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site information

0900-1700 daily
E£20 site entry
E£10 student entry

E£20 cheops pyramid
E£10 menkaure pyramid
E£10 camera
no flash

relevant links

travelogue 2/5

history

Old Kingdom
4th Dynasty
Khufu
Khafre
Menkaure

Great Pyramid of Cheops / Khufu

The current entrance to the pyramid is lower than the original, having been blasted into the structure by tomb robbers in 820 CE. A tunnel descends deeply into the pyramid and then meets up with the original angled tunnel to the Grand Gallery. This leads to the Kings Chamber, although no actual burial was found here, mch less the king's. The chamber is lined with red granite. There is a huge sarcophagus without a lid -- it must have been added as the room was built, since it will not fit into any of the passages.

Above the Kings Chambers are relieveing chambers which suport the weight of the stone. The top chamber has a pointed roof and grafittit - the only inscriptions in the whole pyramid.

One of the strangest things about the pyramid are the four square shafts that are cut into the stone and emerge on the face of the pyramid. Two come from the king's chamber, and two from the queen's chamber. They may be ventilation shafts, or may be of religious significange -- sighting on the major stars in the heavens. One of the shafts in the Kings chamber points directly to where the main star in Orion's belt would have been when it was built. A shaft from the Queens chamber points to SIrius.

Looking out from the entrance, you can see the remains of the original enclosure wall on the north and east side, about 10 meters from the bottom of the pyramid. It is a huge paved area that is being currently excavated.