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The Pyramid mystery
Al-Ahram Weekly ^ | October 2002 | Unsigned

Posted on 03/03/2007 8:11:43 AM PST by aculeus

There is much speculation about the Great Pyramid and why its design followed such an elaborate pattern. Nevine El-Aref studies the options

The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza has been in the limelight again. This time attention is focusing on one of its lingering questions: why were small shafts built into its structure, and what is behind the so-called "blocking stone"?

While probing last month with a pint-sized robot inside the southern shaft leading from the Pyramid's Queen's Chamber -- broadcast live on television -- the National Geographic mission found a second sealed chamber behind the door discovered in an earlier probe in 1993. The discovery left archaeologists more perplexed than ever.

Less than a week after this journey, archaeologists dispatched the "Pyramid Rover" into the Queen's Chamber's northern shaft. They ascertained that both shafts were similar in terms of dimension and surface, which is lined with mortar and covered in salt crystals. And 65 metres from the opening of each shaft the passage was blocked by a door.

So the mystery of the shafts has still not been solved. Only one thing is sure: they were not designed for human passage. What, then, was their function? Were they intended for the passage of the spirit of the Pharaoh?

Theories about the Great Pyramid range from the sublime to the ridiculous. It has variously been described -- depending on interpretation -- as a stairway to heaven, as Joseph's granary, an enormous sign post, a sound machine, a sundial, a coded chart of the future of mankind, a symbolic representation of cosmic principles or a marker to help extra-terrestrials find their bearings.

An abundance of conflicting theories and unanswered questions has long surrounded these great monuments, and in spite of all our received knowledge -- that it was the tomb of the IVth- dynasty Pharaoh Khufu -- it is probably the greatest unsolved mystery of all time. This is due to the fact that not enough research been carried out on Pyramids, nor has all existing knowledge been properly collated. This leaves the field wide open for theories, each one of which gives rise to the next.

Back in 1994, for example, when The Orion Mystery was published, there was a flutter of commotion among Egyptologists. The theory put forward by engineer Robert Bauval, who co- authored the book with Adrian Gilbert, was that, far from being built as tombs for successive Pharaohs as claimed by Egyptologists, Pyramids were designed as part of a grandiose master plan to reconstruct the layout of the constellations.

Bauval used an astronomical computer to pinpoint the position of the stars 4,500 years ago, and found that seven of the IVth-dynasty Pyramids were arranged on the ground in the same position as seven key stars in the constellations of Orion and Hades. He sought to prove that three of them would have been aligned with sacred stars, while the position of the three Pyramids of Giza on the ground corresponded with the position and brightness of the stars in the sky.

When Gantenbrink sent his robot along one of the so-called air shafts leading from the Queen's Chamber -- previously thought to have been abandoned before completion -- and its path was blocked after 65 metres by a slab of limestone, some experts speculated that this was a small door. And this gave the authors of The Orion Mystery fuel to speculate on what lay behind the mystery "door". Bauval and Gilbert suggested that it concealed a statue of the Pharaoh staring out in the direction of Orion, the missing ben ben stone from the sacred site of Heliopolis, or even the lost records of Atlantis.

Scholars were disinclined to agree with Bauval. Most maintain that when the Pyramids were built, the sun cult of Re was in favour and that the Pyramids, reaching the skies, helped the Pharaoh's soul ascend to the sun. "Bauval's theories are total nonsense," Rudolf Stadelmann, then director of the German Archaeological Institute, announced, "The door is just a blocking stone; it doesn't block the entrance to something. It simply seals off a corridor." (Al-Ahram Weekly, 17-23 March 1994).

Supreme Council of Antiquities Director Zahi Hawass said last month that he believed the shaft may have played a symbolic role in Khufu's religious philosophy. Khufu proclaimed himself Sun- God during his lifetime -- Pharaohs before him believed they became Sun Gods only after death -- and he may have tried to reflect his ideas in the design of his Pyramid. Some other experts still believe they were air shafts, but since they were once closed at both ends air would not have been able to pass through. If they had been left open as air shafts they would have exposed the burial chamber to outside influences, which was certainly contrary to the usual method of protecting the remains of the Pharaoh.

It has even been suggested that the shafts were water channels. Another suggestion which -- compared with some of the others -- appears more likely is that the shafts were light or star shafts pointing directly to the stars Sirius (Isis -- from the Queen's chamber) and Orion (Osiris -- from the King's Chamber). This led to the suggestion that the shafts were escape routes for the soul to wing its way towards its respective star. It also linked the shafts to the theory that the entire layout of the three main stars corresponded to the belt in the constellation of Orion.

Some Egyptologists, however, argue that in 1993 Gantenbrink and his robot discovered that the shafts were bent, often several times, and did not point to any one star. "Since their lower ends begin with two-metre horizontal sections, even if the shafts were left open light could not penetrate the chamber from the outside," Hawass said.

The questions regarding the shafts and their use have long puzzled researchers, and may be destined to continue to do so.

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: egypt; giza; godsgravesglyphs; pyramid
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1 posted on 03/03/2007 8:11:44 AM PST by aculeus
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To: aculeus

The mystery of the pyramid is: why is it placed on the dollar bill?


2 posted on 03/03/2007 8:15:15 AM PST by GSlob
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To: aculeus

Jesus's tomb


3 posted on 03/03/2007 8:16:50 AM PST by neodad (USS Vincennes (CG-49) Freedom's Fortress)
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To: aculeus

Please. Everybody knows the thing is there to sharpen razor blades.


4 posted on 03/03/2007 8:17:14 AM PST by saganite
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To: aculeus; mikrofon; SunkenCiv; blam; Charles Henrickson
So the mystery of the shafts has still not been solved.

That Shaft is a baaad mutha...

5 posted on 03/03/2007 8:17:18 AM PST by martin_fierro (Mock like an Egyptian)
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To: aculeus

Just another pyramid scheme.


6 posted on 03/03/2007 8:22:04 AM PST by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
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To: martin_fierro
That Shaft is a baaad mutha... Shut yo mouth!
7 posted on 03/03/2007 8:22:38 AM PST by fzx12345 (This tagline has been left blank unintentionally.)
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To: aculeus

Um, not to be inconvenient, but how could the shafts point to a particular star if the stars rise and set along with the sun, and rotate through the heavens with the seasons? A given shaft would only point to its sacred star for a brief moment every now and then.

The timing of that might be the important thing, as it is with Stonehenge.


8 posted on 03/03/2007 8:22:53 AM PST by RightOnTheLeftCoast ([Hunter/Rumsfeld 2008!])
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To: fzx12345
buti'mjus'talkin''boutShaft!
9 posted on 03/03/2007 8:23:18 AM PST by martin_fierro (Mock like an Egyptian)
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To: aculeus

I have always questioned why the Egyptians Mayans and other ancient cultures built huge stone structures in the first place. Was it because they new the earth was going to get hot as He*l from global positioning and these were shelters for the royalty to continue living on. The shafts were only good for air getting into the chambers.


10 posted on 03/03/2007 8:29:02 AM PST by jetson (II)
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To: GSlob
From the U.S.Treasury Departments FAQ page.

What is the significance of the symbols on the back of the one-dollar bill? I'm particularly interested in the eye and the pyramid.

The eye and the pyramid shown on the reverse side of the one-dollar bill are in the Great Seal of the United States. The Great Seal was first used on the reverse of the one-dollar Federal Reserve note in 1935. The Department of State is the official keeper of the Seal. They believe that the most accurate explanation of a pyramid on the Great Seal is that it symbolizes strength and durability. The unfinished pyramid means that the United States will always grow, improve and build. In addition, the "All-Seeing Eye" located above the pyramid suggests the importance of divine guidance in favor of the American cause. The inscription ANNUIT COEPTIS translates as "He (God) has favored our undertakings," and refers to the many instances of Divine Providence during our Government's formation. In addition, the inscription NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM translates as "A new order of the ages," and signifies a new American era

11 posted on 03/03/2007 8:30:26 AM PST by ASA Vet (The WOT should have been over on 11/05/1979.)
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To: saganite
Please. Everybody knows the thing is there to sharpen razor blades.

Ding ding ding ding

We have a winner!

12 posted on 03/03/2007 8:30:33 AM PST by Alex Murphy
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To: neodad
Jesus's tomb

Khufu had it built around 2550 BCE.
He must have had a real good psychic priest in his employ.

13 posted on 03/03/2007 8:55:02 AM PST by ASA Vet (The WOT should have been over on 11/05/1979.)
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To: aculeus

My theory:

If you've ever been in the depths of a pyramid, then you'd know how bad the air can get. I think the workers in the chambers would have needed air and the small shafts acted as airvents, using the venturi effect, until they were no longer needed. When the work was completed, the architects had built in a mechanism which allowed the so-called "door" or 'blocking stone" to crash down into the shaft from above, sealing off the shaft.


14 posted on 03/03/2007 9:06:51 AM PST by wildbill
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To: GSlob

It was the masons that did that.


15 posted on 03/03/2007 9:08:29 AM PST by GregoryFul (There's no truth in the New York Times)
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To: GregoryFul

Nah, the Bilderberg group. They were siphoning off the ocean water, and then released it in a tsunami.


16 posted on 03/03/2007 9:14:07 AM PST by GSlob
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To: aculeus

"mortar and covered in salt crystals"

Perhaps this is the equivalent of using silica gel to absorb moisture.

After the burial, the little door at the inside opening was kept open by something propped underneath it and attached to a rope. Cloth wrapped bundles of salt were pushed up into the shaft and it was sealed at the outside opening. Since it was open at the tomb end of the shaft, the salt and cloth absorbed whatever moisture was left in the tomb.

After suffient time had passed and the priests felt that enough moisture had been removed from the inner chamber, they opened the outside opening, pulled the rope holding the prop from under the door at the tomb side of the shaft, effectively sealing the tomb. They then pulled out the cloth bundles filled with salt and sealed the outside opening. They needed the morter surface so it would be smooth and allow the cloth to be easily pulled, and to seal out any additional moisture from leaking in. The salt crystals were from any salt left behind, or salt which precipitated on the surface during the operation.

The alternative and Occam approved version would be that the the salt was just in the mortar and the crystals formed to the surface, like niter on old brick walls.


17 posted on 03/03/2007 9:23:10 AM PST by Pete from Shawnee Mission (Think smithfield country style ham...)
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To: aculeus
... both shafts were ... lined with mortar and covered in salt crystals. Only one thing is sure: they were not designed for human passage. What, then, was their function?

As explained in the book, The Giza Power Plant, the Great Pyramid was a large chemical reactor. Chemicals were poured down its shafts into a central chamber where the reaction took place.

18 posted on 03/03/2007 9:23:21 AM PST by JoeGar
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To: ASA Vet
From the U.S.Treasury Departments FAQ page

More lies from the Illuminati

19 posted on 03/03/2007 9:25:00 AM PST by frithguild (The Freepers moved as a group, like a school of sharks sweeping toward an unaware and unarmed victim)
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To: aculeus
more likely is that the shafts were light or star shafts pointing directly to the stars Sirius

The shafts are not straight enough that a star or anything can be sighted through them.

20 posted on 03/03/2007 9:26:02 AM PST by RightWhale (300 miles north of Big Wild Life)
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