The structure of the pyramid of the pharaoh Cheops. Mysteries of the pyramid of Cheops

) 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 the burial chamber.

The pharaoh's sarcophagus is wider than the entrance to the chamber. It was carved from a single piece of brownish-gray granite, without a date or an inscription, and rather badly damaged. It stands in the western corner of the tomb, right on the floor. It was placed here during construction, and, apparently, no one has moved since then. This sarcophagus looks like it was cast from metal. But the body of Cheops himself is not in it.

All three cells have "antechambers" and are all connected by corridors or shafts. Some mines end in a dead end. Two shafts lead from the royal tomb to the surface of the pyramid, going out approximately in the middle of the northern and southern walls. One of their purposes is to provide ventilation; perhaps there were others.

Discovery: Exploding history. Secrets of the Great Pyramid

The original entrance to the pyramid is located on the north side, 25 meters above the base. Now another entrance leads to the pyramid, punched in 820 by the caliph Mamun, who hoped to discover the pharaoh's untold treasures, but found nothing. This entrance is located about 15 meters lower than the previous one, almost in the very center of the north side.

The Great Pyramid was surrounded by no less labor-intensive and expensive buildings. Herodotus, who saw the road leading from the upper (mortuary) temple to the lower, which was lined with polished slabs and had a width of 18 meters, called its construction a work "almost as huge as the construction of the pyramid itself." Now some 80 meters of it have survived - the road disappeared at the end of the 19th 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 one, it was supposed to build another one, of a larger size, 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 pyramid is called "Akhet-Khufu" - "Horizon of Khufu"(or more accurately " Pertaining to the sky - (this is) Khufu"). Consists of blocks of limestone, basalt and granite. It was built on a natural hill. Although the pyramid Cheops- the highest and most voluminous of all Egyptian pyramids, but still Pharaoh Sneferu built the pyramids in Meidum and Dahshut (Broken Pyramid and Pink Pyramid), the total mass of which is estimated at 8.4 million tons. This means that 2.15 million tons were used to build these pyramids. or 25.6% more material than was required for the pyramid of Cheops.

The pyramid was originally lined with white limestone, harder than the main blocks. The top of the pyramid was crowned with a gilded stone - a pyramidion. The cladding shone peach in the Sun, as if " a shining miracle to which the sun god Ra himself seemed to give all his rays". In 1168 AD e. The Arabs sacked and burned Cairo. Residents of Cairo removed the lining from the pyramid in order to build new houses.

pyramid structure

Strabo Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Ma'mun. He hoped to find the innumerable treasures of the pharaoh there, but found there only a layer of dust half a cubit thick.

Inside the pyramid of Cheops there are three burial chambers located one above the other.

Rice. 2. Cross section of the pyramid of Cheops: 1. Main entrance, 2. The entrance that Al-Mamoun made, 3. Crossroads, “traffic jam” and Al-Mamun tunnel made “bypassing” traffic jams, 4. Descending corridor, 5. Unfinished underground chamber – ( funeral « pit ”), 6. Ascending corridor, 7. “ Queen's Chamber» with outgoing « air ducts ”, 8. Horizontal tunnel, 9. Large gallery, 10. pharaoh's chamber With " air ducts ”, 11. Prechamber, 12. Grotto.

The entrance to the pyramid is located at a height of 15.63 meters on the north side.. The entrance is formed by stone slabs laid in the form of an arch. This entrance to the pyramid was sealed with a granite plug.. A description of this plug can be found in Strabo. Today, tourists get inside the pyramid through a 17 m gap, which was made in 820 by Caliph Abu Jafar al-Ma'mun. He hoped to find the pharaoh's innumerable treasures there, but found there only a layer of dust half a cubit thick.. Inside the pyramid of Cheops are three burial chambers . They are located one below the other - King's Chamber(pharaoh)", " Queen's Chamber», Unfinished underground chamber – (funeral « pit »).

Grotto, Grand Gallery and Chambers (Chamber) of the Pharaoh with a sarcophagus

Rice. 3. View King's chambers ( Rice. 2. - p. 10) with an empty sarcophagus. You can clearly see exactly fitted flat blocks of granite, from which the walls, floor and ceiling of this room are made. The empty granite sarcophagus is located asymmetrically in relation to the dimensions of the room.

Rice. 4. Large inclined Gallery(Fig. 2. - p. 9), leading to " Chamber of the King (Pharaoh)» (Fig. 2. - p. 11 and p. 10). The walls of the gallery are made inclined with narrowing upwards and have symmetrical protruding ledges. On the right and left sides of the passage on rectangular ledges, rectangular grooves are also clearly visible, located at an equal distance from each other. There are 28 pairs of these grooves in total. Since there are grooves, it means that something was definitely inserted there and, probably, was removed. However, the grooves could perform another function, which, to our regret, is not yet known.

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 completed " sealing » main passage to « King's chamber". Approximately in the middle of it there is a small, most likely natural extension - “ Grotto» ( Grotto) of irregular shape, in which several people could fit from strength. Grotto- (Fig. 2 - (12)) is located on " junction» masonry of the pyramid and a small, about 9 meters high, hill on a limestone plateau lying at the base of the 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.

Big Gallery

Rice. 5. Black and white shot of the beginning Great Gallery ( Rice. 2. - p. 9) with a high step, at which stands a fellah. On the right and left, rectangular grooves along the lower part of the side walls of the gallery are clearly visible. 1910

The large gallery continues the ascending passage. Its height is 8.53 m, it is rectangular in cross section, with walls slightly tapering upward (the so-called “false vault”), a high inclined tunnel 46.6 m long. In the middle Grand Gallery almost along the entire length, there is a square recess, regular in section, with dimensions 1 meter wide and 60 cm deep, and on both side protrusions there are 27 pairs of recesses of an incomprehensible purpose. The deepening ends with the so-called. " big step"- a high horizontal ledge, a platform of 1x2 meters, at the end of the Great Gallery, directly in front of the manhole in" hallway » - Anterior chamber ( king) (Fig. 2. - p. 11). The site has a pair of recesses similar to the recesses of the ramp, recesses at the corners near the wall ( 28th and last pair of recesses BG.). 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. Graffiti has been found in these voids, probably left by workers.

Rice. 6. Isometric plan with cuts king's chamber. On the left, the upper end of the slope is visible. galleries with grooves on the sides, a rectangular step in front of the entrance and a hole into the King's chamber. Bottom right king's chamber granite sarcophagus on the right side of the chamber king. On the right, there is a rectangular shaft above the sarcophagus, which ends with an unloading gable " roof ”from granite blocks - “Above the“ King’s Chamber ”are discovered in the 19th century. five unloading cavities with a total height of 17 m, between which monolithic slabs with a thickness of about 2 m lie, and above - a gable ceiling.

Rice. 7. Black and white shot entrance and manhole from inside the King's Chamber. 1910

Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers

From the first third of the descending passage (after 18 m from the main entrance) upwards at the same angle of 26.5 ° there is an ascending passage to the south (Fig. 2. - p. 6 ) about 40 m long, ending in the lower part of the Great Gallery (Fig. 2. - p. 9 ).


Rice. 8. At its beginning, the ascending passage contains 3 large cubic granite “plugs”, which, from the outside, from the descending passage, were masked by a block of limestone that fell out by chance during the work of Al-Mamun - (Fig. 2 - p. 3) Thus, the previous ones are approximately For 3 thousand years it was believed that in the Great Pyramid there were no other rooms, 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. This passage is still in use today. There are two main theories about the plugs, one of them is that the ascending passage has plugs installed at the beginning of construction and thus this passage was sealed by them from the very beginning. The second asserts that the present narrowing of the walls was caused by an earthquake, and the plugs were previously located within the Great Gallery and were used to seal the passage only after the burial of the pharaoh. An important mystery of this section of the ascending passage is that in the place where the traffic jams are now located, in a full-size, albeit shortened model of the pyramid's passages - the so-called. test corridors north of the Great Pyramid - there is a junction of not two, but three corridors at once, the third of which is a vertical tunnel. Since no one has been able to move the traffic jams so far, the question of whether there is a vertical hole above them remains open. In the middle of the ascending passage, the construction of the walls has a peculiarity: the so-called “frame stones” are installed in three places - that is, the 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. The second chamber is traditionally called« Queen's chamber”, although according to the rite, the wives of the pharaohs were buried in separate small pyramids. " 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. AT east wall chambers have a high niche.

Rice. 9. Plan in isometry with sections chambers of the Queen(Fig. 2 - item 7). Shown on the left stepped niche in the cell wall. Right horizontal entrance in the Queen's chamber. Above the walls of the Chamber of the Queen there are stone blocks in the form of a gable roof to relieve pressure on the chamber. Schematically shows the channels "air ducts" coming out of the chamber.

Rice. 10. Type of entrance into a stepped niche from chambers of the Queen(Fig. 2 - item 7).

Rice. 11. Black and white image of the entrance to the Queen's Chamber from the inclined Gallery (Fig. 2 - p. 8). 1910

ventilation ducts

From " King's chambers" (Fig. 2 - item 10) and " Queen's chambers"(Fig. 2 - item 7) in the northern and southern directions (first horizontally, then obliquely upwards) the so-called" ventilation » channels with a width in diameter - 20-25 cm. At the same time, the channels « King's chambers», known since the 17th century, through, they are open both from below and from above (on the faces of the pyramid), while the lower ends of the channels " Queen's chambers"separates about 13 cm from the surface of the wall, they were discovered by tapping in 1872. The upper ends of these channels do not reach the surface of the side faces of the Cheops pyramid.. The end of the southern channel is closed with stone " doors", discovered in 1993 using the remote-controlled robot "Upuaut II". In 2002, with the help of a new modification of the robot " door” was drilled, but a small cavity was discovered behind it and another “ door». What's next is still unknown.. Versions are currently being expressed that the purpose of " ventilation » channels is of a religious nature and is associated with the ideas of the Egyptians about afterlife souls.

Funeral "pit"

A descending corridor 105 m long, going at an inclination of 26° 26'46, leads to a horizontal corridor (Fig. 2. - point 4) 8.9 m long leading to the chamber (Fig. 2. - point 5), named Funeral "pit". Located below ground level, in a rocky limestone base, it remained unfinished. The dimensions of the chamber are 14 × 8.1 m, it is elongated from east to west. The height of the chamber reaches 3.5 m. At the southern wall of the chamber there is a well about 3 m deep, from which a narrow manhole (0.7 × 0.7 m in cross section) stretches southward for 16 m, ending in a dead end. Engineers John Shae Perring and Howard Vyse in the early 19th century dismantled the floor in the cell and dug a deep 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 digs came up with nothing.. Later research showed that the chamber was abandoned unfinished, and burial chambers it was decided to arrange in the center of the pyramid itself.


Rice. 12. Black and white image of the interior " underground» cameras. 1910. Half of the fellah's body is visible on the left, leaning out of the passage into the cell.

COMMENT:

Now we can show on the plan the Pyramid of Cheops in the matrix of the Universe the position " Libra in h ale Judgment of Maat over the hearts of Ab (Ab)Living creatures". Figure 13 shows a section of the Cheops pyramid according to Weiss. It is more accurate than the one shown in Figure 2 from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia.


Rice. 13. Section of the pyramid Cheops (Khufu, Khufu) in Giza. By Weiss.


Rice. 14. The figure shows the result of combining the section of the pyramid of Cheops (according to Weiss) in Giza with " energy matrix of the universe ”or simply the matrix of the Universe. This drawing is similar to Figure 8 from our work - Amon-Ra discovered the secret of the original plan of the premises in the pyramid of Cheops. All the main elements of the section of the pyramid of Cheops are located in the Lower World of the matrix of the Universe. The top of the vault above king's chamber» aligned with the third position from the left on the 7th level, the base « King's chambers» with the sarcophagus was combined with the 10th level. Foundation " Queen's chambers"- with the 12th level, the base of the pyramid - with the 14th level. Entrance to the gallery - with the 13th level, the passage to " lower horizon"in the rocky base of the pyramid - with the 14th level, and he" lower horizon” aligned with the 17th level of the Nether matrix. The remaining elements of combining the plan of the section of the pyramid with the matrix of the Universe are clearly visible in the figure. Side angles of the pyramid Khufu and matrix pyramids are clearly different. Right side of the pyramid section Khufu facing north and the left side facing south.

Now compatible with the matrix of the Universe Egyptian pattern of weighing the heart Ab (Ab) from our work - The Mystery of the Gravestone by the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova together with the plan of the section of the pyramid Khufu, which is shown in the previous figure 14.

In the well-known Egyptian The myth of Osiris « council of the gods» in the retinue of Osiris ( Asar) was called - " poutPaut". Their total number was - 42. « council of the gods"helped Osiris analyze and evaluate the deeds of a deceased person for a lifetime. The number 42 exactly corresponds to the sum of the "positions" of 13, 14 and 15 levels13+14+15 = 42 - The lower world of the matrix of the Universe. In the same area of ​​the matrix of the Universe was located " Hall Double » Maati (Goddess of Truth and Truth), where on the scales it was weighed " heart » – Ab - Ab – (aspects of the creature's soul). Placed on one scale feather maati, and on the other scale was placed " heart » Ab. If a " heart » Ab turned out to be harder Feather Maati ", or Maat herself with open arms on the scales, ( the creature sinned a lot), then this heart " ate " creature Ammit with the head and half of the body of a crocodile, and the back half of the body of a hippo.

Rice. 16. The figure shows the result of joint combination in the matrix of the Universe of the pyramid plan Khufu and an Egyptian drawing of a scene weighing the heart » « Ab". It is clearly seen that the vertical axis of the scales is aligned with the vertical axis of the matrix pyramid and the section of Khufu's pyramid, and the transverse crossbar of the scales is aligned with the 14th level of the Lower World of the Universe matrix, which is also the base of Khufu's pyramid on a rocky plateau. The remaining details of the combination are visible in the figure.

Now, on top of this drawing, we write the word in Egyptian hieroglyphs Paut (Paut), which will show us the location area in the matrix of 42 gods - advisers to Osiris.


Rice. 17. The figure shows the entry of the word POUTPAUT Egyptian hieroglyphs into the Lower World of the matrix of the Universe, which " determine Osiris (Asar). The lower hieroglyph in the form of a "circle with a square inside" defines » in the matrix of the Universe, the location of 42 gods - advisers Osiris (Asar). Hieroglyph T(t) aligned with the Queen's chamber. Hieroglyph U(U) practically occupied the entire space from the base of the King's Chamber to the sharp top of a rectangular shaft above the sarcophagus in the King's Chamber. The shaft ends with an unloading gable " roof ”from granite blocks - “Above the“ King’s Chamber ”are discovered in the 19th century. five unloading cavities with a total height of 17 m, between which monolithic slabs with a thickness of about 2 m lie, and above - a gable ceiling. The position of the remaining hieroglyphs is clearly visible in the figure. Assuming that the word pout (Paut) was for the priests of Egypt one of the " prayer words » inside the pyramid of Cheops, such as when they were indoors king's chamber in front of the sarcophagus, which could simply be opened, then such a rite can be called an appeal to the council 42 gods - assistants of Osiris (Asar). Wherein Pyramid of Khufu, how " resonant device ” similarly translated the words of prayer into the matrix of the Universe. If an Egyptian word is added to the words of the prayer appeal of the priests Paauta meaning like " creature male» so and « creature woman”(Fig. 13) from our work - Who are you Russians, and we know who! , then you get the following meaningful prayer appeal, for example, - “ We pray to Osiris and his advice to the gods (pout) about sending forgiveness and blessings to the soul of the King - Pharaoh and/or to his close associates for future incarnation into a human being - (Paauta)". Wherein Pyramid of Khufu again, how " resonant device ” similarly translated the words of prayer into the matrix of the Universe. With the seeming fantasticness of our assumption, it may correspond to the true state of affairs, and determine the true purpose of construction pyramids of Khufu. Probably other Egyptian pyramids too. This is indicated by the surprisingly accurate results of combining the plan of the pyramid of Khufu, Egyptian drawings and Egyptian words written in hieroglyphs into the matrix of the Universe. Additional " resonant devices ", which could be installed in the grooves of the inclined Gallery, strengthened" Effect » such a connection. Thus, all Pyramid of Khufu and its specific interior spaces constituted a single " resonant device » to contact « subtle worlds of the Universe and their inhabitants. The priests of ancient Egypt were wise scientists, possessed sacred knowledge, and, for sure, knew how to work with it even " hermetically sealed » « resonant device ". Today, with a large number of destruction - changes in the parameters of the resonant device » its quality can be « broken or worsened ».

Figure 18 shows the result of writing the Egyptian hieroglyphs of the word Paauta (Paauta) - "creature male" into the matrix of the Universe and comparing it with the Sanskrit entry of the word Jiva Loka - " space jiv - shower» in the matrix of the Universe.

Rice. 18. This is how the Egyptian priests understood what “ Creature Man". On the right in the figure, an ancient hieroglyphic inscription is shown. Paut - PaautaPaauta – « Creature Man". It was enough to change the last hieroglyph to the image of a woman and the hieroglyphic record would be read - “ Creature Woman", and it would also sound - Paut - PaautaPaauta. On the left in the picture is written in Sanskrit the word - Jiva Loka- space Shower - Jiv in the matrix of the Universe. Comparing the hieroglyphic notation on the right and the Sanskrit notation on the left, we see that the top hieroglyph Pa (Pa) in the form of a bird with open wings means the possibility Souls - Jivas rise above the former space and rush further into the Upper world of the matrix of the Universe. Egyptian priests knew about this possibility for Souls - Jivas, which the Lord gave her, and reflected it in hieroglyphic text.

The Pyramid of Cheops (Egypt. Achet-Chufu) is a monument from among the Seven Wonders of the World, which, according to Wikipedia, remains indestructible to this day. The pyramid belongs to the Giza plateau, including and.

Where is

The Pyramid of Cheops, Egypt, is located in the province, 30 km from Cairo, in the historic town of Giza, along El-Haram Street. The address includes only the name of the district and the street, since Al-Haram is a whole area of ​​burial tombs and historical monuments. On the map, the tomb of Cheops is located next to the Great Sphinx and two smaller pyramids - Hebren and Menkaure.

How to get there

There are several ways to get to the Giza plateau and the Cheops pyramid. If you are resting in the district of Hurghada or Sharm el-Sheikh, most in a simple way will go to sightseeing bus following from almost every hotel. You can get there on your own.

From anywhere in Egypt need to go to cairo. The most convenient way to do this is by bus, the schedule of which will allow you not to stay overnight in Giza, but to have time to see the sights one day. When you arrive in Cairo, get off the metro and go to Giza station, then change to bus number 900 or number 997. This fixed-route taxi will take you to Al Haram in 15 minutes. You have to walk to the pyramid. This path is laid through no less interesting sights, so you will pass 2 km without noticing fatigue.

Origin story

The history of the creation of the pharaoh's pyramid to this day remains shrouded in secrets and mysteries. It was previously believed that the construction of the pyramid of Cheops took the ancient Egyptians about 20 years, however, modern scientists give a different conclusion. After studying the rock art and records that have survived from the time of the pharaoh, the researchers say that the pharaoh ruled in ancient Egypt for about 50 years, of which at least 40 lasted the construction of the tomb. Thus, when asked how many years the pyramid has existed, scientists give an approximate figure of 4 thousand years.

It is known that architect was the nephew of the ruler, Hemion, who worked for a long time on the creation of the project and the drawing, relying on strong mathematical knowledge. Carefulness and scrupulousness was reflected in the unimaginable durability of the building, thereby leading all scientists of our time to a dead end.

Appearance

The pyramid was erected on a limestone rock, the foot of the building was framed by a low pulpit, which has not been preserved since those times. Limestone blocks were used as a material, which could be polished. After that, the pyramid was faced twice. The weight of the middle block reached 2.5 tons, the constructed blocks from the Nile were pulled with a dozen ropes, after which the most laborious part of the work began - lifting the block to the foundation. There are theories that the lifting was also carried out with the help of ropes and at an angle laid out from wooden beams. During the Arab attack on Cairo in the 12th century, modern capital was burned to the ground. Then the Egyptians began to remove the cladding for the construction and restoration of their houses.

Statistical data

The height of the pyramid of Cheopsan today is 139 meters. According to some reports, the pyramid was originally 2 meters higher, such a difference in meters appeared due to the gradual subsidence of the foundation into the sand.

The dimensions of the Cheops pyramid in meters: the perimeter is 922 m, the area is 5.3 hectares, the length of the side rib is 930 m. The weight exceeds 4 million tons, and the volume is 2.58 million m³.

Side concavity

If you watch the pyramid for more than one hour, you can notice how, in the light of the sun, the uneven sides of the pyramid appear. This discovery was made in the 18th century to the present day. remains the secret of the pyramid of Cheops. Scientist S. Edwards claims that the pyramid acquired such a disproportionate appearance over time, gradually sinking into the sand.

Tilt angle

The geometry of the pharaoh's tomb is a complex riddle, the answer to which cannot be unambiguous. One of these questions is the angle of inclination of the pyramid of Cheops. Having approximate data on the length and height of the sides, a whole galaxy of scientists from all over the world concluded that the angle exceeds 51 degrees. The question of the existence of the Golden Section theory at this time remains interesting. Since the value for the sekedah (Egyptian unit of measure) was chosen a number close in value to the number pi. Another riddle of geometry remains the location of corridors and passages, which, according to Egyptologists, give reasons for the name of the pyramid astronomical observatory.

Internal structure

Now the entrance to the pyramid is located in the north of the building in the form of an arch of stone slabs. Tourists overcome a corridor of 17 meters, built in 820, to see what is inside the pyramid of Cheops. It is known that the original entrance has not survived, as it was closed in antiquity with a stone slab. What is the reason for the transfer of the entrance remains unknown. The internal structure of the Cheops pyramid includes 3 burial chambers, which are located one above the other.

Funeral "pit"

In his writings, Herodotus described in detail the pyramid that was being built during his lifetime. According to him, the 105-meter corridor leading to the base of the building is the road to the chamber in which the body of the deceased pharaoh Cheops. Thus, engineers in the 19th century cleared a passage under the ground. But the sarcophagus was not there, and scientists concluded that the chamber remained completely unfinished. From this, a theory was deduced that the chamber for the ruler should indeed have been placed at the bottom of the foundation, but in the end, it was moved to the center.

Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers

At 18 meters from the entrance there is a corridor with an approximate height of 40 meters, which leads to the Grand Gallery. At the beginning of this corridor there are three "plugs" made of granite, which block the passage to further corners of the building. Previously, it was believed that no rooms, except for the descending corridor, were built in the pyramid. However, Al-Mamun was able to pave the way around these traffic jams. It was believed that they served as an obstacle to the entrance to the King's chamber. The ascending corridor has a mysterious design - the square corridor is riddled with "frame stones", with small niches in the wall.

A 35 m horizontal corridor leads to the 2nd chamber of the Great Gallery. The walls here are made of huge blocks, on which false seams are marked, giving the impression that the blocks are half the size. This chamber was called the "Queen's Chamber". It is lined with the same limestone and includes a high niche on one of the walls.

Grotto, Grand Gallery and Pharaoh's Chambers

From the Grand Gallery there is another way - a vertical shaft 60 meters high. It is believed that its purpose was an evacuation exit for workers who were completing work on the "King's Chamber". In the middle of the room is the "Grotto", intended for several people. The walls here are made of stone, and the shaft was already laid in the existing structure.

The King's Chamber has two relief cavities 17 m above it, which, presumably, were formed in order to distribute the pressure of the blocks above the King's Chamber. The weight of limestone blocks above the chamber reaches 1 million tons.

ventilation ducts

The "King's Chamber" and "The Queen's Chamber" have two ventilation outlets each, which have a through construction form. There are many versions about their purpose, but the most famous is the version of the afterlife movement of souls, according to which the soul of the deceased King rises up the canal.

Research History

A detailed study of the pyramid of Cheopsan began in the 19th century by a group of Egyptologists who, from studying the external proportions and location of the pyramid, moved on to unraveling the mysteries of the internal structure.

Recent Research

Scientists, puzzled by the question of the ideal fit of the blocks in size, put forward the theory that the formation of limestone was carried out right on the spot, without stopping the construction of the pyramid. Only this fact can explain the coincidence of all mathematical calculations.

Schematic of the pyramid of Cheops

One of the most mysterious on the Giza plateau is the Pyramid of Cheops. Interesting facts, legends and conjectures attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

  • The area of ​​the pyramid is equal to the area of ​​10 football fields;
  • The construction took about 2.2 million blocks;
  • The usual understanding that the pyramid is the tomb of the King was refuted by scientists who say that the pyramid was never used as a tomb and had a different purpose;
  • There are also theories that the pyramid is a special calendar. Careful construction has led to the fact that orientation in space along the pyramid will be more accurate than the usual compass.

Video

After lengthy research, scientists have not found the answer to the mystery of the Cheops pyramid, but the process of excavation and study of the details does not stop, keeping the hope that someday people will still be able to understand the mysteries of the pyramid.

What to see nearby

The Pyramid of Cheops is not the only attraction in the area. Arriving on a tour, you can get acquainted with other no less interesting buildings.

  • pharaoh boats– 7 real boats were found near the pyramid during excavations. They are made from a single piece of cedar and have no marks for fasteners or nails. After the reconstruction, the dimensions of the boats were established, the length of which is about 43 meters, the width is 6 meters. There is a museum next to the pyramid, which houses all the samples.
  • Pyramids of Queens of Cheops- in the east of the pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops there are 3 pyramids of a much smaller size. They were meant for the wives, queens of the pharaoh. The first - Queen Meritites I - is now almost wiped off the ground, since 2/3 of its building has sunk into the sand. The tomb of the pharaoh's mother, Hetepheres I, who died during the reign of Cheops, is also located here.
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) and Heliopolis millennia before the founding of Cairo. For over three thousand years (before the construction of the cathedral in Lincoln, England, c. 1300)

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

Pyramid age

The architect of the Great Pyramid is Hemiun, the vizier and nephew of Cheops. He also bore the title "Manager of all construction sites of the pharaoh." It is assumed that the construction, which lasted twenty years (the reign of Cheops), ended around 2540 BC. e.

unknown , Public Domain

The existing methods of dating the time of the beginning of the construction of the pyramid are divided into historical, astronomical and radiocarbon. In Egypt, it was officially established (2009) and the date of the start of the construction of the pyramid of Cheops is celebrated - August 23, 2560 BC. e. This date was obtained using the astronomical method of Kate Spence (University of Cambridge). However, this method and the dates derived from it have been criticized by many Egyptologists.

Dates according to other dating methods: 2720 BC. e. (Stephen Hack, University of Nebraska), 2577 B.C. e. (Juan Antonio Belmonte, University of Astrophysics in Canaris) and 2708 BC. e. (Pollux, Bauman University). The radiocarbon method gives a range from 2680 BC. e. until 2850 BC e. Therefore, there is no serious confirmation of the established “birthday” of the pyramid, since Egyptologists cannot agree on exactly what year the construction began.

The first mention of the pyramid

The complete absence of a mention of the pyramid in Egyptian papyri remains a mystery. The first descriptions are found in the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC) and in ancient Arabic legends. Herodotus reported (at least 2 millennia after the appearance of the Great Pyramid) that it was erected under a despot pharaoh named Cheops (Greek. Koufou), who ruled for 50 years, that 100 thousand people were employed in the construction. for twenty years, and that the pyramid is in honor of Cheops, but not his grave. The real grave is a burial near the pyramid. Herodotus gave erroneous information about the size of the pyramid, and also mentioned the middle pyramid of the Giza plateau, that it was erected by the daughter of Cheops, who sold herself, and that each building stone corresponded to the man to whom she was given.

Appearance

The pyramid is called "Akhet-Khufu" - "Horizon of Khufu" (or more precisely "Related to the sky - (this is) Khufu"). Consists of blocks of limestone and granite. It was built on a natural limestone hill. After the pyramid has lost several layers of lining, this hill is partially visible on the eastern, northern and southern sides of the pyramid.

Despite the fact that the Pyramid of Cheops is the tallest and most voluminous of all Egyptian pyramids, Pharaoh Snefru nevertheless built the pyramids in Meidum and Dahshut (Broken Pyramid and), the total mass of which is estimated at 8.4 million tons.


Rigelus, CC BY-SA 3.0

Initially, the pyramid was lined with white limestone, harder than the main blocks. The top of the pyramid was crowned with a gilded stone - a pyramidion (ancient Egyptian - "Benben"). The cladding shone in the sun with a peach color, as if "a shining miracle, to which the sun god Ra himself seemed to give all his rays."

In 1168, the Arabs sacked and burned Cairo. The inhabitants of Cairo removed the lining from the pyramid in order to build new houses.

Franck Monnier, Public Domain

Side concavity

When the sun moves around the pyramid, you can notice the unevenness of the walls - the concavity of the central part of the walls. Perhaps the reason for this is erosion or damage resulting from the fall of the stone cladding. It is also possible that this was deliberately done during construction.


Franck Monnier, Public Domain

As Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi note, the pyramid of Menkaure no longer has such a concavity of the sides. I.E.S. Edwards explains this feature by the fact that the central part of each side was simply pressed inward from a large mass of stone blocks over time.


Vivant Denon, Dominique, Public Domain

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

Tilt angle

It is not possible to accurately determine the original parameters of the pyramid, since its edges and surfaces are currently mostly dismantled and destroyed. This makes it difficult to calculate the exact angle of inclination. In addition, its symmetry itself is not perfect, so deviations in numbers are observed with different measurements.

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


Franck Monnier, Public Domain

The study of the geometry of the Great Pyramid does not give an unambiguous answer to the question of the original proportions of this structure. It is assumed that the Egyptians had an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe "Golden Section" and the number pi, which were reflected in the proportions of the pyramid: for example, the ratio of height to half the perimeter of the base is 14/22 (height \u003d 280 cubits, and the base \u003d 220 cubits, half-perimeter of the base \u003d 2 ×220 cubits; 280/440 = 14/22). For the first time in world history, these values ​​were used in the construction of the pyramid at Meidum. However, for pyramids of later eras, these proportions were not used anywhere else, as, for example, some have height-to-base ratios, such as 6/5 (Pink Pyramid), 4/3 (Chefren's Pyramid) or 7/5 (Broken Pyramid).

Some of the theories consider the pyramid to be an astronomical observatory. It is claimed that the corridors of the pyramid accurately point in the direction of " polar star» of that time - Tuban, the ventilation corridors of the south side - to the star Sirius, and from the north side - to the star Alnitak.

Internal structure

The entrance to the pyramid is at a height of 15.63 meters on the north side. The entrance is formed by stone slabs laid in the form of an arch, but this is a structure that was inside the pyramid - the true entrance has not been preserved. The true entrance to the pyramid was most likely closed with a stone plug. A description of such a cork can be found in Strabo, and its appearance can also be imagined based on the surviving slab that closed the upper entrance to the Bent Pyramid of Snefru, the father of Cheops. Today, tourists enter the pyramid through a 17-meter gap, which was made in 820 by the Baghdad caliph Abdullah al-Mamun 10 meters lower. He hoped to find the pharaoh's untold treasures there, but found only a layer of dust half a cubit thick.

Inside the pyramid of Cheops there are three burial chambers located one above the other.


Yucatan, CC BY-SA 4.0

Funeral "pit"

A descending corridor 105 m long, inclined at 26° 26’46, leads to a horizontal corridor 8.9 m long leading to the chamber 5 . Located below ground level in a rocky limestone base, it was left unfinished. The dimensions of the chamber are 14 × 8.1 m, it is elongated from east to west. The height reaches 3.5 m, the ceiling has a large crack. At the southern wall of the chamber there is a well about 3 m deep, from which a narrow manhole (0.7 × 0.7 m in cross section) stretches southward for 16 m, ending in a dead end.


john and edgar morton, Public Domain

Engineers John Shae Perring and Richard William Howard Vyse cleared the floor of the chamber in the early 19th century and dug a 11.6 m deep well in which they hoped to find a hidden burial chamber. 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 left unfinished, and it was decided to arrange the burial chambers in the center of the pyramid itself.

Photos taken in 1910


john and edgar morton, Public Domain

john and edgar morton, Public Domain

Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers

From the first third of the descending passage (after 18 m from the main entrance) upwards at the same angle of 26.5 ° there is an ascending passage to the south ( 6 ) about 40 m long, ending at the bottom of the Great Gallery ( 9 ).

At its beginning, the ascending passage contains 3 large cubic granite “plugs”, which, from the outside, from the descending passage, were masked by a block of limestone that fell out during the work of al-Mamun. Thus, for the previous approximately 3 thousand years, it was believed that there were no 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 simply hollowed out a bypass in the softer limestone to the right of them. This passage is still in use today. There are two main theories about plugs, one of them is that the ascending passage has plugs installed at the beginning of construction and thus this passage was sealed by them from the very beginning. The second asserts that the present narrowing of the walls was caused by an earthquake, and the plugs were previously located within the Great Gallery and were used to seal the passage only after the burial of the pharaoh.


Franck Monnier, GNU 1.2

An important mystery of this section of the ascending passage is that in the place where the traffic jams are now located, in a full-size, albeit shortened model of the pyramid passages - the so-called test corridors north of the Great Pyramid - there is a junction of not two, but three corridors at once, the third of which is the vertical tunnel. Since no one has been able to move the traffic jams so far, the question of whether there is a vertical hole above them remains open.


Jon Bodsworth, Green Copyright

In the middle of the ascending passage, the construction of the walls has a peculiarity: the so-called “frame stones” are installed in three places - that is, the passage, square along the entire length, pierces through three monoliths. The purpose of these stones is unknown. In the area of ​​the frame stones, the passage walls have several small niches.


john and edgar morton, Public Domain

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. . Behind the western wall of the passage there are cavities filled with sand.

The second chamber is traditionally called the "Queen's Chamber", although according to the 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" (Grotto) of irregular shape, in which several people could fit from strength.


Jon Bodsworth, Green Copyright

Grotto ( 12 ) is located at the "junction" of the masonry of the pyramid and a small, about 9 meters high, hill on a limestone plateau lying at the base of the 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.


Jon Bodsworth, Green Copyright

The large gallery continues the ascending passage. Its height is 8.53 m, it is rectangular in cross section, with walls slightly tapering upwards (the so-called “false vault”), a high inclined tunnel 46.6 m long. 1 meter wide and 60 cm deep, and on both side protrusions there are 27 pairs of recesses of unclear purpose. The deepening ends with the so-called. The “Big Step” is a high horizontal ledge, a platform of 1 × 2 meters at the end of the Great Gallery, directly in front of the entrance to the “entrance hall” - the Anterior Chamber. The site has a pair of recesses similar to the ramp recesses, recesses at the corners near the wall (the 28th and last pair of BG recesses). Through the "entrance hall" the manhole leads to the burial chamber "King's Chamber" lined with black granite, where an empty granite sarcophagus is placed. The lid of the sarcophagus is missing. Ventilation shafts have mouths in the "King's Chamber" on the southern and northern walls at a height of about a meter from the floor level. The mouth of the southern ventilation shaft is badly damaged, the northern one appears undamaged. The floor, ceiling, walls of the chamber do not have any decorations or holes or fasteners of anything related to the time of the construction of the pyramid. The ceiling slabs have all burst along the southern wall and do not fall into the room only due to the pressure of the overlying blocks by the weight.


john and edgar morton, Public Domain

Above the "King's Chamber" there are five discharge cavities discovered in the 19th century with a total height of 17 m, between which lie monolithic granite slabs with a thickness of about 2 m, and above - a gable ceiling of limestone. It is believed that 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.

ventilation ducts

So-called "ventilation" channels 20-25 cm wide depart from the "King's Chamber" and the "Queen's Chamber" in the northern and south directions (at first horizontally, then obliquely upwards). At the same time, the channels of the "King's Chamber", known since the 17th century, through, they are open both from below and from above (on the faces of the pyramid), while the lower ends of the channels of the "Queen's Chamber" are separated from the surface of the wall by about 13 cm, they were discovered by tapping in 1872. The upper ends of these channels do not reach the surface of about 12 meters. The upper ends of the channels of the "Queen's Chamber" are closed with stone "Gantenbrink Doors", each with two copper handles. Copper handles were sealed with plaster seals (not preserved, but traces remained). In the southern ventilation shaft, the “door” was discovered in 1993 using the Upuaut II remote-controlled robot; the bend of the northern shaft did not allow this robot to detect the same "door" in it. In 2002, using a new modification of the robot, a hole was drilled in the southern "door", but behind it a small cavity 18 centimeters long was found and another stone "door". What lies next is still unknown. This robot confirmed the presence of a similar "door" at the end of the northern channel, but they did not drill it. A new robot in 2010 was able to insert a serpentine television camera through a drilled hole in the southern “door” and found that the copper “handles” on the other side of the “door” were designed in the form of neat hinges, and individual badges were applied in red ocher on the floor of the “ventilation” shaft. Currently, the most common version is that the purpose of the "ventilation" ducts was of a religious nature and is associated with the Egyptians' ideas about the afterlife journey of the soul. And the “door” at the end of the channel is nothing more than a door to the afterlife. That is why it does not go to the surface of the pyramid. Pyramid of Queen Meritites (G1b)

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

Statistical data

  • Altitude (today): ≈ 138.75 m
  • Sidewall Angle (Now): 51° 50"
  • Side rib length (original): 230.33 m (calculated) or about 440 royal cubits
  • Side rib length (now): about 225 m
  • The length of the sides of the base of the pyramid: south - 230.454 m; north - 230.253 m; west - 230.357 m; east - 230.394 m
  • Base area (originally): ≈ 53,000 m² (5.3 ha)
  • Side surface area of ​​the pyramid (originally): ≈ 85,500 m²
  • Base perimeter: 922 m
  • The total volume of the pyramid without deducting the cavities inside the pyramid (initially): ≈ 2.58 million m³
  • Total volume of the pyramid minus all known cavities (originally): 2.50 million m³
  • Average volume of stone blocks: 1.147 m³
  • Average weight of stone blocks: 2.5 t
  • The heaviest stone block: about 35 tons - is located above the entrance to the "King's Chamber".
  • The number of blocks of the average volume does not exceed 1.65 million (2.50 million m³ - 0.6 million m³ of rock base inside the pyramid = 1.9 million m³ / 1.147 m³ = 1.65 million blocks of the specified volume can physically fit in the pyramid, without taking into account the volume of the solution in the interblock seams); reference to a 20-year construction period * 300 working days per year * 10 working hours per day * 60 minutes per hour results in a paving (and delivery to the construction site) speed of about a block of two minutes.
  • According to estimates, the total weight of the pyramid is about 4 million tons (1.65 million blocks x 2.5 tons)
  • The base of the pyramid rests on a natural rocky elevation with a height in the center of about 12-14 m and, according to the latest data, occupies at least 23% of the original volume of the pyramid

Research History

Recent Research

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

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

Around the pyramid

pharaoh boats

Near the pyramids, seven pits were found with real ancient Egyptian boats disassembled into parts.

The first of these ships, called "" or "Solar Boats", was discovered in 1954 by the Egyptian architect Kamal el-Mallah and archaeologist Zaki Nur.

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

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

One of the greatest buildings ancient world located in Egypt. This building, since the completion of the construction, strikes with its grandeur and impeccable geometry. No wonder the ancient Greeks included the pyramid of Cheops in their list of the seven wonders of the world. This is the only miracle that has survived to this day.

The Pyramid of Cheops has become a real masterpiece. Modern researchers are amazed at the severity of proportions and the accuracy of geometric dimensions, with which the ancient Egyptians coped brilliantly. Some Egyptologists seriously believe that the builders of the 26th century BC could not have built such a structure in 22 years. They adhere to the theory of extraterrestrial origin of the pyramids.

The point of view of these researchers has the right to exist, especially since the arguments they present sometimes baffle opponents. The location of the pyramid and its proportions are so precise that in order to arrange them in accordance with the cardinal points, modern builders would require the use of the most accurate geodetic instruments. If a exact location the pyramids of Cheops on the cardinal points are an accident, then an accident is very happy.

The current proportions of the pyramid of Cheops, or Khufu, are not what they were originally. Scientists were able to determine that the maximum height of the pyramid in 2568 BC was 146.6 meters. The ratio of height and base, therefore, is 3.14 ...., that is, the number "Pi" from geometry. The point is the accuracy in which the ratio repeats the number "Pi". This precision is six decimal places. Archimedes did not know this meaning, he would have envied such accuracy, no doubt.

On the day the construction was completed, the pyramid of Cheops was 146.6 meters high. However, now, its height is much less than the original. There are two reasons for this decrease. One natural character is erosion. The second reason is artificial. Her name is man...

In 1301 Cairo experienced an earthquake. Most of the houses turned into piles of garbage. The same fate befell the mosques with skillful minarets. After the first shock, the Cairo authorities turned to a real storehouse of building materials - the pyramids of the pagans. They were seduced by the polished limestone slabs with which the pyramids were laid out. Following the path of least resistance, by reducing overhead costs, the Arabs began to remove the outer lining of the pyramids. Now only part of the facing on the upper tiers of the Khafre pyramid has been preserved. On the pyramid of Cheops, there is no outer lining left.

As a result of the barbaric dismantling, the height of the high pyramid in Egypt has decreased by more than eight meters. Today's sources, speaking about the height of the pyramid of Cheops, do not shine with uniformity. The difference is 10-20 centimeters. On the one hand, such a discrepancy in data outrages pedants, lovers of accuracy. On the other hand, 10-20 centimeters now do not determine anything. After all, the original proportions are violated irrevocably and forever.

The Arabs who dismantled the pyramids did not ask subtle scientific questions. They were not interested in the theories put forward by modern scientists. They were interested in the momentary solution of domestic problems. They did not hesitate to cause damage to one of the seven wonders of the world. We can complain for a long time about the Arabs of the early 14th century. We can complain about inaccuracies in determining the true height of the pyramid. We can hypothesize about the creators of the pyramids. But the pyramids don't care. They continue to exist and outlive us with our emotions. They will continue to delight and thrill visitors who will disturb their centuries-old peace.