqueduct from the Nile to the Citadel. Colonel Howard Vyse also excavated the southern face of the Pyramid. According to measurements, the platform at the top of the Pyramid is about 33 square ft (3.07 m2), but there are 4 or 5 stones belonging to the upper rows on it.
Recently, during the laying of an electrical cable, the remains of two parallel narrow ramps leading to the southwestern corner of the Pyramid of Khufu were discovered. This ramp was later built on by Khafre's causeway. J. Davidovits and M. Morris published the passionately discussed book "The Pyramids - An Enigma Solved" in 1988, in which they concluded that the building stones of the pyramids were formed using artificial concrete. According to this publication, the blocks are composed of a cement mixture of geopolymer and natural limestone aggregate, poured into moulds. From a petrographic point of view, they came to their conclusions on the basis of one rock sample, the so-called "Lauer Sample" and several rock samples from the Giza pyramids. Despite the arguments offered to substantiate their hypothesis, they failed to convince Egyptologists and geologists examining Egyptian stones. After intensive but fruitless discussions during the Cairo International Congress of Egyptologists in 1988, D. Klemm invited J. Davidovits to the laboratory of the Department of Geosciences of the University of Munich. Here, a suitable collection of petrographic thin sections was mutually examined under a polarizing microscope, and the identity of stone samples from the pyramids and from the respective quarries was discussed. This demonstration was supposed to end the debate, yet the controversy continues today. In studies by geologist D. Klemm and Egyptologist R. Klemm, about 1500 samples from pyramids and quarry sites were studied using various petrographic and geochemical methods, and, with a few exceptions, samples from pyramid stones and corresponding quarry sites matched very well both for core, and for casing.
In 1984, Mark Lehner and David Goodman made a comprehensive survey of the base of the Great Pyramid. Goodman, in conjunction with the California Department of Transportation, established the survey grids of Giza Plateau. For this study, he first traced a measurement line along each side of the Pyramid between bronze survey markers that were left behind by astronomer and surveyor David Gill in the late 19th century. Whereas previous surveyors only focused on the casing, Lehner also measured the platform. The length of the original base line of the Great Pyramid was 921 m (3022 ft), of which only 55 m (180 ft) remain today. The length of the sides of the base averages 230.329 m, with an average azimuth of -3’ 38” (-0,061°). Of the platform's original level (determined by its upper, outer edge), only 212 m (696 ft) of 924 m (3,031 ft) remain. The platform protrudes from the facing by an average of 42.3 cm (16.7 in) on each side. The length of the sides of the platform averages 231.175 m, with an average azimuth of -3’ 38” (-0,061°). The casing is not parallel to the platform.
At the entrance, the courses of masonry slope towards the center of the Pyramid, but gradually become horizontal, as in the rest of the structure.
The original entrance to the Pyramid was located on the northern side, in the 19th row of masonry. It was located more than 7 m east of the central axis of the Pyramid. When Strabo visited Egypt in 25 BCE, he reported that the entrance was blocked by a movable stone barrier.
This entrance is now inaccessible, has a pointed roof formed from massive slabs of local limestone, and opens into a long, steeply descending corridor. To the north of this entrance is a neatly carved hieroglyphic inscription. It is not ancient; it was made by R. Lepsius in memory of the visit of his expedition to the Great Pyramid on the occasion of the birthday of the King of Prussia.
The descending corridor runs at an angle of 26° 34' 23" for 28.8 m (92 ft 6 in) through the masonry of the Pyramid and then another 30.3 m (99 ft 5 in) through the natural rock without deviating more than centimeter in angle or orientation.
The descending corridor leads to an unfinished underground chamber carved into the bedrock.
Between the grand gallery and the burial chamber, three granite drop portcullises were the last defense against anyone who would go so far in an attempt to enter the royal tomb.
The entrance to the burial chamber was closed by three portcullis in the antechamber leading into it. The fourth portcullis, not lowered, shows the method of construction of this device, the portcullis descended along the troughs or grooves.
In a short passage (antechamber) between the upper end of the grand gallery and the burial chamber, there were 3 portcullises made of rose granite.
Three portcullis were located in the antechamber. At the meeting point of the ascending and descending corridors, there are so-called "plugs".
Description
The entrance to the burial chamber was closed by three portcullis in the antechamber leading into it. The fourth portcullis, not lowered, shows the method of construction of this device, the portcullis descended along the troughs or grooves. Just behind the portcullis closest to the chamber are four semi-circular grooves 3 in (0.08 m) wide and deep, which apparently served to receive ropes to stabilize the portcullis during their descent.
The portcullis was initially held upright with ropes and a pseudo-pulley, and then lowered to form a barrier.
Built entirely of red granite, the burial chamber impresses with its simplicity and resonance. The ceiling is composed of nine huge granite beams, each more than 5.5 m (18 ft or 10 cubits) long and weighing from 25 to 40 tons. The chamber shows signs that the beams began to crack during the construction of the Pyramid, although to prevent this, the Egyptians created one of the most remarkable structures in the history of architecture, the relieving chambers. 'Air shafts', like antennas, pass through the body of the Pyramid from both the king's chamber and the queen's chamber. Those from the king's chamber penetrate completely outside, although it is quite possible that the casing of the Pyramid covered these purely cult shafts, which may also have been originally closed in the chamber. When the priests made their last exit in 2528 BCE, they sealed the tomb by moving three portcullis, which closes the gaps in the side walls of the antechamber.
The floor of the burial chamber is 138 ft 9 in (42.29 m) from the base of the Pyramid. The north wall of the chamber is 16 ft 3 in (4.95 m) south and the east wall 26 ft 3 in (8.00 m) east of the center of the Pyramid.
The burial chamber (King's Chamber) in which Khufu was probably buried is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian architecture. To withstand the enormous pressure, the chamber was built entirely of rose granite. Its flat ceiling consists of nine huge slabs, weighing more than 400 tons. The fact that there is only one small crack in the ceiling tiles (visible not far from the south wall) and that the chamber has stood the test of more than four and a half millennia must be explained not only by the building material used, but by the especially elaborate design of the five relieving chambers above the ceiling of the burial chamber. Near the western wall of the chamber stands Khufu's rose granite sarcophagus, oriented north-south. Given the size of the sarcophagus, it is clear that it must have been placed in its place during the construction of the chamber. Neither the lid nor the pharaoh's remains were found. According to the legend told by Diodorus Siculus, Khufu was ultimately not buried in his Pyramid. Medieval Arab historians mention the existence of a mummy-shaped coffin and the remains of a ruler, but do not say where they lay. This is consistent with the statement of the Polish architect Kozinski that the crack in the ceiling slabs of the burial chamber had much more serious consequences than it might seem at first glance. This suggests that the crack appeared before the Pyramid was completed and was accompanied by a deafening noise that must have been heard all around the construction site. And this threatening incident may have led to the construction of a new burial chamber. In the northern and southern walls of the King's Chamber, narrow shafts begin, which rise steeply to the top. The purpose of these shafts is unclear. Some experts think they are 'air shafts', while others attribute them to an astronomical function that played a religious role.
In the western part of the burial chamber stands a granite sarcophagus without a lid, beautifully polished, but without inscriptions. In the northern and southern walls are the "ventilation shafts", one of which is still functioning and keeps the air in the chamber surprisingly fresh.
Khufu's sarcophagus was made of the same red granite as the burial chamber, and is located exactly on the central axis of the Pyramid. F. Petrie noted that the sarcophagus is slightly wider than the doorway to the chamber, and so it must have been installed in the chamber during construction, as the Pyramid was being built around it.
The sarcophagus is made of granite, not particularly well polished, and has chips and cracks along the edges. The sarcophagus lid, which was installed in the same way as the sarcophagus lids of other pyramids, has not survived.
Near the western wall of the burial chamber stands Khufu's rose granite sarcophagus, oriented north-south. Neither the lid nor the remains of the pharaoh were found in the sarcophagus. Given the size of the sarcophagus, it is clear that it must have been placed in its place during the construction of the chamber. Its modest simplicity contrasts with the magnificent, meticulous construction of the Pyramid as a whole. Edwards believed it was a substitute sarcophagus, hastily prepared after the original was destroyed or lost in transit from the quarries in Aswan.
The granite sarcophagus is located in the western part of the burial chamber, without a lid, beautifully polished, but without inscriptions.
The burial chamber contains a red granite sarcophagus oriented north to south. The lid of the sarcophagus is missing. This large sarcophagus was placed during the construction of the chamber.
Additional Data
Many Egyptologists have long agreed with L. Borchardt's suggestion that the three chambers of the Pyramid represent two changes in plan, with the abandonment of the subterranean chamber, believed to have been originally intended for the burial of the king, and then the queen's chamber, in favor of the king's chamber (burial chamber). However, it is possible that the entire internal structure of the Pyramid was conceived and built according to a single plan. Old Kingdom pyramids often have three chambers. Here, the two lower chambers were probably planned from the beginning to cater for various aspects of the king's spiritual well-being. Above the king's chamber are five relieving chambers, each having the same area as the corresponding chamber below. At the very top, the stones are cantilevered in the form of a canopy to distribute the weight and loads of the masonry mountain above. This is an innovative and ingenious design that has few parallels and no precedents. However, there are indications that the huge beams of the burial chamber began to crack even during the construction of the Pyramid. Graffiti left by the work crews are visible on the walls of the chambers. The names of the workers are combined with the name of the king - Khnum-Khuf. A symbolic function must also be attributed to the so-called 'air shafts', which had nothing to do with the air supply. When the priests and workers of Khufu left the burial chamber for the last time, they sealed the tomb by lowering portcullis into three slots in the side wall of the antechamber. Then, as a second line of defense, they freed the huge granite plugging blocks stored in the grand gallery by knocking down the beams holding them down. They slid down the ascending corridor, thus blocking it. The people probably escaped by descending the so-called 'service shaft' carved into the western wall at the bottom of the grand gallery. It was not a robber tunnel, as some believed, but it was probably cut in order to bring air down into the lower part of the descending corridor so that work could continue in the underground chamber. Once people reached the descending corridor through the shaft, they were able to climb up past the sealed mouth of the ascending passage and exit through the original entrance to the Pyramid. They probably blocked the section of the descending corridor from the mouth to its connection with the ascending corridor by the third line of defense of the king's burial. The entrance to the facade of the Pyramid was to be sealed with a limestone block, which, as the builders hoped in vain, would make it indistinguishable from the casing of the Pyramid.
Above the burial chamber there are five 'relieving chambers' designed to remove the weight from the ceiling of the burial chamber. List of relieving chambers (from bottom to top): 'Davison's chamber', 'Wellington's chamber', 'Nelson's chamber', 'Lady Arbuthnot's chamber' and 'Campbell's chamber'. On the walls of four relieving chambers ('Nelson's chamber', 'Lady Arbuthnot's chamber' and 'Campbell's chamber'), graffiti left by ancient stonecutters or builders was found. These hieroglyphic inscriptions are obviously quarry marks made on the stones before they were built in, except for the horizontal lines on the sides of the 'Lady Arbuthnot's chamber', 1 ft 8.5 in (0.52 m) from the ceiling, and some vertical lines. In each of these chambers, a red line runs down the center of the floor and continues up the blocks that make up their sides. According to a study by Samuel Birch of the British Museum, the symbols or hieroglyphs inscribed in red on the chamber blocks appear to be quarry marks. This assumption is supported by the fact that such signs are visible on the blocks brought from the Mokattama quarry, and their absence on the blocks mined locally. The signs are not very legible due to the fact that they were written in semi-hieratic or linear-hieroglyphic characters. Among the discovered inscriptions there is a cartouche of Suphis (Khufu).
The burial chamber (King's Chamber) in which Khufu was probably buried is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian architecture. To withstand the enormous pressure, the chamber was built entirely of rose granite. Its flat ceiling consists of nine huge slabs, weighing more than 400 tons. The fact that there is only one small crack in the ceiling tiles (visible not far from the south wall) and that the chamber has stood the test of more than four and a half millennia must be explained not only by the building material used, but by the especially elaborate design of the five relieving chambers above the ceiling of the burial chamber. These relieving chambers are low, and their flat top is made of huge, roughly cut blocks of rose granite. The gable vaulted ceiling has only the uppermost chamber. Their side walls are made of limestone and granite. Many of the original inscriptions (signs) of the builders and graffiti of modern visitors have been preserved on the walls. Among them, F. Petrie claimed to have found "the seventeenth year of the (cattle) census". If so, this would be the last confirmed date for Khufu's reign. The modern entrance to the relieving chambers is located in the southern wall of the grand gallery, under the ceiling. The lowest of the relieving chambers was visited by the English diplomat Nathaniel Davison in the eighteenth century and bears his name. Others were later named after the English Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Lady Ann Arbuthnot, while the topmost relieving chamber was named after the Scottish diplomat and amateur archaeologist Patrick Campbell. The entire amazing structure, from the floor of the King's Chamber to the top of the Campbell's Chamber, is approximately 21 m high. The fact that 'air shafts' exist only in the Great Pyramid (in the King's Chamber and in the Queen's Chamber) is another argument in favor of the 'ventilation theory'; after all, in other pyramids, the burial chamber is not located above the level of the entrance.
The burial chamber with the sarcophagus, as well as the relieving chambers above the burial chamber, are made of large granite blocks. Salah el-Naggar presented a compilation of all the granite components of the Giza Pyramids and localized their origin in large occurrences of granites and granodiorites south of Aswan.
Inscriptions were found in one of the relieving chambers, one of which refers to the 17th year of the king's reign. This shows that by that time the Pyramid was already four-fifths finished, thus confirming the testimony of Herodotus, according to which the construction of the Pyramid lasted 20 years.
None of the chambers or corridors of the Great Pyramid can be called a storage room. However, some of them, of course, contained grave goods and vases with food. All these things were stolen thousands of years ago, and archaeologists have not found anything inside. The relieving chambers were designed to take the enormous weight of the top of the Pyramid off the roof of the burial chamber. The quarry marks on some of the stones in these chambers date back to the 17th year of Khufu's reign, indicating that at that time the construction of the Pyramid had reached this stage. This is the only place where Khufu's name occurs inside the Pyramid.
The unfinished subterranean chamber was originally planned to be a burial chamber.
The subterranean chamber is 30 m (98 ft) below the surface of the plateau. The descending passage leading to the chamber is too small to accommodate a sarcophagus the size of the one found in the king's chamber. If the king's chamber was a burial chamber, and the queen's chamber was a serdab for the statue of the king, then what was the subterranean chamber intended for? R. Stadelmann suggests that the rough and unfinished state of the subterranean chamber may represent an underworld cave. It may not have been the first chamber built, but the last, and was still under construction when the king died and work was frozen. One of the real mysteries of the underground chamber is a small uneven passage leading south from one corner. Only one person could fit at the end of it.
According to Perring, that there is a lower passage cut through the bedrock and a subterranean chamber, we owe it to the efforts of Caviglia in March 1817 (Perring did not know that Davison had partially entered the subterranean chamber). The subterranean chamber was not finished, nor was the small passage running south from it. Some Greek and Roman letters crudely painted on the ceiling with candle smoke were discovered when the chamber was first opened. These inscriptions appear to have been of little or no significance, and, with the exception of one or two examples, were illegible. The ceiling of the subterranean chamber is at a depth of 90 ft 8 in (27.64 m) from the base of the Pyramid. The north wall of the chamber is 8 ft (2.44 m) north and the east wall 25 ft 11 in (7.9 m) east of the center of the Pyramid. Caviglia found an excavation 5 ft (1.5 m) deep approximately in the middle of the chamber floor, after which, under the direction of Mr. Salt, he expanded it to a depth of about 10 ft (3 m). This pit was greatly enlarged and cut deep by Colonel Howard Vyse to ascertain whether any chamber existed at the same level as the waters of the Nile.
At a depth of more than 30 m below the base of the Pyramid, the descending corridor turns into a horizontal one and goes into an subterranean chamber, the purpose of which is rather unclear. The chamber is not finished and there are no blocking blocks at its entrance. In addition, there was never a stone sarcophagus in the chamber that could not pass through a narrow entrance. An unfinished dead-end passage leads south from the southern wall of the chamber. Many experts believe that the subterranean chamber is the original, ultimately unfinished and abandoned burial chamber. The chamber was intended as a backup in case the pharaoh died before the actual burial chamber in the upper part of the Pyramid was completed. However, R. Stadelmann believed that the subterranean chamber is a symbolic cave of the god of death Sokar, whose main and, perhaps, even the original place of worship was not far from modern Giza. From this point of view, in the tomb, the buried pharaoh was supposed to symbolically unite with Sokar.
The dead-end passage was carved into the rock base, however, like the underground chamber, the passage itself, starting in the southern wall of the chamber, was not completed.
A dead-end unfinished passage leads the southern wall of the subterranean chamber in a southerly direction.
The lower end of the ascending corridor is 14 ft 9 in (4.496 m) filled with granite blocks. Therefore, in order to bypass these blocks, the passage was cut through bypass on the side. In some places in this corridor the stonework is laid out horizontally with vertical joints, but in all other places in the Pyramid the rows and joints of the blocks are parallel and perpendicular to the slope of the corridors.
From the descending corridor, an ascending corridor branches off, which was originally blocked by blocks of rose granite and which is bypassed by the passage of Al-Ma'mun.
The connection of the ascending corridor with the horizontal corridor leading to the queen's chamber was originally covered with a roof. Evidence of this are the openings for the large beams for the retaining blocks which spanned the horizontal corridor and provided a continuous floor from the grand gallery to the ascending corridor.
A few years before the explorations by Perring and Vyse, two excavations were made at the southern end of the corridor, presumably by Caviglia, which were filled in. Later, Vyse cleared them again and widened them considerably, especially under the block that forms the step.
The entrance to the so-called Queen's Chamber passes through a horizontal corridor that starts at the lower end of the grand gallery and leads south. It was here that the French team carried out geophysical surveys. About 5 m from the end of the corridor is a step where the floor of the corridor becomes about 0.6 m lower and on the same level as the Queen's Chamber. Some scholars believe that the rose granite floor started here and reached the Queen's Chamber before being taken away by robbers. Others disagree, arguing that the building plan was changed to make the burial chamber even more luxurious.
The Queen's Chamber (incorrectly named by Arab researchers) is higher up in the Pyramid, accessed by the upper horizontal corridor. The chamber is located exactly on the central axis of the Pyramid, oriented from east to west and was almost completely finished. The walls and gable vaulted ceiling are made of fine limestone. The queen's chamber was definitely not intended for the burial of a queen. It is very likely that this was a sealed room for a statue of the king representing his Ka or 'spiritual power'. This is evidenced by the presence of a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) corbelled niche in the eastern wall of the chamber, which may have once housed such a statue. The square passage at its base was deepened by early treasure seekers. There are 'air shafts' in the queen's chamber, similar to the shafts in the burial chamber, however, by a mysterious coincidence, they did not penetrate the walls of the chamber itself. In 1872, an engineer named Waynman Dixon working at Piazzi Smyth, aware of the existence of such shafts in the burial chamber, looked for them in this chamber as well. He pounded on the wall until he found places that seemed empty and punched through them. In the northern 'air shaft', Dixon discovered several objects now on display in the British Museum. Recently 'air shafts' have been investigated by R. Gantenbrink, working for R. Stadelmann of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo.
The chamber gable vault blocks penetrate about 9 ft 10 in (2.8 m) into the wall. In the east wall of the chamber is a niche which is 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) wide near the floor, 15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) high and 3 ft 5 in (1.04 m) deep. The floor of the chamber is at 67 ft 4 in (20.52 m) from the base of the Pyramid. The western wall of the chamber is 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) east and the south wall 2 ft 10 in (0.86 m) north of the center of the Pyramid. In the niche in the eastern wall of the chamber, a passage 50 ft (15.24 m) long was cut to the east. Howard Vyse did excavation in the floor in front of the niche.
The entrance to the so-called Queen's Chamber passes through a horizontal corridor that starts at the lower end of the grand gallery and leads south. It was here that the French team carried out geophysical surveys. About 5 m from the end of the corridor is a step where the floor of the corridor becomes about 0.6 m lower and on the same level as the Queen's Chamber. Some scholars believe that the rose granite floor started here and reached the Queen's Chamber before being taken away by robbers. Others disagree, arguing that the building plan was changed to make the burial chamber even more luxurious. The chamber is located exactly on the east-west axis of the Pyramid, has a gable vaulted ceiling, and is completely made of limestone. In its eastern wall there is a niche about 4.5 m high, the ceiling of which is made in the form of a corbelled vault. The meaning of this niche is not entirely clear. There could be a statue of the pharaoh (or royal Ka) in it. Equally unclear is the purpose of the narrow shafts (their average size is about 20x20 cm), which begin in the northern and southern walls of the chamber and rise steeply. The shafts are not quite straight. For example, the north shaft in the chamber has a bend at about 17 m (like the north shaft in the King's Chamber). The reason for this is not clear. Some experts think that these are air shafts, while others attribute to them an astronomical function (the northern shaft points to the star Beta Ursa Minor, and the southern shaft to Sirius), which played a religious role. Similar shafts can also be found in the King's Chamber. The opening of the 'air shafts' in the Queen's Chamber were initially walled up and camouflaged, and only in 1872 W. Dixon discovered and opened them.
In the northern and southern walls of the queen's chamber there are small holes with a diameter of several square centimeters at a distance of about a meter from the floor. They lead into narrow shafts that originally opened outside the Pyramid. Their exits are now bricked up as a result of a change in the building plan and the expansion of the Pyramid. They are usually called "air shafts", but most Egyptologists believe that they had some kind of religious significance and were associated with the soul of the pharaoh. In the eastern wall of the chamber there is a large niche with a corbelled vault. At the back of the niche is a short dead-end passage that was pierced by treasure hunters.
'Air shafts', like antennas, pass through the body of the Pyramid from both the king's chamber and the queen's chamber. In 1872, an engineer named Waynman Dixon working at Piazzi Smyth, aware of the existence of such shafts in the burial chamber, looked for them in the queen's chamber as well. He pounded on the wall until he found places that seemed empty and punched through them. In the northern 'air shaft' Dixon found several items now on display in the British Museum. The northern ‘air shaft’ is oriented towards the northern polar stars.
In the northern and southern walls of the Queen's Chamber, narrow shafts (about 20x20 cm) begin, which rise steeply to the top. The purpose of these shafts is unclear. The shafts are not quite straight. For example, the north shaft has a bend at about 17 m (as does the north shaft in the King's Chamber). The reason for this is not clear. Some experts think that these are 'air shafts', while others attribute to them an astronomical function (the northern shaft points to the star Beta Ursa Minor, and the southern shaft to Sirius), which played a religious role. The openings of the 'air shafts' in the Queen's Chamber were initially walled up and camouflaged, and only in 1872 W. Dixon discovered and opened them. In early 1993, as part of a project sponsored by the German Archaeological Institute, engineer R. Gantenbrink used a robot he had created called UPUAUT 2, which was equipped with a video camera, to explore the shafts. The robot made a passage and filmed the inner walls of the southern shaft. The video showed that the shaft ended in a small limestone slab ('door') into which two heavily corroded pieces of copper were inserted. It was assumed that behind the 'door' there is a chamber with a statue of the king. However, this is unlikely, since the end of the shaft is only 6 m from the outer surface of the Pyramid. Not so long ago, three objects were found in the vault of the British Museum, which W. Dixon took out of the northern shaft in the Queen's Chamber: a stone ball, a wooden slat and a copper object in the shape of a dovetail. Based on the discoveries of the robot and the objects found, R. Stadelmann came to the conclusion that these are not 'air shafts'. In his opinion, these were symbolic corridors through which the soul of the ruler had to rise to the 'stars that never are estinguished' (northern circumpolar stars), as well as to the 'land of light' in the southern sky. However, in none of the predecessor pyramids of the Great Pyramid were found narrow shafts leading to the north or south. The shafts raise doubts that the Pyramid was built according to a single plan. Of the proposed theories, the most probable are those that attribute the ventilation function to shafts. The architects realized that the implementation of air circulation is difficult due to the location of the chamber above the level of the entrance to the Pyramid (both the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber are above this level), which could lead to serious problems if several people were in the chamber at the same time - for example during funeral rites. The fact that the shafts are 'astronomically oriented' is in keeping with the logic of the structure, the practical concepts and the religious beliefs of the builders. The ancient Egyptians were probably well aware that the prevailing wind was from the north, as they commonly used it when sailing the Nile. Therefore, it was not unusual for shafts to be aligned with a given star in the northern and southern skies. In addition, these stars played an important role in the ideas about religion and burial during the construction of the Pyramid. Zeta Orion was identified with the god of death Osiris, and Sirius with his wife Isis. After death, the soul of the pharaoh went to the North Star (Alpha Draconis, in the era when the pyramids were built) to become immortal there. For the same reasons, shafts are depicted on the plans of the King's Chamber. The fact that they exist only in the Great Pyramid is another argument in favor of the 'ventilation theory', since in other pyramids the burial chamber is not located above the level of the entrance.
In the northern and southern walls of the queen's chamber there are small holes with a diameter of several square centimeters at a distance of about a meter from the floor. They lead into narrow shafts that originally opened outside the Pyramid. Their exits are now bricked up as a result of a change in the building plan and the expansion of the Pyramid. They are usually called "air shafts", but most Egyptologists believe that they had some kind of religious significance and were associated with the soul of the pharaoh.
'Air shafts', like antennas, pass through the body of the Pyramid from both the king's chamber and the queen's chamber. In 1872, an engineer named Waynman Dixon working at Piazzi Smyth, aware of the existence of such shafts in the burial chamber, looked for them in the queen's chamber as well. He pounded on the wall until he found places that seemed empty and punched through them. The southern 'air shaft' is oriented towards the constellation of Orion. The shaft was recently explored by R. Gantenbrink, working for R. Stadelmann of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo. Gantenbrink's robot, Upuaut II, carried a video camera up the southern shaft of the queen's chamber, measuring just 20 x 20 cm (8 in). The robot was stopped after about 65 m (213 ft) by a thin limestone plug with two copper pins protruding from it. Research stopped there, and the purpose of the block, and what lies beyond it, remain a mystery.
In the northern and southern walls of the Queen's Chamber, narrow shafts (about 20x20 cm) begin, which rise steeply to the top. The purpose of these shafts is unclear. The shafts are not quite straight. For example, the north shaft has a bend at about 17 m (as does the north shaft in the King's Chamber). The reason for this is not clear. Some experts think that these are 'air shafts', while others attribute to them an astronomical function (the northern shaft points to the star Beta Ursa Minor, and the southern shaft to Sirius), which played a religious role. The openings of the 'air shafts' in the Queen's Chamber were initially walled up and camouflaged, and only in 1872 W. Dixon discovered and opened them. In early 1993, as part of a project sponsored by the German Archaeological Institute, engineer R. Gantenbrink used a robot he had created called UPUAUT 2, which was equipped with a video camera, to explore the shafts. The robot made a passage and filmed the inner walls of the southern shaft. The video showed that the shaft ended in a small limestone slab ('door') into which two heavily corroded pieces of copper were inserted. It was assumed that behind the 'door' there is a chamber with a statue of the king. However, this is unlikely, since the end of the shaft is only 6 m from the outer surface of the Pyramid. Not so long ago, three objects were found in the vault of the British Museum, which W. Dixon took out of the northern shaft in the Queen's Chamber: a stone ball, a wooden slat and a copper object in the shape of a dovetail. Based on the discoveries of the robot and the objects found, R. Stadelmann came to the conclusion that these are not 'air shafts'. In his opinion, these were symbolic corridors through which the soul of the ruler had to rise to the 'stars that never are estinguished' (northern circumpolar stars), as well as to the 'land of light' in the southern sky. However, in none of the predecessor pyramids of the Great Pyramid were found narrow shafts leading to the north or south. The shafts raise doubts that the Pyramid was built according to a single plan. Of the proposed theories, the most probable are those that attribute the ventilation function to shafts. The architects realized that the implementation of air circulation is difficult due to the location of the chamber above the level of the entrance to the Pyramid (both the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber are above this level), which could lead to serious problems if several people were in the chamber at the same time - for example during funeral rites. The fact that the shafts are 'astronomically oriented' is in keeping with the logic of the structure, the practical concepts and the religious beliefs of the builders. The ancient Egyptians were probably well aware that the prevailing wind was from the north, as they commonly used it when sailing the Nile. Therefore, it was not unusual for shafts to be aligned with a given star in the northern and southern skies. In addition, these stars played an important role in the ideas about religion and burial during the construction of the Pyramid. Zeta Orion was identified with the god of death Osiris, and Sirius with his wife Isis. After death, the soul of the pharaoh went to the North Star (Alpha Draconis, in the era when the pyramids were built) to become immortal there. For the same reasons, shafts are depicted on the plans of the King's Chamber. The fact that they exist only in the Great Pyramid is another argument in favor of the 'ventilation theory', since in other pyramids the burial chamber is not located above the level of the entrance.
In the northern and southern walls of the queen's chamber there are small holes with a diameter of several square centimeters at a distance of about a meter from the floor. They lead into narrow shafts that originally opened outside the Pyramid. Their exits are now bricked up as a result of a change in the building plan and the expansion of the Pyramid. They are usually called "air shafts", but most Egyptologists believe that they had some kind of religious significance and were associated with the soul of the pharaoh.
After the ascending corridor follows the grand gallery, at the end of which is what is known as the 'great step'. The step is followed by the antechamber and, finally, the burial chamber. The grand gallery has a ceiling of the corbelled vault type, but the steps of the vault do not reach the very top - the last gap is covered with slabs. On the sides of the gallery, the corresponding openings in the side steps and in the walls are evenly spaced. These are generally thought to be sockets for large wooden beams to hold the blocks that plugged the ascending corridor.
The floor of the grand gallery consists of a sloping ramp 3 ft 5.5 in (1.05 m) wide in the middle, and side ramps, each 1 ft 8.5 in (0.52 m) wide. The ramp in the middle is 2 ft (0.61 m) lower than the side ramps. In the northwest corner of the gallery, near the ascending corridor in the wall, there is a passage to the service shaft. The vault of the large gallery is formed by flat rows of blocks inclined towards the vertical walls of the corridor. At the north end of the gallery, recesses are visible on the sides of the ramps, which were intended to insert beams to form a step to level the floor of the ascending corridor and gallery. On one side, the recesses are cut deeper than on the other, so that the end of the beam, inserted into the deeper hole, could be drawn back into the shorter one, and there would still be sufficient support at each end. The holes in the large gallery were probably intended for the insertion of levers or beams to raise the sarcophagus. The side holes, now filled in, were also intended for the same purpose. Across these holes is another small hollow groove made after the holes have been filled. They may have been made to serve as scaffolds for workers working on the side walls of the gallery.
The Grand Gallery is an architectural masterpiece. The ceiling is a corbelled vault built from seven layers of huge limestone blocks, each protruding by about 7.5 cm. There are low ramps on both sides of the gallery. On their surfaces, at regular intervals, 27 large and small square openings alternate, corresponding to rectangular niches in the side wall. Their purpose has long been debated, and it must be admitted that none of the explanations proposed so far is entirely satisfactory. The most widely used version was proposed by L. Borchardt, according to which a structure of wooden beams and boards was fixed into these holes. At the lower end of the grand gallery, there is a small opening in the west wall just above the floor. There begins a narrow passage, known as a service shaft, which opens into the corridor deep under the Pyramid, not far from the entrance to the subterranean chamber. The shaft was originally sealed and filled with limestone fragments and sand. The modern entrance to the relieving chambers is also located in the grand gallery, in its south wall under the ceiling.
In the middle of the floor of the grand gallery is a groove about 60 cm deep. On the raised sides of the floor, rectangular openings are visible, into which beams may have been inserted to hold the "plug" stones that blocked the gallery. At the upper end of the gallery is a small opening that leads to the lower of the five "relieving" chambers.
Between the grand gallery and the king's chamber, the three granite lowered portcullises in the antechamber were the last defense against anyone who would go so far as to try to enter the royal tomb.
The entrance to the burial chamber was closed by three portcullis in the antechamber leading into it. The fourth portcullis, not lowered, shows the method of construction of this device, the portcullis descended along the troughs or grooves. Just behind the portcullis closest to the chamber are four semi-circular grooves 3 in (0.08 m) wide and deep, which apparently served to receive ropes to stabilize the portcullis during their descent.
In the walls of the antechamber there are grooves for three portcullis. Part of one portcullis is still visible. On the southern wall of the antechamber there are a number of vertical grooves, which, it is believed, could have been used to raise or lower the portcullis.
'Air shafts', like antennas, pass through the body of the Pyramid from both the king's chamber and the queen's chamber. Those from the king's chamber penetrate completely outside, although it is quite possible that the casing of the Pyramid covered these purely cult shafts, which may also have been originally closed in the chamber. The northern ‘air shaft’ is oriented towards the northern polar stars.
The 'air shaft' is located in the north wall of the burial chamber, 8 ft 1 in (2.46 m) from the east wall of the chamber, and 3 ft (0.91 m) from the floor. Outside the Pyramid, the shaft's exit is at 331 ft (100.89 m). Caviglia was excavating outside along the northern 'air shaft'. This excavated section is 47 ft 6 in (14.48 m) long. Colonel Howard Vyse cleared the north and south shafts of sand, and the ventilation of the Pyramid was restored.
In the northern and southern walls of the King's Chamber, narrow shafts begin, which rise steeply to the top. The purpose of these shafts is unclear. Some experts think they are 'air shafts', while others attribute them to an astronomical function that played a religious role. Of the theories proposed so far, the most probable are the theories that attribute a ventilation function to shafts. The architects realized that the implementation of air circulation is difficult due to the location of the chamber above the level of the entrance to the Pyramid (both the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber are above this level), which could lead to serious problems if several people were in the chamber at the same time - for example during funeral rites. The fact that the shafts are 'astronomically oriented' is in keeping with the logic of the structure, the practical concepts and the religious beliefs of the builders. The ancient Egyptians were probably well aware that the prevailing wind was from the north, as they commonly used it when sailing the Nile. Thus, it was not unusual for shafts to be aligned with a given star in the northern and southern skies; it was perfectly practical. In addition, these stars played an important role in the ideas about religion and burial during the construction of the Pyramid. Zeta Orion was identified with the god of death Osiris, and Sirius with his wife Isis. After death, the soul of the pharaoh went to the North Star (Alpha Draconis, in the era when the pyramids were built) to become immortal there. For the same reasons, shafts are depicted on the plans of the Queen's Chamber. The fact that they exist only in the Great Pyramid is another argument in favor of the 'ventilation theory', since in the other pyramids the burial chamber is not located above the level of the entrance.
'Air shafts', like antennas, pass through the body of the Pyramid from both the king's chamber and the queen's chamber. Those from the king's chamber penetrate completely outside, although it is quite possible that the casing of the Pyramid covered these purely cult shafts, which may also have been originally closed in the chamber. The southern 'air shaft' is oriented towards the constellation of Orion.
Outside the Pyramid, the exit from the southern 'air shaft' had a bend, where it became horizontal from an inclined one, probably so that sand would not clog into the shaft. Caviglia was excavating the shaft from the southeast corner of the 'Davison's chamber'. The mouth of the shaft in the burial chamber was pierced, but it appears to have originally been the same size as the north shaft. Colonel Howard Vyse cleared the north and south shafts of sand, and the ventilation of the Pyramid was restored.
In the northern and southern walls of the King's Chamber, narrow shafts begin, which rise steeply to the top. The purpose of these shafts is unclear. Some experts think they are 'air shafts', while others attribute them to an astronomical function that played a religious role. Of the theories proposed so far, the most probable are the theories that attribute a ventilation function to shafts. The architects realized that the implementation of air circulation is difficult due to the location of the chamber above the level of the entrance to the Pyramid (both the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber are above this level), which could lead to serious problems if several people were in the chamber at the same time - for example during funeral rites. The fact that the shafts are 'astronomically oriented' is in keeping with the logic of the structure, the practical concepts and the religious beliefs of the builders. The ancient Egyptians were probably well aware that the prevailing wind was from the north, as they commonly used it when sailing the Nile. Thus, it was not unusual for shafts to be aligned with a given star in the northern and southern skies; it was perfectly practical. In addition, these stars played an important role in the ideas about religion and burial during the construction of the Pyramid. Zeta Orion was identified with the god of death Osiris, and Sirius with his wife Isis. After death, the soul of the pharaoh went to the North Star (Alpha Draconis, in the era when the pyramids were built) to become immortal there. For the same reasons, shafts are depicted on the plans of the Queen's Chamber. The fact that they exist only in the Great Pyramid is another argument in favor of the 'ventilation theory', since in the other pyramids the burial chamber is not located above the level of the entrance.
The lowest relieving chamber can be accessed through an entrance located at the upper end of the grand gallery.
Above the burial chamber there are five 'relieving chambers' designed to remove the weight from the ceiling of the burial chamber, and the ‘Davison's chamber' is the first above the burial chamber. In 1764, Mr. Davison discovered this chamber through a 24 ft 9 in (7.54 m) passage he had cut. The floor of the relieving chamber is formed from granite beams that make up the ceiling of the underlying chamber. These floor beams are laid across each of the chambers. In their manufacture, one side was flat machined so that the other two sides could be machined at right angles to the flat side, while the fourth side (top) was not flat.
The lowest of the relieving chambers was visited by the English diplomat Nathaniel Davison in the eighteenth century and bears his name.
Above the burial chamber there are five 'relieving chambers' designed to remove the weight from the ceiling of the burial chamber, and the 'Wellington's chamber' is the second one above the burial chamber. On March 30, 1837, Colonel Howard Vyse discovered this chamber. The floor of the relieving chamber is formed from granite beams that make up the ceiling of the underlying chamber. These floor beams are laid across each of the chambers. In their manufacture, one side was flat machined so that the other two sides could be machined at right angles to the flat side, while the fourth side (top) was not flat.
The chamber was named after the English Duke of Wellington.
Above the burial chamber there are five 'relieving chambers' designed to remove the weight from the ceiling of the burial chamber, and the 'Nelson's chamber' is the third above the burial chamber. On April 25, 1837, Colonel Howard Vyse discovered this chamber. The floor of the relieving chamber is formed from granite beams that make up the ceiling of the underlying chamber. These floor beams are laid across each of the chambers. In their manufacture, one side was flat machined so that the other two sides could be machined at right angles to the flat side, while the fourth side (top) was not flat.
The chamber was named after the English Lord Nelson.
Above the burial chamber there are five 'relieving chambers' designed to remove the weight from the ceiling of the burial chamber, and the 'Lady Arbuthnot's chamber' is the fourth above the burial chamber. On May 6, 1837, Colonel Howard Vyse discovered this chamber. The floor of the relieving chamber is formed from granite beams that make up the ceiling of the underlying chamber. These floor beams are laid across each of the chambers. In their manufacture, one side was flat machined so that the other two sides could be machined at right angles to the flat side, while the fourth side (top) was not flat.
Above the burial chamber there are five 'relieving chambers' designed to remove the weight from the ceiling of the burial chamber, and the 'Campbell's chamber' is the fifth one above the burial chamber. On May 27, 1837, Colonel Howard Vyse discovered this chamber. The floor of the relieving chamber is formed from granite beams that make up the ceiling of the underlying chamber. These floor beams are laid across each of the chambers. In their manufacture, one side was flat machined so that the other two sides could be machined at right angles to the flat side, while the fourth side (top) was not flat. The sloping beams that form the gable vault of the upper 'Campbell's chamber' are limestone from the Mokattam quarries. In some blocks of the floor of this chamber, steps were cut for supports, which were used to receive the inclined beams of the vault and were probably removed before the chamber was closed.
The topmost relieving chamber was named after Scottish diplomat and amateur archaeologist Patrick Campbell.
At the junction of the ascending and horizontal corridors there is a shaft opening which descends, partly vertically and partly at a very steep angle, to a depth of about 60 m. It opens into the lower part of the descending corridor. It is believed that the shaft was a special exit for workers who filled the ascending passage with huge stones after the burial of the pharaoh. Once these "plugs" were in place, the ascending corridor should have become impassable and the workers would have been trapped inside.
When the priests and workers of Khufu left the burial chamber for the last time, they sealed the tomb by lowering portcullis into three slots in the side wall of the antechamber. Then, as a second line of defense, they freed the huge granite plugging blocks stored in the grand gallery by knocking down the beams holding them down. They slid down the ascending corridor, thus blocking it. The people probably escaped by descending the so-called 'service shaft' carved into the western wall at the bottom of the grand gallery. It was not a robber tunnel, as some believed, but it was probably cut in order to bring air down into the lower part of the descending corridor so that work could continue in the underground chamber. Once people reached the descending corridor through the shaft, they were able to climb up past the sealed mouth of the ascending passage and exit through the original entrance to the Pyramid.
In the northwest corner of the grand gallery, near the ascending corridor in the wall, is the entrance to the service shaft. The shaft does not appear to have been part of the original design, as its entrance was not built into the masonry, but was pierced after that part of the Pyramid was completed. This broken entrance led people to believe that the rocky hill inside the Pyramid rises almost to the mouth of the shaft. At a depth of 32 ft 5 in (9.88 m) from the mouth of the shaft is a grotto in a layer of sand that meets at the level of the bedrock. The sides of the shaft at this point are reinforced with masonry to prevent sand from falling, but some curious explorer had previously removed part of the masonry in search of a passage to the supposed hidden chamber, and thus a grotto was formed. The height of the rocky hill on which the Pyramid was built, in the service shaft, reached 22 ft (6.71 m) above the base level. Davison in 1764 explored the shaft from above, but did not clear the last few meters of debris. Later, in 1817 Caviglia finally cleared the shaft.
At the lower end of the grand gallery, there is a small opening in the west wall just above the floor. There begins a narrow passage, known as a service shaft, which opens into the corridor deep under the Pyramid, not far from the entrance to the subterranean chamber. The shaft was originally sealed and filled with limestone fragments and sand. According to F. Petrie, the shaft was intended as an exit route for the people to lower the granite blocks into the ascending corridor when the burial ritual was over. However, his opinion was challenged on the grounds that if this were the case, then the well could not be filled to the top with rubble. According to other experts, the well was supposed to provide fresh air to workers carving the subterranean chamber in the rock. According to this view, the subterranean chamber and corridors were built after the construction of the grand gallery. But this statement contradicts the assumption that this was the first stage in the construction of the foundation of the Great Pyramid.
The Al-Ma'mun tunnel is today used by visitors as the entrance to the Great Pyramid. The tunnel was pierced by Caliph Al-Ma'mun in the 9th century. It was cut in the sixth course of masonry, lower and slightly to the west of the original entrance. After going about 36 m, this passage reaches the junction of the descending and ascending corridors.
Legends about treasures hidden in Khufu's Pyramid have been preserved. They got into a tale in the 'Thousand and One Nights', where it is said that Caliph Al-Ma'mun, son of Haroun al-Rashid, was the first to break into it around 820. However, it is possible that the passage actually already existed and were made by the ancient Egyptians, who were familiar with the internal structure of the Pyramid. It appears that whoever performed the operation knew of the structure within and bypassed the granite portcullises at the junction of the ascending and descending corridors. And Al-Ma'mun only widened the passage. In the Saite period (26th dynasty), the priests may have been repairing the structure, since in those days restoration work was actively carried out on the monuments of the Old Kingdom. A more credible version comes from Abu Szalt from Spain. He tells of the people of Al-Ma'mun who were clearing an ascending passage, at the end of which was a quadrangular chamber containing a sarcophagus. "The lid was broken, but nothing was found, except for some bones, completely destroyed by time." But the description of Dionysius Telmaharensis, Patriarch of Antioch, casts doubt on this. He accompanied the Al-Ma'mun crew and states that the Great Pyramid had already been opened during their visit.
It is believed that Caliph Al-Ma'mun, son of Haroun al-Rashid, cut a passage into the Pyramid below the level of the original entrance, after which the passage turns east, and intersects with the ascending corridor at its junction with the descending one.
Today the Pyramid is accessed through an entrance said to have been cut through the masonry in the ninth century by Caliph Al-Ma'mun, son of Haroun al-Rashid. According to reports by Arab historians, he managed to get inside the Pyramid and at the end of the tunnel found a large key and several gold coins. The amount exactly matched the cost of the operation. However, it is more likely that he simply made a connection with a passage that may have already been made by robbers in antiquity.
