|
|
| |
| Map of the Pyramid complex at Giza |
The Pyramid of Chephren, often called the "Second Pyramid", is built next to the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). Chephren is the son and successor of Khufu and Hensuten. Khufu's other son and also successor, Ra'djedef, started constructing his own pyramid at Abu Rawash, which is north of Giza. Chephren's pyramid is designed more modestly than Khufu's. The Chephren pyramid originally was 10 feet (3m) shorter and 48 feet (14.6m) more narrow at the base. The estimated weight of all the stones in the pyramid is 4,880,000 tons. Because it is built higher on the plateau, it looks taller from most angles than Khufu's pyramid. The slope of the angles is higher, 53 degrees compared to Khufu's 51 degrees.
There is no evidence that anyone was ever buried in the main chamber. No inscriptions have been found in the pyramid, however there is a sarcophagus in the main chamber. There are two entrances that lead into the pyramid which are placed one directly above the other. The upper entrance is 50 feet (15m) above the ground. This is the one that is used for entrance now. A narrow passage leads into a large limestone chamber. This passageway descends at a 25 degree angle to the chamber. The walls are lined with red granite. This inner chamber is quite large, 46.5' x 16.5' x 22.5' (14.2m x 5m x 6.9m). The roof of the chamber is set at the same angles as the pyramid face. This is designed to take the weight of the pyramid, as is the relieving chambers in Khufu's pyramid. Apparently the roof designed this way has worked, the pyramid has not collapsed. The lower corridor is directly under the upper corridor. This lower corridor once contained a portcullis, which could be let down to prevent entry. This corridor declines on the same angle as the upper and eventually joins into the upper. Once joined, the passageway leads into the inner chamber. Located in the lower passage is a burial chamber that is apparently unfinished and unused. It is in the bedrock under the pyramid. The passageway leads through this chamber and joins the upper corridor.
How the Great Pyramid was built is a question that may never be answered. Herodotus said that it would have taken 30 years and 100,000 slaves to have built it. Another theory is that it was built by peasants who were unable to work the land while the Nile flooded between July and November. They may have been paid with food for their labor. The flooded waters would have also aided in the moving of the casing stones. These stones were brought from Aswan and Tura and the water would have brought the stones right to the pyramid. This pyramid is thought to have been built between 2589 - 2566 BC. It would have taken over 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tons each. The total weight would have been 6,000,000 tons and a height of 482 feet (140m). It is the largest and the oldest of the Pyramids of Giza.
Not much is known about Cheops (Khufu). The tomb had been robbed long before archeologists came upon it. Any information about him was taken with the objects inside the tomb. He is thought to have been the ruler of a highly structured society and he must have been very wealthy. He was buried alone in this massive tomb. His wives may have been buried nearby in smaller mastabas.
The encasing marble which covered the outside of the pyramid has eroded or been removed over time. With this casing off, the pyramid lost 33 feet (11m) of all of its dimensions. The top platform is 10m square. The base of the pyramid is 754 feet and covers 13 acres. The original entrance to the pyramid was about 15m higher than the entrance that is used today. Apparently Al Mamum, who opened up the new passage, could not find the original opening. The new passageway leads straight across and joins in with the original passage, the descending passage. The descending passage led only to a subterranean chamber. This descending passage that leads down is set at a 26 degree angle that descends down 345 feet (105m) into the earth under the pyramid. The passageway is only 3'6" (1.1m) wide and 3'11" (1.2m) high. The chamber is closed to the public. The chamber itself is room that measures about 46' x 27'1" x 11'6" (14 x 8.3 x 3.5m). There is a passage that leads 100 feet horizontally to the western side. The purpose of the pit is uncertain. It is possible that it could have been the burial chamber, but after a change of plan, it was abandoned.
The descending passage beyond where the new entrance meets it, is closed off by a steel door. The ascending passage rises at the same angle as the descending, 26 degrees. The ascending passage leads up into the pyramid. The ascending passage is the same dimensions as the descending, 3'6" (1.1m) wide and 3'11" (1.2m) high. It can be quite a difficult trek for some people. The passage leads on for 129 feet (39m).
At the point where the ascending passage levels off, you can go two different ways. If you continue on horizontally, this passageway leads into the Queen's Chamber. The Queen's Chamber was never used. The floor in this room was never polished, it's still rough. Egyptologists believe that the chamber was brought to this point and then the builders changed their minds and moved to the King's Chamber. The possible explanation for the abandonment is that the sarcophagus built for Cheops was much too large for the narrow passageways that had already been built. There are ventilating shafts that are another mystery. These shafts are sealed at the extremities on both shafts. The shafts must have been made as the pyramid went up, since the builders most likely would not have continued to make the shafts after the decision to abandon the chamber. It is also thought that these are not actually ventilation shafts, but more of a religious significance. This could be related to the Ancient Egyptian's beliefs that the stars are inhabited by gods and souls of the dead.
The second, and more spectacular, way at the leveling off point of the ascending passage, is to continue upwards to the Grand Gallery. The gallery is 157 feet (48m) long and 28 feet (8.5m) high and is at the same 26 degree angle as the passages. The roof of the gallery is corbelled. It is said that not a piece of paper or a needle can be inserted between the stones making up the roof. The gallery is only 62 inches (1.6m) wide at the bottom and is only 41 inches (1m) wide at the top of the incline.
The Grand Gallery leads into the King's Chamber. The walls of the chamber are made of pink Aswan granite. Inside this chamber is the very large sarcophagus made of Aswan red granite, with no lid. The sarcophagus must have been placed inside the chamber as the pyramid was being built. It is much too large to have been moved in afterwards, as was the usual custom of that time. The King's Chamber is 34'4" x 17'2" x 19'1" high (5.2m x 10.8m x 5.8m high). This chamber also has the possible ventilation shafts as the Queen's Chamber. They are at the same angle as the shafts in the Queen's Chamber. The thought about the religious significance applies to these shafts as well. The main feature of the sky at night, was the Milky Way. The stars were thought to have been the Nile in the sky. The southern shaft from the King's Chamber points directly to where Orion's Belt would have been in the ancient sky. The southern shaft of the Queen's Chamber points to Syrius. The northern shaft of the King's Chamber points to the circumpolar stars. These stars never disappear in the sky. It is thought that these shafts were to help the spirit of the dead pharaoh find the important stars.
Above this chamber is a series of five relieving chambers which are essential to support the weight of the stones above and to distribute the weight away from the burial chamber. The top chamber has a pointed roof made of limestone blocks. This is the most important of the relieving chambers. In these chambers, are found the only inscriptions in the whole pyramid.
As you come out of the pyramid you can see the remains of the original enclosure wall which is on the north and east side. It lies about 10m from the base of the pyramid. Little remains of Cheops' Mortuary Temple. What is left is basalt paving and lies near the east side of the wall. You may also see occasional traces of the causeway that led from the valley temple in the village, Nazlat al-Samman, at the foot of the plateau. This causeway collapsed during the last 150 years. Three small pyramids stand to the east of Cheops' pyramid. These are thought to have been for his sister, Merites, who was also his wife, and possibly two other queens.
To the west of the great pyramid is the Royal Cemetery. It contains 15 mastabas which have just recently been opened to the public after having been closed for over 100 years. Discovered at this site was the mummy of a 4,600 year old female. She had a completely unique plaster encasement that has never been seen or found anywhere else.
At the base of the south face of the Great Pyramid, sits the Boat Pits and Museum. The five boat pits were discovered in 1982. One boat is located at the site and can be seen at the museum. The boat, which is encased in the stones, has no nails. It was held together with ropes and pegs, but not nails, and is amazingly intact. The purpose of these boats may have been intended for travel to the after-life or to accompany the Sun-God on his journey.
In a depression to the south of Chephren's pyramid sits a creature with a human head and a lion's body. The name 'sphinx' which means 'strangler' was first given by the Greeks to a fabulous creature which had the head of a woman and the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. The sphinx appears to have started in Egypt in the form of a sun god. The Egyptian sphinx is usually a head of a king wearing his headdress and the body of a lion . There are, however, sphinxes with ram heads that are associated with the god Amun.
The Great Sphinx is to the northeast of Chephren's Valley Temple. Where it sits was once a quarry. Chephren's workers shaped the stone into the lion and gave it their king's face over 4,500 years ago. The sphinx faces the rising sun with a temple to the front which resembles the sun temples which were built later by the kings of the 5th Dynasty. The figure was buried for most of its life in the sand. King Thutmose IV (1425 - 1417 BC) placed a stela between the front paws of the figure. It describes when Thutmose, while still a prince, had gone hunting and fell asleep in the shade of the sphinx. During a dream, the sphinx spoke to Thutmose and told him to clear away the sand because it was choking the sphinx. The sphinx told him that if he did this, he would be rewarded with a kingship. Thutmose carried out this request and the sphinx held up his end of the deal.
The sphinx is built of soft sandstone and would have disappeared long ago had it not been buried for so long. The body is 200 feet (60m) in length and 65 feet (20m) tall. The face of the sphinx is 13 feet (4m) wide and its eyes are 6 feet (2m) high. Part of the uraeus (sacred cobra), the nose and the ritual beard are now missing. . The beard from the sphinx is displayed in the British Museum. The statue is crumbling today because of the wind, humidity and the smog from Cairo. Attempts to restore it have often caused more harm than good. No one can be certain who the figure is to personify. It is possible that it is Chephren. If that is so, it would then be the oldest known royal portrait in such large scale. Some say that it was built after the pyramid of Chephren was complete. It may have been set as a sort of scarecrow to guard his tomb. Still others say it is the face of his guardian deity, rather than Chephren himself. The image of the sphinx is a depiction of royal power. Only a pharaoh or an animal could be shown this way, with the animal representing a protective deity.
The Pyramid of Menkaure' (Mycerinus) is the smallest of the three pyramids of Giza and shows the beginning of the decline in workmanship in the Egyptian pyramid building. The attention to detail is not as it is on the earlier pyramid. Menkaure' was the successor to Chephren. The pyramid was not complete when Menkaure' died. Shepseskaf, who was Menkaure's son, finished the pyramid. The granite encasement was never finished. The pyramid stands 66.5m high, which is much smaller than the other two pyramids at Giza. Another difference between Menkaure's and Chephren's and Khufu's pyramid is that Menkaure's burial chamber was the lower chamber. The walls were lined with granite and below the pyramid's foundation. The sarcophagus was found, but was lost at sea while it was being shipped to England. A wooden coffin was found, supposedly that of Menkaure's. It was actually put in the pyramid about 1800 years later. It is thought to have been an act of restoration. In 1968 an inscription was found near the entrance in the casing which referred to this action.
To the east of the pyramid is the Mortuary Temple. This temple is fairly well preserved, even though the walls were not encased with granite or marble. It was actually made of red mud bricks and then lined with a thin layer of limestone. A 660m mud-brick causeway connected the Valley Temple to the temple. The causeway is now beneath the sand.
To the south of the Pyramid of Menkaure', lies three smaller and incomplete pyramids. The largest was probably built for Menkaure's principal wife. A granite sarcophagus was recovered from the central tomb which contained the bones of a young woman.
This tomb is to the south of the main pyramids of Giza. She is thought to have been married to Shepseskaf, who was the last 4th Dynasty pharaoh and the son of Menkaure'. The is believed to have later married a high priest of Re, the sun-god, when the male line of the dynasties was very weak. She was the mother to a number of kings who are buried in Abu Sir and Saqqara. She acted as the link between the 4th and 5th Dynasties. Her tomb is a huge sarcophagus and is linked to a mortuary temple. The temple is cut out of the limestone.
These pyramids are about halfway between Giza and North Saqqara. There are two pyramids located here and can only be reached by riding through the desert. The most southern of the two is probably a 3rd Dynasty (2686 - 2613 BC) step pyramid. The granite of the other is probably from the 4th Dynasty (2613 - 2494 BC). This pyramid appears to have been abandoned after its foundations had been laid.
