Inside the pyramid of Cheops. The thousand-year-old "mystery" of the pyramid of Cheops is revealed
Daria Nessel | Dec 21, 2016
The Pyramid of Cheops (Pyramid of Khufu) is one of the most famous and the only one that has survived to this day, which everyone who comes to Cairo can see. Its age dates back to about 2500 BC. For about fifty hundred years it has been rising, surprising and striking with its size, in a burning Egyptian desert. This unique complex has been studied for more than one century. More than one generation of Egyptologists and archaeologists “broke many spears” with disputes about its purpose and methods of construction. Thanks to the pyramid of Khufu (whom the Greeks called Cheops), the science of pyramidology appeared. Adherents of non-traditional teachings, magicians of all times also put forward their conjectures describing the genesis of this grandiose creation.
Versions about the methods of building the pyramid of Cheops
The Pyramid of Cheops was built by the architect and chief Hemiun, a cousin or nephew of the supreme ruler himself. The methods used by the Egyptians in its construction were forgotten and lost due to wars, civil strife, adverse weather conditions that hit Ancient Egypt, when there were no memories left of the former wealth and power.
There are many interpretations explaining how the pyramid of Cheops was built. The first was proposed by Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century BC. and left detailed description seen. According to him, more than 100,000 slaves were involved in the construction, many of whom died in this hard work. With the help of levers made of wood, they raised huge basalt blanks to the desired level. This option does not stand up to criticism, since it is problematic to imagine such levers that can withstand an almost three-ton stone and lift it to a height of more than 140 meters (the inhabitants of the Nile Valley at that time did not know what a wheel and a block were).
Another version is the use of an embankment built around the building as it grows. If we adhere to this point of view, then the volume of completed earthworks will also require a huge amount of labor.
Meanwhile, the most recent archaeological finds indicate that there was a settlement near the construction site, where about 4,500 people lived permanently, constantly employed in the construction of the tomb. These people were not slaves, they ate well and had good dwellings. It is assumed that up to 20,000 Egyptians were involved in temporary work after the completion of agricultural work.
The third is the use of a spiral outer ramp around the entire perimeter. But its use did not explain how the inner chamber was made, where the pharaoh's sarcophagus is located, located 50 m above the base, and where one relatively narrow corridor leads.
Pyramid of Khufu - the sparkling crystal of Egypt
The Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt is a geometric body with a square base with a perimeter of 922 m, with a height from the base of 146 m (original, now - 138 m). The angle of inclination of its geometrically ideal faces was 51 degrees. It is lined with limestone blocks of 2.5 tons.
In the center there are three rooms made of five-ton polished granite blocks, one of which contains the pharaoh's sarcophagus. The purpose of the two smaller chambers located above it is unknown. According to the latest assumptions, they serve as a shock absorber that does not allow crushing the “king's chambers”. Everything in the cavity of the building, except for the tunnel leading to the rooms and down below the base, as well as two ventilation shafts, is completely filled with monoliths.
Until 1168, the tomb of Khufu was lined with polished elements of soft material, which made it look like a crystal sparkling under the rays of the sun. Later, the lining was used by the Cairo to restore their city after the invasion of the Arabs. Total weight monument resting on a carved rock foundation, over 5 million tons. Even with today's cutting-edge technology and technique, it's hard to imagine a way to solidly construct this marvel of architecture.
Theories for the creation of the pyramid of Cheops
French architect Jean Pierre Ruden became interested in Khufu's pyramid in 1999 and devoted 10 years of his hard work to it. As a professional designer, he wanted to understand what techniques were used by people almost 5,000 years ago when building it. The result of his examination was the conclusion: the ancient Egyptians used an internal ramp during construction, which grew along with the pyramid and repeated its perimeter, with an inclination angle of not more than 7 degrees (a steeper rise makes it impossible to move stone parallelepipeds on wooden rolls and skids).
Jean Pierre explained the impeccable execution of geometric proportions by the fact that at first the front polished blocks were laid along the planned lines, then two more inner rows of already unpolished, but correctly marked slabs were leveled along them, and then the empty space was filled with roughly sawn limestone. His theory explained how the granite parallelepipeds of the pharaoh's burial chamber were raised and installed at a height of 50 meters.
This theory would be recognized as reliable and final if there were voids in the thickness of the Cheops pyramid that remained after the cessation of construction and testified to the presence of internal ramps. But so far there is no such confirmation.
All experts agree that some parts of the pyramid of Khufu are made at a high technological level, unrealizable 4000 years ago. So, for example, the granite pieces of the structure are cut out of the rock with such precision that even a knife blade cannot be pushed into the gap between them.
The very fact of Khufu's burial raises many questions: the granite sarcophagus for his mummy was not completed, made without proper care, and no traces of the burial were found. The presence of 15 and 35 tons of granite stones in the masonry also cannot be explained. Such inconsistencies have given rise to theories about the divine origin of the pyramid at Giza. Since the end of the 19th century, the pyramid of Cheops has become a place of pilgrimage for followers of various esoteric movements and those who are fond of magic, proclaiming it to be the habitat of spirits and demons.
Edgar Cayce, the most famous of all occultists (1877-1945), proclaimed that it was created by the Atlanteans 10,000 BC to save themselves from the global flood, and that the lost wisdom of a highly developed civilization is contained there.
The beginning of the space age gave birth to a fabrication about the involvement of aliens in its construction. The most popular author of one of these conclusions, Swiss Erich von Daniken, hypothesized that the Cheops pyramid was designed by aliens to store the bodies of representatives of foreign civilizations who died on Earth; and the god Ra, who was worshiped by the local population, is an alien, and all the myths and religion of this period are just a distorted reflection of reality. Careful geometric and astronomical research has led to unexpected discoveries that can be attributed either to random coincidences or patterns:
- the base to height ratio is approximately 3.14 (pi);
- the direction of the corridor and ventilation shafts coincides with the location in the sky of the Polar Star, the stars Sirius and Alnitak.
The latter led to the theory that the pyramid of Cheops was nothing more than an astronomical observatory.
In the 60s and 70s of the 20th century. a new surge of interest in this object occurred due to the experiment of the Czech Karel Dribal, who placed a blunt razor inside a cardboard copy (15 cm) of the pyramid, and after a few days the initial sharpness returned to it.
When they removed fragments of stones near the pyramid of Khufu, they noticed a closed triangular chamber, consisting of heavy limestone slabs. It was in 1955. Lifting the plate with the image of Jephedra, they found a huge boat, consisting of 1224 parts. It was a large boat made of Lebanese cedar. She consisted of 2 cabins, could float on water with 10 oars. Fragments of acacia needed repair. The rook was assembled for 10 years. In 1971, it was exhibited at the Solar Boat Museum.
There was also a second chamber, which was not opened for a long time. But in 1987 another smaller boat was found by radar. She is poorly preserved. In 2008, they allocated money for excavations, in 2011 its details were raised up.
The pyramid complex of Cheops Khafre Mikerin and the Sphinx are located on the territory of modern Egypt (the Giza plateau) and were built according to a single architectural plan. Pyramids of Giza Pyramid of Cheops ... Wikipedia
Pyramid of Cheops Pyramid of Cheops Egyptian name ... Wikipedia
Pyramid of Menkaure ... Wikipedia
Pyramid (in architecture) a monumental structure in the form of a pyramid, usually referring to the ancient world. 1 Pyramids ancient world 2 modern pyramids 3 ... Wikipedia
Pyramid of Khafre ... Wikipedia
- (from the Greek. pyramis), a monumental structure that has the geometric shape of a pyramid (sometimes stepped or tower-shaped). Pyramids are the tombs of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, which embodied the idea of the superhuman greatness of the ruler ... ... Art Encyclopedia
This term has other meanings, see Pyramid. Pyramid (ancient Egyptian aahu t, horizon; Greek πυραμις pyramis, pyramidos pyramid, from πυρα pyra fire + μιδες mides middle)) common form architectural structure in ... ... Wikipedia
Coordinates: 48°51′39″ s. sh. 2°20′09″ in. / 48.860833° N sh. 2.335833° E etc. ... Wikipedia
Y, well. 1) A geometric body with a polygonal or triangular base and triangular faces converging at the top. Draw a pyramid. triangular pyramid. Truncated pyramid. 2) In Ancient Egypt: a monumental stone structure with ... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language
A structure in the form of a geometric pyramid with smooth or stepped edges; in ancient Egypt, a tomb structure; in pre-Columbian America, the foot of an altar or temple (Bulgarian; Bulgarian) pyramid (Czech; Čeština) pyramida… … Construction dictionary
Books
- , Alan Alford. The pyramid of Cheops has been the subject of endless debate for hundreds of years on three main questions: who built it, how and why. The book of the famous English writer Alan Alford ...
Not many people know, but the great pyramids in Giza can not only go around and climb its lower tiers, but climb inside through the ancient tunnels left by the builders. The main tourist flow does this in the pyramid of Cheops, but I will show you what is inside the pyramid of Menkaure.
The third, the smallest of the pyramids, belongs to the pharaoh of the 4th dynasty Mikerin (Menkaur), who lived in the XXVI century BC, at a time when no Ancient Greece was not in sight. It is 65.5 meters high, the base is 103 meters.
Now all the pyramids are yellow limestone, and in those days the pyramid of Mykerin was lined in its lower part (visible even now) with red granite, the higher level was covered with white limestone, and the very top was again made of red granite. But with time most of cladding has collapsed or been pulled apart
To the left of the pyramid there are 3 more small pyramids - satellites - these are the pyramids in which the queens were buried.
You can only get inside the pyramid of Cheops and the pyramid of Menkaure, the first one is located at the entrance to Giza and there is just a crowd of people who want it - hot, cramped, uncomfortable. In the case of Menkaure, I went down inside the pyramid alone. And yes, the price is much better. The entrance to the pyramid of Cheops costs about 10 dollars, while to Menkaure - 60 Egyptian pounds, that is, 3.5 dollars. True, the ticket must be taken at the beginning at the box office. I agreed with the caretaker, handed him even a little more - 70 Egyptian pounds. But there were 4 people sitting there at the entrance, including the police, and they won’t pat them on the head for a pass without a ticket.
One problem, the camera at the entrance was taken from me. Perhaps you can’t shoot inside, or maybe because I’m a stowaway ... but inside I shot everything on the phone
In this video, I am in the first burial room and go down to the main burial room, where the sarcophagus of Menkaure was supposed to be
Here I am in the main burial chamber, I go up to the first burial chamber, inspect it (we may see the entrance to a false tunnel), and then through 2 tunnels and two small rooms I go to the exit from the pyramid
As it should be for most pyramids, there is only one small burial chamber inside, where the sarcophagus with the deceased was located. Moreover, this chamber is located at ground level or slightly lower. A simple narrow corridor leads to the chamber. There are no tunnels and labyrinths in the pyramids - this is a fairy tale, and they are not needed. The existing passage was needed so that the body of the pharaoh was placed in the burial chamber, and then people left it. Therefore, the aisles are small and very uncomfortable. And if there are a lot of people and heat (there is air inside the pyramid, you yourself understand what kind), then this is a big problem for tourists. But in the case of the Mykerin pyramid, not everything is so complicated - the descent is not very long, of course, it is hard for the knees, but tolerable. But if you get to the Pink Pyramid, then you will have to go down steeply for about 100 meters ...
In the case of the pyramid of Menkaure, a small descent awaits you, then two small corridors parallel to the ground with a small hall in the center, after which you enter the first burial chamber. Here is a small descent into a real burial chamber, where the pharaoh's sarcophagus was. It is worth noting - and this can be seen on the plan - another corridor is connected to the first burial chamber, which goes up and ends in a dead end. It is difficult to say its purpose, most likely its task is to lead the robbers away from the real burial place of the ruler, hidden under the floor.
There are no inscriptions, drawings, decorative elements in the pyramid itself - just tunnels and chambers. True, in some other pyramids, minimal architecture is found - a stepped vault of chambers, stars ... but nothing more.
As for the robbers, it is no secret that the burial chambers of the pharaohs often contained a large amount of gold - masks, jewelry, royal regalia, and other valuable items. Because of this, most pyramids and other burials were looted immediately after the burial ceremony or during the same ancient period. To prevent this from happening, the builders of the pyramids made one narrow entrance and then sealed it, and the entrance could be at different heights and not always in the center. The only thing that remained unchanged was that the entrance to the pyramid was always on the north side. In the pyramid itself, there were also false passages and even traps, as in the case of the false tunnel going up in the pyramid of Menkaure.
In our case, the pyramid also did not remain untouched, the diagram and the photo show that the robbers made a hole in the center of the pyramid, reached its core and began to dig down, but stopped at ground level. However, when a British archaeologist examined the internal chambers in 1837, he discovered a wooden (internal) sarcophagus with the bones of a man and a cartouche belonging to Mikerin on the way to the galleries. However, later studies have shown that these bones belong to a person who died 2000 years ago, and not 4500 ... that is, it was the skeleton of a person from the period of Roman rule in Egypt. Even further away, scientists found a basalt sarcophagus with the bones of a young woman. The sarcophagus itself subsequently sank during transportation along with the ship "Biatrice" in the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, to our time, the pyramid has come empty.
It will not be possible to get around and climb around, but this does not stop many
The desert around the pyramids, although in fact the haze hides the multimillion-dollar Cairo
View of the Pyramid of Khafre
The first wonder of the world of all time, one of the main structures of our planet, a place full of secrets and mysteries, a point of constant pilgrimage for tourists - the Egyptian pyramids and in particular the pyramid of Cheops.
The construction of giant pyramids, of course, was far from an easy task. Huge efforts of a large number of people were made to deliver stone blocks to the Giza or Saqqara plateau, and later to the Valley of the Kings, which became the new necropolis of the pharaohs.
At the moment, there are about a hundred found pyramids in Egypt, but the finds continue, and their number is constantly increasing. At different times, different pyramids were understood as one of the 7 wonders of the world. Someone meant all the pyramids of Egypt as a whole, someone pyramids near Memphis, someone three large pyramids of Giza, and the critics recognized only the largest pyramid of Cheops.
The afterlife of ancient Egypt
One of the central moments in the life of the ancient Egyptians was religion, which formed the whole culture as a whole. Particular attention was paid to the afterlife, perceived as a clear continuation of earthly life. That is why the preparation for life after death began long before it, it was set as one of the main life tasks.
According to the ancient Egyptian belief, a person had several souls. The soul of Ka acted as a double of the Egyptian, whom he was to meet in the afterlife. The soul of Ba contacted the person himself, and left his body after death.
The religious life of the Egyptians and the god Anubis
At first, it was believed that only the pharaoh had the right to life after death, but he could bestow this "immortality" on his entourage, who were usually buried next to the tomb of the lord. Ordinary people were not destined to get into the world of the dead, the only exception was slaves and servants, whom the pharaoh “took” with him, and who were depicted on the walls of the great tomb.
But for a comfortable life after the death of the deceased, it was necessary to provide everything necessary: food, household utensils, servants, slaves, and much more needed for the average pharaoh. They also tried to preserve the body of a person so that the soul of Ba could later unite with him again. Therefore, in matters of body preservation, embalming and the creation of complex pyramid tombs were born.
The first pyramid in Egypt. Pyramid of Djoser
Speaking about the construction of the pyramids in Ancient Egypt in general, it is worth mentioning the beginning of their history. The very first pyramid in Egypt was built about five thousand years ago at the initiative of Pharaoh Djoser. It is in these 5 millennia that the age of the pyramids in Egypt is estimated. The erection of the pyramid of Djoser was led by the famous and legendary Imhotep, who was even deified in later centuries.
Pyramid of Djoser
The entire complex of the building under construction occupied an area of 545 by 278 meters. Along the perimeter, it was surrounded by a 10-meter wall with 14 gates, only one of which was real. In the center of the complex was the pyramid of Djoser with sides 118 by 140 meters. The height of the pyramid of Djoser is 60 meters. Almost at a depth of 30 meters there was a burial chamber, to which corridors with many branches led. Utensils and sacrifices were kept in the branch rooms. Here, archaeologists found three bas-reliefs of Pharaoh Djoser himself. Near the eastern wall of the Djoser pyramid, 11 small burial chambers intended for the royal family were discovered.
Unlike the famous great pyramids of Giza, the pyramid of Djoser had a stepped shape, as if intended for the ascension of the pharaoh to heaven. Of course, this pyramid is inferior in popularity and size to the pyramid of Cheops, but still the contribution of the very first stone pyramid to the culture of Egypt is difficult to overestimate.
The Pyramid of Cheops. History and brief description
But still, the most famous for the ordinary population of our planet are the three pyramids of Egypt located nearby - Khafre, Mekerin and the largest and highest pyramid in Egypt - Cheops (Khufu)
Pyramids of Giza
The Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built near the city of Giza, currently a suburb of Cairo. When the pyramid of Cheops was built, it is currently impossible to say for sure, and research gives a strong scatter. In Egypt, for example, the date of the beginning of the construction of this pyramid is officially celebrated - August 23, 2480 BC.
Pyramid of Cheops and Sphinx
About 100,000 people were simultaneously involved in the construction of the wonder of the world pyramid of Cheops. During the first ten years of work, a road was built, along which huge stone blocks were delivered to the river and underground structures of the pyramid. Work on the construction of the monument itself continued for about 20 years.
The size of the pyramid of Cheops at Giza is amazing. The height of the pyramid of Cheops initially reached 147 meters. Over time, due to falling asleep with sand and the loss of lining, it decreased to 137 meters. But even this figure allowed her to remain the tallest human structure in the world for a long time. The pyramid has a square base with a side of 147 meters. The construction of this giant is estimated to have required 2,300,000 limestone blocks weighing an average of 2.5 tons.
How were the pyramids built in Egypt?
The technology of building the pyramids is controversial in our time. Versions vary from the invention of concrete in ancient Egypt to the construction of pyramids by aliens. But still it is believed that the pyramids were built by man solely by his strength. So for the extraction of stone blocks, first a shape was outlined in the rock, grooves were hollowed out and a dry tree was inserted into them. Later, the tree was doused with water, it expanded, a crack formed in the rock, and the block was separated. Then it was processed to the desired shape with tools and sent along the river to the construction site.
- Oh Osiris, I don't want to die! - Who wants to? Osiris shrugged. - But I ... I'm still a pharaoh! .. Listen, - Cheops whispered, - I will sacrifice a hundred thousand slaves to you. Only let me perpetuate one of my lives! - One hundred thousand? And you're sure they'll all die in the construction? - Rest assured. Such a pyramid, as I conceived... - Well, if so... Perpetuate, I don't mind.
The Pyramid of Cheops
No one remembers Cheops alive. Everyone remembers him only dead. He was dead a hundred, and a thousand, and three thousand years ago and always, always will be dead - the pyramid immortalized his death.
1. What is called the first wonder of the world?
Already in antiquity, the pyramids of Giza were considered one of the seven "wonders of the world." The largest of the pyramids was built by Pharaoh Khufu (2590 - 2568 BC), in Greek his name was Cheops. At present, the height of the pyramid is 138 m, although originally it was 147 m: the upper stones fell during earthquakes. The pyramid is made up of 2.5 million limestone blocks of various sizes, weighing an average of 2.5 tons. Initially, it was lined with white sandstone, which was harder than the main blocks, but the lining was not preserved. At the base of the pyramid lies a square with a side of 230 m, oriented to the cardinal points. According to some legends, the corners of the square symbolize Truth, Reason, Silence and Depth, according to others, the pyramid is based on four material substances from which the human body is created.
The greatest creations of antiquity among the pyramids include only the pyramid of Cheops, also called the Great Pyramid.
At a distance of about 160 meters from the pyramid of Cheops, the pyramid of Khafre rises, the height of which is 136.6 meters, and the length of the sides is 210.5 meters. A part of the original cladding is still visible on its top. 
The Pyramid of Menkaure, which is even smaller, is located 200 meters from the Pyramid of Khafre. Its height is 62 meters, and the length of the sides is 108 meters. But the most famous Egyptian monument in the world after the pyramid of Cheops is the figure of the sphinx, vigilantly guarding the city of the dead.
The three pyramids are part of the complex, which also consists of several temples, small pyramids, tombs of priests and officials.
The smaller pyramids located to the south were probably intended for the wives of the rulers and remained unfinished.
2. How was the pyramid of Cheops built?
Its height is 146.6 m, which roughly corresponds to a fifty-story skyscraper. The base area is 230x230 m. On such a space, five of the largest cathedrals in the world could easily fit simultaneously: St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, as well as Florence and Milan Cathedrals. From the building stone that went to the construction of the pyramid of Cheops, it would be possible to build all the churches in Germany, created in our millennium. The young pharaoh Cheops ordered the construction of the pyramid immediately after the death of his father Snefru. Like all previous pharaohs since the time of Djoser (approximately 2609 -2590 BC), Cheops wanted to be buried after his death in a pyramid.
Statue of pharaoh Cheops Ivory- the only surviving image of the pharaoh. On the head of Cheops is the crown of the Ancient Egyptian kingdom, in his hand is a ceremonial fan.
Like his predecessors, he believed that his pyramid should exceed all other pyramids in size, splendor and luxury. But before the first of more than two million blocks that made up the pyramid was cut in a quarry on east coast Nile, complex preparatory work was carried out. First, it was necessary to find a suitable site for the construction of the pyramid. The weight of the huge structure is 6,400,000 tons, so the ground had to be strong enough so that the pyramid would not sink into the ground under its own weight. The construction site was chosen south of the modern Egyptian capital of Cairo, on a ledge of a plateau in the desert seven kilometers west of the village of Giza. This solid rocky platform was able to support the weight of the pyramid.
First, the surface of the site was leveled. To do this, a waterproof shaft of sand and stones was built around it. In the resulting square, a dense network of small channels was cut down, intersecting at right angles, so that the site looked like a huge chessboard. The channels were filled with water, the height of the water level was marked on the side walls, then the water was let down. Stonemasons cut down everything that protruded above the smooth surface of the water, and the channels were again laid with stone. The base of the pyramid was ready. 
Over 4,000 people - artists, architects, masons and other craftsmen - carried out these preparatory works for about ten years. Only after that it was possible to proceed with the construction of the pyramid itself. According to the Greek historian Herodotus (490 - 425 BC), construction continued for another twenty years, about 100,000 people worked on the construction of the huge tomb of Cheops. Only 1600 talents were spent on radishes, onions and garlic, which were added to the food of construction workers, i.e. approximately $20 million. Data on the number of workers are questioned by many modern researchers. In their opinion, there simply would not be enough space on the construction site for so many people: more than 8,000 people would not be able to work productively without interfering with each other.
Herodotus, who visited Egypt in 425 BC, wrote: "The method used was to build in steps, or as some call it rows or terraces. When the construction of the base was completed, the blocks for the next row above the base were raised from the main level with devices made of short wooden levers; on this first row there was another that raised the blocks one level higher, thus, step by step, the blocks were raised all 
Higher and higher. Each row or level had its own set of mechanisms of the same type that easily moved loads from level to level. The completion of the construction of the pyramid began at the top with the highest level, continued down, and ended with the lowest levels closer to the ground.
During the construction of the pyramid, Egypt was a wealthy country. Every year from the end of June to November, the Nile overflowed its banks and flooded the adjacent fields with its waters, leaving a thick layer of silt on them, which turned the dry sand of the desert into fertile soil. Therefore, in favorable years, it was possible to harvest up to three crops a year - grain, fruits and vegetables. So, from June to November, the peasants could not work in their fields. And they were glad when every year in mid-June a scribe of the pharaoh appeared in their village, compiling lists of those who wanted to work on the construction of the pyramid.
3. Who worked on the construction of the pyramid?
Almost everyone wanted this work, which means that it was not forced labor, but voluntary labor. This was due to two reasons: each construction participant received housing, clothing, food and a modest salary while working. Four months later, when the waters of the Nile left the fields, the peasants returned to their villages. 
In addition, every Egyptian considered it his natural duty and honor to participate in the construction of the pyramid for the pharaoh. After all, everyone who contributed to the fulfillment of this grandiose task hoped that a particle of the immortality of the god-like pharaoh would touch him too. Therefore, at the end of June, endless streams of peasants rushed to Giza. There they were placed in temporary barracks and united in groups of eight people. You could start work. Having crossed in boats to the other side of the Nile, the men were heading to the quarry. There they cut down a stone block, hewed it with a sledgehammer, wedges, saws and borers and got a block of the required size - with sides from 80 cm to 1.45 m. Using ropes and levers, each group installed its block on wooden skids and on them along the log flooring she dragged him to the banks of the Nile. The sailboat transported workers and a block weighing up to 7.5 tons to the other side.
4. What was the most dangerous job?
On the roads lined with logs, the stone was dragged to the construction site. Here came the turn of the hardest work, since cranes and other lifting devices had not yet been invented. Along an inclined entrance 20 m wide, built of bricks from the Nile silt, skids with a stone block were pulled to the upper platform of the pyramid under construction with the help of ropes and levers. There, the workers laid the block in the place indicated by the architect with an accuracy of a millimeter. The higher the pyramid rose, the longer and steeper the entrance became, and the upper working platform became more and more reduced. So the work got harder and harder.
Then came the turn of the most dangerous work: the laying of the "pyramidon" - the upper block nine meters high, dragged upward along an inclined entrance. How many people died doing just this job, we do not know. So, twenty years later, the construction of the body of the pyramid was completed, which consists of 128 layers of stone and is four meters higher than the Strasbourg Cathedral. By this time, the pyramid looked about the same as it looks now: it was a stepped mountain. However, the work did not end there: the steps were laid with stones, so that the surface of the pyramid became, although not quite smooth, but already without protrusions. At the end of the work, the four triangular outer faces of the pyramid were faced with slabs of dazzling white limestone. The edges of the plates were fitted so precisely that even a knife blade could not be inserted between them. Even from a distance of several meters, the pyramid gave the impression of a giant monolith. The outer slabs have been polished to a mirror finish with the hardest grinding stones. According to eyewitnesses, in the sun or moonlight, the tomb of Cheops mysteriously sparkled like a huge crystal glowing from within.
5. What's inside the pyramid of Cheops?
The pyramid of Cheops is not made entirely of stone. Inside it there is a branched system of passages, which, through a large passage 47 m long, the so-called large gallery, leads to the pharaoh's chamber - a room 10.5 m long, 5.3 m wide and 5.8 m high. It is entirely lined with granite, but not decorated with any ornament. Here stands a large empty granite sarcophagus without a lid. The sarcophagus was brought here during construction, as it does not pass through any of the passages of the pyramid. There are such chambers of the pharaohs in almost all Egyptian pyramids, they served as the last refuge of the pharaoh.
There are no inscriptions or decorations inside the Cheops pyramid, except for a small portrait in the passage leading to the Queen's chamber. This image resembles a photograph on a stone. On the outer walls of the pyramid there are numerous curvilinear grooves of large and small sizes, in which, at a certain angle of illumination, one can distinguish an image 150 meters high - a portrait of a man, apparently one of the deities ancient egypt. This image is surrounded by other images (the trident of the Atlanteans and Scythians, a flying bird, plans of stone buildings, pyramid rooms), texts, individual letters, large signs resembling a flower bud, etc. On the north side of the pyramid there is a portrait of a man and a woman with their heads bowed to each other. These huge images were painted just a few years before the main pyramid was completed and installed in 2630 BC. top stone.
Inside the pyramid of Cheops there are three burial chambers located one above the other. The construction of the first chamber was not completed. It is carved into the rock. To get into it, you need to overcome 120 m of a narrow descending corridor. The first burial chamber is connected with the second horizontal corridor 35 m long and 1.75 m high. The second chamber is called the "queen's chamber", although according to the rite, the wives of the pharaohs were buried in separate small pyramids.
The queen's chamber is overgrown with legends. It is associated with a legend according to which the pyramid was the main temple of a certain Supreme Deity, a place where ancient secret religious rites were held. Somewhere in the depths of the pyramid lives an unknown creature with the face of a lion, which holds in its hands the seven keys of Eternity. No one can see him, except for those who have undergone special rites of preparation and purification. Only to them did the Great Priest reveal the secret Divine Name. The person who owns the secret of the name became equal in its magical power to the pyramid itself. The main sacrament of initiation took place in the royal chamber. There, the candidate, tied to a special cross, was placed in a huge sarcophagus. The person receiving the initiation was, as it were, in the gap between the material world and the divine world, inaccessible to human consciousness. 
From the beginning of the horizontal corridor, another one goes up, about 50 meters long and more than 8 meters high. At the end of it there is a horizontal passage leading to the pharaoh's burial chamber, finished with granite, in which the sarcophagus is placed. In addition to the burial chambers, voids and ventilation shafts were found in the pyramid. However, the purpose of many rooms and various hollow channels has not been fully figured out. One of these rooms is a room where there is an open book on the table about the history and achievements of the country during the period when the construction of the pyramid was completed.
The purpose of the underground structures at the foot of the pyramid of Cheops is also unclear. Some of them were opened at different times. In one of the underground structures in 1954, archaeologists found the oldest ship on Earth - a wooden boat, called the sun, 43.6 m long, disassembled into 1224 parts. It was built of cedar without a single nail and, as evidenced by traces of silt preserved on it, before the death of Cheops, it was still floating on the Nile.
6. How was the burial of the pharaoh?
After death, the carefully embalmed body of the ruler was placed in the burial chamber of the pyramid. Internal organs the deceased was placed in special hermetic vessels, the so-called canopies, which were placed next to the sarcophagus in the burial chamber. So, the mortal remains of the pharaoh found their last earthly haven in the pyramid, and the "ka" of the deceased left the tomb. "Ka", according to Egyptian ideas, was considered something like a double of a person, his "second self", which left the body at the time of death and could freely move between the earthly and afterlife. Leaving the burial chamber, "ka" rushed to the top of the pyramid along its outer lining, so smooth that none of the mortals could move along it. The father of the pharaohs was already there - the sun god Ra in his solar boat, in which the deceased pharaoh began his journey to immortality.
Recently, some scholars have questioned whether Great Pyramid indeed was the tomb of the pharaoh Cheops. They put forward three arguments in favor of this assumption:
The burial chamber, contrary to the customs of that time, does not have any decorations.
The sarcophagus, in which the body of the deceased pharaoh was supposed to rest, was only roughly hewn, i.e. not completely ready; lid is missing.
And, finally, two narrow passages through which air from outside enters the burial chamber through small holes in the body of the pyramid. But the dead do not need air - this is another weighty argument in favor of the fact that the pyramid of Cheops was not a burial place.
7. Who first entered the pyramid of Cheops?
The entrance to the pyramid of Cheops was originally located on the north side, at the level of the 13th row of granite slabs. Now it is closed. You can get inside the pyramid through a manhole left by ancient robbers.
Over 3500 years of interior Great Pyramid was not disturbed by anyone: all the entrances to it were carefully walled up, and the tomb itself, according to the Egyptians, was guarded by spirits ready to kill anyone who tried to enter it. 
That's why the robbers came here much later. The first person to penetrate the pyramid of Cheops was Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun (813-833 BC), son of Harun al-Rashid. He dug a tunnel to the burial chamber in the hope of discovering treasures there, as in other tombs of the pharaohs. But he did not find anything except the droppings of bats that lived there, the layer of which on the floor and on the walls reached 28 cm. After that, the interest of robbers and treasure seekers in the pyramid of Cheops disappeared. But they were replaced by other robbers. In 1168, after R. Chr. part of Cairo was burned and completely destroyed by the Arabs, who did not want it to fall into the hands of the crusaders. When the Egyptians then set about rebuilding their city, they removed the shiny white slabs that covered the outside of the pyramid and used them to build new houses. Even now, these plates can be seen in many mosques in the old part of the city. From the former pyramid, only a stepped body remained - this is how it now appears before the enthusiastic gaze of tourists. Together with the lining, the pyramid also lost its top, the pyramidon, and the upper layers of the masonry. Therefore, now its height is no longer 144.6 m, but 137.2 m. Today, the top of the pyramid is a square with sides of about 10 m. This site in 1842 became the venue for unusual festivities. The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV, known for his love of art, sent an expedition to the Nile Valley led by archaeologist Richard Lepsius in order to acquire ancient Egyptian art objects and other exhibits for the creation in Berlin Egyptian Museum(it was opened in 1855).
Powerful, surrounded by mystery .. - this is the pyramid of Cheops that stood for 4500 years
