THE BIG BUILD THEORIES
Uncovering Khufu’s final resting place
Alternative construction methods are a hot topic among Egyptologists
STEPS AND LEVERS
If the writings of Herodotus are to be believed, the construction of the pyramids was based upon a step-by-step method or, in his words, ‘stairs’. Once the foundation of the structure had been established, each successive layer was put in place, each set a little back from the edge to create a ledge on which workers could use levers to move the stone up to the next level. Once the top was reached, the outer layer of brilliant-white limestone was put in place in descending order to make a smooth outer surface. However, the sheer angle at which the blocks would have to be levered and the time it would take makes this method less plausible.
CONCRETE BLOCKS
Scientist Joseph Davidovits claims that the majority of the blocks used in the Great Pyramid were not quarried at all but were moulded into shape using a kind of limestone concrete that would then set and look like a limestone block. This would reduce any transportation of heavy blocks as they would be created on site and the moulds reused. However, his hypothesis is not accepted by mainstream Egyptologists. Given the chance, workers would certainly have made their own lives easier by creating straight edges, but most of the blocks are irregular in shape and size. They also show marks of chiselling and masonry working.
INTERNAL RAMP
French architect Jean-pierre Houdin has a hypothesis that the ramp used was internal. In much the same way as the spiral ramp, at an angle of seven degrees, Houdin claims the external blocks were put in place first to ensure the precision of the smooth-angled finish of the pyramid, with the ramp running around the structure inside the outer wall, allowing builders to work on construction either side. Gaps on each of the corners would allow blocks to be turned at right angles and carry on up the ramp. No internal ramp has been found, though an unusual, unexplained gap in one corner of the pyramid has yet to be explored.
The completed pyramid and last resting place of Pharaoh Khufu is in many ways very different from other examples of the structures as burial chambers and has led to speculation as to its actual use. Thousands of years of looting and grave robbing have deprived us of studying the mummy and grave goods that would have been placed within, limiting our knowledge of what the individual chambers were used for.
1 KING’S BURIAL CHAMBER
This chamber houses the single sarcophagus of the pharaoh, which is slightly larger than the ascending passage and must have been in place before the roof was finished. The chamber is almost entirely constructed of heavy granite blocks, some of which are 80 to 100 tonnes. Above the chamber are the stress-relieving blocks. These are an ingenious system of granite blocks, laid in such a way as to create separate chambers to take the enormous weight of the pyramid above it and distribute it away from the ceiling of the King’s Chamber, thus preventing collapse. Two shafts align with certain stars and were also at first thought to have been for ventilation, calling into question the original purpose of the pyramid. However, it’s now widely accepted that they act as a symbolic link with the afterlife.
2 THE GRAND GALLERY
This gallery is 8.6 metres high and 46.7 metres long and links the king’s burial chamber to the rest of the interior. It would originally have been sealed off by a series of doors, thereby cutting the burial chamber off completely from the outside world. Another hypothesis raised by Jean-pierre Houdin is that the gallery was constructed as part of a kind of ‘escalator’ system to raise the granite blocks to the chamber.
3 QUEEN’S CHAMBER
Measuring 5.75 by 5.23 metres, this chamber is aligned exactly halfway between the north and south sides of the pyramid. The original purpose of this chamber remains unsolved. As there are other smaller pyramids on the Giza site attributed to Khufu’s wives, it has been speculated that it was the original resting place for Khufu, descending into the pyramid in a more traditional manner, but that he changed his mind and opted for the ascending chamber instead. This chamber also appears to have shafts aligned to the outside of the pyramid, as with the King’s Chamber, although they are blocked and not known to be complete, so their purpose remains a mystery.
“Their purpose remains a mystery”