The Great Pyramids at Giza

The Great Pyramid at Giza.

Despite the very interesting early attempts at pyramid building in the Sakkara area, other than the step pyramid, none of these are well known; that honour belongs to the three great pyramids at Giza; these magnificent structures command the attention of all who visit Egypt. Through the thousands of years of their existence, they have defied all attempts by time and man to destroy them or to uncover their secrets. Even today, for all our advanced technology, we still don't know for sure how they were built.

The first one built on the plateau and the most famous, is the Great Pyramid that was built for King Khufu (Greek Cheops - ca.2589-2566BCE); it is the last remaining of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and until the 19th century was the tallest structure in the world; its original height is calculated to have been ca.146.6m but time and the elements have reduced it by about 9m.; it's estimated to contain about 2 million blocks of stone often said to weigh an average of 2 tons - which is an exaggeration because the stones get smaller towards the top. As for accuracy, it's said that the base level is within 2.1cm and in the length of the sides the greatest difference is only 4.4cm. Like most Egyptian pyramids it was originally clad in a snow-white limestone casing; on this pyramid however, none remains.

The Grand Gallery.

The original entrance is not used today; these days, one enters this pyramid via a later passage made by the 9th Century Khalif Mamun; this passage links up to what is called the 'descending passage' but a few metres down one reaches the 'ascending passage' - this passage continues upwards into the heart of the pyramid - as in the earlier pyramids already described, the ceilings are low, the angle steep and the only way to move forward is in a stooped position - not too bad if one is short!

But the discomfort and effort is rewarded because suddenly you arrive in a massive space - the splendid Grand Gallery - this to me is the most beautiful part of the pyramid - look around you and marvel at the genius that created this amazing space; look at the series of corbelled roofs that gradually close the space - however these great stones don't meet at the top but that gap is spanned by massive stone slabs- what an incredible feat!

The King's chamber, Great Pyramid.

From this gallery a modern staircase takes you upwards to the so-called 'King's chamber' - but not yet - first one crawls under three great limestone blocks and at last stand upright in the dim light of the king's chamber! Look at the walls of cut red granite; look at the roof of nine mighty granite slabs - yet another incredible feat! In the right hand corner stands the red granite sarcophagus that once held the mummy of the king - the big 'bite' out of one corner may have been made by ancient robbers in attempting to open it - however there is no lid to be seen. Everyone looks inside of course and not a few people, if the opportunity arises, climb in and lie down with arms crossed, me included. I was the only one in the chamber and the guardian suggested I try it out so I did! The atmosphere in the chamber is sombre but curiously serene, a gentle space.

On the northern and southern walls are the so-called 'air shafts'. Obviously these are not air shafts for the king and orthodox opinion (and mine) is that they are symbolic passages out of the chamber for the soul of the king.

There are two other chambers in the pyramid but they are not open to the public; however one is of general interest and that is the so-called Queen's Chamber which is higher up in the pyramid - this chamber is relatively well known to some TV viewers because on at least two occasions within the last decade attempts have been made to find out what if anything is in these shafts. In the first attempt a small wheeled robot fitted with a camera was introduced into the southern shaft; it was able to penetrate only as far as a small limestone plug with two copper pins embedded in it.

In a later follow-up operation, a hole was drilled into the plug and a robot fitted with a specially developed mini camera attached to a flexible rod was sent up the shaft; at the plug the camera was inserted into the hole but all it revealed was another short passage at the end of which yet another limestone plug. There has to date been no further investigation, but recent news from Egypt speaks of a new robot that will be used to examine further this mysterious shaft sometime in the near future.

The Khufu Boat Museum.

Leaving the cramped confines of the pyramid passages and emerging into the bright Egyptian sunlight, a good place to visit is the nearby Boat Museum. Some 60 years ago, two boat pits were discovered on the south side of the pyramid; each contained a disassembled boat. The contents of one pit were excavated and the parts re-assembled by an Egyptian master craftsman named Ahmed Youssef; the boat is housed in its own museum.

Master craftsman, Ahmed Youssef.

On entering the museum one is issued with some huge canvas 'boots' - it's not possible to walk in them so one slides one's feet along the floor instead! The boat is surprisingly big; about 43m long, 5.9m wide, with a draft of 1.48m and an estimated displacement of around 45 tons! It's made of cedar wood with specially shaped holes that allowed it to be 'stitched' together using ropes made of vegetable fibre; the prow and stern resemble papyrus bundles. It looks very like a wooden copy of the papyrus reed boats used in ancient Egypt except that this one has a small cabin on deck. The vessel has a bank of ten massive oars - five on each side with another pair at the stern. As the boat can be viewed on three levels, it's possible to have a really good look at all the component parts.

The significance of the buried boats is unknown and much debated - one theory says the boats were symbolic and meant to carry the soul of the king to the heavens; another theory is that it may have been used to ferry the king's body across the river to his great tomb and so was buried close by. Whatever its actual use, it is nevertheless another remarkable example of Ancient Egyptian craftsmanship.

Khafre's Pyramid is situated on higher ground than the Great Pyramid.

Moving on to the other pyramids on the plateau, we look at the pyramid of Khufu's grandson Khafre (Greek Chephren ca.2558-2532BCE) - although this one is slightly smaller than Khufu's, it appears bigger, because it is built on higher ground. This pyramid is, in my opinion easier to get into than Khufu's pyramid - there are two entrances but modern visitors enter at ground level where one immediately begins the usual cramped downward trek, then a respite as one reaches a long straight passage; incidentally, as you go along this passage look out for a staircase on the right - this goes down to a room of unknown purpose and is not open to the public.

Sarcophagus with lid in the burial chamber of Khafre's Pyramid.

Then an upward passage that takes one to another long straight passage that leads to the burial chamber. Note that this chamber is on two levels with a shallow sloping ramp to the lower level; it's so easy to step off into nothing! Fortunately the step is only about 50cm high. The roof of this chamber is of limestone blocks and the sarcophagus of black granite; this was sunk into the floor against the end or west wall - the lid is till there and is propped up behind the sarcophagus. Interestingly a pit found close by probably held the canopic chest, lid of which was formed by the slabs of the floor.

This chamber was discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in the early 19th century - you can see his name painted in lamp black on the walls of this tomb. Apparently some bones were found in the sarcophagus but these turned out to be bovine and not human. As I said earlier all pyramids had a white limestone casing and this pyramid is the only one to retain some of the original limestone high up on the upper quarter; no longer pristine white however.

Menkaure's Pyramid, showing the great gash caused by attempts to dismantle it.

The third pyramid on the plateau belongs to Khafre's son Menkaure (Greek Mycerinus ca.2532-2504BCE) this is the smallest one and I can't say much about it not having been inside this one myself. However I can offer a few facts about it - it's about 62m high having lost about 10m over the centuries and is less than half the height of the Great Pyramid.

Intact lower courses of Menkaure's Pyramid.

Interestingly though, the casing of the lower courses is still in situ and are of red granite. Inside the pyramid the king's burial chamber is lined with granite and had a dark stone sarcophagus incised with the 'palace facade' pattern. This was removed to be taken to England but was lost when the ship carrying it sank. Other than its size the pyramid is easily recognised by the huge gash in its north face; this is was made by the son of the great Saladin, Malek Abd al-Azis Othman - in 1196 CE (AD) - he made an attempt to dismantle it intending to use the stones to construct other buildings - here is another example of the skill of the ancient builders because after eight months work all they'd managed was to damage the northern side before they gave it up as a bad job.

The Sphinx.

The other major monument on the plateau is of course the mighty sphinx. This enigmatic creature is an integral part of the funerary complex of Khafre and is believed to represent that king. It was apparently carved from the limestone left over after the quarrying of stone for the pyramid of Khufu and was the first truly monumental sculpture in Ancient Egypt.

The Dream Stela.

It's described as a crouching human headed lion and represents the god Ra-Harakhty but the lion is also a symbol of royalty - the human head on the body of a lion symbolised power and strength controlled by the King who was the guarantor of cosmic order (M Lehner).The head wears the royal 'nemes' headdress, the flaring sides of which take the place of the lion's mane.

Between the paws of the sphinx stands the great 'Dream stela' set up against the chest. It was set there by the 18th dynasty king Thutmose IV (1419-1386BCE); it speaks of his accession to the throne, and says that the king, while still a young prince rested in the shadow of the sphinx's head, the rest of the body being covered in sand - he fell asleep and the sphinx appeared in his dream and offered him the throne of Egypt if he would take the sand away. The text breaks off here but at the top are depictions of king Thutmose IV making offerings to the sphinx in the form of Horamakhet (Horus of the Horizon).

Khafre's Pyramid, seen from the Sphinx enclosure.

It is not permitted to go into the sphinx enclosure although permission can occasionally be obtained.

These writings give you just the barest minimum of information about the most well known monuments on the Giza plateau; however as well as these monuments there are many other small pyramids traditionally called the queens' pyramids, the remains of their temples, there are many mastaba tombs of officials of the kings, even traces of the villages of the pyramid workers themselves.

All pictures from my own photographs, books and post cards.

To find out about visiting these sites, please contact Cecelia or Lindy on +27 11 678 4777 or +27 11 478 2884 or email us on: info@egyptandbeyond.co.za.

 
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