What is in the Cheops pyramid? Secrets and riddles of the Cheops pyramid. History and construction of the Great Pyramid of Cheops

Age of the pyramid

Architect Great Pyramid believed to be Hemiun, vizier and nephew of Cheops. He also bore the title "Manager of all Pharaoh's construction projects." It is assumed that the construction, which lasted twenty years (during the reign of Cheops), ended around 2540 BC. e. .

Existing methods for dating the start of construction of the pyramid are divided into historical, astronomical and radiocarbon. In Egypt, the date for the start of construction of the Cheops Pyramid was officially established (2009) and celebrated - August 23, 2560 BC. e. This date was obtained using the astronomical method of Kate Spence (University of Cambridge). However, this method and the dates obtained with it have been criticized by many Egyptologists. Dates according to other dating methods: 2720 BC. e. (Stephen Hack, University of Nebraska), 2577 BC. e. (Juan Antonio Belmonte, University of Astrophysics in Canaris) and 2708 BC. e. (Pollux, Bauman University). Radiocarbon dating gives a range from 2680 BC. e. to 2850 BC e. Therefore, there is no serious confirmation of the established “birthday” of the pyramid, since Egyptologists cannot agree on exactly what year construction began.

First mention of the pyramid

The complete absence of mention of the pyramid in Egyptian papyri remains a mystery. The first descriptions are found in the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC) and in ancient Arab legends [ ] . Herodotus reported (at least 2 millennia after the appearance of the Great Pyramid) that it was built under a despot pharaoh named Cheops (Greek: Cheops). Koufou), who ruled for 50 years, that 100 thousand people were employed in construction. for twenty years, and that the pyramid is in honor of Cheops, but not his grave. The real grave is a burial near the pyramid. Herodotus gave erroneous information about the size of the pyramid, and also mentioned about the middle pyramid of the Giza plateau that it was built by the daughter of Cheops, who sold herself, and that each building stone corresponded to the man to whom she was given. According to Herodotus, if “to lift the stone, a long winding path to the grave was revealed,” without specifying what kind of pyramid we are talking about; however, the pyramids of the Giza plateau did not have “winding” paths to the tomb at the time Herodotus visited them; on the contrary, the Descending Passage of BP Cheops is distinguished by careful straightforwardness. At that time, no other premises were known in the BP.

Appearance

Surviving fragments of the pyramid's cladding and the remains of the pavement surrounding the building

The pyramid is called "Akhet-Khufu" - "Horizon of Khufu" (or more accurately "Related to the firmament - (it is) Khufu"). Consists of limestone and granite blocks. It was built on a natural limestone hill. After the pyramid has lost several layers of cladding, this hill is partially visible on the eastern, northern and southern sides of the pyramid. Despite the fact that the Cheops pyramid is the tallest and most voluminous of all the Egyptian pyramids, Pharaoh Sneferu built the pyramids in Meidum and Dakhshut (Broken Pyramid and Pink Pyramid), the total mass of which is estimated at 8.4 million tons.

Initially, the pyramid was lined with white limestone, which was harder than the main blocks. The top of the pyramid was crowned with a gilded stone - pyramidion (ancient Egyptian - “Benben”). The cladding shone in the sun with a peach color, like “a shining miracle to which the sun god Ra himself seemed to give all his rays.” In 1168, the Arabs sacked and burned Cairo. Residents of Cairo removed the cladding from the pyramid in order to build new houses.

Statistical data

Pyramid of Cheops in the 19th century

Map of the necropolis near the Cheops pyramid

Height (today): ≈ 136.5 m
Side angle (current): 51° 50"
Side rib length (original): 230.33 m (calculated) or about 440 royal cubits
Side fin length (current): approx. 225 m
The length of the sides of the base of the pyramid: south - 230.454 m; north - 230.253 m; west - 230.357 m; east - 230.394 m
Foundation area (initially): ≈ 53,000 m2 (5.3 ha)
Lateral surface area of the pyramid (initially): ≈ 85,500 m2
Base perimeter: 922 m
Total volume of the pyramid without deducting the cavities inside the pyramid (initially): ≈ 2.58 million m 3
Total volume of the pyramid minus all known cavities (initially): 2.50 million m 3
Average volume of stone blocks: 1,147 m3
Average weight of stone blocks: 2.5 tons
The heaviest stone block: about 35 tons - is located above the entrance to the “King’s Chamber”.
The number of blocks of average volume does not exceed 1.65 million (2.50 million m³ - 0.6 million m³ of rock base inside the pyramid = 1.9 million m 3 /1.147 m 3 = 1.65 million blocks of the specified volume can physically fit in the pyramid , without taking into account the volume of mortar in interblock joints); referring to a 20-year construction period * 300 working days per year * 10 working hours per day * 60 minutes per hour leads to a speed of laying (and delivery to the construction site) of about a block of two minutes.
According to estimates, the total weight of the pyramid is about 4 million tons (1.65 million blocks x 2.5 tons)
The base of the pyramid rests on a natural rocky elevation about 12-14 m high in the center and, according to the latest data, occupies at least 23% of the original volume of the pyramid
The number of layers (tiers) of stone blocks is 210 (at the time of construction). Now there are 203 layers.

Concavity of the sides

Concavity of the sides of the Cheops pyramid

When the sun moves around the pyramid, you can notice the unevenness of the walls - the concavity of the central part of the walls. This may be due to erosion or damage from falling stone cladding. It is also possible that this was specially done during construction. As Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi note, the pyramid of Mycerinus no longer has such concave sides. I.E.S. Edwards explains this feature by saying that the central part of each side simply pressed inward over time from large mass stone blocks. [ ]

As in the 18th century, when this phenomenon was discovered, today there is still no satisfactory explanation for this architectural feature.

Observation of the concavity of the sides in late XIX V., Description of Egypt

Tilt angle

It is not possible to accurately determine the original parameters of the pyramid, since its edges and surfaces are currently mostly dismantled and destroyed. This makes it difficult to calculate the exact angle of inclination. In addition, its symmetry itself is not ideal, so deviations in the numbers are observed with different measurements.

Geometric study of ventilation tunnels

A study of the geometry of the Great Pyramid does not provide a clear answer to the question of the original proportions of this structure. It is assumed that the Egyptians had an idea about the “Golden ratio" and the number pi, which were reflected in the proportions of the pyramid: thus, the ratio of height to base is 14/22 (height = 280 cubits, and base = 440 cubits, 280/440 = 14/ 22). For the first time in world history, these quantities were used in the construction of the pyramid at Meidum. However, for pyramids of later eras, these proportions were not used anywhere else, as, for example, some have height-to-base ratios, such as 6/5 (Pink Pyramid), 4/3 (Pyramid of Khafre) or 7/5 (Broken Pyramid).

Some of the theories consider the pyramid to be an astronomical observatory. It is argued that the corridors of the pyramid accurately point towards the “pole star” of that time - Thuban, the ventilation corridors on the south side point to the star Sirius, and on the north side to the star Alnitak.

Internal structure

Cross section of the Cheops pyramid:

The entrance to the pyramid is at an altitude of 15.63 meters on the north side. The entrance is formed by stone slabs laid in the form of an arch, but this is the structure that was inside the pyramid - the true entrance has not been preserved. The true entrance to the pyramid was most likely closed with a stone plug. A description of such a plug can be found in Strabo, and its appearance can also be imagined based on the preserved slab that covered the upper entrance to the Bent Pyramid of Snefru, the father of Cheops. Today, tourists enter the pyramid through a 17-meter gap, which was made 10 meters lower by the Baghdad caliph Abdullah al-Mamun in 820. He hoped to find the pharaoh's countless treasures there, but found there only a layer of dust half a cubit thick.

Inside the Cheops pyramid there are three burial chambers, located one above the other.

Funeral "pit"

Underground Chamber Maps

A 105 m long descending corridor running at an inclination of 26° 26'46 leads to an 8.9 m long horizontal corridor leading to the chamber 5 . Situated below ground level in a limestone bedrock, it remained unfinished. The dimensions of the chamber are 14x8.1 m, it extends from east to west. The height reaches 3.5 m, the ceiling has a large crack. At the southern wall of the chamber there is a well about 3 m deep, from which a narrow manhole (0.7 × 0.7 m in cross-section) stretches in a southern direction for 16 m, ending in a dead end. At the beginning of the 19th century, engineers John Shae Perring and Richard William Howard Vyse cleared the floor of the chamber and dug a well 11.6 m deep, in which they hoped to discover a hidden burial chamber. They were based on the testimony of Herodotus, who claimed that the body of Cheops was located on an island surrounded by a canal in a hidden underground chamber. Their excavations came to nothing. Later studies showed that the chamber was abandoned unfinished, and it was decided to build the burial chambers in the center of the pyramid itself.

Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers

From the first third of the descending passage (18 m from the main entrance), an ascending passage goes south at the same angle of 26.5° ( 6 ) about 40 m long, ending at the bottom of the Great Gallery ( 9 ).

At its beginning, the ascending passage contains 3 large cubic granite “plugs”, which from the outside, from the descending passage, were masked by a block of limestone that fell out during the work of al-Mamun. Thus, for the first 3000 years from the construction of the pyramid (including during the era of its active visits in Antiquity), it was believed that there were no other rooms in the Great Pyramid other than the descending passage and the underground chamber. Al-Mamun failed to break through these plugs and simply hollowed out a bypass to the right of them in the softer limestone. This passage is still in use today. There are two main theories about the traffic jams, one of them is based on the fact that the ascending passage has traffic jams installed at the beginning of construction and thus this passage was sealed by them from the very beginning. The second argues that the current narrowing of the walls was caused by an earthquake, and the plugs were previously located within the Great Gallery and were used to seal the passage only after the funeral of the pharaoh.

An important mystery of this section of the ascending passage is that in the place where the traffic jams are now located, in the full-size, albeit shortened model of the pyramid passages - the so-called test corridors north of the Great Pyramid - there is a junction of not two, but three corridors at once, the third of which is a vertical tunnel. Since no one has yet been able to move the plugs, the question of whether there is a vertical hole above them remains open.

In the middle of the ascending passage, the design of the walls has a peculiarity: in three places the so-called “frame stones” are installed - that is, the passage, square along its entire length, pierces through three monoliths. The purpose of these stones is unknown. In the area of the frame stones, the walls of the passage have several small niches.

A horizontal corridor 35 m long and 1.75 m high leads to the second burial chamber from the lower part of the Great Gallery in a southerly direction. The walls of this horizontal corridor are made of very large limestone blocks, on which false “seams” are applied, imitating masonry from smaller blocks . Behind the western wall of the passage there are cavities filled with sand. The second chamber is traditionally called the “Queen’s Chamber,” although according to the ritual, the wives of the pharaohs were buried in separate small pyramids. The Queen's Chamber, lined with limestone, measures 5.74 meters from east to west and 5.23 meters from north to south; its maximum height is 6.22 meters. There is a high niche in the eastern wall of the chamber.

Drawing of the Queen's Chamber ( 7 )

Niche in the wall of the Queen's Chamber

Corridor at the entrance to the queen's hall (1910)

Entrance to the Queen's Chamber (1910)

Niche in the Queen's Chamber (1910)

Ventilation duct in the queen's chamber (1910)

Corridor to the ascending tunnel ( 12 )

Granite plug (1910)

Corridor to the ascending tunnel (on the left are closing blocks)

Grotto, Grand Gallery and Pharaoh's Chambers

Another branch from the lower part of the Great Gallery is a narrow, almost vertical shaft about 60 m high, leading to the lower part of the descending passage. There is an assumption that it was intended to evacuate workers or priests who were completing the “sealing” of the main passage to the “King’s Chamber.” Approximately in the middle of it there is a small, most likely natural extension - the “Grotto” (Grotto) of irregular shape, in which several people could fit at most. Grotto ( 12 ) is located at the “junction” of the masonry of the pyramid and a small, about 9 meters high, hill on the limestone plateau lying at the base of the Great Pyramid. The walls of the Grotto are partially reinforced by ancient masonry, and since some of its stones are too large, there is an assumption that the Grotto existed on the Giza plateau as an independent structure long before the construction of the pyramids, and the evacuation shaft itself was built taking into account the location of the Grotto. However, taking into account the fact that the shaft was hollowed out in the already laid masonry, and not laid out, as evidenced by its irregular circular cross-section, the question arises of how the builders managed to accurately reach the Grotto.

The large gallery continues the ascending passage. Its height is 8.53 m, it is rectangular in cross-section, with walls slightly tapering upward (the so-called “false vault”), a high inclined tunnel 46.6 m long. In the middle of the Great Gallery along almost the entire length there is a square recess with a regular cross-section measuring 1 meter wide and 60 cm deep, and on both side protrusions there are 27 pairs of recesses of unknown purpose. The recess ends with the so-called. “Big step” - a high horizontal ledge, a 1x2 meter platform at the end of the Great Gallery, immediately before the hole into the “hallway” - the Antechamber. The platform has a pair of ramp recesses similar to those in the corners near the wall (the 28th and last pair of BG recesses). Through the “hallway” a hole leads into the funeral “Tsar’s Chamber” lined with black granite, where an empty granite sarcophagus is located. The sarcophagus lid is missing. Ventilation shafts have mouths in the “King’s Chamber” on the southern and northern walls at a height of about a meter from the floor level. The mouth of the southern ventilation shaft is severely damaged, the northern one appears intact. The floor, ceiling, and walls of the chamber do not have any decorations or holes or fastening elements of anything dating back to the construction of the pyramid. The ceiling slabs have all burst along the southern wall and are not falling into the room only due to the pressure from the weight of the overlying blocks.

Above the “Tsar’s Chamber” there are five unloading cavities with a total height of 17 m discovered in the 19th century, between which lie monolithic granite slabs about 2 m thick, and above there is a gable roof made of limestone. It is believed that their purpose is to distribute the weight of the overlying layers of the pyramid (about a million tons) to protect the “King's Chamber” from pressure. In these voids, graffiti was discovered, probably left by workers.

Interior of the Grotto (1910)

Drawing of a Grotto (1910)

Drawing of the connection of the Grotto with the Great Gallery (1910)

Entrance to the Tunnel (1910)

View of the Great Gallery from the entrance to the room

Large gallery

Grand Gallery (1910)

Drawing of the Pharaoh's Chamber

Pharaoh's chamber

Pharaoh's Chamber (1910)

Interior of the vestibule in front of the Tsar's chamber (1910)

"Ventilation" channel at the southern wall of the king's room (1910)

Ventilation ducts

So-called “ventilation” channels 20-25 cm wide extend from the “Tsar’s Chamber” and “Queen’s Chamber” in the northern and southern directions (first horizontally, then obliquely upward). At the same time, the channels of the “Tsar’s Chamber,” known since the 17th century, through, they are open both below and above (on the edges of the pyramid), while the lower ends of the channels of the “Queen’s Chamber” are separated from the surface of the wall by about 13 cm; they were discovered by tapping in 1872. The upper ends of the Queen's Chamber shafts do not reach the surface by about 12 meters, and are closed by stone Gantenbrink Doors, each with two copper handles. The copper handles were sealed with plaster seals (not preserved, but traces remain). In the southern ventilation shaft, the “door” was discovered in 1993 with the help of the remote-controlled robot “Upout II”; the bend of the northern shaft did not allow Then detect the same “door” in it by this robot. In 2002, using a new modification of the robot, a hole was drilled in the southern “door,” but behind it a small cavity 18 centimeters long and another stone “door” were discovered. What lies next is still unknown. This robot confirmed the presence of a similar “door” at the end of the northern channel, but they did not drill it. In 2010, a new robot was able to insert a serpentine television camera into a drilled hole in the southern “door” and discovered that the copper “handles” on that side of the “door” were designed in the form of neat hinges, and individual red ocher icons were painted on the floor of the “ventilation” shaft. Currently, the most common version is that the purpose of the “ventilation” ducts was of a religious nature and is associated with the Egyptian ideas about the afterlife journey of the soul. And the “door” at the end of the channel is nothing more than a door to the afterlife. That is why it does not reach the surface of the pyramid. At the same time, the shafts of the upper burial chamber have through exits to the outside and inside the room; it is unclear whether this is due to some change in ritual; Since the outer few meters of the pyramid's lining have been destroyed, it is unclear whether there were "Gantenbrink Doors" in the upper shafts. (could have been in a place where the mine was not preserved). In the southern upper shaft there is a so-called “Cheops niches” are strange extensions and grooves that may have contained a “door”. There are no “niches” at all in the northern upper one.

Media files on Wikimedia Commons

Age of the pyramid

The architect of the Great Pyramid is considered to be Hemiun, the vizier and nephew of Cheops. He also bore the title "Manager of all Pharaoh's construction projects." It is assumed that the construction, which lasted twenty years (during the reign of Cheops), ended around 2540 BC. e. .

First mention of the pyramid

Appearance

Surviving fragments of the pyramid's cladding and the remains of the pavement surrounding the building

The pyramid is called "Akhet-Khufu" - "Horizon of Khufu" (or more accurately "Related to the firmament - (it is) Khufu"). Consists of limestone and granite blocks. It was built on a natural limestone hill. After the pyramid has lost several layers of cladding, this hill is partially visible on the eastern, northern and southern sides of the pyramid. Despite the fact that the Cheops pyramid is the tallest and most voluminous of all the Egyptian pyramids, Pharaoh Sneferu built the pyramids in Meidum and Dahshur (Broken Pyramid and Pink Pyramid), the total mass of which is estimated at 8.4 million tons.

Statistical data

Pyramid of Cheops in the 19th century

Map of the necropolis near the Cheops pyramid

Height (today): ≈ 136.5 m
Side angle (current): 51° 50"
Side rib length (original): 230.33 m (calculated) or about 440 royal cubits
Side fin length (current): approx. 225 m
The length of the sides of the base of the pyramid: south - 230.454 m; north - 230.253 m; west - 230.357 m; east - 230.394 m
Foundation area (initially): ≈ 53,000 m2 (5.3 ha)
Lateral surface area of the pyramid (initially): ≈ 85,500 m2
Base perimeter: 922 meters
Total volume of the pyramid without deducting the cavities inside the pyramid (initially): ≈ 2.58 million m 3
Total volume of the pyramid minus all known cavities (initially): 2.50 million m 3
Average volume of stone blocks: 1,147 m3
Average weight of stone blocks: 2.5 tons
The heaviest stone block: about 35 tons - is located above the entrance to the “King’s Chamber”.
The number of blocks of average volume does not exceed 1.65 million (2.50 million m³ - 0.6 million m³ of rock base inside the pyramid = 1.9 million m 3 /1.147 m 3 = 1.65 million blocks of the specified volume can physically fit in the pyramid , without taking into account the volume of mortar in interblock joints); referring to a 20-year construction period * 300 working days per year * 10 working hours per day * 60 minutes per hour leads to a speed of laying (and delivery to the construction site) of about a block of two minutes.
According to estimates, the total weight of the pyramid is about 4 million tons (1.65 million blocks x 2.5 tons)
The base of the pyramid rests on a natural rocky elevation about 12-14 m high in the center and, according to the latest data, occupies at least 23% of the original volume of the pyramid
The number of layers (tiers) of stone blocks is 210 (at the time of construction). Now there are 203 layers.

Concavity of the sides

Concavity of the sides of the Cheops pyramid

When the sun moves around the pyramid, you can notice an unevenness - a concavity in the central part of the walls. This may be due to erosion or damage from falling stone cladding. It is also possible that this was specially done during construction. As Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi note, the pyramid of Mycerinus no longer has such concave sides. I.E.S. Edwards explains this feature by saying that the central part of each side was simply pressed inward over time by the large mass of stone blocks. [ ]

As in the 18th century, when this phenomenon was discovered, today there is still no satisfactory explanation for this architectural feature.

Observation of the concavity of the sides at the end of the 19th century, Description of Egypt

Tilt angle

Geometric study of ventilation tunnels

Internal structure

Cross section of the Cheops pyramid:

Inside the Cheops pyramid there are three burial chambers, located one above the other.

Funeral "pit"

Underground Chamber Maps

Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers

Drawing of the Queen's Chamber ( 7 )

Niche in the wall of the Queen's Chamber

Corridor at the entrance to the queen's hall (1910)

Entrance to the Queen's Chamber (1910)

Niche in the Queen's Chamber (1910)

Ventilation duct in the queen's chamber (1910)

Corridor to the ascending tunnel ( 12 )

Granite plug (1910)

Corridor to the ascending tunnel (on the left are closing blocks)

Grotto, Grand Gallery and Pharaoh's Chambers

Interior of the Grotto (1910)

Drawing of a Grotto (1910)

Drawing of the connection of the Grotto with the Great Gallery (1910)

Entrance to the Tunnel (1910)

View of the Great Gallery from the entrance to the room

Large gallery

Grand Gallery (1910)

Drawing of the Pharaoh's Chamber

Pharaoh's chamber

Pharaoh's Chamber (1910)

Interior of the vestibule in front of the Tsar's chamber (1910)

"Ventilation" channel at the southern wall of the king's room (1910)

Ventilation ducts

History of research

Recent Research

There are pyramids dedicated to them

The Pyramid of Cheops was built around 2600 BC.

The pyramids are shrouded in mystery to this day. Many scientists have devoted their entire lives to unraveling the great construction and purpose of these majestic buildings. However, several thousand years, from the first research of Herodotus to the present day, have not brought the expected success. The main questions remained unanswered: who? When? For what? We will tell you about the most reliable assumptions and versions collected by the best scientists over several centuries and related to the history of the Egyptian pyramids.

Already in ancient times, the pyramids were considered one of the main wonders of the world! Their number was about 100, located along the banks of the Nile River. If you look at all the pyramids from above, their location is similar to a star map. The largest, main pyramids are located in Giza. The world-famous sphinxes, as well as temples and tombs of the pharaohs, are also located here. A very important factor of the pyramids is that all their faces are clearly located along the magnetic poles of the Earth! You probably already know the name three main pyramids? If not, then be sure to remember - the pyramid of Cheops, Mikerin and Khafre.

The largest pyramid, Cheops, was erected by Khufu, who at that time was a pharaoh. The estimated, most accurate date of construction is 2590 BC. The height of the pyramid is more than 146 meters, the length of each side is more than 241 m. The faces are located in the cardinal directions with amazing accuracy, the angle of inclination is 52 degrees. The Pyramid of Cheops covers an area of 5.4 hectares, the base is aligned relative to the horizon with an accuracy of 3 centimeters. The pyramid consists of more than 2,350,000 stone blocks, each weighing about two and a half tons! The pyramid was originally covered with a white sandstone casing to give it an accurate shape and long-lasting durability. Unfortunately, the cladding has not survived to this day.

The entrance to the pyramid is at an altitude of 14 meters. There are no decorations, inscriptions or drawings inside. Therefore, there are three chambers, the lower of which is located at a depth of 30 meters relative to the ground. The room is hewn out of the rock, in order to get to it you need to overcome 120 meters of a narrow corridor (1.1x1.0) at an angle of 27 degrees. After this, the remaining 9 meters, the angle changes to zero relative to the horizon. The tunnel ends with a burial chamber measuring (8.0 x 14.0 x 3.0).

Now the passage to the lower tier is closed, but you can go along the stairs, and then along the 40-meter corridor that leads to the queen’s chamber. The room with dimensions (5.5x5.2x6.3) is located clearly in the middle, at a height of 20 meters from the ground. There are two ventilation shafts in the walls, directed exactly north and south, but not facing the street.

Even higher is the “Grand Gallery” - a corridor more than 48 meters long, with a ceiling height of 8.4 m and an inclination angle of 26 degrees. The walls are lined with polished lime slabs in eight layers. At the end of the corridor there is the main room - the tomb of the pharaoh with dimensions (10.5x5.3x5.8). The chamber is lined with black Aswan granite, each block of which weighs at least thirty tons! Moreover, all the blocks are so well polished and adjusted that even the thinnest knife blade cannot pass between them. The ceiling consists of 9 monoliths, each weighing more than 400 tons. Above them are unloading chambers 17 meters high, designed to preserve the peace of the pharaoh. A gable roof was built above them, made of huge blocks that bear the weight of more than a million tons! We also note that the pharaoh’s sarcophagus is much wider than the entrance to the chamber, and most likely it was hewn right here, from a large block of granite.

There are also ventilation chambers (0.2x0.2) with the exact north-south direction, but unlike the queen’s chamber, here they go outside. In 817, Caliph Mamun was able to enter the tomb of the pharaoh, but found only an empty sarcophagus there; the remains of Cheops were never discovered.

The finds near the pyramid are also interesting. For example, in 1953, during excavations, the oldest ship in the world was discovered - a wooden boat, about 44 meters long, built without nails from cedar. Traces of silt were found on the wooden elements of which, which means that at one time the boat was used for its intended purpose. Ancient writings claim that the pyramid was surrounded by a stone wall, the height of which was 10 meters and the width of 3 meters. There were two temples located nearby - the upper and the lower. The upper one was east of the pyramid, built from Turkish limestone and contained about 40 granite pillars. The lower temple was used for the first part of the funeral ceremony.

The essence of the entire system of buildings was most likely this - initially the remains of the pharaoh were delivered along the Nile to the lower temple, where, after the necessary preparations, they were sent to the upper temple along a long connecting corridor. In the upper temple, among many columns, funeral services and prayers for the repose of the pharaoh took place. After this, the body was taken to the lower chamber of the pyramid, where the pharaoh was carefully walled up. On the four sides of the pyramid, walled up in the rocks, there were four boats intended for travel in the afterlife. The main pyramid was accompanied by three small satellite pyramids (base length 49 m), located in the east, just like the upper temple. Moreover, each subsequent one (from north to south) is smaller than the previous one. It is believed that the companion pyramids were intended for the wives of the pharaoh.

There are other theories about the purpose of the pyramids. In those distant times, the pharaohs were ruled by a group of priests who possessed unearthly knowledge. This was a separate caste of people who called themselves the chosen ones. They knew mathematics, medicine, astronomy and other sciences very well. The level of education of the priests was many times higher than our understanding of the world. This knowledge was inaccessible to the common man. The priests chose their students themselves, initiating and teaching them in underground rooms located under the pyramids. The teachings assumed a connection with the universe and awareness of the essence of earthly existence. After this, the student was tested in the labyrinths of the pyramids, then in a secret sanctuary, under pain of death, they sought complete obedience and an oath of non-disclosure of secrets. The priests could predict the future thanks to communication with higher powers universe. Let’s make a reservation right away: later the chosen ones disappeared due to the so-called loss of communication.

Modern scientists have found many confirmations of this - the 33-year duration of Christ, the date of the beginning of the Second World War. Back in 1964, Charles Smith suggested that the pyramids store information for understanding prophecies from the Bible from the beginning of time until the second coming of God.

In 1994, using computer modeling, a discovery was made that explained the location of the three main pyramids, which exactly corresponded to the position of the three stars of Orion's belt, which at that time just crossed the Giza meridian. If this assumption is correct, then the age of the pyramids can be increased to 10,400 BC! The same Sphinx is a confirmation of this theory, because its gaze is directed precisely to the point where this constellation was located.

By using modern equipment, hidden tunnels were discovered under the sphinx itself, which, according to legend, were supposed to lead to a chamber containing a capsule with a message for all humanity. Indeed, the chamber was found; it contained a sarcophagus made of black granite; unfortunately, it turned out to be empty. Therefore, on the walls of the tunnel leading to the chamber, drawings were discovered that represent predictions of the future of humanity. From there it became known that our civilization was facing a series of cosmic cataclysms that would terrorize the “Earth” for several millennia. However, the priests would appear on our planet again and find a way to salvation by mastering space and restoring a civilization based on the laws of existence.

Cheops pyramid. Device. Puzzles. Pyramids on the map. Dimensions. Photo

The pyramid is part of the ritual and funeral complex of the earthly ruler: the pharaoh. Therefore, despite all the differences, all pyramids, in addition to the general shape, also have a common internal structure, which is due to the mandatory presence of a hall in which the pharaoh’s sarcophagus and the passages leading to it were installed. Let's see how they work Egyptian pyramids inside using the example of the tomb of Cheops - the highest stone structure in the world.

The only entrance, which was provided by the ancient builders, is on the north side of the pyramid structure at a height of 12 meters from the ground. Once upon a time, this entrance was hidden by cladding slabs, but already at the end of the 18th century, the first European scientists who explored this wonder of the world - the French - saw it open, since by that time people had deprived time ancient building facing slabs.

A corridor with an almost square cross-section leads inside the Cheops pyramid. The angle of inclination of the corridor, apparently, was not chosen arbitrarily - it coincides with the angle at which the ancient Egyptians could observe the North Star. Therefore, the first explorers had to face certain difficulties - then there were no railings, which are now made for the convenience of tourists, and their feet slid along the polished stone floor slabs. And the ventilation back then was incomparably worse than it is today (although even now it is far from ideal). The corridor sometimes narrowed to such an extent that we had to crawl on our haunches. Now, again for the benefit of tourists, everything has been “tweaked”.

Pyramid of Cheops inside

Unlike most other similar structures in Egypt, which have one burial chamber, the most famous pyramidal collos has three. One of them - underground - is located below the base of the structure, carved directly into the natural foundation. However, this camera was not completely finished. Apparently, the builders’ plans have changed, and the other two chambers are now located directly in the above-ground stone body of the giant structure. For a long time, scientists explained this by saying that the pharaoh wanted the tomb to be ready for a possible funeral ceremony at any stage of construction. And when the builders began building the next chamber located above, the need for an underground chamber was no longer necessary.

This theory does not explain why all other similar structures have a burial chamber below the base line. Only the pyramids of the pharaohs Snefru and Cheops have burial chambers inside, higher than the base, in the thickness of the masonry. A significant number of modern Egyptologists believe that this arrangement of the chambers in the tomb of Cheops was associated with certain religious views of the ancient inhabitants of Egypt. Briefly, this theory goes like this. There are facts that allow us to conclude that Cheops began to be revered as the god Ra during his lifetime.

The pyramid of this pharaoh is called the “Horizon of Khufu”, which meant that he, like the god Ra himself, rises to the horizon every day. The sons and successors of Cheops, Djedefre and Khafre, became the first pharaohs whose titles contained the epithet “son of Ra.” That is, Khufu was identified with Ra, therefore his burial chamber should be located above the earth and closer to the sky - where the real sun is visible. True, it should be noted that in relation to Pharaoh Snofru, no facts have yet been found that would allow us to interpret the location of his burial chamber in a similar way.

But let's return again to what constitutes Cheops pyramid inside. From the corridor leading down into the underground chamber, approximately at ground level, a passage leading upward begins. From it you can get into a small gallery, and then into a small chamber, called the queen's chamber. One of the underground "interchanges" If you do not turn towards the queen’s room, but go further, you will see the Great Gallery, which is 47 meters long and 8.5 meters high. This magnificent gallery presents a unique architectural structure. The ancient craftsmen laid the limestone slabs of the false vault in such a way that each subsequent layer overlapped the previous one by 5-6 cm. The limestone slabs framing the walls were polished to a shine and hewn together with amazing precision - even the blade of a thin knife could not pass through the joints . There are notches carved into the floor that allow you to move without having to hold on to the smooth walls.

After the Great Gallery there is a small airlock room leading to the room called the King's Chamber. Its dimensions are:

length - 10.5 m;
width – 5.2 m;
height – 5.8 meters.

The chamber lining is made of pink granite slabs. Five unloading chambers were erected above the ceiling, the top of which has a gable roof made of giant granite blocks. They take on the enormous weight of the stone mass, preventing it from crushing the pharaoh’s burial chamber. It should also be noted that the pharaoh's camera is precisely oriented to the cardinal points.

At the western wall (the afterlife for the Egyptians began in the west) there is a massive sarcophagus carved from a monolithic block of pink granite. The sarcophagus has no lid. Also, no traces of the pharaoh's mummy were found. That is, there is no evidence that the Cheops pyramid was ever used for an actual funeral. However, no other burial place of Pharaoh Cheops has yet been discovered, nor has his mummy been found. Nevertheless, Egyptologists have enough grounds to say that the pyramids are part of the ritual and funerary complex, and not something else.

When the first European explorers discovered the pharaoh's sarcophagus at the end of the 18th century, they did not yet know exactly for whom this tomb, as they thought, was built, or what the name of the ancient ruler of Egypt was. Only later were several hieroglyphs surrounded by an oval frame discovered above the burial chamber. In fairness, it should be noted that some Egyptologists consider this inscription to be a much later forgery, and there are certain reasons for this. The inscription was read thanks to the scientific discoveries of Champollion, who by that time had already deciphered the language of the ancient Egyptians. It turned out that this was the name of the pharaoh, by whose order this main and first wonder of the world was built. The pharaoh's name was Khufu (the Greeks called him Cheops), and he ruled according to modern scientific ideas in the 28th-27th centuries. BC, that is, about 4700 years ago.

The mystery of the mysterious canals

Speaking about the structure of the Cheops pyramid, one cannot help but say that both the queen’s chamber and the king’s chamber are equipped with inclined shafts-channels of square cross-section, averaging 20x20 cm in size, going upward in the north and south directions. Until recently, it was believed that they served as ventilation ducts. However, if two passages extending from the pharaoh’s burial chamber pass through the body of the structure and go outside, then the two passages from the queen’s chamber cannot be ventilation ducts - they end in the masonry itself far from the outer surfaces of the walls (see diagram above).

Since 1993, attempts have been made using various technical devices to understand what purpose they were intended for. German engineers have designed a special robot capable of crawling through such narrow mines. But in both the southern shaft and the northern one, the robot ran into an obstacle, which was a kind of plate with two protrusions (handles?) that looked like metal (copper?). An attempt was made to drill through one of the partitions, but the video camera that the robot pushed into the drilled hole showed that the small space behind the slab again ended in a new stone partition.

It was decided to continue the research by preparing new technical equipment, but the events in Egypt that occurred at the beginning of 2011 postpone them indefinitely.

In the light of new data, a scientific hypothesis has become widespread that these mines performed certain ritual tasks associated with the religious beliefs of the ancients. There is also a simpler hypothesis that originally these were actually ventilation ducts. But as the structure rose higher and higher, it was decided to build a third burial chamber - the king's chamber. And the passages leading from the queen’s chamber were blocked by the builders as unnecessary. This hypothesis is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the entrances to the mines from the side of the queen’s chamber itself were walled up and were found only after a thorough examination.

Internal structure of the Cheops pyramid from an engineering and construction point of view, the most complex of all such structures Ancient Egypt. All other Egyptian pyramids inside look approximately the same as the great pyramidal structure of Cheops, but in general, inside the pyramids of other pharaohs have a simpler structure, with the exception of the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser in Saqqara, which has an extensive system of underground passages and rooms at its base.

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Every year, articles appear in the press revealing the secrets of the Great Pyramid. However, every time new questions arise to which scientists have no answer. Now everyone is hearing a new hypothesis that, if not completely revealing, then comes close to this mystery.

The Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) took 20 years to build

It is known that the pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) was built over a period of 20 years. Basically, about 14 thousand people took part in its construction. However, at some stages up to 40 thousand took part in the construction.

Of course, experts have a very definite idea of how the Great Pyramids were built. However, scientific minds do not want to stop there. In their opinion, the simplest versions are not able to explain how the masterpiece was built ancient architecture in reality: he makes too much of an impression.

Thus, the French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin offers his own version of the construction technique. In 2006, he proposed an original hypothesis: the upper part of the pyramid (which is about 70% of the height) was built by the ancient Egyptians from the inside.

To understand why this hypothesis is relevant today, you should first take a short excursion into history.

IN last years There are so many versions that even just listing them would take a lot of time. Of course, aliens with their anti-gravity technology occupy a special place. However, even in the 26th century BC there were many opportunities.

The most likely scheme is also the simplest. According to one hypothesis, workers dragged blocks of limestone using ropes and blocks along long embankments to the top. As an option, there is a spiral stone “path” laid out on the walls of the pyramid itself, along which the stones were delivered to the top. This scheme is characterized by a huge volume of earthworks.

Variant of the construction technique of the French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin

In both cases, quite a lot of wooden levers with ropes were used - lifting mechanisms, with the help of which the Egyptians installed multi-ton blocks in the right place and lifted them from tier to tier.

You can also find a description of these simple devices in Herodotus. True, he believed that the Egyptians used “cranes”, lifting blocks from level to level one by one. However, most Egyptologists believe that during construction they combined ramps with levers.

However, there are a number of alternative versions

It is possible that the pyramid was made of concrete (scientific experiments have proven that the ancients knew how to make it). Therefore, there was simply no problem with how to lift the stone. Unfortunately, this version does not take into account the granite monoliths located in the pyramid, many of which are incomparably heavier in weight than the limestone ones.

There was a hypothesis that the stone blocks were raised using wooden gateways, which were built on the growing walls. In addition, many of the described methods were built based on the “basic” laws of physics and mechanics.

However, weaknesses can be found in all hypotheses. For example, the construction of a straight embankment requires work comparable to the construction of the pyramid itself, and the length of such an ascent must exceed one and a half kilometers (at the end of construction), and it must also be based on stone blocks.

During the construction of the Cheops pyramid, ancient Egyptian engineers used a system of internal ramps and tunnels to construct the upper part of this structure...

According to Egyptologist Bob Brier, it's like building two pyramids. Moreover, the remains of such a ramp have not been found anywhere. Brier, by the way, is familiar to us from the recent discovery of construction defects in the Cheops pyramid.

Some traces of former ramps in the vicinity of the pyramid have long been discovered. But, according to calculations, they cannot be fully responsible for the construction of this grandiose monument. That is why “official” Egyptologists are inclined to the mentioned scheme of the combined use of ramps and lifting mechanisms built of wood.

As Bob explains, the spiral road running along the outer walls could hide during construction the corners and edges of the structure itself, constant measurements of which were necessary - without this, it would not have been possible to achieve the accuracy of proportions and lines of the Great Pyramid, which still delights architects today. Consequently, "geodetic survey" would be impossible.

However, Jean-Pierre paints a different picture

The lower third of the pyramid, which contains most of its mass, was erected using the already discussed external ramp method, which, given the height of the structure, was not yet too bulky. But then the tactics were radically changed.

Houdin believes that the limestone blocks that formed the ramp for the lower third of the Cheops Pyramid were largely dismantled and reused to build the upper levels of the pyramid itself. Therefore, no traces of the original ramp have been found anywhere.

Construction of the Cheops pyramid

In addition, during the construction of new tiers, workers left a large corridor inside the walls, which spiraled upward. Along this corridor, new blocks were raised to the top of the structure. After the work was completed, the tunnel itself was completely hidden from view. Therefore, the road did not even have to be dismantled.

Houdin argues that the paradigm of conventional hypotheses was flawed. The pyramid could not have been built from the outside.

Using computer simulations last year, Houdin visualized his method of building a pyramid and proved that it works. It is interesting that indirect evidence of Jean-Pierre’s correctness was also found in Egypt, directly in the most ancient monument.

At approximately 90 meters in height on the northeastern edge of the Khufu pyramid, near the corner, there is a hole discovered by archaeologists an umpteenth time ago. Of course, Egyptologists are well aware of it, but they cannot say anything specific about the purpose of the room located behind the hole.

Recently, Bob Brier, who has become a proponent of Houdin's hypothesis, climbed inside this hole with a National Geographic team (for the first time, taking detailed photographs). What he saw surprisingly fit into the pattern with an internal inclined corridor.

The fact is that in order to rotate the lifted blocks by 90 degrees, when moving from one side of the pyramid to another, the builders had to leave in the corners of the structure open spaces— where the secret ramps intersected.

Only after the construction of the pharaoh’s tomb was completed would it be possible to sequentially fill these openings with new blocks drawn along the same corkscrew-shaped corridor.

The corner sections of the spiral corridor, which were open until the last moment, allowed workers, using simple levers and ropes, to turn the blocks raised along the slope 90 degrees in order to push them into the next tunnel. It's like a train depot with a turntable that helps diesel locomotives turn around in cramped conditions to go in a new direction.

The corner sections of the spiral corridor, which were open until the last moment, allowed workers to turn the blocks being lifted 90 degrees using simple levers and ropes.

Brier saw behind the hole an L-shaped hall - the remnant of one such turn. It is located in the very place that Houdin's computer model predicted.

There should be two walled portals located at an angle of 90 degrees to one another. Behind them could well be those same tunnels, running not so deep under the surface of the walls. According to the French architect, the secret of the entire structure is kept in the massive blocks that sealed the tunnels thousands of years ago.

However, for quite a long time this emptiness in the corner remained unnoticed. The fact is that the meaning of the building can only be deciphered by having a general plan in mind. If you simply climbed into this room without thinking about internal ramps and recesses, it will mean nothing to you.

This angular turn may well be the missing link in the Great Pyramid puzzle. Moreover, there is another trace in this story.

French archaeologists visited Giza in 1986 and 1998. They searched for hidden cavities in the Cheops pyramid using microgravimetry. Among other things, the researchers found a void under the queen’s chamber. This cavity, according to them, is the beginning of a corridor leading to the true burial place of Cheops. But in this case we are interested in another involuntary discovery of theirs.

This find did not fit into existing theories, so the researchers did not explain it in any way. But a few years ago, at a certain conference dedicated to the pyramids, Houdin approached one of the members of the “gravimetricians” team, engineer Hui Don Bui. He showed him diagrams showing fluctuations in the density of the material inside the pyramid. One of the drawings showed a spiral-shaped structure running along the outer walls at some depth. Jean-Pierre immediately understood what it was.

According to Bob Brier, if he had not seen that diagram, he would have thought that construction using a twisted tunnel was just another theory. The information obtained by the French forced him to support Houdin's hypothesis.

And to find new hard evidence, says Jean-Pierre, you don’t need to drill into the pyramid or even get inside. To begin with, it will be enough to show these “phantom” corridors in thermal images of the pyramid.

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