Workers
finish one of the smaller pyramids at the Great Pyramid complex
at Giza. (Copyright Lee Krystek,
1999.)
It's 756 feet long on each side, 450 high and
is composed of 2,300,000 blocks of stone, each averaging 2 1/2
tons in weight. Despite the makers' limited surveying tools
no side is more than 8 inches different in length than another,
and the whole structure is perfectly oriented to the points
of the compass. Until the 19th century it was the tallest building
in the world and, at the age of 4,500 years, it is the only
one of the famous "Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World" that still stands. It is the Great Pyramid
of Khufu, at Giza, Egypt.
Some of the earliest history of the Pyramid comes
from a Greek traveler named Herodotus of Halicanassus.
He visited Egypt around 450 BC and included a description of
the Great Pyramid in a history book he wrote. Herodotus was
told by his Egyptian guides that it took twenty-years for a
force of 100,000 oppressed slaves to build the pyramid. Stones
were lifted into position by the use of immense machines. The
purpose of the structure, according to Herodotus's sources,
was as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu (whom the Greeks referred
to as Cheops).
Most of what Herodotus tells us is probably false.
Scientists calculate that fewer men and less years were needed
than Herodotus suggests. It also seems unlikely that slaves
or complicated machines were needed for the pyramid
construction. It isn't surprising that the Greek historian
got it wrong. By the time he visited the site the great pyramid
was already 20 centuries old, and much of the truth about it
was shrouded in the mists of history.
Certainly the idea that it was a tomb for a Pharaoh,
though, seems in line with Egyptian practices. For many centuries
before and after the construction of the Great Pyramid the Egyptians
had interned their dead Pharaoh-Kings, whom they believed to
be living Gods, in intricate tombs. Some were above ground structures,
like the pyramid, others were cut in the rock below mountains.
All the dead leaders, though, were outfitted with the many things
it was believed they would need in the after-life to come. Many
were buried with untold treasures.
Even in ancient times thieves, breaking into the
sacred burial places, were a major problem and Egyptian architects
became adept at designing passageways that could be plugged
with impassable granite blocks, creating secret, hidden rooms
and making decoy chambers. No matter how clever the designers
became, though, robbers seemed to be smarter and with almost
no exceptions each of the great tombs of the Egyptian Kings
were plundered.
In 820 A.D. the Arab Caliph Abdullah Al Manum
decided to search for the treasure of Khufu. He gathered a gang
of workmen and, unable to find the location of a reputed secret
door, started burrowing into the side of the monument. After
a hundred feet of hard going they were about to give up when
they heard a heavy thud echo through the interior of the pyramid.
Digging in the direction of the sound they soon came upon a
passageway that descended into the heart of the structure. On
the floor lay a large block that had fallen from the ceiling,
apparently causing the noise they had heard. Back at the beginning
of the corridor they found the secret hinged door to the outside
they had missed.
Working their way down the passage they soon found
themselves deep in the natural stone below the pyramid. The
corridor stopped descending and went horizontal for about 50
feet, then ended in a blank wall. A pit extended downward from
there for about 30 feet, but it was empty.
When the workmen examined the fallen block they
noticed a large granite plug above it. Cutting through the softer
stone around it they found another passageway that extended
up into the heart of the pyramid. As they followed this corridor
upward they found several more granite blocks closing off the
tunnel. In each case they cut around them by burrowing through
the softer limestone of the walls. Finally they found themselves
in a low, horizontal passage that lead to a small, square, empty
room. This became known as the "Queen's Chamber," though it
seems unlikely that it ever served that function.
Back at the junction of the ascending and descending
passageways, the workers noticed an open space in the ceiling.
Climbing up they found themselves in a high-roofed, ascending
passageway. This became known as the "Grand Gallery." At the
top of the gallery was a low horizontal passage that led to
a large room, some 34 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 19 feet high,
the "King's Chamber." In the center was a huge granite sarcophagus
without a lid. Otherwise the room was completely empty.
