home Pike Pharaoh buried in the highest pyramid. The largest pyramid in egypt

Pharaoh buried in the highest pyramid. The largest pyramid in egypt

MOSCOW, November 2 — RIA Novosti. Physicists have found a previously unknown area of emptiness in the pyramid of Cheops, which may be a secret tomb or a passage to it, according to an article published in the journal Nature.

"When we saw this void zone, we realized that we had stumbled upon something very interesting and big, abandoned all other projects and concentrated on studying this area, located right above the corridor to the tomb of Cheops. Now we are sure that it really exists, and this the first find of this kind in the pyramid of Cheops since the Middle Ages, when it was opened by Caliph Al-Mamun in the 9th century," said Mehdi Tayoubi from the HIP Institute in Paris (France).

Physicists have found two "unknown voids" in the pyramid of CheopsArchaeologists and physicists have discovered two, as they say, "previously unknown voids" inside the pyramid of Cheops, which may be secret rooms where the remains of Pharaoh Khufu lie.

Secrets of the pharaohs

The Pyramid of Cheops, one of the seven wonders of the world, was built in the middle of the third millennium BC, during the time of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), a representative of the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, at the same time as all the "great pyramids" of Ancient Egypt. With a height of 145 meters and a width and length of 230 meters, this structure remains one of the tallest and largest structures ever created by mankind.

Over the past two centuries, scientists have discovered three rooms in the pyramid, in one of which the pharaoh himself was supposedly buried, in the other his wife, and the third was considered a bait or a trap for robbers. In the walls of the corridors that lead to the tomb of Khufu, unusual channels and structures were found, which scientists believe are elements of a "security system" that protected the pharaoh from defilers.

The mummies of the pharaoh and his wife were never found, which is why many archaeologists believe that in fact their tombs are still hidden in the thickness of the pyramid. Two years ago, scientists from the universities of Nagoya, Paris and Cairo began searching for these secret rooms, studying the pyramid using cosmic particle detectors and telescopes as part of the ScanPyramids project.

Breath of space

Every second, millions of muons, charged particles, are produced in the Earth's upper atmosphere as a result of the collision of cosmic rays with gas molecules in the air. These collisions accelerate muons to near-light speeds, due to which they penetrate tens and hundreds of meters deep into the surface of the planet. According to scientists' measurements, each square meter of the Earth's surface absorbs about 10 thousand of these particles.

French archaeologists and physicists, together with Japanese scientists, have adapted telescopes capable of "seeing" muons to search for voids and hidden spaces in monuments of ancient architecture.

This technique works very simply - the muon flux decreases in air and in empty space much more slowly than when passing through the thickness of rocks or the earth, which makes it possible to search for secret rooms by bursts in the muon background.

In October last year, participants in the ScanPyramids project announced a sensational discovery - they managed to find several previously unknown voids in the pyramid, which may be the secret tombs of the "master of two houses" and his wife. This discovery caused a sharp rejection among archaeologists and Egyptologists, who accused physicists of misinterpreting the data.

Physics and lyrics

These allegations forced scientists to repeat measurements using three different muon telescopes at once. This time, the observations, as Tayubi emphasized, were carried out according to the same rules and principles by which the Higgs boson and other particles unknown to science were searched for at the LHC and other accelerators.

“Our measurements absolutely rule out that this void area could have arisen due to differences in the properties of the stones or due to construction errors,” states Zahi Hawass. The Egyptians were too good builders to mess up the construction of the pyramid, leave a hole in it and create a room or corridor somewhere else,” said Hany Elal (Hany Helal) from Cairo University in Cairo.

Checking whether this is true or not, scientists installed a set of films sensitive to the action of muons in the alleged tomb of the wife of Cheops, and semiconductor particle detectors were placed in the lower part of the pyramid. A few months later, they collected data, processed it and compared it with how muons should move through the pyramid if there are no other voids in it, except for the already known corridors and rooms.

If the initial results of scanning the pyramid of Cheops were erroneous, then, as Elal notes, the "pictures" obtained by different muon telescopes would not match. In fact, they turned out to be the same, which confirmed the assumptions of physicists and refuted the insinuations of archaeologists.

The photographs showed that above the main corridor of the pyramid there is a zone of emptiness thirty long, eight high and about two meters wide. As Tayubi noted, it can be either a solid corridor running parallel to the ground, up or down, or a suite of rooms. So far, physicists do not have enough data to rule out the first or second option.

Scientists emphasize that they do not interpret their discovery in any way and do not claim that they managed to find a secret room - this task, according to them, should be handled by Egyptologists.

Jean-Baptiste Mouret, a physicist at the University of Paris, hopes that his team's discovery will convince Egyptian historians that they were wrong in their assessments and start a discussion about whether to try to penetrate this void zone, and if yes, how to do it.

A new round of history

In the near future, as scientists noted, they plan to continue studying the void zone, as well as other departments of the Cheops pyramid, including the tomb of the pharaoh himself, and will begin to scan other pyramids that may hide secret rooms and unknown voids.

These data, physicists hope, will help to understand exactly how the pyramids were built and whether it is possible to trust the descriptions of their construction, which have come down to our time in the writings of Herodotus.

At the same time, as scientists noted, muon scanners can not reveal all the secrets of ancient history. For example, according to Tayubi, they cannot be used to search for the secret tomb of Nefertiti in the tomb of Tutankhamen, the existence of which was recently announced by the famous British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves.

"Muon scanners cannot be used to study the tomb of Tutankhamen and other burials in the Valley of the Kings for the reason that we do not know how voids are distributed in the rocks located above them," the scientist explained, answering a question from RIA Novosti.

Such research, as Sebastien Procureur, a colleague of More, added, is further complicated by the fact that man-made particle accelerators cannot be used to scan the pyramids and other ancient structures, since their delivery to Giza or the Valley of the Kings will entail unacceptably high costs.

“In short, this is simply not feasible. Muons cannot be created directly - they arise from the decay of kaons and pions, and there are too few particle accelerators in the world that can accelerate them to the required speeds. In addition, they are all very large - at least 700 meters in length. It would be easier for us to transport the pyramid to such an installation than to try to build it in Giza or in other parts of Egypt. Therefore, we have to rely on space in such observations," the agency's interlocutor concluded.

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 go inside for asthmatics, as well as 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:

Entrance to the complex.
Entrance inside the pyramid of Cheops or Khafre.
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. At present, part of the wall and other buildings have been restored, and the pyramid, whose age is approaching 4700 years, has been preserved quite well.

The Pyramid of Cheops is a rare case in Egyptology when we can be sure exactly who owns the monument. Often the ancient monuments of Egypt were appropriated by later rulers. The appropriation technology was very simple - the name of the pharaoh-builder (cartouche) was simply confused with the inscriptions in the temple or in the tomb, and another name was knocked out.

This phenomenon was very common. Take, for example, the famous pharaoh Tutankhamun. Until 1922, when archaeologist Howard Carter unearthed , Egyptologists doubted the existence of this ruler. There was almost no written evidence about him, everything was destroyed by subsequent pharaohs.

In the 19th century, archaeologists often used very barbaric research methods. In the pyramid of Cheops, explosions of gunpowder were used to search for hidden rooms. You can still see traces of such methods on the surfaces of structures (see photo on the left).

During such research, small rooms were found above the main burial chamber. Explorers rushed there hoping to find treasure, but of course there was nothing there but dust.

These rooms, only 1 meter high, had a purely technical purpose. These are unloading chambers, they protect the ceiling of the burial chamber from collapse, and relieve the mechanical load. But it was on the walls of these unloading chambers that scientists discovered inscriptions made by ancient builders.

These were block markings. As we now put a label on a product, so the ancient Egyptian foremen marked the blocks: “A block such and such for the pyramid of Khufu, produced then, laid then.” These inscriptions cannot be fake, they prove that this building was built by Cheops.

A little about Pharaoh Cheops

In the last paragraph, we used the name "Khufu". This is the official Egyptian name of this pharaoh. Cheops is the Greek interpretation of his name, and not the most common. Other pronunciations of "Cheops" or "Kiops" are more common.

The name “Khufu” is more common in the world. If you are going on an excursion to Giza with a Russian-speaking guide, then there will be no problems, he will be aware of this phonetic difference. But, if you communicate with locals or tourists from other countries, we recommend using the name “Khufu”.

Although Pharaoh Khufu is one of them, it will not be possible to write much about him. We know very little about him.

In addition to the fact that this pyramid was built, we know that Khufu organized expeditions to develop useful resources in the Sinai Peninsula. That's all. Only two artifacts have survived from Khufu to this day - a giant pyramid 137 meters high and a small ivory figurine only 7.5 centimeters high (pictured right).

Pharaoh Cheops remained in the people's memory as a tyrant ruler who forced people to work on a grandiose construction. We can read about this in the works of the Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt and wrote down the stories of the priests.

Surprisingly, his father, Pharaoh Snefru, remained in the people's memory as a very kind ruler, although he built as many as three pyramids ( and ) and overtaxed the country twice as much as Cheops.

The veil of uncertainty has been lifted over one of the seven wonders of the world.

The pyramid of Cheops inside, like a "Russian matryoshka" - consists of three pyramids of three pharaohs.

What says that Pyramid of Cheops - there is a semblance of "Russian matryoshka", containing within itself two more pyramids, one inside the other? Let's think, look into the facts and on this basis create new knowledge.

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. (4th century BC e., Plato, "Timaeus").

Secrets are overcome by knowledge. Knowledge can be acquired or created.

As a "tool for creation" let's take common sense, the logic of thinking and the knowledge of people who used 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").

To confirm the conclusion put forward above, let's start with the facts and consider the scheme of the Cheops pyramid in the context (what is).

Firstly, there are three burial chambers in the pyramid of Cheops . Three! It follows from this fact that the pyramid at different times had three owners (three pharaohs), and therefore each had its own separate burial chamber. 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 a rather laborious task for our time. Archaeologists have also 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. The ancient crypt of the pharaoh (mastaba) consists of underground and ground parts. The pharaoh's mummy was located deep underground in an underground hall. In the ground part, above the hall, a low, trapezoidal truncated pyramid was built from stone blocks. Inside it 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). Under the pyramid of Cheops there is an underground passage (4) at the end of which is a vast unfinished underground hall (5) with an exit (12). According to the theory of burial for the passage of the soul of the pharaoh to the above-ground part of the mastaba premises.

According to the plan of the section of the pyramid of Cheops, it can be concluded that - if there is an underground hall (5) and there is an exit from it upward (12), then the upper prayer room mastaba room should be in the center and slightly below 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, destroyed and preserved.

The conclusion about the presence of a mastaba on a plateau in the center of the pyramid of Cheops is also confirmed by the facts of research by French scientists - Gilles Dormayon and Jean-Yves Verdhart. In August 2004, while examining the floor in the middle burial chamber (7) with sensitive gravitational instruments, they found an impressive void below the floor at a depth of about four meters.

According to the plan of the pyramid section, a narrow inclined-vertical shaft (12), built for the passage of the pharaoh's soul, 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 of the mine, at the level of the earth's surface under the base of the pyramid, there is a small grotto (expansion up to 5 meters in length) whose walls consist of ancient masonry, not belonging to the pyramid . The passage rising from the underground hall and the ancient masonry are nothing but the belongings of the first mastaba. From the grotto (12) to the center of the pyramid, there should also be a passage to the ground hall (halls) of the mastabas. This passage was probably walled up by the builders of the second pyramid.

According to the appearance and the statement of archaeologists, the underground burial chamber (5) remained unfinished. Perhaps the upper above-ground part of the mastaba with a prayer room remained, not finished ( which is to be found out by opening the passage).

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

The presence of an unfinished burial structure 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 the mastaba to build a 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 age of the "Sphinx" (the deity into which the soul of the pharaoh should have moved) is estimated much older than the pyramids - about 5-10 thousand years.

In Egypt, by the beginning of the III millennium BC. burials of pharaohs in mastabas were replaced by more majestic structures - stepped pyramids, and later to "smooth" pyramids. The Egyptian priests also had a new worldview about the place of residence of souls after death. According to them, after death, the soul flew to life in the stars. “He who lives the time measured out for him properly, will return to the abode of the star named after him". (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 corridors to the chamber (7) show the approximate contours of the ancient first internal truncated, trapezoidal mastaba pyramid.

Second inner pyramid ten meters each side is smaller than the current outer third pyramid of Cheops. 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 canals, with a cross section of 20 by 25 cm, do not reach the border of the outer walls of the pyramid by about ten meters. The name of these channels - air ducts, of course, is not correct. The deceased pharaoh did not need any ventilation ducts. The canals had a different purpose. This is one of the "keys" to unraveling the mystery of the pyramid of Cheops. Channels - pointing, skyward way, oriented with great accuracy (up to a degree) to those stars where, according to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the soul of the pharaoh will settle after death. At the time when the second pyramid was built, the channels from the burial room (7) reached the edge of the outer walls and were open to the sky.

The second burial chamber of the pharaoh was probably also not completed (judging by the lack of its interior design). This suggests that the entire 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 had already been built to a level - not lower than the height of the channels emanating from the burial chamber (7) to the outer walls.

The second inner pyramid reveals itself not only as tightly closed channels and its own separate burial chamber, but also as a bricked-up central entrance (1) to the pyramid. Obviously, it is striking that the entrance walled up with huge granite blocks is buried in the body of the pyramid (approximately the same ten meters as the shortened channels from the second burial chamber).

During the construction of the third pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops, this entrance was not extended to the boundaries of the outer wall, and therefore, after increasing the perimeter of the walls, the entrance turned out to be “drowned” inside. The entrance gates of buildings are always made to be somewhat outside structures, and not buried in the depths of the structure.

Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) was the third builder and owner of the pyramid-tomb

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 the pharaoh to take an old or unfinished pyramid than to build a new one from scratch. In this case, the advantageous location of the second pyramid, at the very top of the plateau, also mattered.

The construction of the third pyramid began with the fact that dismantled the central part of the unfinished second pyramid. In the resulting "crater" at a height of about 40 meters from the ground, an antechamber (11) and the third burial chamber of the pharaoh itself (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, which is not similar to the initial part of the ascending passage, indicates that the passage was made not at one time, but at different times according to different projects.

After the third pyramid of Cheops was “expanded at the hips”, adding about 10 meters on each side, the old outgoing channels for the “exit of the soul” from the chamber (7) turned out to be closed. If the burial chamber (7) was empty, then the builders of the third pyramid had no reason to lengthen the old canals. The channels were laid with new rows of wall blocks.

In September 2002, British scientists-researchers launched a caterpillar robot into one of the narrow channels - "air ducts" from the middle 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. These are the blocks of the wall of the third pyramid.

From the third burial chamber of Pharaoh Cheops, new channels (10) were laid for the “flight of the soul” to the stars. If you look closely at the section of the pyramid, then the channels from the second and third chambers are almost parallel, but not quite! During the construction of the pyramids, the channels were aimed at the same stars. The channels from the upper third chamber, relative to the channels of the second, are slightly rotated clockwise by 3-5 degrees. This discrepancy in degrees is not an accident. Egyptian priests and builders very meticulously recorded the position of the stars in the sky and the direction of the channels to them. "Then what's the matter?"

The axis of rotation of the Earth every 72 years is shifted by 1 degree, and every 25920 years, the axis of the Earth, rotating with an inclination, like a "spinning top", makes a full circle of 360 degrees. This astronomical phenomenon is called precession. The ancient Egyptian priests knew about the declination of the Earth's axis and its swing around the poles. The rotation time of the Earth's axis in 25920 years Plato called - "The Great Year".

When the Earth's axis shifts by one degree in 72 years, then the angle of view towards the required star also changes by 1 degree (including the angle of view to the Sun). If the displacement of a pair of channels approximately differs by 3-5 degrees, then we can calculate that the difference between the construction of the second pyramid and the third pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) is 216-360 years.

Egyptian historians say that Pharaoh Khufu ruled from 2540-2560 BC. By measuring "degree" years ago, we can say when the second inner pyramid was built.

In the entire 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 the workers - “Builders, friends of Pharaoh Khufu”. No other mention of the names or belonging of the pharaohs to the pyramid has yet been found.

Probably, the third pyramid of Cheops was completed and used for its intended purpose. Otherwise, a cork from several granite cubes would not have been lowered into the ascending passage (6) from the inside along an inclined plane. Thus, the pyramid was tightly closed for everyone for three thousand years (until 820 AD).

The ancient Egyptian name of the pyramid of Cheops is read by hieroglyphs - "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 autumn days - the spring equinox. The sun at noon, like a golden "crown" crowned the pyramid. Throughout the year, the Sun (ancient Egyptian God - Ra) walks in the sky in summer above, in 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 house of the "God - the Sun" and the horizon of the "house - 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). Historians did not know whether it was built earlier than the pyramid of Cheops or later. But, given the "degree time" (smaller angle of inclination of the walls) and if the builders were not mistaken, then this fact indicates that the Menkaure pyramid was built earlier. In relation to the "degree age scale", a slope difference of 30 minutes corresponds to 36 years. In later Egyptian pyramids, respectively, the slope of the faces is higher.

There are also many pyramids in Sudan, the angle of which is much steeper. Sudan is south of Egypt and the Sun on the day of the spring-autumn equinox is much higher above the horizon there. This explains the great steepness of the walls of the Sudanese pyramids.

In 820 AD Baghdad caliph Abu Jafar al-Mamun, in search of the innumerable treasures of the pharaoh at the base of the pyramid of Cheops, made a horizontal gap (2), which is used by tourists to enter the pyramid to this day. 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 half an cubit” inside. If anything in the pyramid was valuable, then the caliph's servants took it. And what was left, everything was taken out over the next 1200 years.

Judging by the appearance of the gallery (9), it seems that 28 pairs of ritual statues stood along its walls in rectangular recesses. But the exact purpose of the recesses is not known. The fact that tall statues stood there is evidenced by two facts - the eight-meter height of the gallery, and also on the walls there were large round peeling imprints from the mortar, with which the inclined statues were attached to the walls. (see gallery photo on Wikipedia).

I will disappoint those who are inclined to find "miracles" in the design of the pyramids. More than a hundred pyramids have been discovered in Egypt today, and they are all different from each other. There are 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 is a rectangular base (Pharaoh Djoser) . There is no unity even among the three pyramids at Giza. The smaller of the three pyramids of Menkaure 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 (upper) 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 law, secret or knowledge, the "golden section" and so on, then everyone would have uniformity. But there is nothing like it.

Former Minister of Archeology of Egypt and current chief expert on ancient pyramids ZahiHawass He speaks: “Like any practitioner, I decided to test the statement that food does not spoil in a 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 can you look for in the pyramid of Cheops? Perhaps, try to find the overground prayer room of the first mastaba, for which it would be possible to drill several holes down in the floor of the second (7) burial chamber, until an internal cavity is found below. Either from the grotto (12) find a walled passage to the halls (or re-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 that, perhaps, it will become known about the pharaoh of the first mastaba - a truncated trapezoid pyramid.

The Sphinx is also of great interest on the Giza plateau. The stone body of the ancient Sphinx, located from west to east. Burial chambers and burials were also made from west to east. It can be assumed that the Sphinx is an integral part of an above-ground structure (mastaba) - tomb of an unknown pharaoh.

Searches in this direction would expand the boundaries of knowledge of the history of ancient Egypt. Perhaps an even earlier civilization, for example, the Atlanteans, whom the Egyptians deified and attributed to their ancient ancestors, 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 ancestry.

It is likely that the burial chamber and mummy of the ancient pharaoh of Negro origin is under the front paws of the Sphinx. In this case, there should be a passage upward from the underground hall - the path for the resettlement of the “soul” of the pharaoh, for 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.

The veil of secrecy has been lifted over the "secrets" of the Egyptian structures at Giza.

Now, it remains to "log in". This requires permission from the Egyptian authorities, which they give to research scientists with great reluctance.

Any secret loses its attractive power when it is revealed.

Vladimir Garmatyuk, Vologda

- one of the most ancient "seven wonders of the world", which has survived to this day. She inherited her name from the creator - Pharaoh Cheops and is the largest in the group of Egyptian pyramids.

It is believed that it serves as a tomb for his dynasty. The Pyramid of Cheops is located on the Giza plateau.

Dimensions of the pyramid of Cheops

The height of the Pyramid of Cheops initially reached 146.6 meters, but time inexorably and gradually destroys this impressive structure. Today it has decreased to 137.2 meters.

The pyramid is composed, in general, of 2.3 million cubes of stone. The weight of one stone is on average 2.5 tons, but there are even those whose mass reaches 15 tons.

The most interesting thing is that these blocks fit so perfectly that even the blade of a thin knife cannot pass through them. They were glued together with white cement, as a protection against the penetration of water inside. It has survived to this day.

One side of the pyramid is 230 meters long. The base area is 53,000 square meters, which can be equated to ten football fields.

This huge building impresses with its grandeur and breathes with antiquity. According to scientists, the total weight of the pyramid is 6.25 million tons. Previously, its surface was perfectly smooth. Now, unfortunately, there is no trace of this smoothness.

Inside the pyramid of Cheops there is one entrance, located at a height of 15.5 meters above the ground. It contains the tombs in which the pharaohs were buried. These so-called burial chambers are made of durable granite and are located at a depth of 28 meters.

The pyramid consists of incoming and descending passages, which were not used in any other similar building. One of the features is a large descent leading to the tomb of the pharaoh.

The Pyramid of Cheops is located directly in the place that points to all four cardinal points. It is the only one of all the ancient structures that has such accuracy.

History of the Pyramid of Cheops

How the ancient Egyptians were able to build this Pyramid and when, no one can say for sure. But in Egypt, the official date when construction began is August 23, 2480 BC.

It was then that Pharaoh Snofu died and his son Khufu (Cheops) gave the order to build the pyramid. He wanted to build such a pyramid that it would not only become one of the greatest structures, but also glorify his name through the ages.

It is known that about 100,000 people simultaneously participated in its construction. For 10 years, they only built a road along which it was necessary to deliver stones, and the construction itself continued for another 20-25 years.

According to scientists, it is known that workers cut down huge blocks in quarries on the banks of the Nile. On boats they went to the other side and dragged a block along the road with felt to the construction site itself.

Then came the turn of hard and very dangerous work. The blocks were stacked to each other with extraordinary accuracy with the help of ropes and levers.

Secrets of the Pyramid of Cheops

For almost 3,500 years, no one has disturbed the peace of the Pyramid of Cheops. She was covered with legends about the punishment of anyone who enters the chambers of the pharaoh.

However, there was such a daredevil caliph Abdullah al-Mamun, he laid a tunnel inside the pyramid in order to profit. But what was his surprise when he found absolutely no treasures. Indeed, this is one of the many secrets of this majestic structure.

No one knows whether the pharaoh Cheops was really buried in it or his tomb was plundered by the ancient Egyptians. Scientists emphasize that the pharaoh's chamber does not have decorations, which at that time it was customary to decorate the tombs. There is no lid on the sarcophagus, and it is not completely hewn. It is clear that the work has not been completed.

After an unsuccessful attempt by Abdullah al-Mamun, having come into a frenzy, he ordered the pyramids to be dismantled. But of course this goal was not achieved. And the robbers lost all interest in her and her non-existent treasures.

In 1168, the Arabs burned part of Cairo, and when the Egyptians began to rebuild their houses, they removed the white slabs from the pyramid.

And from that pyramid that shone like a precious stone, only a stepped body remained. This is how it appears today, before enthusiastic tourists.

The Pyramid of Cheops has been constantly explored, since the time of Napoleon. And some researchers are more inclined to believe the theory about the construction of the pyramid by aliens or Atlanteans.

Because to this day it is not clear how the builders could achieve such excellent stone processing and precise laying, which have not been affected by external factors for centuries. And the pyramid measurements themselves are striking in their results.

The pyramid was surrounded by other interesting buildings, mostly temples. But today, almost nothing has survived.

Their purpose is not completely clear, but in 1954, archaeologists found the most ancient ship at this place. It was the “Solnechnaya” boat, which was made without a single nail, with traces of silt preserved, and most likely floated in the time of Cheops.

The Pyramid of Cheops is located on the Giza plateau. Giza is a settlement northwest of Cairo. You can get there by taxi, naming the Mena House Hotel as the final stop. Or take a bus to go from the stops of Tahrir Square, in Cairo, or sit at the Ramesses station.

Pyramid of Cheops on the map

Attraction opening hours and price

You can see the majestic Pyramid of Cheops every day from 8.00 to 17.00. in winter, the visit is limited to 16.30. It is advisable to visit the pyramid in the early morning or late afternoon. In the rest of the hours it is quite hot, and you can’t break through the crowds of tourists. Although at this hour they are not so few.

Passing to the ticket office, which is not far from the hotel, you should not pay attention to barkers offering a ride on camels or calling themselves controllers. Most likely they are scammers.

The cost of entering the territory will cost $ 8, the entrance to the Pyramid of Cheops itself will cost $ 16. And of course, it is worth visiting the two pyramids of Khafre and Mykerin standing next to each other, each will cost $ 4. And to see the Solar Boat - $ 7.

It is impossible to appreciate the full power and grandeur of the Pyramid of Cheops shrouded in many secrets from photographs or words.

You just need to see it with your own eyes and touch this ancient, truly impressive structure.