Pyramid of Cheops short description. The Pyramid of Cheops is the largest pyramid in Egypt. Pyramid of Cheops: interesting facts

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

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

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

“What is comprehended with the help of reflection and reasoning is obvious, and there is an eternally identical being; but what is subject to opinion ... arises and perishes, but never really exists. (IV century BC, Plato, "Timaeus").

Russian doll

What does it say that the pyramid of Cheops is a kind of “Russian nesting doll”, containing two more pyramids inside, one inside the other? To confirm the conclusion about the trinity of the pyramid of Cheops, let's start with the facts and consider the scheme of the pyramid in section.

Firstly, there are three burial chambers in the pyramid of Cheops. Three! From this fact it follows that the pyramid at different times had three owners (three pharaohs). And each had its own separate burial chamber. After all, few of the living people come up with the idea of ​​​​preparing a tomb for themselves in three “copies”. In addition (as can be seen from the size of the pyramids), their construction is quite laborious for our time. Besides? archaeologists have already established that the pharaohs built pyramids-tombs for their wives separately and much smaller.

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

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

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

According to the section plan of the Cheops pyramid, it can be concluded that if there is an underground hall (5) and there is a passage upward from it (12), then the upper prayer room of the mastaba should be in the center and slightly lower than the middle burial chamber (7). Unless, of course, by the beginning of the construction of his pyramid over the mastaba by the second pharaoh, these premises were not littered with stone, destroyed and survived to this day.

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

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

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

The height of the first internal truncated pyramid (mastaba) according to the scheme of the section of the pyramid should be no more than 15 meters.

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

In favor of the fact that the plateau in Giza was previously "settled" by ancient mastabas, the fact of the presence of the "Sphinx" there also speaks. The purpose of the Sphinx is to have a tomb (mastaba) in the form of a sculpture of a lion. The age of the "Sphinx" (the deity in which, according to the theory, the soul of the pharaoh should move) is estimated much older than the pyramids (about 5 - 10 thousand years).

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

In this regard, the burials of the pharaohs in mastabas were replaced by more majestic structures - stepped pyramids, and later to "smooth" hewn pyramids. According to the ideas of the priests, after death, the soul of a person flew to life on the stars related to their souls. “The one who lives the time measured out to him properly will return to the abode of the star of his name.” Plato, Timaeus.

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

Second and third pyramids

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

The modern name of the channels "air ducts", of course, is incorrect. The deceased pharaoh did not need ventilation ducts. The canals had a completely different purpose. Channels - a path that points to the sky, oriented with great accuracy (up to a degree) to the stars, where, according to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the soul of the pharaoh will settle after death.

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

The southern channel was aimed at the star "Sirius". In Egyptian mythology, "Sirius" was associated with the name of the goddess Sopdet (protector and patroness of all the dead).

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

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

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

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

During the construction of the third pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops, there was no point in lengthening this external entrance to the second pyramid. Therefore, after an increase along the perimeter of the walls at the third pyramid, the entrance turned out to be “drowned” inside.

The entrance gates of all buildings are always made out of several structures, and not buried in the depths of the structure. Approximately the same entrance, but taken out, is also at the pyramid of Khafre.

Cheops - the third owner of the pyramid

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

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

The cone-shaped form of the gallery is not similar to the initial part of the ascending narrow passage. This indicates that the tunnel was not made at the same time and according to different external conditions.

After the third pyramid of Cheops was expanded on the sides, adding 10-12 meters on each side, the outgoing channels at the second pyramid from the chamber (7) turned out to be closed, respectively.

If the burial chamber (7) turned out to be empty, then the builders of the third pyramid had no reason to lengthen the old channels. From the outside, the channels were laid with new rows of wall blocks of the third pyramid, and from the inside, in the chamber (7), the outgoing channels were also walled up. In the burial chamber (7), the walled canals were discovered by treasure hunters (researchers) when they tapped the walls only in 1872.

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

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

If you carefully look at the section of the pyramid, then two pairs of channels (to the north and south) from the second and third chambers are not parallel! This is one of the "keys" to unraveling the mystery of the pyramid of Cheops.

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

Then what's the matter

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

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

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

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

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

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

The sides of the walls are arranged at the angle of view of the Sun, not only in this pyramid. In the pyramid of Khafre, the angle of inclination of the sides of the walls is slightly more than 52-53 degrees (it is known that it was built later). In the pyramid of Menkaure, the slope of the faces is 51 ° 20′25 ″ (less than that of Cheops). Until now, historians did not know whether it was built earlier than the pyramid of Cheops or later. Now, given the open "degree time" of the Earth's precession, the smaller angle of inclination of the walls indicates that the Mycerinus pyramid was built not later, but earlier. In relation to the "degree age scale", the difference in the slope of the walls in 30 minutes corresponds to 36 years. In later Egyptian pyramids, for example, the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre, respectively, the slope of the faces should be greater.

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

In 820 AD Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mamun of Baghdad, in search of countless treasures of the pharaoh at the base of the pyramid of Cheops, made a horizontal gap (2), which is currently used by tourists to enter the pyramid. The break was broken through to the beginning of the ascending corridor (6), where they ran into granite cubes, which went around to the right and thus penetrated the pyramid. But, according to historians, they did not find anything but “dust in half a palm” inside. If there was anything of value in the pyramid, then the caliph's servants took it. And what was left, everything was taken out for the subsequent time - 1200 years.

Judging by the appearance of the gallery (9), 28 pairs of ritual statues stood along its walls in rectangular recesses. However, the exact purpose of the recesses is not known. Two facts speak about the fact that there were statues. The first - the eight-meter height of the gallery made it possible to install statues. The second - on the walls there were large round peeling imprints from the solution with which the statues were attached to the walls.

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

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

There is no unity even among the neighboring pyramids in Giza. The Pyramid of Menkaure (the smallest of the three) at the base is not oriented strictly to the cardinal points. The exact orientation of the sides is not given importance. In the main pyramid of Cheops, the third (topmost) burial chamber is located not in the geometric center of the pyramid and not even on the axis of the pyramid. In the pyramids of Khafre and Mykerin, the burial chambers are also not in the center. If the pyramids had some kind of secret secret, law or knowledge, the "golden section" and so on, then all the pyramids would have uniformity. But there is nothing like that in the pyramids. Below in the pictures are Egyptian pyramids of various shapes.

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

What else can you look for in the pyramid of Cheops

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

Then from the grotto (12) find a walled passage to the halls (or lay it). For the pyramid, this will not have any damage, since there was originally a connecting entrance from the underground burial chamber to the mastaba's aboveground room. And you just have to find it. After the discovery of the interior of the mastaba, perhaps it will become known about the pharaoh - the owner of the first truncated trapezoidal mastaba pyramid.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On one of the side walls of the Menkaure pyramid there is a large vertical gap. Getting to the treasures of the pharaoh in the burial chamber inside the pyramid, the robbers dismantled part of the wall from top to bottom. In the thus formed "vertical section" of the section of the inner blocks of the pyramid, the following was revealed - with a certain, clearly defined boundary, the upper blocks were not stacked tightly and not as neatly as the lower ones. This confirms that the pyramid was being completed and that later builders did not carefully monitor the quality of laying the internal blocks.

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

The "curtain" of the centuries-old mystery over the secret of the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops is lifted. It remains to enter the open door.
This requires permission from the Egyptian authorities, which they give to research scientists with great reluctance.
The secret loses its attractive power when it is revealed.

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

How the pyramid of Cheops was built

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

In support of his assumption, he accepted the research of a group of engineers from the French Academy of Sciences, who in 1986 scanned the interior of the Cheops pyramid for several months in order to find hidden cavities inside it. French researchers found wide bands around the perimeter of the pyramid at different heights with a lower, by about 15%, density (see above the picture of the Cheops pyramid gravimetry). Areas with a density of 1.85 to 2.3 tons per 1 cubic meter are highlighted in different colors.

The French scientists could not explain why there are rarefied bands along the walls of the pyramid, and therefore the results of the study in the subsequent scientific world did not receive any discussion.

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

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

How and how to explain it

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

See, for example, the picture below - the "insides" of the pyramid of Pepi II from South Saqqara. Outside the pyramid are tightly packed hewn blocks, and inside are ordinary stones mined from a horizontal cleavage of layered limestone deposits.

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

With an accurate measurement of the plane of the side faces of the pyramid of Cheops, it is noticeable that they have some concavity inward (to a depth of one meter). Indeed, for 4.5 thousand years since the construction of the pyramid, there have been many earthquakes, which over and over again gradually shook its contents. And because of this, the walls (since there is loose material inside the pyramid), due to their lower density, somewhat fell inward.

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

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

Other arguments by Jean-Per Houdin and Bob Bryer, given to prove the assumption of a "serpentine" construction of the pyramid, each separately has its own explanation. Researchers in 2009 did not yet know that the Cheops pyramid consists of three different pyramids. For example, the longitudinal stripes of stone blocks of the same color on the faces of the pyramid of Cheops, interpreted by them as “dusty roads” from the transportation of blocks, are explained by the uniform color of the stones mined in the quarry from one layer of rock.

The third pyramid was built up with stone blocks evenly in height and perimeter on the walls of the second pyramid, like “cream on a cake”. The stone was mined in one place, and therefore there is a similarity of blocks in color. In what order the stone blocks were mined, in such a sequence they were laid into the walls. When they took the blocks in another place, their color was somewhat different.

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

• the guardhouse of the guards for giving a signal,

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

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

This significantly mitigates the troublesome problem of the complexity of building a pyramid, but does not cancel and does not in any way reduce the grandeur of the undoubtedly greatest building of the ancient Egyptian civilization in the history of mankind.

The ancient Egyptian pyramids are the most mysterious and unusual buildings in the history of mankind. How they were built and for what, their external and internal description are questions that have been of concern to scientists for many years. The Pyramid of Cheops is the largest of all the pyramids, an architectural monument.

An unambiguous and proven version of how these huge giants were built does not exist today. But there are a lot of hypotheses and assumptions, each of which has both evidence and contradictions.

Preparation for construction

Pyramids were built from stone blocks. Some believed that all the blocks were the same size. But the theory has been debunked. Preparations for construction included the extraction of such stone blocks from the rocks. To do this, they drew the shape of the future block on the rock, hollowed it out with chisels and picks along the edges of the border, and inserted wood into them.

Later, the tree was flooded with water, as a result of which it swelled, and the rock cracked from stress along a given boundary. The block was then separated.

Also, in preparation, they made markings of the earth with the designation of the four sides of the pyramid. We tried to outline so that they were oriented to the cardinal points. Then the platform under the base was leveled.

For this, a square-shaped shaft was erected from sand and stones. Then they divided this square into equal parts and filled it with water. The stones that were under water were removed, and the trenches were laid with a new layer of stones, which served as the foundation of the tomb.

Stone work

The resulting blocks were carefully processed to obtain the required shape. Further along the river, the blocks were transported to the construction site. Studies have shown that the stones had a mass suitable for movement. After they started construction, starting from the lower tier. Having laid the blocks, there was a problem of lifting the blocks to the next levels.

There are many theories about how the Egyptians lifted the stones. Some scientists believe that 4 specially built brick ramps were used for lifting. Some have suggested that the ramp was 1. Opponents of the theory argue that such devices cannot exist and suggest that there were lifting mechanisms. Although this version did not find evidence.

Drawings on the pyramid

Numerous drawings and diagrams on stone blocks also leave a lot of questions. In addition to the depicted figures of people and Gods, pictures of unknown technical structures and devices of unknown purpose were found. There are instances resembling a modern helicopter. There are whole huge portraits.

The painting technology also remains a mystery. After all, some parts of the drawings are darker, and some are lighter: unknown methods were used to lighten or darken the surface of the stone. Many unsolved paintings and records exist today. Most researchers tend to assume that the drawings are a secret message for modern man.

Where is the Pyramid of Cheops located on the map?

The Pyramid of Cheops, the description of which is fascinating, is the only one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" that has survived to this day. It is located in the city of Giza in Egypt.

Today, on the map, Giza is designated as a suburb of Cairo. It is located 30 km from the capital.

The history of the pyramid and its age

The Pyramid of Cheops is the oldest and largest of the 3 pyramids located on the Giza plateau. The pyramids, as you know, were built as the tombs of the pharaohs in order to ensure a good and comfortable life for the rulers in the afterlife.

It took several decades to build the pyramid. Scientists are still debating exactly how much.

Some believe that the construction was carried out for about 20 years. But the scale of the pyramid and the reign of Pharaoh Cheops (he himself led the construction) give reason to assume that the work took all 40 years. Herodotus and his associates believed that the main builders were slaves, a large number of whom died at the construction site.

Modern researchers, on the contrary, believe that the free Egyptians made up the majority of the labor force. After all, Cheops provided them with housing and food for the duration of their work. And the main reason was the spiritual component: everyone sought to show their involvement in the shrine of the immortal ruler, because only the pharaoh and his entourage had the right to immortality and life after death.

And participating in the construction of the tomb, people hoped for the favor of the Gods or the pharaoh himself, wanting to be part of the retinue. The architect is considered to be Cheops' nephew - Hemion, who meticulously worked on the project, calculating everything to the smallest detail. Perhaps this explains the longevity of the pyramid.

The age of the pyramid is about 4500 years. And the date of commencement of construction is considered to be August 23, 2560 BC. This day is considered a national holiday in Egypt.

Appearance and dimensions of the pyramid, characteristics

The overall dimensions of the pyramid are striking in their scale: the base area is 53 thousand square meters. m. The height is 138.8 m, although the building was originally 9 m higher, but after many hundreds of years, earthquakes and sandstorms contributed to the partial destruction of the top of the pyramid. Base - 230 m, rib length - 230 m. Volume - 2.58 million cubic meters. m.

The pyramid of Cheops is adjacent to 2 others: the pyramid of Khafre and the pyramid of Menkaure. Also nearby is another architectural monument - the Great Sphinx, the description of which also contains inexplicable facts.

Data on the 3 pyramids of Giza are shown in the table:

The body of the pyramid is built of limestone and granite blocks. From above it was covered with a sparkling lining, and the top was decorated with a golden stone. At present, neither the facing nor the decoration of the top have been preserved.

What is inside the pyramid of Cheops

The pyramid of Cheops, the appearance of which is described above, also has a complex internal structure with rooms and corridors.

It contains:

• Underground burial pit.
• The king's chamber.
• Queen's chamber.
• Great gallery.
• ventilation ducts.
• Unloading chambers.
• The entrance is original.
• Entrance for tourists.
• Walkways or corridors.

Entrance to the pyramid

All ancient Egyptian tombs have an entrance from the north side. The Pyramid of Cheops is no exception. The entrance is located at a height of 16-17 m, has a non-random angle of inclination: it was at this inclination that the Egyptians could observe the North Star.

This original entrance to the tomb is not in use and is sealed with a stone plug.

Tourists today enter through the entrance, located 10 m below, made by Abdullah al-Mamun, who wanted to enrich himself with the treasures of the pharaoh. For the convenience of tourists, the main passage was equipped with railings, steps, and lighting was provided.

burial pit

At the intersection point of both entrances, the ascending and descending corridors begin. Descending paves the way to the tomb, which is located underground and is a room with dimensions of 14 by 8 m.

The engineers were further excavating from this room and dug a well and another narrow passage, hoping to find the body of Cheops. However, their attempts failed. The burial pit was not completed and abandoned. It was decided to equip the main burial chamber in the center of the pyramid.

Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers

The ascending passage is laid to the south and its length is 40 m. It flows into the Great Gallery. At the very beginning, the passage is closed by three large stone blocks. Al-Mamun, having come across them, dug a bypass line, which is still in use today. The purpose of these blocks is unknown.

Haven't been able to move them yet.

The lower part of the Great Gallery gives rise to a corridor 35 m long and 1.75 m high. It leads to 2 tombs, which are often called the Queen's Chamber. This is a room with dimensions of 5.74 m by 5.23 m. Height - 6.22 m. In the east of the Chamber, a large depression was hollowed out.

Grotto, Grand Gallery and Pharaoh's Chambers

The next branch of the lower part of the Great Gallery is a 60 m long vertical passage leading to a descending passage, which contains 1 single extension - the Grotto. The nature of its origin is not completely clear, but most likely it is a natural formation. The ascending passage passes into the Great Gallery - an inclined high corridor. Height - 8.53 m. Length - 46 m.

On the sides of both walls stretched a square recess with 27 pairs of holes of unknown purpose. At the end of the gallery there is a ledge - a step in front of the entrance to the Prechamber, through which the entrance to the Pharaoh's Chamber itself opens. The burial chamber is lined with black granite. It contains a stone sarcophagus without a lid. There are ventilation holes on the walls.

The ceiling is almost destroyed, the condition of the plates is worn out. Several empty cavities were found above the burial room, separated from each other by monolithic slabs. It is assumed that their purpose is to distribute the weight load in order to avoid excessive pressure of the overlying plates on the pharaoh's chamber.

ventilation ducts

The chambers of the king and queen contain ventilation holes - narrow channels of small width. These channels are end-to-end only in the King's Chamber. In the Chamber of the Queen, the ends of the channels do not reach either the wall of the room on one side, or the edges of the pyramid on the other. In the upper part they are closed with doors with copper handles.

Channel studies were carried out by a special robot, which was able to detect these details.

Such a strange arrangement of ventilation ducts may indicate that the ancient Egyptians were very religious people and believed that the soul enters the underworld. These doors are at the ends and symbolize a kind of entrance to the Kingdom of the Dead.

What can be seen around the pyramid

The pyramid of Cheops, the description of which includes many secrets, and around it contains amazing finds.

pharaoh boats

In the immediate vicinity of the pyramid, 7 recesses were found with parts of real Egyptian boats, one of which was the "Solar Boat". Its peculiarity is the absence of fasteners.

On this cedar boat, according to legend, Cheops was supposed to start his journey to the Kingdom of the Dead. On one side of the pyramid, a museum dedicated to this boat was opened.

Pyramids of Queens of Cheops

In the east, there are 3 small pyramids for the close circle of Pharaoh Cheops. They are arranged in descending order of size towards the south.

The length of the base of each is 50 cm longer than the base of the previous one. Currently, their condition is satisfactory.

Opening hours of the museum complex in Giza

The Giza Museum Complex, covering all the pyramids, is open for tourists daily from 8.00 to 17.00. In winter, it works on a reduced working day - until 16.30. In the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims - until 15.00.

Ticket prices

Cost of visits:

• Entrance to the museum complex - 7.5 USD.
• Entrance to the Solnechnaya Boat Museum - 3 USD.
• Entrance inside the pyramid of Cheops - 11 USD.
• Entrance inside the Khafre pyramid - 2 USD.

Going on an excursion to get acquainted with the pyramids of Egypt, it is advisable to use a number of useful tips:

Secrets of the pyramid of Cheops

The main secret of the Cheops pyramid is that the mummy of the pharaoh Cheops was not found either inside the pyramid or somewhere else. Many theories have been developed about the place of his burial. The sarcophagus was empty when discovered. The lid was also missing. In general, scientists believe that the construction of the sarcophagus was not completed.

And modern researchers have put forward the hypothesis that this pyramid was not built for Cheops. This confirms the absence of any decorations in the burial room. Usually, for the tombs of the pharaohs, they were real treasuries full of jewels and riches.

The ventilation ducts of the tombs are another inexplicable item. Why they were built is still unknown. In the King's Chamber, outside air enters through them. There is no answer to the question why the air is for the buried pharaoh. The construction of such a community also leaves many questions. The dimensions of the pyramid can be compared with a skyscraper with 50 floors.

And the base area could accommodate a dozen football fields. There is no single answer, how and with what help people raised stone blocks to a height. Another mystery is how the stones were joined. The surfaces fit so tightly that there is no way to even stick a thin blade between them.

Transporting blocks to the base of the building also contains puzzles.

In 2017, evidence was found showing that the Nile was drained to move heavy granite stones and artificial channels were created leading to the pyramid. Construction materials were transported along them in boats. The pyramid of Cheops (the description of the interior will not convey the whole atmosphere inside) contains a very small number of rooms inside.

It has often been speculated that the largest pyramid still contains secret or simply undiscovered rooms. The conjectures were confirmed: studies based on the study of the temperature difference between the surfaces of the blocks showed the presence of additional voids inside.

However Egyptian authorities have imposed a ban on further excavations. Although the opening of such new rooms will become a worldwide sensation, which will lead to an even greater influx of tourists to Giza. This is a tempting alternative for Egypt as a whole, so the issue is not entirely closed. The presence of 3 tomb rooms in the pyramid is a strange fact, from the point of view of the history and life of the pharaohs.

In other pyramids, each ruler prepared 1 burial room for himself, putting all his efforts into the construction of this particular main part. Contradictions and disputes over 3 such chambers in the pyramid of Cheops led to the conclusion: there were 3 pharaohs-masters of the pyramid. And Cheops, apparently, was the last.

There is evidence that Cheops did not build from the ground, but rebuilt the existing pyramid of previous rulers. The ventilation ducts of the Chamber of Queens do not communicate with the atomosphere. This is strange and suggests that the pyramid was overlaid with a new layer of blocks, while bricking up the ventilation outlets.

Despite the huge amount of obscure and mysterious, there are also skeptics who believe that there are no secret messages, and no pyramid carries any hidden meaning. Confirmation of this is offered to compare all the found pyramids. It is clear that they all differ from each other in many ways.

There is no symmetry and similarity either in orientation relative to the cardinal points, or in the internal structure. If some riddle were encrypted, all of them, or at least a few, would be identical in the cut.

Interesting facts about the pyramid of Cheops

It's interesting to know:

The secret of the pyramid of Cheops will be solved for more than one century. The description of the appearance and internal structure of the pyramid is not yet perfect and is fraught with many mysteries.

Article formatting: Lozinsky Oleg

Video about the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt

Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt description:

There are less and less unsolved mysteries on our planet every year. The constant improvement of technology, the cooperation of scientists from various fields of science reveals to us the secrets and mysteries of history. But the secrets of the pyramids still defy understanding - all discoveries give scientists only tentative answers to many questions. Who built the Egyptian pyramids, what was the construction technology, whether there is a curse of the pharaohs - these and many other questions still remain without an exact answer.

Description of the Egyptian pyramids

Archaeologists talk about 118 pyramids in Egypt, partially or completely preserved to our time. Their age is from 4 to 10 thousand years. One of them - Cheops - is the only surviving "miracle" from the "Seven Wonders of the World". The complex called "The Great Pyramids of Giza", which includes and, was also considered as a participant in the New Seven Wonders of the World competition, but it was withdrawn from participation, since these majestic structures are actually the "wonder of the world" in the ancient list.

These pyramids have become the most visited sightseeing objects in Egypt. They are perfectly preserved, which cannot be said about many other structures - time did not spare them. Yes, and local residents contributed to the destruction of the majestic necropolises, removing the lining and breaking out stones from the walls to build their houses.

The Egyptian pyramids were built by pharaohs ruling from the 27th century BC. e. and later. They were intended for the repose of the rulers. The huge scale of the tombs (some up to almost 150 m high) should have testified to the greatness of the buried pharaohs, things that the ruler loved during his lifetime and which would be useful to him in the afterlife were also placed here.

For the construction, stone blocks of various sizes were used, which were hollowed out of the rocks, and later brick began to serve as the material for the walls. Stone blocks were turned and adjusted so that a knife blade could not slip between them. Blocks were stacked on top of each other with an offset of several centimeters, which formed a stepped surface of the structure. Almost all Egyptian pyramids have a square base, the sides of which are oriented strictly to the cardinal points.

Since the pyramids performed the same function, that is, they served as the burial place of the pharaohs, their structure and decoration are similar inside. The main component is the burial hall, where the ruler's sarcophagus was installed. The entrance was arranged not at ground level, but several meters higher, and was masked by facing slabs. Stairs and corridors led from the entrance to the inner hall, which sometimes narrowed so much that they could only be walked on squatting or crawling.

In most necropolises, burial chambers (chambers) are below ground level. Ventilation was carried out through narrow shaft-channels, which penetrated the walls. Rock paintings and ancient religious texts are found on the walls of many pyramids - in fact, scientists draw some of the information about the construction and owners of the burials from them.

The main mysteries of the pyramids

The list of unsolved mysteries begins with the shape of necropolises. Why was the shape of the pyramid chosen, which is translated from Greek as “polyhedron”? Why were the edges located clearly on the cardinal points? How did the huge stone blocks move from the place of development and how were they raised to a great height? Were the buildings erected by aliens or people who own a magic crystal?

Scientists even argue over the question of who built such tall monumental structures that stood for millennia. Some believe they were built by slaves who died in the hundreds of thousands building each. However, new discoveries of archaeologists and anthropologists convince us that the builders were free people who received good food and medical care. They made such conclusions based on the composition of the bones, the structure of the skeletons and the healed injuries of the buried builders.

All cases of death and death of people involved in the study of the Egyptian pyramids were attributed to mystical coincidences, which provoked rumors and talk about the curse of the pharaohs. There is no scientific evidence for this. Perhaps the rumors were spread to scare off thieves and marauders who want to find valuables and jewelry in the graves.

The mysterious interesting facts include the short time frame for the construction of the Egyptian pyramids. According to calculations, large necropolises with that level of technology should have been erected in at least a century. How, for example, was the pyramid of Cheops built in just 20 years?

Great Pyramids

This is the name of the burial complex near the city of Giza, consisting of three large pyramids, a huge statue of the Sphinx and small satellite pyramids, probably intended for the wives of the rulers.

The initial height of the pyramid of Cheops was 146 m, the length of the side was 230 m. It was built in 20 years in the 26th century BC. e. The largest of Egyptian landmarks has not one, but three funerary halls. One of them is below ground level, and two are above the base line. Intertwining corridors lead to the burial chambers. On them you can go to the chamber of the pharaoh (king), to the chamber of the queen and to the lower hall. The chamber of the pharaoh is a chamber made of pink granite, has dimensions of 10x5 m. A granite sarcophagus without a lid is installed in it. Not a single report of scientists contained information about the mummies found, so it is not known whether Cheops was buried here. By the way, the mummy of Cheops was not found in other tombs either.

It still remains a mystery whether the Cheops pyramid was used for its intended purpose, and if so, then apparently it was plundered by looters in the past centuries. The name of the ruler, by whose order and project this tomb was built, was learned from the drawings and hieroglyphs above the burial chamber. All other Egyptian pyramids, with the exception of Djoser, have a simpler engineering device.

Two other necropolises in Giza, built for the heirs of Cheops, are somewhat more modest in size:

Tourists travel to Giza from all over Egypt, because this city is actually a suburb of Cairo, and all transport interchanges lead to it. Travelers from Russia usually go to Giza as part of excursion groups from Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada. The trip is long, 6-8 hours one way, so the tour is usually designed for 2 days.

The great buildings are available for visiting only during working hours, usually until 17:00, in the month of Ramadan - until 15:00. It is not recommended to enter inside for asthmatics, as well as for people suffering from claustrophobia, nervous and cardiovascular diseases. Be sure to take drinking water and hats with you on the tour. The tour fee consists of several parts:

1. Entrance to the complex.
2. Entrance inside the pyramid of Cheops or Khafre.
3. Entrance to the Museum of the Solar boat, on which the body of the pharaoh was transported across the Nile.

Against the backdrop of the Egyptian pyramids, many people like to take photos while sitting on camels. You can bargain with camel owners.

Pyramid of Djoser

The first pyramid in the world is located in Saqqara, not far from Memphis, the former capital of Ancient Egypt. Today, the pyramid of Djoser is not as attractive to tourists as the Cheops necropolis, but at one time it was the largest in the country and the most complex in terms of engineering.

The burial complex included chapels, courtyards, and storage facilities. The six-step pyramid itself does not have a square base, but a rectangular one, with sides of 125x110 m. The height of the structure itself is 60 m, inside it there are 12 burial chambers, where Djoser himself and members of his family were supposedly buried. The mummy of the pharaoh was not found during the excavations. The entire territory of the complex of 15 hectares was surrounded by a stone wall 10 m high. Currently, part of the wall and other buildings have been restored, and the pyramid, whose age is approaching 4700 years, has been preserved quite well.

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, adverse weather conditions that hit 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 a detailed description of what he saw. 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 planned 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 save themselves from 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 just a distorted reflection of reality. Careful geometric and astronomical research has led to unexpected discoveries that can be attributed either to random coincidences or patterns:

• 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.

Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu (in the Greek version of Cheops), or the Great Pyramid - the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, the oldest of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity and the only one of them that has come down to our time. For over four thousand years, the pyramid was the largest building in the world.

The pyramid of Cheops is located in the far suburbs of Cairo Giza. Nearby are two more pyramids of the pharaohs Khafre and Menkaure (Khafren and Mikerin), according to ancient historians, the sons and successors of Khufu. These are the three largest pyramids in Egypt.

Following the ancient authors, most modern historians consider the pyramids to be the burial structures of the ancient Egyptian monarchs. Some scientists believe that these were astronomical observatories. There is no direct evidence that pharaohs were buried in the pyramids, but other versions of their purpose are less convincing.

When was the pyramid of Cheops built?

Based on the ancient "royal lists", it is established that Cheops ruled around 2585-2566. BC. The construction of the "Sacred Height" lasted 20 years and ended after the death of Khufu, around 2560 BC.

Other versions of construction dates based on astronomical methods give dates from 2720 to 2577. BC. The radiocarbon method shows a spread of 170 years, from 2850 to 2680. BC.

There are also exotic opinions expressed by supporters of theories of visiting the Earth by aliens, the existence of ancient pra-civilizations, or adherents of occult currents. They determine the age of the pyramid of Cheops from 6-7 to tens of thousands of years.

How the pyramid was built

The Pyramid of Cheops is still the largest stone building on the planet. Its height is 137 m, the length of the side of the base is 230.38 m, the angle of inclination of the edge is 51 ° 50", the total volume is about 2.5 million cubic meters. At the time of completion of construction, the height was 9.5 m higher, and the side of the base was 2 m longer, however, over the past centuries, almost the entire lining of the pyramid has been dismantled.Natural factors have also done their job - temperature drops and winds from the desert, carrying clouds of sand.

Ancient Greek historians reported that the labor of millions of slaves was used in the construction. Modern researchers believe that with the proper organization of work and engineering, the Egyptians would have had several tens of thousands of workers for the construction. For the transportation of materials, temporary workers were involved, the number of which, according to Herodotus, reached 100 thousand. Modern scientists fully agree with this, as well as with the reality of a 20-year construction period.

Hemiun, the head of the royal works, supervised the construction of the pyramid. Hemiun's tomb is located next to his creation; a statue of the architect was found in it.

The main material for the construction was gray limestone, which was cut down in the nearest quarries or brought from the other side of the Nile. The pyramid was lined with light sandstone, because of which it literally shone under the sunlight. Granite was used for interior decoration, which was delivered a thousand kilometers from the area of ​​\u200b\u200bpresent-day Aswan. The building was crowned with a hewn gilded granite block - a pyramidion.

In total, the construction of the pyramid took about 2.3 million blocks of limestone and 115 thousand facing slabs. The total mass of the building, according to modern estimates, is almost 6 million tons.

The block sizes vary. The largest ones are laid in the base, their height is one and a half meters. The blocks are smaller the higher they are. The height of the block at the top was 55 cm. The length of the facing slabs ranged from 1.5 to 0.75 m.

The work of the pyramid builders was extremely difficult. A lot of time and effort required the extraction of stone, hewing blocks and fitting to the right size. In those days, neither iron nor bronze was known in Egypt. The tools were made of relatively soft copper, so they wore down quickly and were very expensive. Flint tools were widely used - saws, drills, hammers. Many of them were found during excavations.

Delivery of materials was carried out by river, and the stone was brought to the construction site on a wooden sled or rollers. It was hellish work, because the average weight of one block is 2.5 tons, and some of them weighed up to 50 tons.

A variety of devices were used to lift and install the monoliths, and inclined embankments were erected to pull up the most massive elements that make up the lower rows. Images of construction work have been found in a number of Egyptian temples and tombs.

Recently, an original theory has emerged regarding the construction methods of the Egyptians. Scientists who studied the microstructure of the blocks in order to establish their origin, found foreign inclusions. According to experts, these are the remains of animal hair and human hair, from which the scientists concluded that the limestone was crushed in the places of extraction and delivered to the construction site in crushed form. Blocks were made directly at the place of laying from the limestone mass, which thus were a semblance of modern concrete structures, and tool marks on the blocks are actually formwork prints.

Be that as it may, the construction was completed, and the grandiose dimensions of the pyramid fully justify the supporters of the theories of the Atlanteans and aliens who do not believe in the possibility of human genius.

What is inside the pyramid

The entrance to the pyramid was made at a height of almost 16 meters in the form of an arch of granite slabs. It was later sealed with a granite cork and covered with cladding. The current entrance, 10 meters lower, was broken in 831 by order of Caliph Al-Mamun, who hoped to find gold here, but did not find anything of value.

The main premises are the pharaoh's chamber, the queen's chamber, the Great Gallery and the underground chamber. The passage punched by Al-Mamun leads to a 105-meter inclined corridor, ending in a chamber carved into the rock below the base of the pyramid. Its dimensions are 14x8 m., height 3.5 m. Works here were not completed for unknown reasons.

At 18 meters from the entrance, a 40-meter-long ascending corridor separates from the descending corridor, ending in the Great Gallery. The Gallery itself is a high (8.5 m) tunnel 46.6 m long leading to the pharaoh's chamber. The corridor to the queen's chamber branches off from the Gallery at its very beginning. A rectangular ditch 60 cm deep and 1 m wide was pierced in the floor of the Gallery; its purpose is unknown.

The length of the pharaoh's chamber is 10.5 m, width 5.4 m, height 5.84 m. It is lined with black granite slabs. Here is an empty granite sarcophagus. The queen's chamber is more modest - 5.76 x 5.23 x 6.26 m.

Channels 20-25 cm wide lead from the burial chambers to the surface of the pyramid. The channels of the king's chamber go out at one end into the room, at the other - onto the surface of the pyramid. The channels of the queen's chamber begin 13 cm from the wall and do not reach 12 m to the surface, and both ends of the channels are closed with stone doors with handles. It is assumed that the channels were made to ventilate the premises during the work. Another version, connected with the beliefs of the Egyptians, claims that this is the path to the afterlife, which the souls of the deceased had to go through.

No less mysterious is another small room, the Grotto, to which an almost vertical passage leads from the beginning of the Great Gallery. The grotto is located at the junction of the base of the pyramid and the hill on which it stands. The walls of the Grotto are reinforced with rather roughly worked stone. It is assumed that this is part of some structure older than the pyramid.

It is necessary to mention one discovery related to the pyramid. In 1954, at the southern edge, two stone-lined pits were discovered, in which were the pharaoh's boats, made of Lebanese cedar. One of the boats has been restored and is now in a special pavilion next to the pyramid. Its length is 43.5 m, width is 5.6 m.

The study of the pyramid of Cheops continues. Research using the latest methods used in the exploration of the earth's interior, show with a high degree of probability the existence of unknown caverns inside the pyramid. So it is quite possible that scientists expect new interesting findings and discoveries.

In the meantime, the Great Pyramid keeps its secrets, proudly rising in the middle of the desert, like millennia ago. After all, according to an ancient Arabic proverb, everything in the world is afraid of time, but time is afraid of the pyramids.