A story about the pyramid of Cheops. The mystery of the construction of the Cheops pyramid has been revealed. Opening hours of the Giza Museum complex

) and Heliopolis millennia before the founding of Cairo. For more than three thousand years (until the construction of the cathedral in Lincoln, England, ca. 1300)

The Great Pyramid was the tallest building on Earth. Since 1979, like many other pyramids of the complex " Memphis and its necropolises - the pyramid area from Giza to Dahshur", is a part World Heritage UNESCO.

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.

unknown, Public Domain

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

Appearance

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), the total mass of which is estimated at 8.4 million tons.

Rigelus, CC BY-SA 3.0

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.

Franck Monnier, Public Domain

Concavity of the sides

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.

Franck Monnier, Public Domain

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.

Vivant Denon, Dominique, Public Domain

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

Tilt angle

It is not possible to accurately determine the initial parameters of the pyramid, since its edges and surfaces are currently for the most part 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.

In the literature on Egyptology, Peter Janosi, Mark Lehner, Miroslav Werner, Zahi Hawass, Alberto Scigliotti came to the same results in measurements, who believe that the length of the sides can be from 230.33 to 230.37 m. Knowing the length of the side and the angle at the base, they calculated the height of the pyramid - from 146.59 to 146.60 m. The slope of the pyramid is 51° 50", which corresponds to a seked (ancient Egyptian unit of measurement of slope, which is defined as the ratio of half the base to the height) of 5 ½ palms. Taking into account the fact that in one cubit (cubit) there are 7 palms, it turns out that with such a chosen seked, the double ratio of the base to the height is equal to 22/7, a well-known approximation of the number pi from ancient times, which, apparently, happened by chance, since other pyramids were chosen. other meanings for seked.

Franck Monnier, Public Domain

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 of the “Golden Section” and the number pi, which were reflected in the proportions of the pyramid: thus, the ratio of the height to half the perimeter of the base is 14/22 (height = 280 cubits, and the base = 220 cubits, semi-perimeter of the base = 2 ×220 cubits; 280/440 = 14/22). For the first time in world history, these values 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 theories consider the pyramid to be an astronomical observatory. It is argued that the corridors of the pyramid accurately point towards the “polar star” of that time - Thuban, the ventilation corridors on the south side - to the star Sirius, and on the north side - to the star Alnitak.

Internal structure

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 get inside 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.

Yucatan, CC BY-SA 4.0

Funeral "pit"

John and Edgar Morton, Public Domain

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 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.

Photos taken in 1910

John and Edgar Morton, Public Domain

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 previous approximately 3 thousand years, it was believed that there were no rooms in the Great Pyramid other than the descending passage and the underground chamber. Al-Mamun was unable 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.

Franck Monnier, GNU 1.2

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.

Jon Bodsworth, Green Copyright

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.

John and Edgar Morton, Public Domain

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; her maximum height 6.22 meters. There is a high niche in the eastern wall of the chamber.

Grotto, Grand Gallery and Pharaoh's Chambers

Jon Bodsworth, Green Copyright

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.

Jon Bodsworth, Green Copyright

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.

John and Edgar Morton, Public Domain

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 found, probably left by workers.

Ventilation ducts

From the "King's Chamber" and "Queen's Chamber" in the northern and south directions(first horizontally, then obliquely upward) the so-called “ventilation” channels 20-25 cm wide extend off. At the same time, the channels of the “Tsar’s Chamber”, known since the 17th century, are end-to-end, they are open both below and above (on the edges of the pyramid), then As 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 these channels do not reach the surface by about 12 meters. The upper ends of the channels of the Queen's Chamber 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 this robot to detect the same “door” in it. 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 afterworld. That is why it does not reach the surface of the pyramid. Pyramid of Queen Meritites (G1b)

Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)
Great Pyramid of Giza
Arab. الهرم الأكبر or هرم خوفو
English Great Pyramid of Giza, Pyramid of Khufu or Pyramid of Cheops

Statistical data

Height (today): ≈ 138.75 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 m³
Total volume of the pyramid minus all known cavities (initially): 2.50 million m³
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 m³/1.147 m³ = 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

History of research

Recent Research

There is a version that tries to explain the precise fit of individual blocks during the construction of the pyramid by the fact that the blocks were created from a concrete-like material by gradually raising the formwork and making the blocks on the spot - hence the precision of the fit. This version was proposed by the French chemist, Professor J. Davidovits. Professor Davidowitz in the mid-twentieth century developed a method for creating so-called geopolymer concrete. Davidovitz suggested that his discovery might have been known to the creators of the pyramids. Subsequent studies refuted this theory.

There are also non-scientific works on the pyramids by some researchers, such as Erich von Däniken and Christopher Dunn (The Mystery of the Ancient Egyptian Machines, 1984), based on outdated information from Sir William Flinders Petrie from the book The Pyramids and Temples of Giza (1883).

Around the pyramid

Pharaoh's boats

Near the pyramids, seven pits with real ancient Egyptian boats, dismantled into pieces, were discovered.

The first of these vessels, called "" or "Sun Boats", was discovered in 1954 by Egyptian architect Kamal el-Mallah and archaeologist Zaki Nour.

The boat was made of cedar and did not have a single trace of nails for fastening the elements. The boat consisted of 1224 parts; they were assembled by restorer Ahmed Youssef Mustafa only in 1968.

The dimensions of the boat are: length - 43.3 m, width - 5.6 m, and draft - 1.50 m. A museum of this boat is open on the south side of the Cheops pyramid.

Media files on Wikimedia Commons

Age of the pyramid

Existing methods for dating the time when construction of the pyramid began 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 you “lift the stone, a long winding path to the grave opens up,” without specifying which pyramid we're 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 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 m3
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 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:

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 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

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 was unable 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.

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.

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.

History of research

Recent Research

There are pyramids dedicated to them

The Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt is one of the oldest and well-preserved architectural monuments. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is a center of attraction for tourists from all over the world. For many millennia, the Cheops pyramid remained the tallest structure on the planet.

History and secrets of the construction of the pyramid

The construction of the pyramid began during the lifetime of Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu), for whom it was supposed to serve as a tomb. The exact date of foundation is unknown, although all possible research methods were used to establish it. Their results vary. Scientists call 2720 BC. e, 2577 BC. e. and 2708 BC. e. At the same time, in Egypt itself the official date of the founding of the pyramid is considered August 23, 2560 BC uh.

Another problem in establishing the age of the Cheops pyramid is that there is no mention of it in ancient papyri. For the first time in the 5th century BC. e. the construction is described by Herodotus.

As for construction technology, everything here is also ambiguous. Some scientists seriously suggest that the tomb of Cheops was built by aliens. Its scale, the accuracy of mathematical calculations and the quality of construction are so amazing.

Interesting fact! It could take 20-40 years to build one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

For the construction of the Cheops pyramid, a place with stable and dense soil was chosen. Main material - limestone, blocks of which were cut out of the rock and then hewn. The weight of one block was 2.5 tons, and some specimens weighed several tens of tons. The methods of transporting and lifting them still remain a mystery.

Description of the structure

Visually, the Cheops pyramid looks like a stepped mountain. Its base covers an area of 53,000 square meters. m. Previously, the surface was covered with durable, cladding slabs shining in the sun, but now they are completely absent. Part of it was removed in 1168 by the Arabs who plundered the city, and part of it was taken by the Egyptians themselves to build houses.

The original height of the Cheops pyramid was 149 m. centuries-old history it collapsed somewhat and sank, so now the landmark of Egypt is 11 meters lower. To understand the scale of construction, it is worth knowing that this is the height of a 50-story building.

The blocks in the pyramid are laid in layers. The height of each layer varies and ranges from 60-150 cm. This may indicate that there were periods of excess and shortage of labor during the construction process.

It is noticeable to the naked eye that pyramid faces are concave. Now none of the scientists is ready to answer for sure whether this is the result of subsidence of the structure or whether it was originally intended.

The entrance to the tomb of Cheops is located on its northern side at an altitude of almost 16 meters. It is formed by stones laid in a certain way.

Interesting fact! The true entrance to the Cheops pyramid has not been preserved; it is blocked with a granite plug. The entrance that tourists and researchers now use is a breach made by one of the Baghdad caliphs. He wanted to find the pharaoh's treasures in the building.

Internal structure of the pyramid

Inside the Cheops pyramid are burial chambers, connected by descending and ascending corridors. Main premises of the building:

Pharaoh's burial chamber;
unfinished chamber number 5;
"Queen's Chamber";
Large gallery.

From the entrance to the burial chambers there is a descending corridor, the length of which is 105 m. In the first third it has a fork: one corridor continues to go down and leads to the unfinished chamber number 5, the second leads up to the tombs of the pharaoh and his wife.

To get to the pharaoh's burial chamber, you need to go through the ascending Great Gallery - a tunnel 2 m wide and 8.74 m high. At the bottom of the walls in the gallery there are paired ledges, the purpose of which is unknown. These can be containers for a lifting, locking or other massive mechanism.

The pharaoh's burial chamber is quite spacious. Its floor is located at a height of 43 m from the base of the structure. It is difficult to establish the exact height of the ceilings, since the surface of the floor and walls is highly deformed. Highly polished granite was used to finish the chamber. In the room there is a granite sarcophagus of Cheops, on which there are no inscriptions or decor, and the lid is missing.

"Queen's Chamber" should not be in the tomb of the pharaoh, since the wives of the rulers were buried separately. However, a stepped niche in the room suggests that this is a female burial. The chamber has a rectangular shape and a gable roof supported by walls about 4.5 m high.

Interesting fact! The Cheops Pyramid is extremely laconic inside. There are no wall inscriptions, rich decorations, or decor to be found there. It is assumed that if anything valuable was stored in the tomb, it was taken out long before the first researchers came there.

Interesting facts about the Cheops pyramid

The history of the existence of the Cheops pyramid contains many interesting facts and scientific theories, mysterious rumors and legends. Not a single excursion is complete without getting to know them.

Here are some of them:

The approximate weight of the structure is 6.5 million tons.
The construction took 2.25 million limestone blocks.
Inside the pyramid, the temperature does not rise above +20 ℃, even if it is +50 ℃ outside.
There is an assumption that the tomb of Cheops served as an observatory for the ancient Egyptians, since its edges correspond to the four cardinal directions.
It is believed that the builders of the tomb had excellent knowledge about the circumference of the Earth, the speed of light, the golden ratio, and mathematical quantities that were somehow incorporated into the structure.
Contrary to popular belief, it is believed that the pyramid was not built by slaves, but by professional masons.
Scientists have never been able to prove that the body of Cheops once lay in the sarcophagus of the tomb.
Inside the pyramid there are narrow shafts, through which the wind makes certain sounds.
There is a version that the Egyptians only rebuilt the pyramid created by representatives of the previous civilization.

Note! Pyramid scanning and others modern research give reason to believe that there are several more rooms inside it that have yet to be explored.

Visiting an attraction

Visits the Pyramid of Cheops about 3 million people per year. They explore not only one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but also the surrounding buildings. These are three satellite pyramids, ruins ancient temple, as well as a modern museum, where the main exhibit is an ancient Egyptian boat.

At night, tourists are shown a light and sound show, when each building is illuminated with spotlights and their history is told, Interesting Facts. In a small shop you can buy memorable souvenirs.

- one of the most ancient “seven wonders of the world” that has survived to this day. It inherited its name from its creator, Pharaoh Cheops, and is the largest in the group of Egyptian pyramids.

It is believed that it serves as a tomb for his dynasty. The Pyramid of Cheops is located on the Giza Plateau.

Dimensions of the Cheops pyramid

The height of the Cheops Pyramid initially reached 146.6 meters, but time is inexorably and gradually destroying this impressive structure. Today it has decreased to 137.2 meters.

The pyramid is made up of a total of 2.3 million cubic meters of stone. The average weight of one stone is 2.5 tons, but there are even some whose weight reaches 15 tons.

The most interesting thing is that these blocks are so perfectly fitted that even the blade of a thin knife cannot pass through them. They were glued together with white cement as protection against water penetration inside. It has still been preserved.

One side of the pyramid is 230 meters long. The base area is 53,000 square meters, which can be equated to ten football fields.

This huge structure amazes with its grandeur and emanates antiquity. According to scientists, the total weight of the pyramid is 6.25 million tons. Previously, its surface was perfectly smooth. Now, unfortunately, there is no trace of this smoothness.

There is one entrance leading inside the Cheops pyramid, located at a height of 15.5 meters above the ground. It contains tombs in which the pharaohs were buried. These so-called burial chambers are made of durable granite and are located at a depth of 28 meters.

The pyramid consists of ascending and descending passages that were not used in any other similar structure. One of the features is a large descent leading to the tomb of the pharaoh.

The Pyramid of Cheops is located directly in the place that points to all four cardinal directions. She is the only one of all ancient buildings, has such accuracy.

History of the Pyramid of Cheops

How the ancient Egyptians were able to build this Pyramid and when, probably no one can say with exact data. But in Egypt, the official date when construction began is August 23, 2480 BC.

It was then that Pharaoh Snofu died and his son Khufu (Cheops) gave the order to build the pyramid. He wanted to build such a pyramid so that it would become not only one of the greatest structures, but also glorify his name for centuries.

It is known that about 100,000 people simultaneously participated in its construction. For 10 years they only built a road along which it was necessary to deliver stones, and the construction itself continued for another 20-25 years.

According to the research of scientists, it is known that workers cut down huge blocks in quarries on the banks of the Nile. They went on boats to the other side and dragged the block with felt along the road to the construction site itself.

Then came the turn of hard and very dangerous work. The blocks were placed next to each other with extraordinary precision using ropes and levers.

Secrets of the Pyramid of Cheops

For almost 3,500 years, no one disturbed the peace of the Cheops Pyramid. It was covered with legends about the punishment of anyone who entered the chambers of the pharaoh.

However, there was such a daredevil caliph Abdullah al-Mamun, he built a tunnel inside the pyramid in order to profit. But imagine his surprise when he found absolutely no treasures. Indeed, this is one of the many secrets of this majestic structure.

No one knows whether Pharaoh Cheops was really buried in it or whether his tomb was plundered by the ancient Egyptians. Scientists emphasize that the pharaoh's chamber does not have decorations, which were customary at that time to decorate tombs. The sarcophagus has no lid and is not completely hewn. It is obvious that the work was not completed.

After Abdullah al-Mamun's unsuccessful attempt, he became furious and ordered the pyramids to be dismantled. But naturally I did not achieve this goal. And the robbers lost all interest in her and her non-existent treasures.

In 1168, the Arabs burned down part of Cairo and when the Egyptians began to rebuild their homes, they removed the white slabs from the pyramid.

And from that pyramid, which shone like a precious stone, only the stepped body remained. This is how it appears today, before enthusiastic tourists.

The Cheops Pyramid has been constantly explored since the time of Napoleon. And some researchers are more inclined to believe the theory that the pyramid was built by aliens or Atlanteans.

Because to this day it is not clear how builders could achieve such excellent stone processing and precise laying, which has not been affected by external factors for centuries. And the measurements of the pyramid themselves are amazing in their results.

The pyramid was surrounded by others interesting buildings, mainly temples. But today almost nothing has survived.

Their purpose is not completely clear, but in 1954 archaeologists found the oldest ship at this site. It was the Solnechnaya boat, which was made without a single nail, with preserved traces of silt, and most likely sailed during the time of Cheops.

The Cheops Pyramid is located on the Giza Plateau. Giza is a settlement northwest of Cairo. You can get there by taxi by calling final stop Mena House Hotel. Either take a bus from the Tahrir Square stops in Cairo or take the bus at Ramses Station.

Pyramid of Cheops on the map

Opening hours, attractions and prices

You can see the majestic Pyramid of Cheops every day from 8.00 to 17.00. V winter time Visits are limited until 16.30. It is advisable to visit the pyramid in the early morning or late afternoon. At other times it is quite hot, and you can’t get through the crowds of tourists. Although even at this hour there are not so few of them.

When walking to the ticket office, which is not far from the hotel, you should not pay attention to the barkers offering camel rides or calling themselves inspectors. Most likely, these are scammers.

The cost of entry to the territory will cost $8, entrance to the Pyramid of Cheops itself will cost $16. And of course it’s worth visiting the two nearby pyramids of Khafre and Mykerinus, each costing $4. And to see the Solar Boat - $7.

It is impossible to appreciate the full power and grandeur of the Cheops Pyramid, shrouded in many secrets, from photographs or words.

You just need to see it with your own eyes and touch this ancient, truly impressive structure.

The world famous Egyptian pyramid of Cheops inside is like a “Russian doll” and consists of three three pyramids pharaohs. The veil of secrecy is lifted over one of the seven wonders of the world. Every creation of human hands has meaning.

“Everything that arises must have some reason for its occurrence, for it is absolutely impossible to arise without a cause.” So said the ancient Greek philosopher and sage Plato in the 4th century BC. e. in his book Timaeus.

All mysteries are overcome by knowledge. Knowledge can be obtained or created. Let’s take our own as a “tool for creation” common sense, the logic of thinking and knowledge of ancient people who used ideas about the world at that distant time.

“What is comprehended through reflection and reasoning is obviously an eternally identical being; and that which is subject to opinion... arises and dies, but never really exists.” (IV century BC, Plato, Timaeus).

Russian doll

What does it mean that the Cheops pyramid is like a “Russian nesting doll”, containing two more pyramids, one inside the other? To confirm the conclusion about the triplicity of the Cheops pyramid, let's start with the facts and look at the cross-sectional diagram of the pyramid.

Firstly, there are three burial chambers in the Cheops pyramid. Three! From this fact it follows that the pyramid has different time there were three masters (three pharaohs). And everyone had their own separate burial chamber. After all, few living people would think of preparing a tomb for themselves in three “copies.” In addition (as can be seen from the size of the pyramids), their construction is quite labor-intensive even for our time. Besides? Archaeologists have already established that the pharaohs built tomb pyramids separately and of a much smaller size for their wives.

Egyptian historians have established that long before the construction of the pyramids in ancient Egypt in the 4th millennium BC. and previously pharaohs were buried in structures called mastabas. Below in the picture is the appearance of the ancient crypt (mastaba) of Shepseskaf in Saqqara. It consists of underground and above-ground parts.

The pharaoh's mummy was located deep underground in an underground hall. In the ground part there was a prayer room with a statue of the pharaoh. After death (according to the ancient Egyptian priests), the soul of the deceased pharaoh moved into this statue. The halls in the above-ground mastaba room could be connected to each other (or isolated from each other). Above these underground halls, a low, trapezoidal truncated pyramid was built from stone blocks.

Under the pyramid of Cheops there is underground passage(4) at the end of which there is a vast unfinished underground hall (5). There is also an exit (12) from the hall to the top, which was made according to the burial theory for the passage of the pharaoh’s soul to the above-ground part of the mastaba.

According to the section plan of the Cheops pyramid, we can conclude that if there is an underground hall (5) and there is a passage upward from it (12), then the upper prayer room of the mastaba should be in the center and slightly lower than the middle burial chamber (7). Unless, of course, when the second pharaoh began construction of his pyramid above the mastaba, these premises were not filled with stones, destroyed and preserved to this day.

This conclusion (about the presence of internal mastaba halls in the center of the Cheops pyramid) is confirmed by the observations of French researchers - Gilles Dormayon and Jean-Yves Verdhart. In August 2004, while examining the floor in the middle burial chamber (7) with sensitive gravitational instruments, they discovered an unknown void of impressive size below the floor at a depth of about four meters, the purpose of which at that time they had no versions.

According to the plan of the pyramid's section, a narrow inclined almost vertical shaft (12) goes up from the underground burial pit (5). This passage should connect to the above-ground prayer room of the mastaba. At the exit from the mine, at ground level under the base of the pyramid, there is a small grotto (extension up to 5 meters in length). Apparently, in ancient times, when excavating this grotto, they were already looking for a passage to the inner halls of the mastaba. It has been established that its walls consist of more ancient masonry that does not belong to the Cheops pyramid. The passage rising from the underground hall and the ancient stonework are nothing more than belonging to the first mastaba. From the expansion in the shaft (12) to the center of the pyramid there should be a passage to the ground halls of the mastaba. This passage was most likely walled up by the builders of the second inner pyramid.

By appearance and according to archaeologists, the underground burial chamber (5) remained unfinished. The condition of the prayer rooms in the upper above-ground part of the mastaba (which is the first of three in the Cheops pyramid) remains to be determined by opening a passage through them.

The height of the first internal truncated pyramid (mastaba), according to the pyramid's sectional diagram, should be no more than 15 meters.

The presence of an unfinished burial structure (mastaba), located in the most advantageous place (on the top of a stone plateau in the town of Giza), served as a pretext for the second (before Cheops) unknown pharaoh to use this mastaba to build his pyramid over it.

The fact that the Giza plateau was previously “inhabited” by ancient mastabas is also supported by the fact that the Sphinx was there. The purpose of the “Sphinx” is to serve as a tomb (mastaba) in the form of a lion sculpture. The age of the “Sphinx” (the deity into which, according to theory, the soul of the pharaoh should move) is estimated to be much older than the pyramids (about 5 - 10 thousand years).

In Egypt, by the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, the Egyptian priests had a new worldview about the place of residence of the soul after death.

In this regard, the burials of the pharaohs in mastabas were replaced by more majestic structures - step pyramids, and later by “smooth” hewn pyramids. According to the ideas of the priests, after death a person’s soul flew to life to stars related to their souls. “Whoever lives the time allotted to him properly will return to the abode of the star named after him.” Plato, Timaeus.

The burial chamber (7), belonging to the second internal pyramid (on the cross-sectional plan) is located above the prayer part of the first mastaba. The corridor ascending to it (6) is laid along the wall of the mastaba, and the horizontal corridor (8) along its roof. Thus, these two corridors to chamber (7) show the approximate overall dimensions of the first ancient internal truncated trapezoidal mastaba pyramid.

Second and third pyramids

This can be judged by the length of two emanating from the chamber (7) in opposite directions, the so-called (in modern terms) “ventilation ducts”. These channels (one to the north and the other to the south) in a cross section of 20 by 25 cm, approximately 10-12 meters do not reach the boundary of the external walls of the third pyramid.

The modern name for ducts as “air ducts” is, of course, incorrect. The deceased pharaoh did not need ventilation ducts. The channels had a completely different purpose. Channels are a pointing path directed to the sky, oriented with great accuracy (up to a degree) to the stars, where, according to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the soul of the pharaoh would settle after death.

The northern channel was oriented towards the star Kohab in the constellation Ursa Minor. At that time, due to precession (the displacement of the Earth's axis), "Kokhab" was the "North Star" around which the sky revolved. It was assumed that after death the pharaoh becomes one of the stars in her environment in the northern part of the sky.

The Southern Channel was targeting the Sirius star. In Egyptian mythology, “Sirius” was associated with the name of the goddess Sopdet (the protector and patroness of all the dead).

At the time the second pyramid was built, both channels from the burial chamber (7) reached the edge of the outer walls and were open to the sky. The burial chamber of the pharaoh's second inner pyramid may also have been unfinished (judging by the lack of its interior decoration).

It is possible that the top of the second pyramid was not fully completed (for example, there was a war, the pharaoh was killed, died prematurely from illness, an accident, etc.). But, in any case, the second pyramid was built no lower than the height of the channels (“air ducts”) emanating from the burial chamber (7) to the outer walls.

The second internal pyramid reveals itself not only with tightly closed channels and its own separate burial chamber, but most of all it is revealed outside by the walled-up central entrance (1) to the Cheops pyramid.

Obviously, it immediately catches your eye that the entrance, tightly walled up with huge granite blocks, is buried in the body of the third pyramid (about the same 10-12 meters as the channels from the second burial chamber).

During the construction of the third pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops, there was no point in extending this external entrance to the second pyramid. Therefore, after adding walls along the perimeter of the third pyramid, the entrance turned out to be “recessed” inside.

The entrance gates of all buildings are always made slightly outside the structure, and not buried in the depths of the structure. The Pyramid of Khafre has approximately the same entrance, but moved outside.

Cheops is the third owner of the pyramid

Archaeologists and historians, according to the deciphering of hieroglyphs, have established that the Cheops pyramid was built not by slaves (as previously thought), but by civilian builders, who, of course, had to be paid well for hard work. And since the volume of construction was enormous, it was more profitable for Cheops to take an unfinished pyramid than to build a new one from scratch. The advantageous location of the unfinished second pyramid, which was located at the very top of the plateau, was also important.

Cheops began the construction of the third pyramid by dismantling the central part of the second pyramid. In the resulting “crater” at a height of approximately 40 meters from the ground, a pre-chamber (11) and the third burial chamber of the pharaoh (10) were built. The passage to the third burial chamber only needed to be extended. The ascending tunnel (6) was continued in the form of a large 8-meter high cone-shaped gallery (9).

The conical shape of the gallery is not similar to the initial part of the ascending narrow passage. This indicates that the tunnel was not made at the same time and under different external conditions.

After the third Cheops pyramid was expanded on the sides, adding 10-12 meters on each side, the outgoing channels of the second pyramid from the chamber (7) were accordingly closed.

If the burial chamber (7) turned out to be empty, then there was no point in extending the old channels for the builders of the third pyramid. Outside, the channels were filled with new rows of wall blocks of the third pyramid, and from the inside in chamber (7), the outgoing channels were also walled up. In the burial chamber (7), walled up channels were discovered by treasure hunters (researchers) by tapping the walls only in 1872.

In September 2010, English and German researchers launched a caterpillar robot into one of the narrow “air ducts” from the second burial chamber (7). Having risen to the end, he rested against a limestone slab 13 cm thick, drilled through it, inserted a video camera into the hole, and on the other side of the slab at a distance of 18 cm, the robot saw another stone barrier. Having reached a dead end, the scientists' search ended in nothing. The stone barrier is nothing more than the blocks of the third pyramid.

The builders of the third pyramid of Cheops from the third burial chamber of the pharaoh laid new channels (10) for the “flight of the soul” to the stars.

If you look closely at the cross-section of the pyramid, the two pairs of channels (to the north and south) from the second and third chambers are not parallel! This is one of the “keys” to solving the mystery of the Cheops pyramid.

The channels of the upper third chamber relative to the channels of the second chamber are rotated clockwise by 5 degrees. The northern pair of channels has inclination angles of 32° and 37° (5° difference). The southern pair of channels, oriented towards the star Sirius, has inclination angles of 45° and 39° (a difference of 6°). Here, an increase of 1 degree can be attributed to the own movement of the planet Sirius in its orbit. The 5-degree discrepancy in channel angles is not accidental. Egyptian priests and builders very accurately recorded the position of the stars in the sky and clearly laid out the direction of the channels to the stars (with an accuracy of minutes and seconds).

Then what's the matter

The point here is that the Earth’s rotation axis shifts by 1 degree every 72 years, and every 25,920 years the Earth’s axis, rotating at an angle like a spinning top, makes a full circle of 360 degrees. This astronomical phenomenon is called precession. Plato called the total rotation time of the Earth's axis 25,920 years - “The Great Year”.

When the Earth's axis shifts by 1 degree over 72 years, then the angle of view in the direction of all stars (including the Sun) also changes by 1 degree. If the displacement of each pair of channels differs by 5 degrees, then we can easily calculate that between the construction of the second pyramid (of the unknown pharaoh) and the third pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops, the difference is 5 x 72 = 360 years.

Egyptian historians say that Pharaoh Cheops (another pronunciation is Khufu) reigned in 2540-2560 BC. By counting “degree” years ago, we can say exactly when the second inner pyramid was built. Thus, the second pyramid was built in 2800-2820 BC.

In the Cheops pyramid the only place under the ceiling (on the powerful vaulted granite slabs above the third burial chamber) there is a personal hieroglyph made by the workers who left their mark: “Builders, friends of Pharaoh Khufu.” No other mention of the name Cheops (Khufu) or the affiliation of other pharaohs to the pyramid has yet been found.

Most likely, the third Cheops pyramid was completed and used for its intended purpose. Otherwise, the Cheops pyramid would not have been “sealed”. That is, a plug of several granite cubes would not have been lowered into the ascending passage (6) from above and from the inside along an inclined plane. With these stone cubes, the pyramid was tightly closed to everyone for more than three thousand years (until 820 AD).

The ancient Egyptian name of the Cheops pyramid is read in hieroglyphs as “Horizon of Khufu”. The name has a literal meaning. The angle of inclination of the side face of the pyramid is 51° 50′. This is the angle at which the Sun rose exactly at noon on the days of the autumn-spring equinox. The sun at noon, like a golden “crown,” crowned the pyramid. Throughout the year, the Sun (the ancient Egyptian God - Ra) walks across the sky in summer higher, in winter lower (just like the pharaoh through his domains) and always the Sun (pharaoh) returns to his “home”. Therefore, the angle of inclination of the walls of the pyramid indicates the path to the house of the “Sun God”, to the “house of the pyramid” of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) - “the son of the Sun God”.

The edges of the walls are arranged at an angle of view towards the Sun not only in this pyramid. In Khafre's pyramid, the angle of inclination of the wall faces is slightly more than 52-53 degrees (it is known that it was built later). In the Mikerin pyramid, the slope of the faces is 51°20′25″ (less than that of Cheops). Until now, historians did not know whether it was built before the Cheops pyramid or later. Now, taking into account the open “degree time” of the Earth’s precession, the smaller angle of inclination of the walls indicates that the pyramid of Mikerinus was built not later, but earlier. In relation to the “degree age scale”, a difference in the slope of the walls of 30 minutes corresponds to 36 years. In later Egyptian pyramids, for example the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre, the slope of the faces should accordingly be greater.

In Sudan (see in the picture) there are many pyramids, the angle of inclination of the faces of which is much steeper. Sudan is south of Egypt and the Sun stands higher above the horizon there on the day of the spring-autumn equinox. This explains the great steepness of the walls of the Sudanese pyramids.

In 820 A.D. The Baghdad caliph Abu Jafar al-Mamun, in search of the countless treasures of the pharaoh, made a horizontal break (2) at the base of the Cheops pyramid, which tourists use to enter the pyramid today. The breach was made to the beginning of the ascending corridor (6), where they ran into granite cubes, which were bypassed to the right and thus penetrated into the pyramid. But, according to historians, they found nothing but “dust half the size of a palm” inside. If there was anything valuable in the pyramid, then the servants of the caliph took it. And what they left behind was taken away over the next period of time—1200 years.

Judging by the appearance of the gallery (9), 28 pairs of ritual statues stood along its walls in rectangular recesses. However, the exact purpose of the recesses is not known. Two facts indicate that there were statues there. First, the eight-meter height of the gallery made it possible to install statues. Secondly, there were large round peeling imprints on the walls from the mortar that was used to attach the statues to the walls.

I will disappoint those who were determined to find “miracles” in the design of the Egyptian pyramids.

Over a hundred pyramids have been discovered in Egypt today, and they are all different from each other. The pyramids have different angles of inclination of the faces oriented towards the Sun (because they were built at different times), there is a pyramid with a “broken side” at a double angle, there are stone and brick pyramids, smoothly lined and stepped, there are pyramids with a base not square, but rectangular in shape, for example, Pharaoh Djoser.

There is no unity even among the neighboring pyramids at Giza. The Pyramid of Mikerin (the smaller of the three) at its base is not oriented strictly to the cardinal points. The exact orientation of the sides is not given importance. IN main pyramid Cheops's third (uppermost) burial chamber is not located in the geometric center of the pyramid or even on the axis of the pyramid. In the pyramids of Khafre and Mikerin, the burial chambers are also off-center. If the pyramids had some kind of secret secret, law or knowledge, the “golden ratio” and so on, then all the pyramids would have uniformity. But there is nothing like this in the pyramids. Below are pictures of Egyptian pyramids of different shapes.

The former Minister of Archeology of Egypt and the current main expert on ancient Egyptian pyramids, Zahi Hawass, says: “Like any practitioner, I decided to check the statement that food does not spoil in the pyramid. Divided a kilogram of meat in half. I left one part in the office and the other in the Cheops pyramid. The part in the pyramid deteriorated even faster than in the office.”

What else can you look for in the Cheops pyramid?

Perhaps you can find the above-ground prayer room of the first pyramid - the mastaba. It would be worth drilling down several holes in the floor of the second (7) burial chamber until an internal cavity is discovered below.

Then from the grotto (12) find a walled passage into the halls (or pave it). This will not be detrimental to the pyramid, since there was originally a connecting entrance from the underground burial chamber to the above-ground mastaba room. And you just have to find it. After the discovery of the interior of the mastaba, it may become known about the pharaoh - the owner of the first truncated trapezoidal mastaba pyramid.

The Mastaba Sphinx is also of great interest on the Giza plateau. Stone body ancient Sphinx, located from west to east. Funeral burials were also made from west to east. Presumably, the Sphinx is an integral part of an above-ground structure (mastaba) - the tomb of an unknown pharaoh.

Searches in this direction would expand the boundaries of knowledge of history ancient egypt. It is possible that there was an even earlier civilization, for example, the Atlanteans, whom the Egyptians deified, considering them their ancestors, and referred to their ancient ancestors as predecessor gods.

An identification study by American criminologists concluded that the face of the Sphinx does not resemble the faces of the statues of Egyptian pharaohs, but has distinct Negroid features. That is, the ancient ancestors of the Egyptians, including the legendary Atlanteans, had Negroid facial features and African origin.

It should be noted here that the Egyptian legend about the Atlantean ancestors is indirect evidence of proximity to Egypt.

Probably, the burial chamber and mummy of an ancient pharaoh of Negro origin is located under the front paws of the Sphinx, as the American psychic Edgar Cayce said about it. In this case, there should be a passage upward from the underground hall - a path for the relocation of the “soul” of the pharaoh and subsequent life in the body of the Sphinx statue (according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians).

The Sphinx is a lion (symbol of royal power) with a human head and the face of a pharaoh. It is possible that the face of the discovered mummy of the pharaoh (after plastic restoration) will turn out to be “two peas in a pod” similar to the face of the Sphinx.

By analogy with the construction (of later pyramids over earlier ones), we can say that many other Egyptian pyramids had more than one owner. In this regard, confusion is revealed with the time of life of the pharaohs and the time of construction of their pyramids.

For example, Pharaoh Mykerinus ruled later than Cheops, but his pyramid, according to the angle of inclination of the walls, in accordance with calculations based on “years of precession,” was started 36 years earlier than Cheops’ pyramid. How can this be? The answer to this question is that the pyramid began to be built earlier (before Mikerin), but it was completed later, when the angle of inclination of the lower walls that had been started could no longer be changed.

There is a large vertical gap on one of the side walls of the Mykerinus pyramid. Getting to the pharaoh's treasures in the burial chamber inside the pyramid, the robbers dismantled part of the wall from top to bottom. In the thus formed “vertical section” of the section of the inner blocks of the pyramid, the following was revealed - from a certain, clearly defined boundary, the upper blocks were not laid tightly and not as neatly as the lower ones. This confirms that the pyramid was being completed and that later builders were not as careful about the quality of laying the internal blocks.

At the same time, judging by the two underground halls under the pyramid of Mikerin (which belong to the burials of the pharaohs during the construction of the mastabas), the burial structure was begun many centuries earlier. This confusion of times suggests that inside the pyramid of Mikerin, as well as in the pyramid of Cheops, there should be above-ground prayer rooms of the original mastaba belonging to the more ancient burial of the pharaoh. And in the body of the pyramid there should also be a chamber-tomb for the later burial of Pharaoh Mikerin.

The “curtain” of the centuries-old secret over the secret of the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops has been lifted. All that remains is to enter the open door.
This requires permission from the Egyptian authorities, which they give to research scientists with great reluctance.
A mystery loses its appeal when it is revealed.

But, despite this, tourists’ interest in the majestic buildings does not disappear. ancient world, which has survived to this day.

How the Cheops Pyramid was built

Another confirmation of the triplicity of the Cheops pyramid. In 2009, the French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin, and later with the support of Egyptologist Bob Brier from the American University of Long Island, observing how roads were built in the mountains, put forward a similar erroneous assumption. about the construction technology of the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops. The fact that stone blocks were transported to the pyramid by drag, around its walls along inclined ramps and corridors, as if along a serpentine road mountain road. This is a long and laborious path. Following this, Jean-Pierre Houdin began to look for evidence of his hypothesis.

To substantiate his assumption, he accepted the research of a group of engineers from the French Academy of Sciences, who in 1986 spent several months scanning the internal contents of the Cheops pyramid to detect hidden cavities inside it. French researchers discovered wide stripes along the perimeter of the pyramid at different heights with approximately 15% less density (see above picture of gravimetry of the Cheops pyramid). Areas with a density from 1.85 to 2.3 tons per 1 cubic meter are highlighted in different colors.

French scientists were unable to explain why there are sparse stripes along the walls of the pyramid, and therefore the results of the study did not receive any discussion in the scientific world.

In June 2012, in Russia, engineer Vladimir Garmatyuk revealed the “secret” of the Cheops pyramid. Obvious evidence is provided that the pyramid, like a “Russian nesting doll” inside, consists of three pyramids of three pharaohs of different times. When it became known that inside the Cheops pyramid (the third from the start of construction) there is an older (360 years earlier) second pyramid (see picture - a recessed entrance to the second closed pyramid).

And there is an even more ancient first truncated pyramid (mastaba, which reveals itself in the underground hall under the pyramid and other signs), then the stripes of material with lower density inside the Cheops pyramid found their explanation. The stripes show and confirm the separation of the bodies of the second and third pyramid.

How and with what to explain this

For the strength of the structure, the outer layer of the pyramid was laid out from hewn, tightly packed blocks. Hence the high density of the outer layer of the walls. While the inner rows of the pyramids consist of roughly fitted unhewn blocks. Therefore, the density of the inner rows of the pyramid is less.

See, for example, the picture below - the “insides” of the pyramid of Pepi II from South Saqqara. The outside of the pyramid is densely packed with hewn blocks, and inside ordinary stones, extracted from horizontal chipping of layered limestone deposits.

It is possible that the same thing happened inside the Cheops pyramid (of course, not in the central part, where the burial chambers of the pharaohs are located); a mound of stones, rubble and sand, delivered to the pyramid in baskets, was used as a volume filler. After all, this significantly reduced the cost and accelerated the construction of the pyramids. A mound of stones easily explains the same vast spaces of rarefied density that were discovered in 2017 by French and Japanese physicists when studying the inside of the pyramid with muon telescopes.

When accurately measuring the plane of the side faces of the Cheops pyramid, it is noticeable that they have some depression inward (to a depth of one meter). After all, over the 4.5 thousand years since the construction of the pyramid, there have been many earthquakes that gradually shook out its contents over and over again. And because of this, the walls (since there is loose material inside the pyramid) fell somewhat inward due to their lower density.

According to gravimetry of the Cheops pyramid (white) stripes along the perimeter of the walls of the second pyramid have a density of 1.85-2.05 tons per cubic meter. This just means that there is an embankment made of stone.

The third (outer visible today) pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops increased the sides and height of the second (inner) pyramid by 10 - 12 meters. The inner unhewn blocks of the third pyramid are laid along the dense, hewn outer walls of the second pyramid. Therefore, in 1986, French gravimetric researchers recorded a difference in the density of the material inside the pyramid; it is this difference (the difference in density) that creates the appearance of a “serpentine”. French researchers noted this circumstance, but could not explain it.

Other arguments by Jean-Pere Houdin and Bob Brier, given to prove the assumption of the “serpentine” construction of the pyramid, each have their own explanation. Researchers in 2009 did not yet know that the Cheops pyramid consists of three different pyramids. For example, longitudinal stripes of stone blocks of the same color on the edges of the Cheops pyramid, which they interpret as “dusty roads” from the transportation of blocks, are explained by the uniform color of the stones, mined in a quarry from one layer of rock.

The third pyramid was built up with stone blocks evenly along the height and perimeter onto the walls of the second pyramid, like “cream on a cake.” The stone was mined in one place, and therefore the blocks are similar in color. The order in which the stone blocks were mined was the order in which they were laid in the walls. When the blocks were taken from another place, their color was slightly different.

Or their other argument is a small pothole-deepening on the edge near the top of the pyramid, which they called a transport corridor. The pothole could have been made after the pyramid was built, for example as a failed attempt to get inside. Or the pothole could be made like:

guardhouse for giving signals,

as a guard post for religious, hermitage, cult or other purposes.

The fact that the Cheops pyramid consists of three different pyramids, separated by hundreds of years in construction time, means that it was built by more than one generation of people, and there was no such great construction “in one go.”

This significantly mitigates the worrying problem of the labor intensity of building a pyramid, but does not cancel or in any way reduce the grandeur of the undoubtedly greatest structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization in the history of mankind.