The Giza Power Plant
DEDICATION
To Jeanne, Peter, Alexander, Geno, my parents, and my European family and friends.
The GIZA POWER PLANT
"Chris Dunn ranks among the top researchers in this subject. His book is extremely well researched and presented and, although very controversial in content and conclusions, will no doubt become a landmark and classic in the field of pyramid studies. Dunn deserves the recognition and respect he is bound to receive for his tenacity, his meticulous presentation and, above all, his daring and innovative ideas."
âRobert G. Bauval, coauthor of
The Orion Mystery
"None of the previous theories regarding the purpose of the Great Pyramid really explain the known facts. From the tombs for the pharaohs, to markers for astrology, every explanation, thus far, has failed to account satisfactorily for at least some aspect of the physical evidence. Christopher Dunn, however, has looked squarely at all available research and provided a truly convincing and scientific, albeit revolutionary, explanation in
The Giza Power Plant."
âDouglas Kenyon, editor of
Atlantis Rising
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A single name is on the cover of this book because there is not room for each person who should get credit for the work contained within. Ever since I was able to read, I have held authors in high esteem. In fact, I am awestruck by them. Rarely, though, did I read their acknowledgments page, and when I did I did not fully appreciate the importance of the author's credits. Now I do. I now realize that in order to make a book possible, an author needs mountains of support from family, friends, colleagues, and ultimately the editors who guide the rough manuscript to book form. Now that this book is in your hand, and I have joined the ranks of authors, I am humbled by the process that has brought me here, and would like to place credit where it belongs.
Without the support of my family, this book would not be possible. The untold hours on the computer, while chores and family time were put on hold, could only have been spent with the full support and kind patience of my wife, Jeanne. Even before the manuscript found a publisher, Jeanne spent many hours on the old manuscript, which had been started in 1977 and had not been worked on since 1983, creating an electronic copy and fixing my grammar and punctuation. The enthusiasm of my children, who write proudly in their school essays that "Father is an engineer and author," has surprised and delighted me.
Though we have never met, and have only talked on the telephone for a few minutes, I have spent many hours with Peter Tompkins, via his book
Secrets of the Great Pyramid.
Without his efforts in making early research on the Great Pyramid available in a descriptive and readable way,
The Giza Power Plant
would not have been given life.
I started
The Giza Power Plant
in 1977. I gave it the title on the day of its genesis and it will be of age in September 1998. Over the past twenty-one years, I have received guidance, information, advice, and encouragement from many people from all walks of life. Without Paul and Ardith Keller of Camby, Indiana, the work would not have even started. They helped me change my perspective on my life, my spirit, and my soul-they made it possible for me to imagine the unimaginable. I would also like to thank Lexey Ann for introducing me to them.
I would like to thank my dear friends Arlan and Joyce Andrews, who goaded me into submitting parts of my book for publication in magazinesâon more than one occasionâand for presenting me with a talented foil against which I honed my ideas. Thanks also to Dr. Stanley Schmidt of
Analog
magazine for seeing the value of "Advanced Machining in Ancient Egypt" and seeing fit to publish it on two occasions, and to Jeff D. Kooistra, for reading
The Giza Power Plant
synopsis and adding his own perspective on Tesla technology.
I greatly appreciate my dear friends, Jeff and Judie Summers, who have given me encouragement and support in many different ways; and Tom Adams, Steven Defenbaugh, Joe Drejewski, Arlen Gondry, Joe Klinger, Dr. Katherine Klinger, Judd Peck, Donald Raha, Max Rettig, Clyde Treadwell, and my friends at the Danville Engineers Club.
In the past three years I have been fortunate to meet other researchers who question orthodox beliefs and who are working tirelessly to bring enlightenment and truth to the world. Each brings a different perspective on ancient cultures, and, while we do not necessarily all agree on every aspect, I have been amazed at the high level of cooperation and support shown by Robert Bauval, Mike Brass of the University of Capetown, South Africa, David Hatcher Childress, James Hagan, Graham Hancock, and Roger Hopkins; Laura Lee, Eric Leither, Robert McKenty, Stephen Mehler, Tom Miller, and Richard Noone; Chris Ogilvie, Roel Oostra, Dr. Robert Schoch, Robert Vawter, John Anthony West, and Colin Wilson. I also appreciate those who have sent me e-mails after reading my article on the Internet. They are too numerous to mention, but should know that I appreciate their comments and support. I also appreciate those who have challenged my ideas, for I find that these challenges are great opportunities for growth and learning. A debate on ('Advanced Machining in Ancient Egypt" raged for almost six months on the sci.archaeology newsgroup, and was brought to my attention by Rodney Small, who had read the original article in 1984. I would like to thank the principal debaters on this issue, Miguel Magguire, August Matthusson, and Martin Stower, for their most eloquent and scholarly contribution. It was August who kept pounding on the question, "Where are the power plants?"
J. Douglas Kenyon, editor of
Atlantis Rising,
is largely responsible for
bringing contact between me and Barbara Clow of Bear & Company. Barbara tore apart a manuscript that had been lying dormant for so many years that it had calcified. After I submitted it three times, feeling as though I had been brought to the front of the class each time, she finally agreed that it should go to copyediting. Little did I know at this point that the real work was to begin; I cannot thank Joan Parisi Wilcox enough for holding my feet to the fire and the effort she put into the manuscript in making it what it is now. I appreciate her scholarship, her original skepticism, and her subsequent belief in the radical theory
The Giza Power Plant
proposes. Many thanks also to editorial director, John Nelson; publicity director, Jody Winters; and the rest of the Bear clan who make this book possible.
And to the people of the United States of America, who have created an environment that nurtures freedom, creativity, and opportunity. As an immigrant, I fully recognize the benefits this environment has given me.
CONTENTS
Chapter Oneâ
A New Paradigm, A New Order
Chapter Twoâ
Questions, Discovery, and More Questions
Chapter Threeâ
Precision Unparalleled
Chapter Fourâ
Advanced Machining in Ancient Egypt
Chapter Fiveâ
Amazing Discovery at Giza
Chapter Sixâ
The Coral Castle Mystery
Chapter Sevenâ
Endeavoring to Explain the Enigma
Chapter Eightâ
The Giza Power Plant
Chapter Nineâ
The Mighty Crystal
Chapter Tenâ
An Amazing Maser
Chapter Elevenâ
A Hydrogen Generator
Chapter Twelveâ
Meltdown
Chapter Thirteenâ
Summary
Chapter Fourteenâ
A Glimpse into the Past
Chapter Fifteenâ
Wrought Iron Found in the Great Pyramid
Appendix Aâ
The Mechanical Methods of the Pyramid Builders
Appendix Bâ
Wrought Iron Found in the Great Pyramid
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 3. Example of Blocks Used to Create Pyramid Shaft
Figure 6. Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber with Flat Ceiling
Figure 7. Borchardt's Theory on the Antechamber
Figure 9. Southern Shaft in the King's Chamber
Figure 10. Horizontal Airshaft vs. Angled Airshaft
Figure 11. Measurement and Tolerance
Figure 12. Casing Stones of the Great Pyramid
Figure 13. The Descending Passage
Figure 14. Quarry Marks at Aswan
Figure 15. Quarry Marks on Khafre's Granite
Figure 16. Drill Hole at Aswan
Figure 17. Petrie's Samples of Machining
Figure 18. Tube-drilling a Granite Box
Figure 19. Petrie's Bowl Shards
Figure 20. Sarcophagus Lid in the Cairo Museum
Figure 21. Petrie's Valley Temple Core and Hole
Figure 22. Ultrasonic Drilling of Granite
Figure 23. Granite Box in the Rock Tunnels at Saqqara
Figure 24. Contoured Block of Granite
Figure 25. Assorted Photographs of Coral Castle
Figure 26. Poles of Bar Magnet and Earth
Figure 27. Ed Leedskalnin's Workshop
Figure 29. Types of Seismic Waves
Figure 30. Magnetic Fields of the Earth
Figure 31. The Piezoelectric Effect
Figure 32. Center of Earth's Landmass
Figure 34. Resonance and Harmonics
Figure 36. Redundant Granite in King's Chamber Ceiling
Figure 38. Floor of the King's Chamber
Figure 39. Ceiling Tiles of the Grand Gallery
Figure 40. Helmholtz Resonator
Figure 41. Design and Installation of the Resonators
Figure 42. Grand Gallery Resonators
Figure 44. Machining a Swan-neck Vase
Figure 45. Vessel with Horn Attached
Figure 46. Precision Machined and Balanced Bowl
Figure 50. The Fluorescent Light
Figure 51. Principles of a LASER
Figure 52. Microwave Amplifier
Figure 56. Microwave Horn Antenna and Waveguide
Figure 58. Lens Effect of the Granite Box
Figure 59. Queen's Chamber Shafts
Figure 60. Southern Shaft in the Queen's Chamber
Figure 61. Cooling/Evaporator Tower
Figure 62. The Chemical Process to Produce Hydrogen
Figure 63. Gantenbrink's "Door"
Figure 66. Niche Inside the Queen's Chamber
Figure 69. The Giza Power Plant
INTRODUCTION
F
or years there has been a strong belief that a highly advanced civili
zation populated this planet thousands of years ago. This belief seems to be increasing and affecting not just the fringes of academic thought, but as the new millennium approaches, more conventional scholars and their students. Anomalous artifacts have been found in Egypt and other places that imply the use of what we would consider advanced technology, by either their function or design and manufacture. Did our distant ancestors possess scientific knowledge and technical skills that we have struggled to acquire for centuries? Many people would emphatically answer "Yes"! Based on logical arguments that reference artifacts from ancient times, scholars and laypeople alike are slowly coming to the realization and giving credence to the idea that cataclysmic forces brought a technologically astute civilization to an end.
Understandably, this movement, which threatens to shake the foundations of Western orthodoxy, has its antagonists. And in rebutting speculations about the existence of technologically advanced civilizations in prehistory, orthodox scholars pose pertinent questions: Where is the infrastructure to support such a high civilization? How was this culture sustained? Where are their power lines? Where are their power plants?
The engineering marvel of Egypt known as the Great Pyramid of Giza provides some answers to these questions. Its sheer size and precision have evoked amazement and wonder from people of all disciplines who for decades have studied and tried to understand what it would take to duplicate it. Moreover, it has prompted people to question and wonder about the nature of its true originsâindeed, about the true purpose for which it was originally built.
Why should this be? Hasn't it been proven that the Great Pyramid was originally a tomb? Well, it depends on whom you believe. Certainly scholars have theorized that the Great Pyramid was built to be a tomb, but their questioning and inquiries have continued for decades without ceasing, and the views of many are that the theory is not supported by evidence. In this book,
I will evaluate and present evidence that refutes the tomb theory and that shows instead that the Great Pyramid of Giza is in fact an amazingâand technically advancedâmachine.
The Great Pyramid has dominated the Giza Plateau for thousands of years; and during those years it has attracted the attention of millions by its profound ability to puzzle, confound, amaze, and defy the questioning minds of generations of scholars. In the chronology of serious studies of the Great Pyramid, there has been so much wonderment, superstition, speculation, and religious awe directed toward it that it is sometimes difficult to view this structure without one of these emotions coloring one's perspective. Enormous amounts of data have been amassed about this pyramid, and much of it still requires analysis. Ultimately, researchers have had to leave the subject without completely answering all the questions. The following two quotations aptly express the dilemma faced by anyone trying to understand the true significance of the Great Pyramid. In
Secrets
of
the Great Pyramid,
Peter Tompkins wrote, "I have collected a mass of numerical evidence which shows that the inhabitants of the ancient world were acquainted with the rate of the precession of the equinoxes and attached a major significance to it. But in order to deal with this evidence, I would have to open an entirely new topic. I beg the indulgence of the reader in asking him to remain satisfied for the moment with the mere hint that there is yet another lesson about the level of Egyptian science to be drawn from the stark nakedness of the Great
Pyramid."
1
William Fix, in
Pyramid Odyssey,
said, "Making sense of the Great Pyramid and the information encoded in it requires a fundamental re-visioning of history and the nature of
man."
2
One night in September 1977, I was engrossed in Tompkins' book, and his ideas, and those of numerous other researchers, that the Great Pyramid was more than just a tomb, resonated within me like rolling thunder. Thunder touches everything in its path, but to understand it, you have to penetrate a heavy cloak of clouds. I felt as though I was penetrating those clouds. The technologist in me was awakening to a voice that leapt from the pages and demanded attention. I became fascinated with a topic about which I had little prior information or interest. My life was changed.
Encyclopedias contained little of the data that Tompkins' book provided.
His predominant focus was the Great Pyramid, and he presented theories of numerous researchers dating back to the time of Herodotus. There was a distinct presumption on the part of many that certain characteristics of the Great Pyramid did not fit the expectations one would have for a burial place. Not wanting to stray too far from the "official" theory, some assigned a dual purpose to it. Others questioned the validity of the tomb scenario and offered other ideas to supplant it. Using photographs, sketches of the inner passages and chambers of the Great Pyramid, and measurements carefully taken by nineteenth-century explorers, Tompkins presented details describing a relic from the Old Kingdom in Egypt that, when examined in the context of an undeveloped society, stood out in stark contradiction to traditional views of the building and purpose of the Great Pyramid. Moreover, the accurate detail and precision with which the Great Pyramid was built were clearly very advanced, even when compared to the efforts of modern technologists such as myself.
In my mind, Tompkins' questions were persuasive arguments for further study of the Great Pyramid, and they launched me on an individual quest to evaluate the data myself. I was driven by the question: If the Great Pyramid is not a tomb, then what is it? A large part of my background has been studying blueprints and understanding the intentions of the engineers and drafts people who created them. Studying the drawings that showed a cross section of the Great Pyramid and reading about the astounding precision built into it, I was astonished and could find no logical resemblance to any feature one would find in a building constructed for human activity. Precise descriptions of almost every inch of the Great Pyramid revealed an accuracy and detail on such a large scale that I began to question that the Great Pyramid was used as a tomb.
I began to see the drawings of the Great Pyramid, with its numerous chambers and passageways positioned with such deliberate accuracy, as the schematics of a very large machine. I became convinced that it could not be anything else, and I set about trying to understand how this machine operated. The effort could be considered similar to what is known as the process of reverse engineering. To be successful at this, I knew that I had to find an answer for every single detail found within the Great Pyramid. I could not ignore any evidence or twist it in any way. I was determined
to prepare a report that was accurate and as honest as I was capable of making it.
As a craftsman and engineer, I have worked with machines for over thirty-five years. I began to apply my specialized knowledge to the data gathered about the Great Pyramid. For instance, scholars have suggested that the pyramids were built with primitive hand tools. This is a subject I know something about. I once apprenticed in England, where I worked many hours using nothing but hand tools. Saws, drills, files, and chisels were all we were allowed to use to create precision objects. At the time, I failed to see the benefit of this toil Why work eight hours a day bent over a piece of steel clamped in a vise when there was machinery in the area that would do the work more quickly and accurately? The result of this labor was several precision artifacts andâmore importantâthe knowledge and appreciation of what it takes to produce something by hand. It also served to forge continuity between the craftspeople of the Old World and those of the New World. As I evaluated the opinions of Egyptologists about ancient building and machining techniques, my training told me that their theories were lacking at bestâand outright wrong at worst. As I looked at the data, in fact, I began to suspect that the ancient Egyptians may have used technologically advanced tools.
Bringing applications from my work as a machinist to bear on my speculations about Egypt and its Great Pyramid, this vague suspicion became a firm belief as I pondered for innumerable hours on the methods that might have been used to produce the various artifacts. I was filled with awe and wonder at the techniques used, and at the same time I began to be aware of a greater appreciation for the technology our own society has developed. I also wondered what future archaeologists would say about some of the artifacts we may leave behind.
With the advances in manufacturing technology, my career has been a continuous educational experience that ultimately guided me into the field of laser processing of materials. During this period, I was asked to give a presentation to a local high school on career opportunities in manufacturing. In preparation for my presentation, I cut two identical cartoon characters out of stainless steel on as-axes YAG laser. The machine is a computer numerical controlled machine, and each character had fine detailing with a .010-inch kerf (cut width).
Having a fascination for the analytical skills necessary to determine how prehistoric societies manufactured precision artifacts, I presented one of these laser-cut figures to the class and told them that if our civilization were to be destroyed, future archaeologists may be able to determine the manufacturing tools our civilization uses just by studying that object. The surface of the cut, when studied under a microscope, would show signs of a recast layer, indicating the use of heat in its production, and the fine kerf can only be produced by that heat being focused to a very small spot. The laser, I explained to the class, is the only method that is capable of producing the features found in this object. I then described the various disciplines involved in the creation of the laser. It required physicists, optical engineers, mechanical engineers, materials and electrical engineers, and a host of crafts people building equipment to their specifications. There were quite a few careers involved in the creation of this seemingly simple cartoon character.
To envision this laser-cut object, think of a talented artist drawing freehand with a pencil. The lines where the laser has cut through the material are as thick as a pencil line. Using the law of Occam's razor, where the simplest solution is probably the correct one, it could be assumed that a talented artist created this stainless steel character by guiding a handheld laser. I then produced the other cartoon character and placed them together so that each feature overlaid the other perfectly. Now, I told the class, because the human hand and eye are incapable of producing two objects that have complex features with such precision, the scope broadens. There were obviously other disciplines and careers that had a hand in the cutout. There had to have been some mechanical device to guide the laser along its path. There had to have been controls to turn the laser offâas it passed over the metalâand on again to punch a hole through the metal and begin once again cutting the intricate lines. We need electronics engineers, machine tool designers and builders, and computer engineers and programmers, I explained, to build the computers and write the codes that guide the machine tool and control the laser. Besides introducing the class to the hidden work opportunities that are behind the most simple artifacts, my point was to teach the students that a tool is neither created or used in isolation. What I did not tell them was that the same analytical skills and analyses that are readily accepted when applied to modern artifacts can be equally beneficial when
analyzing artifacts from ancient times. The difference is that the tools that created modern artifacts are still in existence, while those that created many ancient artifacts are not.
It has been the practice of archaeologists to study the artifacts of a civilization and determine the minimum resources necessary to create them. Generally the primitive tools archaeologists uncover are sufficient to explain these artifacts. There are exceptions, however; and Egypt has an abundance of artifacts that still need to be evaluated correctly. Attempts have been made to explain some of these artifacts, but they fall short of determining how we could actually re-create the artifacts themselves. Part of this problem among academics is a persistent barrier in their beliefs which has resulted in their unwillingness to consider ancient civilizations as being advanced. It is my contention that until scholars select the methods that accurately replicate some of these artifacts under study, they will continue to underestimate ancient achievements and fail to learn their true significance.
Because so many Egyptian artifacts, including the Great Pyramid itself, cannot be explained adequately or fully by anyone theory, the field of Egyptology is rife with controversy and speculation. There is no shortage of theories regarding the construction and meaning of the Great Pyramidâand the believers of a particular theory have a tendency to hold it passionately and religiously. In order to present my own view, I will address other theories and identify where they fall short. My purpose, however, is to promote cooperation between multidisciplined researchers in the quest for knowledge about our prehistoric ancestors. No single discipline is capable of analyzing and presenting the entire truth regarding the Great Pyramid. It requires experts from many different fields. And Egyptology is only one of them. The fact is that from laypeople to senior research scientists, the old theories are being rejected, and there are new views being presented by researchers with expertise in various fields. While faced with criticism and sometimes derision for their ideas, these new, often independent, theorists possess a high level of cooperation and dedication to the truth. For example, Robert Bauval, author of
The
Orion Mystery,
has these qualities. His discovery of the stellar alignment of the Giza pyramids with the constellation Orion is a valuable lesson that challenges us to reconsider both the Great Pyramid's function and the ancient Egyptians' level of astronomical knowledge. Other
independent researchers such as Graham Hancock, John Anthony West, and Robert Schoch have supported and energetically promoted the airing of views different from their own because they believe that each contributor to this research could bring a vital clue in our understanding of this ancient culture.