The Giza Power Plant (5 page)

It should be noted that Trial Passages were not cut for the Horizontal Passage, Queen's Chamber, Well Shaft, and Subterranean Pit-an interesting point to consider when faced with the traditional tomb theory of why the inner chambers and passages came to be. It is doubtful that both the Trial Passages and the interior chambers of the Great Pyramid were the result of indecisiveness on the part of the builders. The Subterranean Pit, which was supposedly the first chamber that was abandoned by the king, is not even included in these passages. The Queen's Chamber, purportedly the second burial chamber abandoned by the king, also is not included. The King's Chamber, the last and final burial place for the king, is nowhere to be seen in these Trial
Passages.
¹⁷

In the course of events proposed by many Egyptologists, the Queen's Chamber was built after the lower chamber was abandoned. If the builders decided to excavate the Trial Passages after they had also rejected the Queen's Chamber, we may ask why include the Descending Passage and the Ascending Passage, which must, after all, have been already built into the pyramid? The most striking detail in this investigation is that the builders went to a lot of work to excavate these Trial Passages, and, at that stage, they were placing more emphasis on the passages than on the chambers.

It is reasonable to conclude, and the Trial Passages prove, therefore, that the builders planned the Ascending Passage and the Grand Gallery before beginning construction. More than likely they also planned the King's Chamber. We can conclude, therefore, that the interior design of the Great Pyramid was conceived before the construction started, with nothing added later, be it on a whim or for any other motivation.

With a weight of evidence opposing the traditional sequence of events in the Great Pyramid, Egyptologist Mark Lehner has modified the theory to accommodate its lack of logic. In his book
The Complete Pyramids,
he wrote, "Inside Khufu's pyramid we find developments that are unique in pyramid evolution and remarkable in the entire history of architecture. Many Egyptologists have long accepted Borchardt's suggestion that the pyramid's three chambers represent two changes in plan, with the abandonment of the Subterranean Chamber, believed to be the original intended burial chamber of the king, and then the Queen's Chamber, in favour of the King's Chamber. Several clues, however, combine to make it probable that all three chambers
and the entire passage system were planned together from the outset. Three chambers seem to have been the rule for Old Kingdom
pyramids."
¹⁸

Although it is probably no more than an afterthought, given to rationalize the existence of three chambers inside the Great Pyramid, Lehner's last sentence, as amply illustrated and described in his book, is not quite accurate. Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara is riddled with three and one-half miles of tunnels that branch off and then converge into a central shaft at the bottom of which is a single burial chamber. The pyramid at Meidum has only one chamber. The Bent Pyramid at Dahshur has arguably two chambers and one so-called antechamber. Khafre's pyramid, which is next to Khufu's, has only two chambers. The Pyramid of Sahure at Abusir has only one chamber. Several other pyramids listed in Lehner's book also contain fewer than three
chambers.
¹⁹

By virtue of their design, the interior passageways and chambers within the Great Pyramid are difficult to explain according to the tomb theory. Orthodox explanations are strained and unconvincing, more so because Egyptologists offer differing opinions regarding the sequence of events during the Great Pyramid's construction and the intended purpose for its principal chambers. There are differences of opinion, too, between Egyptologists and professional architects regarding the establishment of its architectural attributes. In order for the tomb theory to be valid, an impossible feat must have been performed by the guardians of the Great Pyramid after the funeral procession had departed. Jammed within the lower part of the Ascending Passage are three huge blocks of granite that block the passageway that leads to the supposed burial chamber. Egyptologists propose that the blocks were originally stored in the Grand Gallery, held in position by wooden pegs inserted into slots, and then released to slide down the Ascending Passage and into position after the funeral procession had exited the pyramid. Yet architects and engineers claim that this would have been impossible and that these blocks had to have been installed as the pyramid was being built. In order for these blocks to slide down the passage, there would had to have been a half inch or more of clearance between the blocks and the passageway, whose surfaces would had to have been as smooth as glass to overcome
friction.
²⁰
The fact is that these blocks fit into the passage without any clearance on the sides; and the limestone walls, which mayor may not have been smooth, would more
than likely have been scoured by the harder granite as it pushed past. In addition, past these granite plugs the Ascending Passage pierces the heart of the pyramid at a 26°8' angle. Even with a clear passage—without the granite barriers—for a burial party this does not make sense, as the passage is only forty-one inches square, with barely enough room for a person to pass.

Nonetheless, in order to uphold their theory that the pyramid was indeed used as a tomb, Egyptologists must propose that the Ascending Passage was clear of obstruction. The only other way into the pyramid would have been through a small, cramped, almost vertical shaft that connects the lower Descending Passage with the Grand Gallery—certainly not a very dignified final journey for a king. So how do we reconcile the differences in opinion between Egyptologists and technologists regarding the physical realities of the theory? Obviously we are not going to re-enact the event in order to prove or disprove the theory one way or another, so the only way to settle the issue is to come up with an alternate theory that, in light of the physical evidence, makes more sense.

In this endeavor we are faced with a catch-22. The evidence cannot be explained within the parameters set by the tomb theory, so any theory that proposes that the pyramid was not a tomb is going to be immediately suspect and in all likelihood rejected out of hand. This is both good and bad. All theories should be suspect, but they should at least be objectively reviewed before being rejected. Such objectivity, in light of all the preceding arguments, can lead us to only one likely conclusion: There is precious little evidence to support the traditional tomb theory. Indeed, the evidence proves that it is altogether erroneous. Researchers who face the facts have made suggestions that the Great Pyramid must have served some other purpose. I agree. Considering the amount of effort that went into building it, and the precision of its execution, the pyramid's function must have been extremely important to its builders, more important even than serving as the final resting place for the king. So what was the function of the Great Pyramid? It is time to look at the evidence with a fresh eye and an open mind. As you will see as we progress through the book, the evidence that leads us away from the tomb theory will strongly support another theory: that the Great Pyramid was a highly sophisticated machine, with a function that was more fantastic than we have, until now, even dared consider.

Chapter Two

QUESTIONS, DISCOVERY, AND MORE QUESTIONS

A
round
A.D
.
820,
Caliph Al Mamun was inspired
by
reports of trea
sures within the Great Pyramid, and directed his men to search for an opening to the inside. Not finding such an opening, they resorted to breaking through the hard limestone exterior by lighting fires against the stone, then pouring vinegar on the heated rock. Once they were through the hard case, the softer limestone core-masonry yielded more easily to their chisels and they proceeded to hack out a tunnel. After blindly working for what seemed eternity, Al Mamun's men were about to quit, when they heard a muffled sound coming from within the pyramid. Redirecting their efforts toward the source of that sound, they eventually connected with the Descending Passage. But their efforts did not cease there. Finding only a long Descending Passage with a lonely Subterranean Chamber at the end, Al Mamun turned his attention to evidence of other possible passages. The bottom side of a large granite plug in the ceiling of the Descending Passage indicated to him that if he cut around the granite, he would find other passages. After chiseling around three granite plugs, Al Mamun's men opened to the world the inner chambers of the Great Pyramid. Each year, thousands of tourists follow the path that Al Mamun carved into this structure.

After Al Mamun's fruitless and disappointing search for treasures, there was little attention paid to the edifice, with the exception of using it as a quarry. Bats took over the inner passages and chambers, and suspicion took over the minds of the local inhabitants. Without modern illumination, few would dare to go inside, especially at noon and sunset, when a naked woman with large teeth who seduced people and drove them insane reportedly haunted the pyramid. Rabbi Benjamin ben Jonah of Navarre reported that
"the Pyramids which are seen here are constructed by
witchcraft."
¹

After Europeans started to travel to Egypt, information regarding the wonders found there began to find an audience in Western civilization. Fueled by their own curiosity and this intense interest at home, European explorers in the area were quite energetic in studying, searching, and noting just about anything, no matter how seemingly insignificant, pertaining to the Great Pyramid. As one researcher followed another, more knowledge of this pyramid was uncovered and revealed to the world.

John Greaves, a British mathematics teacher and astronomer, visited the Great Pyramid in
1638.
²
He made studies with which he hoped to find information establishing the dimensions of the planet. During his explorations, Greaves discovered what was to be known as the Well Shaft. The Well Shaft is located at the bottom of the Grand Gallery through an opening in the west wall and is approximately three feet wide. The notches cut into the sides enabled Greaves to lower himself into the bat-infested bowels of the pyramid.

Climbing down, Greaves reached a level that was sixty feet below the level of the Grand Gallery. Here he came across a small round chamber cut into the limestone bedrock. Beyond this small cavern, and deeper still, the shaft continued downward. Not knowing what lay beneath him or whether a bottomless pit might swallow him up, Greaves dropped a lighted flare down the hole. He noted that the flare continued to flicker from the depths and assumed that the shaft terminated at that point. Deciding that he had crawled around enough for one day, Greaves made his way out into the fresh air, leaving the stifling shaft to its resident bats.

This discovery left Greaves extremely puzzled, for the Well Shaft did not seem to serve any purpose. The cavern, which is now known as the Grotto, was equally perplexing. It seemed pointless to Greaves to dig a shaft to nowhere and to enlarge a part of the shaft into a grotto. This perplexity affected later explorers as well.

In 1765, Nathaniel Davison, while vacationing in Egypt, was able to carefully explore the Great Pyramid. Going farther than Greaves, Davison was lowered by rope another one hundred feet below the level of the Grotto. Here he encountered a blockage in the shaft. Why anyone would go to the trouble of digging a shaft, with no apparent purpose or destination, almost two hundred feet into the heart of the pyramid, was a mystery to Davison.

A part of this mystery was to be solved when G. B. Caviglia, the Italian captain of a Maltese ship flying the British ensign, quit his maritime occupation and undertook the task of exploring the Great Pyramid. Caviglia was determined to shed some light on the mystery of the Well, and, after being lowered past the level of the Grotto by some Egyptian helpers, he attempted to clear the blockage that Davison had encountered before him. The blockage appeared to be just loose sand and rock, so Caviglia filled baskets with the debris and had the helpers raise the baskets up and out of the shaft. He could not persuade them to work for long, though, for the air became so foul with clouds of dust and the stench ofbat dung that the men were about to suffocate. Caviglia burned chunks of sulfur in an attempt to purify the air, but this ploy did not impress his helpers, who refused to continue working.

Still determined to find some reason for the shaft, Caviglia decided to clear the Descending Passage down to the Subterranean Pit. Al Mamun's men had used this passage as a dumping ground when they were cutting around the plugs that filled the Ascending Passage. With his helpers back on the job and carrying the chippings out of the pyramid, Caviglia slowly and painfully inched his way downward.

His extreme discomfort was eventually rewarded when he discovered a low doorway on the west side of the passage. Through this doorway, a hole bored upward into the heart of the pyramid. The smell of sulfur was evident inside the doorway, and Caviglia deduced that perhaps this smell was from the sulfur he had previously burned. Digging upward, Caviglia and his workers, with limestone chips and dust showering down on them, finally broke through into the Well Shaft, thereby completing the connection between the lower parts of the Descending Passage and the Grand Gallery.

Caviglia, like Greaves and Davison before him, was still faced with the same questions: Who dug the Well, when was the Well dug, and why? Another aspect of this same mystery, which further increased his perplexity, is that from the junction of the Grand Gallery and the Horizontal Passage down to the level of the bedrock, it appears that the Well Shaft actually had been included in the original plans for the construction of the pyramid. From the level of the Grand Gallery down to the bedrock, the walls of the Well Shaft are symmetrical in their construction, and, although they do not have the precise, fine finish that is evident in other passages and chambers, their features
do not resemble those of a tunnel cut as an afterthought through solid masonry, such as the forced passage dug by Al Mamun's men.

It has been speculated that this shaft was dug by grave robbers who broke into the pyramid to strip it of its treasures. This theory has been refuted by some who have debated whether or not a band of thieves would have the knowledge, perception, or sheer luck to dig a blind passage with such accuracy that it would eventually meet with the Grand Gallery, which is only a few feet wide.

In contradiction to the grave robber theory, David Davidson, a structural engineer from Leeds, in the north of England, developed a scenario of prehistoric events that, in his mind, met the demands of logic and common sense, and at the same time explained the existence of the Well Shaft.

Davidson, after spending several months studying the pyramid, felt that the Great Pyramid was not originally intended for the use of the people who built it or their king; rather, it was designed to be used as a "time capsule" in which knowledge would be preserved for the benefit of a future civilization. In a professional capacity, he also maintained that the plugs inside the Ascending Passage were positioned as the level of the pyramid grew higher. According to Davidson, to have slid them down the passage without them jamming in the process would have been an unlikely feat, as the clearance at the sides of the passage would not have been sufficient to allow them to pass freely.

Davidson's scenario was set shortly after the Great Pyramid was built, or not many generations after—before knowledge of the design of the interior was lost or forgotten. He theorized that following a violent earthquake, or some other equally devastating occurrence, the guardians of the Great Pyramid noticed some subsidence effects of the structure on the outside. Fearing that the King's Chamber also might have suffered from the disturbance, they decided to enter the pyramid to investigate. To do this, they started to dig upward near the bottom of the Descending Passage. Davidson explained that instead of taking a possible shorter route, such as taken by Al Mamun at a later date, the guardians chose their route so that they could inspect two large fissures in the bedrock of the Descending Passage.

Although these fissures can be seen in the Descending Passage, what knowledge did the guardians of the pyramid have that assured them that the
unseen portion of the fissures followed a predictable direction? Would they have been able to plot the course of their tunnel with assurance that, as they bored through the limestone bedrock, they would cross the same fissures at two points? Without this assurance, would such a difficult and time-consuming project be undertaken?

Knowing that the Great Pyramid's thirteen-acre base was surveyed using modern instruments and found to be level within 7/8 inch—an astounding accuracy by modern standards—it does not make much sense to suggest that the guardians would be concerned about any subsidence. Moreover, it would be interesting to know what extent of damage the guardians thought these fissures would have on the King's Chamber, which, after all, was their primary concern. The King's Chamber is located 175 feet above the ground level. There were no disturbances noted in the Queen's Chamber or the Horizontal Passage. In 1881, Sir William Flinders Petrie surveyed the Descending Passage, where the fissures were noticed, and discovered that it was remarkably accurate. He found the passage to have an error of only .020 inch over the 150-foot length of the constructed portion; and the entire length of the passage, both constructed and excavated, was within a minuscule quarter inch over
350 feet.
³
This hard data brings into question the widely held theory that an earthquake was the cause of the disturbance in the King's Chamber. It seems obvious that those who knew the interior design of the pyramid dug the shaft. Considering the amount of work involved in digging it, the Well Shaft that connects the Descending Passage with the lower portion of the Grand Gallery must have been a part of the original design of the pyramid and served a specific purpose for its builders.

Nevertheless, Davidson's theory is given the benefit of the doubt by Peter Tompkins, who said, "There is nothing inherently illogical about this version of events. It would have been no easy job to tunnel upwards through the solid rock and various courses of masonry—altogether hundreds of tons of material would have had to be chipped away and taken out of the pyramid up the descending passage—but it would not have been
impossible."
⁴

It is absurd to propose that this feature of the Great Pyramid exists through the efforts of tomb robbers who were digging blindly on the chance that they might discover a burial chamber. The physical demands are monumental. Digging upward, the workers would be contending with a small,
cramped, almost vertical tunnel in which they would need physical support, light, and oxygen. As they hacked away at the face of their bore, the air would be heavily laden with limestone dust, and fragments would be falling on them and the workers below. The sheer human effort would have been daunting as hundreds of tons of chips were wrestled up the Descending Passage and removed from the pyramid.

Compare the digging of the Well Shaft with Al Mamun's hole. Al Mamun's men, as the story goes, were ready to give it up after digging only one hundred feet. Their patience had reached its limit. It could be asked, therefore, how far this band of treasure seekers would have gone if the task before them had been the Well Shaft. Tompkins went on to say, "What militates against this theory is the observations of Maragioglio and Rinaldi that the walls of the Well Shaft upward from the Grotto are built and lined with regular blocks of limestone, apparently as a feature of the original
structure."
⁵

In their book,
L'Architettura delle Piramidi Menefite,
Celeste Maragioglio and Vito Rinaldi proposed that the Well Shaft was dug to provide air to workers in the pyramid. Egyptologist and world authority on the pyramids, I.E.S. Edwards, agreed that it may have been used for this purpose, but claimed that within the context of the tomb theory, it would not have been necessary as the Ascending Passage was open until the funeral procession had left and the granite blocks had been lowered into position at the mouth of the passage. Edwards claimed the Well Shaft was an escape route for those who facilitated the lowering of the granite
blocks.
⁶
However, that theory—to me—presents a convoluted nonsensical way of going about things, and is barely worth the time we could spend arguing about it. I find the observations of Petrie more agreeable and likely. He cast doubt on the intentions of the builders, as interpreted by Maragioglio, Rinaldi, and Edwards: