Marveling at the Great Pyramid of Giza
Egyptian Temples & Tombs | February 23, 2010Ah! The Great Pyramid of Giza tours was my ardent desire at least once in lifetime. The oldest and largest pyramid in the Giza 
Necropolis is also known as the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. Ranked among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still surviving intact, the pyramid is a tomb of the fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) built in 20 years that ended in 2551 BC.
Materials
The Great Pyramid of Giza was initially 280 Egyptian cubits tall, 146.478 m currently reducing it to 138.75 m due to erosion. It is made up of over 2.3 million limestone blocks obtained from a close by quarry. The largest granite stones are in the King’s chamber weighing 25 to 80 tonnes brought from 500 miles. Most of them believe that the construction was done by transporting huge stones from a quarry, dragging, and raising them up to their location.
Exploring the Pyramid
Initially, the pyramid was once enclosed by casing stones making its external surface quite smooth. Now, some of these are found at the bottom. In the pyramid, three chambers can be seen where the lowest chamber is sliced into the rock layer that formed the base of the pyramid. The other two are the Queen’s Chamber and King’s Chamber perched high in the structure. The entire pyramid is the main part of a group of buildings including two mortuary temples dedicated to Khufu (one near the pyramid and other close to Nile), a raised walkway to link the temples, three small pyramids for his wives, a still smaller satellite pyramid, and small mastaba tombs of nobles surrounding the pyramid.
The initial entrance to the Great Pyramid of Giza is 55′ vertical and 24′ east of the centre line built so to prevent any attempt to invade the pyramid. From here, a Descending Passage of 3’11″ in height and 3’5″ in width moves down via the stonework into the bedrock. After this, the passage levels itself and moves towards the incomplete lower Chamber. In this chamber, a horizontal passage in the south wall can be traced along with a hollow in the floor that might be made to make the chamber deeper or for some ritual significance.
A square hole in the Descending passage at 33′ from the entrance marks the Ascending Passage of 129′ long initially veiled with a stone slab. At its lower end, three huge granite blocks close it and seem to be stored in the Grand Gallery. At the beginning of the gallery on the right, a hole in the wall marks the onset of the vertical shaft that passes through an irregular path to connect the Descending Passage. This was actually the escape path of the workmen and that it was constructed secretly as depicted by its roughness.
Also at the start of the Grand Gallery, a Horizontal Passage takes you to the Queen’s Chamber whose north and south walls holds shafts. In the left wall of the passage, two sloping metal pipes inserted by Japanese archaeologists did the work of exposing x-ray film in the Lower Chamber.
The King’s Chamber is a granite section where the stone blocks stick to each other such that a piece of paper cannot
go in between. Above the flat roof made nine stone slabs, an air-shaft and five compartments known as Relieving Chambers. The King’s Chamber denotes geometric perfection wherein the ratio of its length to the trail of the side wall being the ratio of 1 to pi.
The actual burial chamber is at 24 m below the ground level that is inaccessible today.
Entrance
Currently, this is through the Robbers’ Tunnel of 820 AD cut via the masonry then moving to meet the blocking stones of the Ascending Passage. It needs a costly entrance tickets and tours are only a group of 100 each in morning and afternoon. Entrance fee is 100 LE.
Ah! The Great Pyramid of Giza was my ardent desire at least once in lifetime. The oldest and largest pyramid in the Giza Necropolis is also known as the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. Ranked among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still surviving intact, the pyramid is a tomb of the fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) built in 20 years that ended in 2551 BC.
Materials
The Great Pyramid of Giza was initially 280 Egyptian cubits tall, 146.478 m currently reducing it to 138.75 m due to erosion. It is made up of over 2.3 million limestone blocks obtained from a close by quarry. The largest granite stones are in the King’s chamber weighing 25 to 80 tonnes brought from 500 miles. Most of them believe that the construction was done by transporting huge stones from a quarry, dragging, and raising them up to their location.
Exploring the Pyramid
Initially, the pyramid was once enclosed by casing stones making its external surface quite smooth. Now, some of these are found at the bottom. In the pyramid, three chambers can be seen where the lowest chamber is sliced into the rock layer that formed the base of the pyramid. The other two are the Queen’s Chamber and King’s Chamber perched high in the structure. The entire pyramid is the main part of a group of buildings including two mortuary temples dedicated to Khufu (one near the pyramid and other close to Nile), a raised walkway to link the temples, three small pyramids for his wives, a still smaller satellite pyramid, and small mastaba tombs of nobles surrounding the pyramid.
The initial entrance to the Great Pyramid of Giza is 55′ vertical and 24′ east of the centre line built so to prevent any attempt to invade the pyramid. From here, a Descending Passage of 3’11″ in height and 3’5″ in width moves down via the stonework into the bedrock. After this, the passage levels itself and moves towards the incomplete lower Chamber. In this chamber, a horizontal passage in the south wall can be traced along with a hollow in the floor that might be made to make the chamber deeper or for some ritual significance.
A square hole in the Descending passage at 33′ from the entrance marks the Ascending Passage of 129′ long initially veiled with a stone slab. At its lower end, three huge granite blocks close it and seem to be stored in the Grand Gallery. At the beginning of the gallery on the right, a hole in the wall marks the onset of the vertical shaft that passes through an irregular path to connect the Descending Passage. This was actually the escape path of the workmen and that it was constructed secretly as depicted by its roughness.
Also at the start of the Grand Gallery, a Horizontal Passage takes you to the Queen’s Chamber whose north and south walls holds shafts. In the left wall of the passage, two sloping metal pipes inserted by Japanese archaeologists did the work of exposing x-ray film in the Lower Chamber.
The King’s Chamber is a granite section where the stone blocks stick to each other such that a piece of paper cannot go in between. Above the flat roof made nine stone slabs, an air-shaft and five compartments known as Relieving Chambers. The King’s Chamber denotes geometric perfection wherein the ratio of its length to the trail of the side wall being the ratio of 1 to pi.
The actual burial chamber is at 24 m below the ground level that is inaccessible today.
Entrance
Currently, this is through the Robbers’ Tunnel of 820 AD cut via the masonry then moving to meet the blocking stones of the Ascending Passage. It needs a costly entrance tickets and tours are only a group of 100 each in morning and afternoon. Entrance fee is 100 LE.
Save to delicious
Stumble it
