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Every year articles appear in the press revealing the secrets of the Great Pyramid. However, each time new questions arise for which scientists do not have an answer. Now everyone is hearing a new hypothesis, if not fully revealing, then very close to this mystery.
Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) took 20 years to build
It is known that the pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) was built for 20 years. Basically, about 14 thousand people participated 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 \u200b\u200bhow the Great Pyramids were built. However, scientists 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 fact: he makes too much of an impression.
So, own version construction techniques offered by the French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin. In 2006, he proposed an original hypothesis: the ancient Egyptians built the upper part of the pyramid (and this is about 70% in height) from the inside.
To understand why this hypothesis is relevant today, you should first make a short digression into history.
In recent years, so many versions have appeared that even a simple listing of them would take a long time. Of course, a separate place is occupied by aliens with their anti-gravity technology. However, even in the 26th century BC, there were plenty of opportunities.
The most probable scheme is also the simplest. According to one hypothesis, the workers dragged blocks of limestone with the help of ropes and blocks along the long embankments upward. As an option - a spiral stone "track", laid out on the walls of the pyramid itself, along which the stones were delivered upward. This scheme is characterized by a huge amount of earthworks.
A 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, 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 ramps were combined with levers during construction.
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 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 larger in weight than limestone.
There was a hypothesis that the stone blocks were lifted with the help of wooden gateways, which were built on the growing walls. In addition, many of the described methods were built on the basis of 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 stone blocks must also lie at its base.
During the construction of the pyramid of Cheops, ancient Egyptian engineers used a system of internal ramps and tunnels to erect the upper part of this structure ...
According to Egyptologist Bob Brier, it's like building two pyramids. In addition, the remains of such a ramp have not been found anywhere. Bryer, by the way, is familiar to us from the recent discovery of a construction defect in the pyramid of Cheops.
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 the "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, the 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 architects still admire today. Therefore, a "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 by the already considered method of the outer ramp, which, at such a height of the structure, was not yet too cumbersome. But then the tactics were radically changed.
Houdin believes that the limestone blocks that made up the ramp of 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 pyramid of Cheops
In addition, in the process of erecting new tiers, workers left a large corridor inside the walls, which spiraled upward. Along this corridor, new blocks were lifted to the top of the structure. After the completion of the work, the tunnel itself completely disappeared from sight. Therefore, the road did not even have to be dismantled.
Houdin argues that the conventional hypothesis paradigm was wrong. The pyramid could not have been built from the outside.
With the help of computer simulations last year, Houdin visualized his method of building a pyramid and proved that this method works. Interestingly, indirect evidence of the correctness of Jean-Pierre was also found in Egypt, directly in the most ancient monument.
Approximately at a height of 90 meters on the northeastern face of the pyramid of Khufu, near the corner, there is a hole discovered by archaeologists some time ago. Of course, Egyptologists are well aware of it, but they cannot say anything concrete about the purpose of the room located behind the manhole.
Recently, Bob Bryer, who has become a proponent of the Houdin hypothesis, climbed inside this hole with the National Geographic team (taking a detailed survey for the first time). What he saw surprisingly fit into the scheme with an internal sloping corridor.
The fact is that in order to rotate the blocks being lifted by 90 degrees, when moving from one face of the pyramid to another, the builders had to leave in the corners of the structure open spaces— where the hidden ramps intersected.
Only after the construction of the tomb of the pharaoh was completed, it would be possible to sequentially fill these openings with new blocks drawn in 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 being raised along the slope by 90 degrees in order to push them into the next tunnel. It's like a railroad depot with a turntable that helps diesel locomotives turn around in tight spaces to head in a new direction.
Until the last moment, 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 by 90 degrees.
Brier saw beyond the manhole an L-shaped hall, the remnant of one such turn. It is in the exact location predicted by Houdin's computer model.
There should be two immured portals, located at an angle of 90 degrees to one another. Behind them could well be the very tunnels that go not so deep under the surface of the walls. According to the French architect, the secret of the entire building 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 be unraveled only by having a general plan in mind. If you, without thinking about the internal ramps and recesses, just climbed into this room, it will mean nothing to you.
This angled turn may well be the missing piece in the Great Pyramid puzzle. Moreover, there is another trace in this story.
French archaeologists visited Giza in 1986 and 1998. They were looking for hidden cavities in the pyramid of Cheops using microgravimetry. Among other things, the researchers found a void under the queen's chamber. This cavity, according to them, is the beginning of the corridor leading to the true burial place of Cheops. But in this case, we are interested in their other involuntary discovery.
This finding 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 gravimetric team, engineer Hui Don Bui. He showed him diagrams that reflected fluctuations in the density of the material inside the pyramid. In one of the drawings, a spiral structure was traced along the outer walls at some depth. Jean-Pierre immediately knew what it was.
According to Bob Brier, if he hadn't seen that diagram, he would have thought that building with a twisted tunnel was just another theory. The information obtained by the French forced him to support the Houdin hypothesis.
And in order to find new hard evidence, says Jean-Pierre, you don’t need to drill a pyramid at all and, in general, penetrate inside. To begin with, it will be enough to show these "phantom" corridors on thermal images of the pyramid.
During the construction of the most grandiose monument of antiquity, the pyramid of Cheops, more than one year was spent and a huge number of slaves were involved, many of whom died at the construction site. So the ancient Greeks claimed, among them Herodotus, one of the first historians who described this grandiose structure in detail.
But modern scientists do not agree with this opinion and argue: many free Egyptians wanted to work at a construction site - when agricultural work ended, it was a great opportunity to earn extra money (they provided food, clothing and housing here).
For any Egyptian, it was a duty and a matter of honor to participate in the construction of the tomb for their ruler, since each of them hoped that a piece of Pharaonic immortality would also touch him: it was believed that the Egyptian ruler had the right not only to life after death, but could also take with him their loved ones (usually they were buried in the tombs adjacent to the pyramid).
True, ordinary people were not destined to get into the afterlife - the only exception was slaves and servants, who were buried with the ruler. But everyone had the right to hope - and therefore, when the housework was over, for many years the Egyptians rushed to Cairo, to the rocky plateau.
The Pyramid of Cheops (or, as it was also called, Khufu) is located near Cairo, on the Giza plateau, on the left side of the Nile, and is the largest of the tombs located there. This tomb is the highest pyramid on our planet, it was built for more than one year, it has a non-standard layout. Quite an interesting fact is that during the autopsy, the body of the ruler was not found in it.
For many years now, it has been exciting the minds of researchers and admirers of Egyptian culture, who have been asking themselves the question: were ancient people able to build such a structure and was the pyramid the work of representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations who built it with only one clear purpose?
The fact that this stunning tomb almost immediately entered the list of the ancient seven wonders of the world does not surprise anyone: the dimensions of the Cheops pyramid are amazing, and this, despite the fact that over the past millennia it has become smaller, and scientists cannot determine the exact proportions of the Cheops pyramid in condition, since its edges and surfaces were dismantled for their needs by more than one generation of Egyptians:
- The height of the pyramid is about 138 m (it is interesting that in the year when it was built, it was eleven meters higher);
- The foundation has a square shape, the length of each side is about 230 meters;
- The area of the foundation is about 5.4 hectares (thus, five of the largest cathedrals of our planet will fit on it);
- The length of the foundation along the perimeter is 922 m.
Pyramid building
If earlier scientists believed that the construction of the Cheops pyramid took the Egyptians about twenty years, in our time, Egyptologists, having studied the records of the priests in more detail, and taking into account the parameters of the pyramid, as well as the fact that Cheops ruled for about fifty years, refuted this fact and came to the conclusion that it was built for at least thirty, and maybe as much as forty years.
Despite the fact that the exact date of construction of this grandiose tomb is unknown, it is believed that it was built on the orders of Pharaoh Cheops, who presumably ruled from 2589 to 2566 BC. e., and his nephew and vizier Hemion was responsible for the construction work, using the latest technologies of his time, over the solution of which many learned minds have been struggling for many centuries. He approached the matter with care and meticulousness.
Preparation for construction
More than 4 thousand workers were involved in the preliminary work, which took about ten years. It was necessary to find a place for construction, the soil of which would be strong enough to support a structure of this magnitude - so the decision was made to stop at a rocky site near Cairo.
To level the site, the Egyptians built a square-shaped waterproof rampart using stones and sand. In the shaft, they cut channels that intersect at right angles, and the construction site began to resemble a large chessboard.
After that, water was launched into the trenches, with the help of which the builders determined the height of the water level and made the necessary notches on the side walls of the channels, after which the water was lowered. All the stones that were above the water level were cut down by the workers, after which the trenches were laid with stones, thus obtaining the foundation of the tomb.
Stone work
The building material for the tomb was mined in a quarry located on the other side of the Nile. To get a block of the required size, the stone was cut down from the rock and hewn to the desired size - from 0.8 to 1.5 m. Although on average one stone block weighed about 2.5 tons, the Egyptians also made heavier specimens, for example, the heaviest a block that was installed above the entrance to the "Pharaoh's Room" weighed 35 tons.
With the help of thick ropes and levers, the builders fixed the block on wooden runners and dragged it along the log deck to the Nile, loaded it onto a boat and transported it across the river. And then they were again dragged along the logs to the construction site, after which the most difficult stage began: a huge block had to be pulled to the topmost platform of the tomb. How exactly they did it and what technologies were used is one of the mysteries of the Cheops pyramid.
One of the versions proposed by scientists implies the following option. Along an angled brick rise 20 m wide, a block lying on skids was pulled up with the help of ropes and levers, where it was laid in a place clearly intended for it. The higher the pyramid of Cheops became, the longer and steeper the ascent turned out to be, and the upper platform decreased - therefore it was more and more difficult and dangerous to lift the blocks.
The workers had the hardest time when it was necessary to install the “pyramidon” - the uppermost block 9 meters high (which has not survived to this day). Since it was necessary to lift a huge block almost vertically, the work turned out to be deadly, and at this stage of the work many people died. As a result, the pyramid of Cheops, after the completion of construction, had more than 200 steps leading up and looked like a huge stepped mountain.
In total, it took the ancient Egyptians at least twenty years to build the body of the pyramid. Work on the "box" was not yet completed - they still had to be laid with stones and made so that the outer parts of the blocks became more or less smooth. And at the final stage, the Egyptians completely faced the pyramid from the outside with white limestone slabs polished to a shine - and it sparkled in the sun like a huge shiny crystal.
The plates on the pyramid have not survived to this day: the inhabitants of Cairo, after the Arabs sacked their capital (1168), used them in the construction of new houses and temples (some of them can be seen on mosques today).
Drawings on the pyramid
An interesting fact: the outer side of the pyramid body is covered with curvilinear grooves of various sizes. If you look at them from a certain angle, you can see the image of a man 150 m high (perhaps a portrait of one of the ancient gods). This drawing is not alone: on the northern wall of the tomb, one can also distinguish a man and a woman with their heads bowed to each other.
Scientists claim that these Egyptians caused the grooves several years before they finished building the pyramid body and installed the top stone. True, the question remains open: why did they do this, because the plates with which the pyramid was subsequently decorated hid these portraits.
What did the Great Pyramid look like from the inside?
A detailed study of the Cheops pyramid showed that, contrary to popular belief, there are practically no inscriptions or any other decorations inside the tomb, except for a small portrait in the corridor leading to the Queen's Room.
The entrance to the tomb is located on the north side at a height exceeding fifteen meters. After the burial, it was closed with a granite plug, so tourists get inside through a gap that is ten meters lower - it was cut down by the caliph of Baghdad Abdullah al-Mamun (820 AD) - the man who first entered the tomb in order to rob it. The attempt failed because, apart from a thick layer of dust, he found nothing here.
The Pyramid of Cheops is the only pyramid where there are corridors both leading down and up. The main corridor first goes down, then branches into two tunnels - one leads down to the unfinished burial chamber, the second up, first to big gallery, from which you can get to the Queen's Room and the main tomb.
From the main entrance, through a tunnel leading down (its length is 105 meters), one can get into a burial pit located below ground level, the height of which is 14 m, the width is 8.1 m, the height is 3.5 m. Inside the room, near southern walls Egyptologists discovered a well, the depth of which is about three meters (a narrow tunnel leading to a dead end stretches south from it).
Researchers believe that this room was originally intended for the Cheops crypt, but then the pharaoh changed his mind and decided to build a tomb for himself higher, so this room remained unfinished.
You can also get to the unfinished funeral room from the Great Gallery - at its very entrance begins a narrow, almost vertical shaft 60 meters high. It is interesting that in the middle of this tunnel there is a small grotto (most likely of natural origin, since it is located at the point of contact between the masonry of the pyramid and a small hump of the lime board), which could accommodate several people.
According to one hypothesis, the architects took this grotto into account when designing the pyramid and originally intended it for the evacuation of builders or priests who were finishing the ceremony of “sealing” the central passage leading to the tomb of the pharaoh.
The Pyramid of Cheops has another mysterious room with an incomprehensible purpose - the "Queen's Chamber" (like the lowest room, this room is not completed, as evidenced by the floor on which they began to lay tiles, but did not finish the work until the end).
This room can be reached by first going down the corridor down 18 meters from the main entrance, and then climbing up the long tunnel (40 m). This room is the smallest of all, located in the very center of the pyramid, has an almost square shape (5.73 x 5.23 m, height - 6.22 m), and a niche is built into one of its walls.
Despite the fact that the second burial pit is called the "queen's room", the name is erroneous, since the wives of Egyptian rulers were always buried in separate small pyramids (there are three such tombs near the tomb of the pharaoh).
Previously, it was not easy to get into the "Queen's Chamber", because at the very beginning of the corridor that led to the Great Gallery, three granite blocks were installed, disguised with limestone - therefore, it was previously believed that this room did not exist. Al-Mamunu guessed about its presence and, being unable to remove the blocks, he hollowed out a passage in softer limestone (this move is still being exploited).
At what stage of construction the plugs were installed is not exactly known, and therefore there are several hypotheses. According to one of them, they were mounted even before the funeral, during construction work. Another claims that they were not there at all before, and they appeared here after the earthquake, rolling down from the Great Gallery, where they were installed after the funeral of the ruler.
Another secret of the Cheops pyramid is that exactly where the plugs are located, there are not two, as in other pyramids, but three tunnels - the third one is a vertical hole (although no one knows where it leads, since granite blocks with no one has moved yet).
You can get to the tomb of the pharaoh through the Grand Gallery, which is almost 50 meters long. It is a continuation of the corridor going up from the main entrance. Its height is 8.5 meters, while the walls at the top narrow slightly. In front of the tomb of the Egyptian ruler there is an "antechamber" - the so-called Prechamber.
From the Ancillary Chamber, a manhole leads to the "Pharaoh's Chamber", built from monolithic polished granite blocks, in which there is an empty sarcophagus made from a red piece of Aswan granite. (an interesting fact: scientists have not yet found any traces and evidence that there was a burial here).
Apparently, the sarcophagus was brought here even before the start of construction, since its dimensions did not allow it to be placed here after the completion of construction work. The tomb is 10.5 m long, 5.4 m wide and 5.8 m high.
most big mystery The pyramids of Cheops (as well as its feature) are its mines 20 cm wide, which scientists called ventilation ducts. They start inside the two upper rooms, first running horizontally and then sloping outward.
While these channels in the pharaoh's room are through, in the "Queen's Chambers" they begin only at a distance of 13 cm from the wall and do not reach the surface at the same distance (at the same time, they are closed at the top with stones with copper handles, the so-called "Ganterbrink doors") .
Despite the fact that some researchers suggest that these were ventilation ducts (for example, they were designed to prevent workers from suffocating during work due to lack of oxygen), most Egyptologists still tend to think that these narrow channels had religious significance and were able to prove that they were built, given the location of astronomical bodies. The presence of channels may well be associated with the Egyptians' belief about the gods and the souls of the dead who live in the starry sky.
At the foot of the Great Pyramid there are several underground structures - in one of them, archaeologists (1954) found the oldest ship on our planet: a wooden boat made of cedar disassembled into 1224 parts, the total length of which in the assembled state was 43.6 meters (apparently , it was on it that the pharaoh was supposed to go to the Kingdom of the Dead).
Is this tomb Cheops
In the past few years, Egyptologists have increasingly questioned the fact that this pyramid was actually intended for Cheops. This is evidenced by the fact that there are absolutely no decorations in the burial chamber.
The pharaoh's mummy was not found in the tomb, and the builders did not complete the sarcophagus itself, in which it was supposed to be,: it was hewn rather roughly, and the lid was completely missing. These Interesting Facts allow fans of theories of the alien origin of this grandiose structure to claim that representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations built the pyramid, using technologies unknown to science and with an incomprehensible purpose for us.
) is truly a wonder of the world. From the foot to the top, it reaches 137.3 meters, and before it lost the top, its height was 146.7 meters. A century and a half ago, she was the most tall building in the world, only in 1880 it was exceeded by two built-on towers of the Cologne Cathedral (by 20 meters), and in 1889 by the Eiffel Tower. The sides of its base are 230.4 meters, the area is 5.4 hectares. Its initial volume was 2,520,000 cubic meters; now it is about 170,000 cubic meters smaller, because for centuries the pyramid was used as a quarry. About 2,250,000 stone blocks were used for its construction, each with a volume of more than a cubic meter; this material would be enough to build a city with a hundred thousand inhabitants. Its weight is 6.5-7 million tons. If it were hollow, it would include a launcher for space rockets. According to experts, even the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima would not have destroyed it.
It was built, according to the most common dating, in 2560-2540. BC BC, although some scientists give dates about 150 years earlier. Inside the pyramid are three chambers corresponding to the three stages of its construction. The first chamber is carved into the rock at a depth of about 30 meters below the base of the pyramid and not exactly in the middle of it; its area - 8 x 14 meters, height - 3.5 meters. It remained unfinished, as well as the second, which is located in the core of the pyramid, exactly under the top, at a height of about 20 meters above the base; its area is 5.7 x 5.2 meters, the vaulted ceiling reaches a height of 6.7 meters; once it was called the "tomb of the queen." The third chamber is the tomb of the king; unlike the other two, it is finished; in it was found the sarcophagus of Cheops. It was built at a height of 42.3 meters above the base and slightly south of the axis of the pyramid; its dimensions are 10.4 x 5.2 meters; height - 5.8 meters. It is lined with immaculately polished and carefully fitted granite slabs; above the ceiling there are five unloading chambers, the total height of which is 17 meters. They take on the weight of about a million tons of stone mass so that it does not press directly on the burial chamber.
The pharaoh's sarcophagus is wider than the entrance to the chamber. It was carved from a single piece of brownish-gray granite, without a date or an inscription, and rather badly damaged. It stands in the western corner of the tomb, right on the floor. It was placed here during construction, and, apparently, no one has moved since then. This sarcophagus looks like it was cast from metal. But the body of Cheops himself is not in it.
All three cells have "antechambers" and are all connected by corridors or shafts. Some mines end in a dead end. Two shafts lead from the royal tomb to the surface of the pyramid, going out approximately in the middle of the northern and southern walls. One of their purposes is to provide ventilation; perhaps there were others.
Discovery: Exploding history. Secrets of the Great Pyramid
The original entrance to the pyramid is located on the north side, 25 meters above the base. Now another entrance leads to the pyramid, punched in 820 by the caliph Mamun, who hoped to discover the pharaoh's untold treasures, but found nothing. This entrance is located about 15 meters lower than the previous one, almost in the very center of the north side.
The Great Pyramid was surrounded by no less labor-intensive and expensive buildings. Herodotus, who saw the road leading from the upper (mortuary) temple to the lower, which was lined with polished slabs and had a width of 18 meters, called its construction a work "almost as huge as the construction of the pyramid itself." Now some 80 meters of it have survived - the road has disappeared into late XIX century during the construction of the village of Nazlat es-Simman, now, like Giza, which has become part of Cairo. Somewhere in its place stood a lower temple, 30 meters high, but it probably fell victim to people looking for building material in ancient times.
Of the buildings surrounding the Great Pyramid, only the ruins of the upper (mortuary) temple and three satellite pyramids have survived. Traces of the temple were discovered in 1939 by the Egyptian archaeologist Abu Seif. As usual, it was located to the east of the pyramid, and its pediment had a length of 100 Egyptian cubits (52.5 meters); it was built of Turkish limestone, had a courtyard with 38 square granite pillars, 12 of the same pillars stood in the vestibule in front of a small sanctuary. On both sides of it, about 10 meters away, during the excavations, two “docks” hollowed out in a limestone plateau were found, where “solar boats” were probably kept, the third such “dock” was found to the left of the road to the lower temple. Unfortunately, the "docks" were empty, but archaeologists were rewarded by the chance discovery of two more such "docks" in 1954. In one of them rested a perfectly preserved boat - the most ancient ship in the world. Its length is 36 meters, and it is made of cedar.
The satellite pyramids also stand to the east of the Great Pyramid, although they were usually built to the south. The pyramids are located from north to south "by height", the side of the square base of the first pyramid is 49.5 meters, the second - 49, the third - 46.9. Each of them had a stone fence, a mortuary chapel and a burial chamber, into which a sheer shaft led; in addition, next to the first was a "dock" for the "solar boat". Most scholars believe that these pyramids belonged to the wives of Khufu, of whom the first (main), according to ancient custom, was probably his sister. The names of the first two are unknown to us, the third was called Henutsen.
All three satellite pyramids are quite well preserved, only they are devoid of external cladding.
Apparently, to the east of the first it was supposed to build another one, large sizes but construction was stopped. According to one hypothesis, it was intended for Queen Hetepheres, the wife of the pharaoh Sneferu and Khufu's mother. In the end, Khufu decided to build for her a secret tomb in the rock a little to the north. This tomb was actually hidden ... until January 1925, when the photographer Reisner's tripod fell into the gap between the camouflage blocks. Then the members of the Harvard-Boston Expedition carried out treasures for three months: thousands of small gold plaques, pieces of furniture and household utensils; gold and silver bracelets, cosmetic boxes with "shadows" for eyeliner, manicure knives, jewelry boxes with the name of the queen. Canopies with its insides and an alabaster sarcophagus were found, which, however, turned out to be empty. This is the first intact tomb of a member of the royal family of the era of the Old Kingdom.
great pyramid was surrounded by a ten-meter stone wall. The ruins of the wall show that it was 3 meters thick and separated from the pyramid by 10.5 meters. Near it, in the distance, there were mastabas (tombs) of dignitaries: almost a hundred of them survived on the north side, more than ten on the south, about forty on the east.
Even in ancient times, the Egyptians themselves called the pharaoh Cheops Khnum-Khufu. The ruler himself called himself "the second sun." Europeans learned about him thanks to Herodotus. The ancient historian devoted several stories to life. All his work is called "History". It was Herodotus who approved the Greek reading of the name of the pharaoh - Cheops. The scientist believed that the ruler was known as a tyrant and despot. But there are a number of lifetime sources that speak of Cheops as a far-sighted and wise ruler.
Rise of Ancient Egypt
The date of the reign of Pharaoh Cheops is presumably 2589-2566 BC. e. or 2551-2528 BC. e. He was the second representative of the fourth royal dynasty. The reign of Pharaoh Cheops is the heyday of the country. By this time, Lower and Upper Egypt had already united into one strong state. The king was considered a living god. That is why his power seemed absolutely limitless. The power of the Egyptian pharaohs directly influenced the development of the economy. The economic recovery contributed to the progress of political and cultural life.
Despite this, there is not much information about the pharaoh. The main sources are the works of the ancient historian Herodotus. However, this work is based, most likely, on legends, and not on historical facts. And so this work, in fact, has nothing to do with reality. However, several sources about the life of Cheops are quite reliable.
Photo of Pharaoh Cheops, unfortunately, could not be preserved. In the article you have the opportunity to see images of his tomb and sculptural creations.
Ruler activity
The reign of Pharaoh Cheops lasted more than two decades. He was considered the second sun and had a rather severe character. He had several wives and, accordingly, many children.
He was also known for the fact that during his reign new cities and settlements were constantly built on the banks of the Nile. So the pharaoh founded famous fortress in Buchen.
In addition, many religious objects appeared, among which, of course, the pyramid of Cheops. But we will return to this issue a little later.
By the way, according to Herodotus, the ruler closed the temples. He saved, and all the resources went to the construction of his pyramid. However, judging by Egyptian sources, the pharaoh donated with enviable generosity to religious objects and was still an active temple builder. In many ancient drawings, the pharaoh was depicted precisely as the creator of villages and cities.
As a statesman, Pharaoh Cheops was periodically forced to send his army to the Sinai Peninsula. His goal is the destruction of nomadic tribes who robbed local merchants.
Also in this territory, the ruler tried to control the deposits of copper and turquoise. It was he who first began to develop the deposits of alabaster, which are located in Khatnub.
In the south of the country, the pharaoh carefully monitored the extraction of Aswan pink granite, which was used for construction.
Tomb architect
In history, the name of this ruler is primarily associated with his pyramid. It is recognized as one of the seven wonders of the world. The tomb is in Giza. It is next to modern Cairo.
It is worth noting that Cheops was not at all the first pharaoh for whom the pyramid was erected. The ancestor of such constructions was still the ruler Djoser. Khnum-Khufu erected the largest tomb.
The pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built around the year 2540 BC. e. One of the relatives of the ruler was the head of construction work and the architect. His name was Hemiun. He served as a vizier. Another Egyptian official who participated in the process of erecting the pyramid is also known - Merrer. He kept diary entries, with the help of which modern scientists have learned that this figure often came to one of the limestone quarries. It was there that the blocks for the construction of the tomb were produced.
Construction progress
The preparatory work went on for several years, as the workers had to build the road first. Material for the construction was dragged along it. The construction of the pyramid lasted almost two decades. According to some sources, about one hundred thousand workers were involved in the construction process. But only 8,000 people could build the facility at the same time. Every 3 months the workers replaced each other.
The peasants also took part in the erection of the monumental structure. True, they could only do this when the Nile flooded. During this period, all agricultural work was curtailed.
The Egyptians who built the pyramid were given not only food and clothing, but also a salary.
Exterior view of the tomb
Initially, the height of the tomb was almost 147 meters. However, due to a series of earthquakes and the onset of sands, several blocks collapsed. Thus, today the height of the pyramid is 137.5 m. The length of one side of the tomb is 230 m.
The tomb is built of 2.3 million stone blocks. In this case, no binder solution was provided at all. The weight of each block varies from 2.5 to 15 tons.
Inside the tomb are burial chambers. One of them is called the "Queen's Chamber". At the same time, representatives of the weaker sex were traditionally buried in separate small tombs. In any case, at the foot of the pyramid are the tombs of the women of Cheops and the nobility.
solar boats
Near the tomb, archaeologists discovered the so-called "solar boats" - these are ceremonial boats. According to legend, the ruler makes his voyage to the afterlife on them.
In 1954, scientists found the first ship. As a material was used Construction did without nails at all. The length of the structure is almost 40 m, and the width is 6 m.
Surprisingly, the researchers were able to identify that there are traces of silt on the boat. Perhaps, during his lifetime, the ruler moved along it along the Nile and the coastal waters of the Mediterranean. Steering and rowing oars were found on the boat, and superstructures with cabins were placed on the deck.
The second ship of Cheops was discovered relatively recently. It was in the hiding place of the pyramid.
Empty sarcophagus
However, the body of the legendary pharaoh was not found. In the ninth century, one of the caliphs was able to enter the tomb. He was surprised that there were no signs of looting and breaking in. But there was no Cheops mummy, instead of it there was only an empty sarcophagus.
At the same time, the building was comprehended precisely as a tomb. Perhaps the ancient Egyptians deliberately erected a false tomb to deceive would-be robbers. The fact is that at one time the burial place of the mother of Cheops was robbed, and her mummy was stolen. The thieves took away the body, so that later in a calm atmosphere they could remove the jewelry.
At first, Cheops was not informed about the loss of the mummy. They told him only about the fact of looting. After that, the pharaoh was forced to order the reburial of her mother's body, but in fact the ceremony had to be performed with an empty sarcophagus.
There is a version that the ruler's mummy was buried in another, modest tomb. And the pyramid itself was the posthumous abode of the spirit of a powerful king.
Descendants of the pharaoh
When Pharaoh Cheops (reigned 2589-2566 BC or 2551-2528 BC) died, the son of the great ruler became the ruler of the state. His name was Jedefra. Very little is known about his reign. It is known that he reigned for only eight years. During this time, he managed to build the second highest tomb in this area. Unfortunately, even in those ancient times, the pyramid of Djedefra was also not only plundered, but also partially destroyed.
In addition, a number of historians believe that it was this offspring of Cheops who at one time was able to build the Great Sphinx. This statue was erected in memory of his father. Egyptologists believe that the body of a mythical creature was made of solid limestone. However, his head was made later. Note that many scientists argue that the face of the Sphinx looks very much like the appearance of Cheops.
Subsequent rulers of the dynasty also continued to build pyramids. But the last king of the fourth dynasty named Shepeskaf no longer built monumental tombs, since the heyday ancient egypt came to naught. The state was in a state of decline. The descendants of Cheops no longer allowed themselves to spend resources on colossal structures. Thus, the time of the great pyramids remained in the distant past. But the great tomb of Cheops, which is considered one of them, has survived to this day.
Of course, everyone knows where the Cheops pyramid is located. After all, this is one of the most outstanding monuments not only of Egypt, but of the entire planet. And despite the achievements of modern science, the secrets of the pyramid of Cheops are still unsolved. This is one of the reasons why this huge structure attracts many tourists, as well as the fact that it is the only wonder of the world that has survived to this day.
This place really has some special magnetism. And even numerous souvenir sellers and camel drivers who want to make money on curious tourists do not spoil the overall impression. Looking ahead, I will say that the Cheops pyramid inside is not as amazing as the outside. And if you decide to save on the "internal" tour, you will not lose much. Moreover, I would not recommend going inside for people with claustrophobia, breathing problems or heart problems. The corridors here are quite narrow, and the air is heavy and stuffy, despite the presence of ventilation ducts. By the way, sightseeing tours are often very rich and do not provide time to get acquainted with the pyramidal structures inside. Therefore, be sure to clarify this point in advance, if you still decide to get in touch with the secret from withinJ
Construction history
The most famous pyramidal structure owes its “birth” to Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled Egypt for at least 27 years. According to legend, a huge amount of money was spent on the creation of this great monument, which led to the weakening of the state. Scientists do not yet have a consensus on how this is true. But it is clear that a lot of resources have been expended. After all, the original height of the pyramid of Cheops is 146.6 meters. But what is remarkable, it looks somewhat lower than the neighboring building. And not only because she “lost” the top. The son of Cheops, building his pyramid, cheated a little by choosing a place 10 meters higher.
There are many versions of how the Cheops pyramid was built, consisting of 2.3 million stone blocks. Their total weight is approximately 6.5 million tons. Stone blocks are carefully fitted to each other and fastened with a special composition - pink gypsum "milk". The walls are sloped at 52 degrees and embody the number pi. This giant is located on an area of 5 hectares. The scheme of the Cheops pyramid clearly demonstrates that inside it is practically a monolith, in which there are only a few corridors, halls and ventilation ducts. To avoid plunder, the ancient Egyptians placed special mechanisms inside. But the traps of the Cheops pyramid, religious prohibitions and other tricks did not save the building from robbers.
There is also no exact information about how old the pyramid of Cheops is. Its age is estimated at only approximately 4.5 thousand years. But some researchers believe that the monument could have been erected much earlier - as early as the 11th millennium BC, and that representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations were involved in the construction.
There are many legends about this building. But I also picked up interesting facts about the pyramid of Cheops, confirmed by scientific research. Among them are those that are still little known. And if you have never been here on an excursion, then you are unlikely to be aware that:
- For almost three thousand years, the Cheops pyramid was the tallest building in the world. She gave the “palm” only in 1311 - at that time construction was completed in Lincoln Cathedral. Sometimes the Eiffel Tower, built in the late 19th century, is mistakenly called the new record holder. In fact, even before it there were structures higher than the pyramid of Cheops. These are mainly temple buildings, as well as the Washington Memorial.
- Many consider the pyramid to be the tomb of the pharaoh. But this is a delusion, since the Egyptian ruler was buried in the Valley of the Kings, and his body was never inside the building. But still there is a direct connection with the pharaoh. The pyramid functionally played the role of a kind of "suitcase". Within its walls are many things that, according to the ancient Egyptians, are necessary for a royal person in the afterlife.
- For a long time it was believed that the pyramids were built by slaves. But as modern researchers have proven, free residents of Ancient Egypt, who also had high professional qualifications, were employed in the construction. The dimensions and proportions of the Cheops pyramid are perfectly calculated, and the construction is built with impeccable accuracy.
- For the first time in writing, the Cheops pyramid in Egypt is mentioned in the works of Herodotus. The author describes his own impressions of visiting this religious building and shares the information he received from local priests. This work is dated 440 BC. However, Herodotus failed to obtain any valuable information, except for some geometric data.
- The Pyramid of Cheops has its own "birthday" The Egyptians celebrate it on August 23, and this day is a national holiday. However, this holiday appeared in Egypt quite recently - only in 2009, and has only a presumptive relation to the exact date of the start of construction. This hypothesis was put forward by scientists from Cambridge.
But, nevertheless, on this day too many tourists gather here, and if you want to see the main Egyptian attraction in a relaxed atmosphere, do not plan an excursion for this day. There are also other nuances that are useful to know if you are going to get acquainted with this wonder of the world with your own eyes.
Helpful information
The Pyramid of Cheops on the map is located on the left and slightly south of Cairo, in Giza. It is from the Egyptian capital that it is most convenient to get to this pyramidal complex, where, in addition to the famous tomb of Khufu, you will also see the pyramids of the son and grandson of the pharaoh (Khephren and Mikerin), which are somewhat lower. It is the best preserved pyramid complex in the entire country. The journey from Cairo takes about 20 minutes. excursion tour can be purchased both directly in the capital and in any of the resorts. The road from Hugarda is about 5-6 hours by bus, from Sherm al-Sheikh - from 7 to 8 hours.
- When buying excursions from these cities, do not focus on the cheapest offers - there is a risk of being in an uncomfortable bus without air conditioning, which, at high Egyptian temperatures, can spoil the whole impression of the excursion.
- Entrance to the territory is paid (80 and 40 EGP for adults and children, respectively). Entrance inside is paid separately - (200 EGP for adults and half the children's ticket). You will also have to pay extra for photography inside.
- Be sure to check the weather forecast. If there is a strong wind in the future, it is better to postpone the trip, as everything will be in the sand. And do not forget to take a hat - this is protection from both the heat and annoying sellers.
The number of internal visits is limited (300 people per day), so the chances of getting inside the pyramidal complex on your own, not as part of an excursion group, are not too high. But you can take magnificent photos against the backdrop of the most famous Egyptian monument in any case, and they will remind you of this fascinating journey for a long time.
