Daria Nessel | Dec 21, 2016
The Pyramid of Cheops (Pyramid of Khufu) is one of the most famous and the only one that has survived to this day, which everyone who comes to Cairo can see. Its age dates back to about 2500 BC. For about fifty hundred years it has been rising, surprising and striking with its size, in the burning Egyptian desert. This unique complex has been studied for more than one century. More than one generation of Egyptologists and archaeologists “broke many spears” with disputes about its purpose and methods of construction. Thanks to the pyramid of Khufu (whom the Greeks called Cheops), the science of pyramidology appeared. Adherents of non-traditional teachings, magicians of all times also put forward their conjectures describing the genesis of this grandiose creation.
Versions about the methods of building the pyramid of Cheops
The Pyramid of Cheops was built by the architect and chief Hemiun, a cousin or nephew of the supreme ruler himself. The methods used by the Egyptians in its construction were forgotten and lost due to wars, civil strife, unfavorable weather conditions that fell on Ancient Egypt, when there were no memories left of the former wealth and power.
There are many interpretations explaining how the pyramid of Cheops was built. The first was proposed by Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century BC. and left detailed description seen. According to him, more than 100,000 slaves were involved in the construction, many of whom died in this hard work. With the help of levers made of wood, they raised huge basalt blanks to the desired level. This option does not stand up to criticism, since it is problematic to imagine such levers that can withstand an almost three-ton stone and lift it to a height of more than 140 meters (the inhabitants of the Nile Valley at that time did not know what a wheel and a block were).
Another version is the use of an embankment built around the building as it grows. If we adhere to this point of view, then the amount of excavation work performed will also require a huge amount of labor.
Meanwhile, the most recent archaeological finds indicate that there was a settlement near the construction site, where about 4,500 people lived permanently, constantly employed in the construction of the tomb. These people were not slaves, they ate well and had good dwellings. It is assumed that up to 20,000 Egyptians were involved in temporary work after the completion of agricultural work.
The third is the use of a spiral outer ramp around the entire perimeter. But its use did not explain how the inner chamber was made, where the pharaoh's sarcophagus is located, located 50 m above the base, and where one relatively narrow corridor leads.
Pyramid of Khufu - the sparkling crystal of Egypt
The Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt is a geometric body with a square base with a perimeter of 922 m, with a height from the base of 146 m (original, now - 138 m). The angle of inclination of its geometrically ideal faces was 51 degrees. It is lined with limestone blocks of 2.5 tons.
In the center there are three rooms made of five-ton polished granite blocks, one of which contains the pharaoh's sarcophagus. The purpose of the two smaller chambers located above it is unknown. According to the latest assumptions, they serve as a shock absorber that does not allow crushing the “king's chambers”. Everything in the cavity of the building, except for the tunnel leading to the rooms and down below the base, as well as two ventilation shafts, is completely filled with monoliths.
Until 1168, the tomb of Khufu was lined with polished elements of soft material, which made it look like a crystal sparkling under the rays of the sun. Later, the lining was used by the Cairo to restore their city after the invasion of the Arabs. The total weight of the monument resting on a cut rock foundation is over 5 million tons. Even with today's cutting-edge technology and technique, it's hard to imagine a way to solidly construct this marvel of architecture.
Theories for the creation of the pyramid of Cheops
French architect Jean Pierre Ruden became interested in Khufu's pyramid in 1999 and devoted 10 years of his hard work to it. As a professional designer, he wanted to understand what techniques were used by people almost 5,000 years ago when building it. The result of his examination was the conclusion: the ancient Egyptians used an internal ramp during construction, which grew along with the pyramid and repeated its perimeter, with an inclination angle of not more than 7 degrees (a steeper rise makes it impossible to move stone parallelepipeds on wooden rolls and skids).
Jean Pierre explained the impeccable execution of geometric proportions by the fact that at first the front polished blocks were laid along the marked lines, then two more inner rows of already unpolished, but correctly marked slabs were leveled along them, and then the empty space was filled with roughly sawn limestone. His theory explained how the granite parallelepipeds of the pharaoh's burial chamber were raised and installed at a height of 50 meters.
This theory would be recognized as reliable and final if there were voids in the thickness of the Cheops pyramid that remained after the cessation of construction and testified to the presence of internal ramps. But so far there is no such confirmation.
All experts agree that some parts of the pyramid of Khufu are made at a high technological level, unrealizable 4000 years ago. So, for example, the granite pieces of the structure are cut out of the rock with such precision that even a knife blade cannot be pushed into the gap between them.
The very fact of Khufu's burial raises many questions: the granite sarcophagus for his mummy was not completed, made without proper care, and no traces of the burial were found. The presence of 15 and 35 tons of granite stones in the masonry also cannot be explained. Such inconsistencies have given rise to theories about the divine origin of the pyramid at Giza. Since the end of the 19th century, the pyramid of Cheops has become a place of pilgrimage for followers of various esoteric movements and those who are fond of magic, proclaiming it to be the habitat of spirits and demons.
Edgar Cayce, the most famous of all occultists (1877-1945), proclaimed that it was created by the Atlanteans 10,000 BC to escape the global flood, and that the lost wisdom of a highly developed civilization is contained there.
The beginning of the space age gave birth to a fabrication about the involvement of aliens in its construction. The most popular author of one of these conclusions, Swiss Erich von Daniken, hypothesized that the Cheops pyramid was designed by aliens to store the bodies of representatives of foreign civilizations who died on Earth; and the god Ra, who was worshiped by the local population, is an alien, and all the myths and religion of this period are simply a distorted reflection of reality. Careful geometric and astronomical research has led to unexpected discoveries that can be attributed either to random coincidences or to regularities:
- the base to height ratio is approximately 3.14 (pi);
- the direction of the corridor and ventilation shafts coincides with the location in the sky of the Polar Star, the stars Sirius and Alnitak.
The latter led to the theory that the pyramid of Cheops was nothing more than an astronomical observatory.
In the 60s and 70s of the 20th century. a new surge of interest in this object occurred due to the experiment of the Czech Karel Dribal, who placed a blunt razor inside a cardboard copy (15 cm) of the pyramid, and after a few days the initial sharpness returned to it.
When they removed fragments of stones near the pyramid of Khufu, they noticed a closed triangular chamber, consisting of heavy limestone slabs. It was in 1955. Lifting the plate with the image of Jephedra, they found a huge boat, consisting of 1224 parts. It was a large boat made of Lebanese cedar. She consisted of 2 cabins, could float on water with 10 oars. Fragments of acacia needed repair. The rook was assembled for 10 years. In 1971, it was exhibited at the Solar Boat Museum.
There was also a second chamber, which was not opened for a long time. But in 1987 another smaller boat was found by radar. She is poorly preserved. In 2008, they allocated money for excavations, in 2011 its details were raised up.
) 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, it was the tallest 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 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.
The 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.
The history of the construction of the pyramid of Cheops
The beginning of the construction of the pyramid dates back to approximately 2560 BC. The architect was Hemion, the nephew of Pharaoh Cheops, who managed all the construction sites ancient kingdom during that period. The construction of the pyramid of Cheops took at least 20 years, while, according to various estimates, more than one hundred thousand people were involved. The project required a titanic effort: workers mined blocks for construction in another place, in the rocks, delivered them along the river and lifted them up the inclined plane to the top of the pyramid on wooden skids. For the construction of the Cheops pyramid, more than 2.5 million granite and limestone blocks were needed, and a gilded stone was installed at the very top, which gave the entire lining the color of the sun's rays. But in the 2nd century, when the Arabs destroyed Cairo, the locals dismantled the entire lining of the pyramid to build their houses.
For almost three millennia, the Cheops pyramid occupied the first place on Earth in terms of height, giving the palm only in 1300 to the Lincoln Cathedral. Now the height of the pyramid is 138 m, it has decreased by 8 m compared to the original one, and the base area is more than 5 hectares.
Pyramid of Cheops revered local residents as a shrine, and every year on August 23, the Egyptians celebrate the day the construction began. Why August was chosen, no one knows, because there are no historical facts confirming this has not been found.
The device of the pyramid of Cheops
Inside the pyramid of Cheops, the most interesting are the three burial chambers, which are located one above the other in a strict vertical. The lowest one remained unfinished, the second belongs to the wife of the pharaoh, and the third belongs to Cheops himself.
To travel along the corridors, for the convenience of tourists, paths with steps were laid, railings were made and lighting was provided.
Cross section of the pyramid of Cheops
1. Main entrance
2. The entrance that al-Ma'mun made
3. Crossroads, “traffic jam” and al-Mamun tunnel made “bypassing”
4. Descending corridor
5 Unfinished Underground Chamber
6. Ascending corridor
7. "Queen's Chamber" with outgoing "air ducts"
8. Horizontal tunnel
10. Chamber of the pharaoh with "air ducts"
11. Prechamber
12. Grotto
Entrance to the pyramid
The entrance to the pyramid of Cheops is an arch formed from stone slabs, and is located on the north side, at a height of 15 m 63 cm. Previously, it was laid with a granite cork, but it has not survived to this day. In 820, Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun decided to find treasures in the pyramid and made a seventeen-meter gap below the historical entrance by 10 meters. The ruler of Baghdad did not find anything, but today tourists enter the pyramid through this tunnel.
When al-Mamun punched his passage, a fallen block of limestone blocked the entrance to another corridor - ascending, and three more granite plugs remained behind the limestone. Since a vertical tunnel was discovered at the junction of two corridors, descending and ascending, it was suggested that corks made of granite were lowered down through it in order to seal the tomb after the burial of the Egyptian king.
Funeral "pit"
The descending corridor, which is 105 meters long, descends underground at an inclination of 26° 26'46 and rests on another corridor 8.9 meters long, leading to chamber 5 and located horizontally. Here is an unfinished chamber measuring 14 x 8.1 m, stretching in shape from east to west. For a long time it was believed that there were no other rooms in the pyramid, except for this corridor and chamber, but it turned out differently. The height of the chamber reaches 3.5 m. south wall chamber there is a well about 3 m deep, from which southbound a narrow manhole (0.7 × 0.7 m in cross section) stretches for 16 m, ending in a dead end.
Engineers John Shae Perring and Richard William Howard Vyse dismantled the floor in the chamber in the early 19th century and dug a well 11.6 m deep, in which they hoped to find a hidden burial room. They were based on the evidence of Herodotus, who claimed that the body of Cheops was on an island surrounded by a channel in a hidden underground chamber. Their excavations turned up nothing. Later research showed that the chamber was abandoned unfinished, and it was decided to arrange the burial chambers in the center of the pyramid itself.
Burial pit interior, photo 1910
Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers
From the first third of the descending passage (18 m from the main entrance) upwards at the same angle of 26.5 ° goes to the south an ascending passage (6) about 40 m long, ending in the lower part 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 during the work of al-Ma'mun. It turned out that for almost 3 thousand years, scientists were sure that there were no other rooms in the Great Pyramid, except for the descending passage and the underground chamber. Al-Ma'mun failed to break through these plugs, and he simply hollowed out a bypass in the softer limestone to the right of them.
In the middle of the ascending passage, the construction of the walls has a feature: in three places the so-called "frame stones" were installed - that is, a passage square along the entire length pierces through three monoliths. The purpose of these stones is unknown.
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. It is traditionally called the "Queen's Chamber", although according to the rite, the wives of the pharaohs were buried in separate small pyramids. The "Queen's Chamber", lined with limestone, has 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.
Grotto, Grand Gallery and Pharaoh's Chambers
Another branch from the lower part of the Grand 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 for the evacuation of 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” of irregular shape, in which several people could fit from strength. The grotto (12) is located at the "junction" of the masonry of the pyramid and a small, about 9 meters high, hill on a limestone plateau lying at the base Great Pyramid. The walls of the Grotto are partially reinforced with 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 actually hollowed out in the already laid masonry, and not laid out, as evidenced by its irregular circular section, the question arises of how the builders managed to accurately reach the Grotto.
Grand Gallery continues the ascending passage. Its height is 8.53 m, it is rectangular in cross section, with walls slightly tapering upward (“false vault”), a high inclined tunnel 46.6 m long. and a depth of 60 cm, and on both side protrusions there are 27 pairs of recesses of unknown purpose. The recess ends with the "Big Step" - a high horizontal ledge, a platform of 1x2 meters, at the end of the Great Gallery, directly in front of the entrance to the "antechamber" - the Prechamber. The site has a pair of recesses similar to the ramp recesses at the corners near the wall. Through the "entrance hall" the manhole leads to the burial "Chamber of the King", lined with black granite, where an empty granite sarcophagus is located.
Above the "King's Chamber" are discovered in the XIX century. five unloading cavities with a total height of 17 m, between which lie monolithic slabs with a thickness of about 2 m, and above - a gable ceiling. Their purpose is to distribute the weight of the overlying layers of the pyramid (about a million tons) in order to protect the "King's Chamber" from pressure. In these voids, graffiti was found, probably left by workers.
A network of ventilation ducts leads from the chambers to the north and south. The channels from the Queen's Chamber do not reach the surface of the pyramid by 12 meters, and the channels from the Pharaoh's Chamber go to the surface. In no other pyramid such branches have been found. Scholars have not agreed on whether they were built for ventilation or related to the Egyptians' ideas about the afterlife. At the upper ends of the channels there are doors, most likely symbolizing the entrance to another world. In addition, the channels point to the stars: Sirius, Tuban, Alnitak, which makes it possible to assume that the pyramid of Cheops also had an astronomical purpose.
Surrounding the pyramid of Cheops
At the eastern edge of the pyramid of Cheops are 3 small pyramids of his wives and family members. They are located from north to south, according to size: the side of the base of each building is 0.5 meters less than the previous one. They are well preserved inside, time has partially destroyed only the outer cladding. Nearby you can see the foundation of the mortuary temple of Khufu, inside which were found drawings depicting a ritual performed by the pharaoh, it was called the Union of the Two Lands.
pharaoh boats
The Pyramid of Cheops is the central figure of a complex of buildings, the location of which had a ritual significance. The procession with the late pharaoh crossed the Nile to the west bank on numerous boats. In the lower temple, to which the boats sailed, the first part of the funeral ceremony began. Then the procession went to the upper temple, where there was a chapel and an altar. To the west of the upper temple was the pyramid itself.
On each side of the pyramid, boats were walled up in rocky recesses, on which the pharaoh was supposed to travel through the afterlife.
In 1954, archaeologist Zaki Noor discovered the first boat, called the Solar Boat. It was made of Lebanese cedar, consisted of 1224 parts, while not having traces of attachment and connection. Its dimensions are: length 43 m and width 5.5 m. It took 16 years to restore the boat.
On the south side of the pyramid of Cheops, a museum of this boat is open.
The second boat was found in a mine located east of the place where the first boat was found. A camera was lowered into the shaft, which showed traces of insects on the boat, so it was decided not to raise it and seal the shaft. This decision was made by scientist Yeshimuro from Waseda University.
In total, seven pits were found with real ancient Egyptian boats disassembled into parts.
Video: 5 Unsolved Mysteries of the Pyramids of Egypt
How to get there
If you want to see the Great Pyramid of Cheops, you need to come to Cairo. But there are practically no direct flights from Russia and you will have to make a transfer in Europe. Without a transfer, you can fly to Sharm el-Sheikh, and from there travel 500 kilometers to Cairo. You can get to your destination on a comfortable bus, the journey time is approximately 6 hours, or you can continue your journey by plane, they fly to Cairo every half hour. In Egypt, they are very loyal to Russian tourists, a visa can be obtained directly at the airport after landing. It will cost $25 and is issued for a month.
Where to stay
If your goal is the treasures of antiquity and you come to the pyramids, then you can choose a hotel in Giza and in the center of Cairo. Comfortable hotels with all the benefits of civilization are presented in the amount of almost two hundred. In addition, Cairo has many attractions, it is a city of contrasts: modern skyscrapers and ancient minarets, noisy colorful bazaars and nightclubs, neon nights and quiet palm gardens.
Memo to tourists
Do not forget that Egypt is a Muslim state. Men should simply not notice the Egyptians, because even an innocent touch can be regarded as harassment. Women must follow the dress code. Modesty and once again modesty, a minimum of bare areas of the body.
On the organized excursions tickets to the pyramids can be purchased at any hotel.
The pyramid zone is open for visiting in the summer from 8 am to 5 pm, in winter it works half an hour less, the entrance ticket costs about 8 euros.
Museums are paid separately: you can see the Solar Boats for 5 euros.
For the entrance to the pyramid of Cheops, you will be charged 13 euros, visiting the pyramid of Khafre will cost less - 2.6 euros. There is a very low passage here and be prepared for the fact that you will have to walk 100 meters in a half-bent position.
Other pyramids, such as Khafre's wife and mother, can be viewed free of charge by presenting an entrance ticket to the zone.
The best time to visit them is in the morning, right after they open. It is strictly forbidden to climb the pyramids, break off a piece as a keepsake and write "Here was ...". You can pay a fine for this, such that it will exceed the cost of your trip.
If you want to capture yourself against the backdrop of the pyramids or just the surroundings, prepare 1 euro for the right to take pictures, it is forbidden to take pictures inside the pyramids. If you are offered to take a picture of you, do not agree and do not give the camera to anyone, otherwise you will have to buy it back.
Tickets to visit the pyramids are limited: 150 tickets are sold at 8 am and the same number at 1 pm. There are two ticket offices: one at the main entrance, the second - at the Sphinx.
Each of the pyramids is closed once a year for restoration work, so you are unlikely to see everything at once.
If you don't feel like walking all over the Giza area, you can rent a camel. Its cost will depend on your ability to bargain. But keep in mind that you will not be told all the prices at once, and when you ride, it turns out that you have to pay to get off the camel.
Delicate tip: the toilet is in the Solar Boat Museum.
On the territory of the pyramid zone there are cafeterias where you can have a good lunch.
Every evening there is a light and sound show lasting one hour. It takes place in different languages: Arabic, English, Japanese, Spanish, French. On Sundays, the show is held in Russian. It is recommended to split your visit to the pyramids and visit to the show over two days, otherwise you won't be able to accommodate so many experiences.
The first wonder of the world of all time, one of the main structures of our planet, a place full of secrets and mysteries, a point of constant pilgrimage for tourists - the Egyptian pyramids and in particular the pyramid of Cheops.
Construction giant pyramids, of course, was not an easy task. Great efforts by a large number of people have been made to deliver stone blocks on the plateau of Giza or Saqqara, and later to the Valley of the Kings, which became the new necropolis of the pharaohs.
At the moment, there are about a hundred found pyramids in Egypt, but the finds continue, and their number is constantly increasing. IN different times one of the 7 wonders of the world meant different pyramids. Someone meant all the pyramids of Egypt as a whole, someone pyramids near Memphis, someone three large pyramids of Giza, and the critics recognized only the largest pyramid of Cheops.
The afterlife of ancient Egypt
One of the central moments in the life of the ancient Egyptians was religion, which formed the whole culture as a whole. Particular attention was paid to the afterlife, perceived as a clear continuation of earthly life. That is why the preparation for life after death began long before it, it was set as one of the main life tasks.
According to the ancient Egyptian belief, a person had several souls. The soul of Ka acted as a double of the Egyptian, whom he was to meet in the afterlife. The soul of Ba contacted the person himself, and left his body after death.
The religious life of the Egyptians and the god Anubis
At first, it was believed that only the pharaoh had the right to life after death, but he could bestow this "immortality" on his entourage, who were usually buried next to the tomb of the lord. Ordinary people were not destined to get into the world of the dead, the only exception was slaves and servants, whom the pharaoh “took” with him, and who were depicted on the walls of the great tomb.
But for a comfortable life after the death of the deceased, it was necessary to provide everything necessary: food, household utensils, servants, slaves, and much more needed for the average pharaoh. They also tried to preserve the body of a person so that the soul of Ba could later unite with him again. Therefore, in matters of body preservation, embalming and the creation of complex pyramid tombs were born.
The first pyramid in Egypt. Pyramid of Djoser
Speaking about the construction of the pyramids in Ancient Egypt in general, it is worth mentioning the beginning of their history. The very first pyramid in Egypt was built about five thousand years ago at the initiative of Pharaoh Djoser. It is in these 5 millennia that the age of the pyramids in Egypt is estimated. The erection of the pyramid of Djoser was led by the famous and legendary Imhotep, who was even deified in later centuries.
Pyramid of Djoser
The entire complex of the building under construction occupied an area of 545 by 278 meters. Along the perimeter, it was surrounded by a 10-meter wall with 14 gates, only one of which was real. In the center of the complex was the pyramid of Djoser with sides 118 by 140 meters. The height of the pyramid of Djoser is 60 meters. Almost at a depth of 30 meters there was a burial chamber, to which corridors with many branches led. Utensils and sacrifices were kept in the branch rooms. Here, archaeologists found three bas-reliefs of Pharaoh Djoser himself. Near the eastern wall of the Djoser pyramid, 11 small burial chambers intended for the royal family were discovered.
Unlike the famous great pyramids of Giza, the pyramid of Djoser had a stepped shape, as if intended for the ascension of the pharaoh to heaven. Of course, this pyramid is inferior in popularity and size to the pyramid of Cheops, but still the contribution of the very first stone pyramid to the culture of Egypt is difficult to overestimate.
The Pyramid of Cheops. History and brief description
But still, the most famous for the ordinary population of our planet are the three pyramids of Egypt located nearby - Khafre, Mekerin and the largest and highest pyramid in Egypt - Cheops (Khufu)
Pyramids of Giza
The Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built near the city of Giza, currently a suburb of Cairo. When the pyramid of Cheops was built, it is currently impossible to say for sure, and research gives a strong scatter. In Egypt, for example, the date of the beginning of the construction of this pyramid is officially celebrated - August 23, 2480 BC.
Pyramid of Cheops and Sphinx
About 100,000 people were simultaneously involved in the construction of the wonder of the world pyramid of Cheops. During the first ten years of work, a road was built, along which huge stone blocks were delivered to the river and underground structures of the pyramid. Work on the construction of the monument itself continued for about 20 years.
The size of the pyramid of Cheops at Giza is amazing. The height of the pyramid of Cheops initially reached 147 meters. Over time, due to falling asleep with sand and the loss of lining, it decreased to 137 meters. But even this figure allowed her to remain the tallest human structure in the world for a long time. The pyramid has a square base with a side of 147 meters. The construction of this giant is estimated to have required 2,300,000 limestone blocks weighing an average of 2.5 tons.
How were the pyramids built in Egypt?
The technology of building the pyramids is controversial in our time. Versions vary from the invention of concrete in ancient Egypt to the construction of pyramids by aliens. But still it is believed that the pyramids were built by man solely by his strength. So for the extraction of stone blocks, first a shape was outlined in the rock, grooves were hollowed out and a dry tree was inserted into them. Later, the tree was doused with water, it expanded, a crack formed in the rock, and the block was separated. Then it was processed to the desired shape with tools and sent along the river to the construction site.
The pyramid is part of the ritual and burial complex of the earthly ruler: the pharaoh. Therefore, with all the differences, in addition to the general form, all the pyramids also have a common internal structure, which is due to the obligatory presence of the hall in which the pharaoh's sarcophagus was installed and the passages leading to it. Let's see how they are arranged egyptian pyramids inside on the example of the tomb of Cheops - the highest stone structure in the world.
The only entrance, which was provided by the ancient builders, is located on the northern side of the pyramid structure at a height of 12 meters from the ground. Once this entrance was hidden by cladding slabs, but already at the end of the 18th century, the first European scientists who explored this wonder of the world - the French, saw it open, because by that time people and time had already deprived the ancient building of facing slabs.
Inside the pyramid of Cheops there is a passage-corridor, which has an almost square section. The angle of inclination of the corridor, apparently, was not chosen arbitrarily - it coincides with the angle at which the ancient Egyptians could observe the North Star. Therefore, the first researchers had to face certain difficulties - then there were no railings, which are now made for the convenience of tourists, and the feet slid along the polished stone floor slabs. Yes, and with ventilation then it was incomparably worse than today (although even now it is far from ideal). The corridor sometimes narrowed to such an extent that they had to crawl on their haunches. Now, again, for the benefit of tourists, everything has been “corrected”.
Pyramid of Cheops inside
Unlike most other similar structures in Egypt, which have one burial chamber, the most famous pyramidal collos has three of them. One of them - underground - is located below the base of the structure, cut directly into the natural foundation. However, this chamber was not completely finished. Apparently, the plans of the builders have changed, and the other two chambers are already located directly in the above-ground stone body of the giant structure. For a long time, scholars explained this by the fact that the pharaoh wanted the tomb to be ready for a possible funeral ceremony at any stage of construction. And when the builders started building the next chamber, located above, the need for an underground chamber disappeared.
This theory does not explain why all other similar structures have a burial chamber below the base line. Only the pyramids of the pharaohs Snefru and Cheops have burial chambers inside above the base in the thickness of the masonry. A significant number of modern Egyptologists believe that such an arrangement of chambers in the tomb of Cheops was associated with certain religious views of the ancient inhabitants of Egypt. Briefly, this theory is as follows. There are facts that allow us to conclude that Cheops began to be revered as the god Ra during his lifetime.
The pyramid of this pharaoh is called the "Horizon of Khufu", which meant that he, like the god Ra himself, rises every day to the horizon. The sons and successors of Cheops, Djedefra and Chefren, became the first pharaohs whose titles contain the epithet - "son of Ra". That is, Khufu was identified with Ra, so his burial chamber should be located above the ground and closer to the sky - where the real sun is visible. True, it should be noted that in relation to Pharaoh Sneferu, no facts have yet been found that would make it possible to interpret the location of his burial chamber in this way.
But back to what is Cheops pyramid inside. From the corridor leading down to the underground chamber, at approximately ground level, an upward passage begins. From it you can get into a small gallery, and then into a small chamber, called the queen's chamber. 
One of the underground "junctions" If you don’t turn towards the queen’s room, but go further, then the Great Gallery will begin, having a length of 47 and a height of 8.5 meters. This magnificent gallery is a unique architectural structure. The ancient masters laid the limestone slabs of the false vault in such a way that each subsequent layer overlapped the previous one by 5-6 cm. The limestone slabs framing the walls are polished to a shine and pressed together with amazing accuracy - even the blade of a thin knife could not pass through the joints . Notches are chiselled into the floor, allowing movement without having to hold on to smooth walls.
After the Great Gallery there is a small airlock room leading to a room called the king's chamber. Its dimensions are:
- length - 10.5 m;
- width - 5.2 m;
- height - 5.8 meters.
The lining of the chamber is made of pink granite slabs. Above the ceiling are five unloading chambers, the top of which has a gable roof made of giant granite blocks. They take on the enormous weight of the stone mass, preventing it from crushing the burial chamber of the pharaoh. It should also be noted that the pharaoh's chamber is precisely oriented to the cardinal points.
Near the western wall (the Egyptians' afterlife began in the west) there is a massive sarcophagus carved from a monolithic block of pink granite. The lid of the sarcophagus is missing. Also, no traces of the pharaoh's mummy were found. That is, there is no evidence that the pyramid of Cheops was ever used for an actual funeral. However, no other burial site of Pharaoh Cheops has yet been discovered, just as his mummy has not been found. Nevertheless, Egyptologists have enough reason to say that the pyramids are part of the ritual-burial complex, and not something else.
When the first European explorers discovered the sarcophagus of the pharaoh at the end of the 18th century, they still did not know exactly for whom this, as they thought, tomb was erected, what was the name of the ancient ruler of Egypt. Only later, several hieroglyphs were found above the burial chamber, surrounded by an oval frame. In fairness, it should be noted that some Egyptologists consider this inscription to be a much later forgery, and there are certain grounds for this. The inscription was able to be read thanks to the scientific discoveries of Champollion, who by that time had already deciphered the language of the ancient Egyptians. It turned out that it was the name of the pharaoh, by whose order this main and first wonder of the world was built. The pharaoh's name was Khufu (the Greeks called him Cheops), and he ruled according to modern scientific ideas in the 28th-27th centuries. BC, that is, about 4700 years ago.
Mystery of the channels
Speaking about the structure of the Cheops pyramid, one cannot fail to say that both the queen’s chamber and the king’s chamber are equipped with inclined shafts-channels of a square section, averaging 20x20 cm in size, going up in the north and south direction. Until recently, it was believed that they served as ventilation ducts. However, if two passages extending from the pharaoh's burial chamber pass through the body of the structure and go outside, then two passages from the queen's chamber cannot be ventilation ducts - they end in the masonry itself far from the outer surfaces of the walls (see diagram above).
Since 1993, attempts have been made to understand, using various technical devices, for what purpose they were intended. German engineers have designed a special robot capable of crawling through such narrow shafts. But both in the southern shaft and in the northern one, the robot ran into a barrier, which is a kind of slab with two protrusions (handles?) similar to metal (copper?). An attempt was made to drill through one of the partitions, but the video camera that the robot pushed into the drilled hole showed that the small space behind the slab ended again with a new stone partition.
It was decided to continue the research by preparing new technical equipment, but the events in Egypt that occurred at the beginning of 2011 postpone them indefinitely.
In the light of new data, a scientific hypothesis has spread that these mines performed some ritual tasks related to the religious ideas of the ancients. There is also a simpler hypothesis that initially these were actually ventilation ducts. But as the building rose higher and higher, it was decided to build a third burial chamber - the king's chamber. And the builders blocked the passages leading from the queen's chamber as unnecessary. This hypothesis is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the entrances to the mines from the side of the queen's chamber were walled up and were found only after her thorough examination.
The internal structure of the pyramid of Cheops from an engineering and construction point of view, the most difficult of all such structures ancient egypt. All other Egyptian pyramids inside look about the same as the great pyramidal structure of Cheops, but in general, inside the pyramids of other pharaohs, they have a simpler device, with the exception of the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser in Saqqara, which has an extensive system underground passages and premises at its base.
It will also be interesting to see.
