The structure of the Cheops pyramid. Ancient pyramid of Cheops, Egypt. When was the Cheops pyramid built?

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In the eastern regions, tourists cannot ignore one of the greatest mysteries of history - the Pyramid of Cheops. The only surviving miracle Ancient world, out of the seven existing ones, generates interest among scientists, archaeologists, historians, astrologers and simply fans of mysteries. To questions like: “Where are the pyramids of Cheops?” or “Why is it worth visiting them?”, we will be happy to answer in our article.

What are the dimensions of the Cheops pyramid?

To fully understand the greatness of this architectural masterpiece just imagine its dimensions. Just imagine, this is a huge structure weighing about 6.4 million tons, located in Giza, a republic of Egypt. The height of the Cheops pyramid, even after wind erosion, reaches 138 meters, the size of the base reaches 230 meters, and the length of the side edge is 225 meters. And it is with this pyramid that the greatest mysteries are connected. Egyptian history, which scientists around the world are struggling with.

The mystery of the Cheops pyramid - who built it and why?

The most common theory is that the pyramid was built as a tomb for Pharaoh Cheops or Khufu (as the Egyptians themselves call him). Proponents of this theory confirm their guesses with the pyramid model itself. On a base of 53 thousand square meters there are three tombs, one of which houses the Great Gallery.

However, opponents of this version emphasize that the tomb intended for Cheops is not decorated in any way. Which is strange, since, as is known, the Egyptians were adherents of pomp and wealth in the design of the tombs of their rulers. And the sarcophagus itself, which was intended for one of the greatest pharaohs in Egyptian history, was not completed. The edges of the stone box that were not completely hewn and the missing lid indicate that the craftsmen did not take the issue of burial too seriously. In addition, the remains of Cheops himself were not found during any excavations.

Video - How was the Cheops pyramid built?

The version with the tomb is being replaced by the version that the pyramid is an astronomical structure. Astonishing mathematical calculations and the ability to see constellations in the night sky through corridor-type shafts provide astronomers with reasons for debate.

Archaeologists and scientists around the world are trying to unravel the truth of Khufu's pyramid in Giza. However, based on the facts already obtained, we can say with confidence that the author of the project was Hemion, a close relative and, concurrently, the court architect of Cheops. Under his strict leadership for 20 years, from 2560 BC. and until 2540 BC, more than three dozen builders, architects and laborers built a pyramid from huge granite blocks.

Some Egyptians and lovers of occult sciences perceive the pyramid as a religious object. They see a mystical pattern in the intersections of corridors and catacombs. But this idea does not have sufficient basis, as does the version of alien intervention. Thus, a certain circle of ufologists argues that only with the help of alien creatures could such a colossal work of architectural art be built.

What should a tourist know?

Tourists and admirers of Arab culture are only amused and inspired by the difference in versions and general uncertainty that revolves around the Cheops pyramid. Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the foot of the granite structure to experience history. And local residents are only happy about this - all conditions for educational excursions have been created for visitors.

Twice a day, at 8 and 13 o'clock, a group of up to 150 people comes to the pyramid. They enter inside through a passage located on the north side. But, having finally arrived at the place of a kind of pilgrimage, not all visitors are ready for what the Cheops Pyramid is like inside. The long, low passage, compressed on the sides, causes an attack of claustrophobia for some foreigners. And sand, dust and stale air can cause asthma.

But for those who overcame themselves and withstood the transition inside the pyramid, all the architectural grandeur of Egyptian culture is revealed. Massive walls, the Grand Gallery, the general feeling of antiquity and authenticity - this is exactly what captivates guests.

On south side, at the exit, tourists are invited to get acquainted with the exhibits, which are the fruits of many years of excavations. Here you can also look at the Solar Boat - one of the largest floating vehicles discovered in the entire history of archaeological activity of mankind. Here you can buy souvenirs and commemorative figurines, T-shirts and so on.

Those who stay until late in the evening will be lucky enough to see the light show. Under the spotlight, the organizers create a unique, slightly mystical atmosphere and tell mysterious stories about the pyramid and Egyptian culture.

Another point that visitors to the Cheops Pyramid should pay attention to is the issue of photography and video shooting. Inside the building itself, there is a ban on any photography, as well as on the desire of some people to climb the pyramid itself. But, after leaving the tomb and buying a souvenir, you can take countless pictures from any angle. In the photo, the Cheops pyramid will sparkle with new colors and amaze with its geometric shapes.

However, you should be as vigilant as possible and not give your gadgets to strangers, other tourists and, especially, local residents. Otherwise, you risk either never seeing your camera at all, or parting with an impressive amount to get it back.

From a purely practical point of view, there is nothing strange in this. As you know, in any tourist center in the world, the local population prefers to make a profit at any cost. Hence the inflated prices, the tendency to fraud, and a large number of pickpockets. Therefore, you should be as vigilant as possible.

Pyramid of Cheops: interesting facts

Pyramid of Cheops - beautiful and amazing creation. She is the object of fascination for scientists, artists, writers, directors and many other people who are not afraid to solve mysteries. And before heading to Giza to the granite massif, it is worth reading the stories about it. There are dozens of movies online for this purpose. Such as, for example, the documentary “Unraveling the Mystery of the Cheops Pyramid” directed by Florence Tran. In it, the author tries to explore as broadly as possible the idea of ​​construction, the mystery of creation and the true purpose of the pyramid of the great pharaoh.

Interestingly, despite the unfinished sarcophagi and the lack of clear information about the architect of the Cheops pyramid, the greatest mystery is the internal shafts. According to experts, reaching a width of 13 to 20 centimeters, the shafts run along the sides of the main rooms and have a diagonal exit to the surface. The specific purpose of these mines is still not known. Either this is ventilation, or secret passages, or a kind of air gap. Until now, science has no specific information on this matter.

Video - Facts about the Cheops pyramid

The same goes for the process of building a pyramid. Materials for one of the seven wonders of the world were delivered from a nearby quarry. But it is still not known how large boulders weighing up to 80 tons were delivered to the construction site. Here again a lot of questions arise about the level of technological progress of the Egyptians. Or to the question of magic or higher intelligence.

What is the Cheops pyramid really? Tomb? Observatory? Occult object? A message from alien civilizations? We will probably never know this. But each of us has a chance to go to Giza and touch history and make our own assumptions.

Today we will take a trip back several thousand years, to the time of the ancient pharaohs and the majestic pyramids. To do this, we will go to the Giza Plateau, a suburb with a population of more than 3 million inhabitants, which is visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year. After all, this is where the Great Pyramids of Egypt are located, and not in Cairo itself, as many are accustomed to believe. And it is this place that provides us with an amazing opportunity to see with our own eyes the only one of the 7 wonders of the world that has survived to this day - the Pyramid of Cheops, as well as one of the largest statues in the world - the famous Great Sphinx. Just think, the complex has existed for more than 4,500 years! These numbers make my head spin.

What is Giza, a suburb of Cairo, like today?

The modern district of Giza looks poor and unattractive. Nothing special - a lot of cars, people, shops, signs...

...sometimes not entirely clear.

Smiling residents of modern Giza.

Ironically, the inconspicuous town is adjacent to one of the most famous ancient architectural complexes in the world. What immediately catches your eye is the unusual combination of city buildings and the tops of the pyramids hanging over them. The majestic pyramids seem to beckon you, inviting you to come closer to lift the veil of their secrets and legends.

GIZA PYRAMID COMPLEX

Information:
Giza pyramid complex
Location: Pyramids Road, Giza
How to get there: by bus: stop next to the Ramses Hilton hotel - bus 357, or minibuses towards Giza; by metro: The Giza station, then by minibus or taxi to the pyramids; by taxi (20-30 pounds)
Cost: 80 LE, students – 40 LE
Opening hours: summer – 7:00-19:00, winter – 8:00-17:00
The ticket includes entrance to the Giza Plateau (external viewing of the pyramids), a visit to the Valley Temple of Khafre, the satellite pyramids of Cheops, and some free-standing small pyramids

Individual tickets:
Pyramid of Khufu – 200 LE, students – 100 LE; summer – 8:00-11:00, 13:00-18:00, winter – 8:00-11:00, 13:00-17:00; Only 150 tickets are sold before the break and 150 after.
Pyramid of Khafre – 40 LE, students – 20 LE; Pyramid of Menkaure - temporarily closed;
Museum Solar boat– 60 LE;
ISIC card discounts available for students

Sound and Light Show– daily at 19:00 – in English, 20:00 – German, Italian, Spanish, French (depending on the day of the week), 21:00 – in Arabic. Duration - about an hour. It is possible to translate into Russian, Japanese, Polish, Chinese and other languages ​​(via headphones, included in the price).
Phones: (+202) 338-57320, (+202) 338-47823, (+202) 338-67374

Photography is prohibited inside the pyramids. Shooting on a plateau with a tripod - 20 LE. Tickets for the plateau and separate tickets for entry to the pyramids of Cheops and Khafre, as well as the light show, are sold near different entrances.

Briefly about the main thing. The Giza Plateau lies in the Libyan Desert. Here are buildings from the times of the Old Kingdom (XXVI-XXIII centuries BC). The basis of the complex is made up of 3 Great Pyramids along with their satellite pyramids. Also on the plan of Giza you can see the tombs of members of the families of the pharaohs and nobility, the Great Sphinx statue, 4 cemeteries, several temples, a modern center for the study of the pyramids and a museum. To look at all these buildings in detail, you will most likely need a whole day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that much time, so only the most important objects are included in my article.

Complex plan:

And this is what the Great Pyramids look like from a bird's eye view. You can even see them from an airplane window if you fly over Cairo. So, during my first flight to Egypt, a good half of the passengers gathered at the windows when the captain announced that if we all moved together to the right side of the cabin, the plane would tilt from such a weight, and we would be able to see the pyramids. It worked :)

In the evenings, the Sphinx hosts light shows on the theme of Ancient Egypt and the pyramids (Sound and Light Show) in several languages ​​(for an additional fee).

I want to warn you - be careful with such touts. One friend told me the story of how her son was almost forcibly put on a camel and began to take photographs “absolutely free of charge.” But in order to remove the frightened guy from the hump of the proud ship of the desert, and return the camera to the owner, they began to demand baksheesh. I had to threaten with guides and police. The moral of this story is this: you can go for a ride, but be careful. If something happens, immediately boldly declare that you will call a guide now, even if you came here alone. This, oddly enough, works. Just don’t think that I’m dissuading you from doing this beautiful pictures on a camel. In my opinion, the idea is wonderful, the main thing is to agree on the price in advance :)

The Great Pyramids of Giza: the main decoration of the complex.

What kind of pyramids were not built in Ancient Egypt- stepped, broken, pink, huge or very tiny... The most famous of them - the Great Pyramids - are located in the central part of the Giza complex, where they are located on the same line - from the largest to the smallest. This pyramids of Cheops (Khufu), Khafre (Khafre) and Mikerin (Menkaure).

!!Fact: As you know, these 3 pharaohs were related. Khafre was the brother or son of Cheops, and Mikerin was the son of Khafre.

Each of the pyramids has its own “satellite pyramids”, where members of the families of the pharaohs are buried, and its own mortuary temple (see complex plan). Here they are, beauties, towering against the backdrop of Cairo.

From this angle, it seems that the pyramid with the “tip” is the largest in size, but in fact, it is the middle of the three - the Pyramid of Khafre.

The next photo shows the smallest pyramid of Mikerin with its tiny companions. Mikerin and Cheops each got 3 “satellite pyramids,” but Khafre got only one.

Until now, scientists are arguing whether these pyramids were built by people or alien beings, whether they were intended only for burials or had other secret meanings. If only I could go back in time for real, take at least one glance at the life of Giza several thousand years ago... Oh, dreams...

Pyramid of Cheops: along the corridors of one of the Wonders of the World.

After clicking a few “postcards”, I went inside the Cheops pyramid. The only one from our group. What kind of incurious people are these? So, gentlemen, this is the largest and most famous of the Egyptian pyramids, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that has managed to survive to this day. Hurray, and I saw it with my own eyes! Another name for the Cheops pyramid is the Great Pyramid. It was intended, in fact, for the burial of Pharaoh Cheops (or Khufu).

Its 3 companions - small pyramids standing nearby - are the pyramid of Queen Hetepheres (GIa) - the mother of Khufu, the pyramid of Queen Meritit I (GIb) - the 1st wife of Khufu, and the pyramid of Henutsen (GIc) - the 2nd wife of Khufu. One of them is visible in the photograph.

!!Fact: Initially, the top of the Cheops pyramid was gilded.

She probably has the most crowds of people than the other points of the complex combined. Everyone wants to touch her, smell her, lean against her, take a picture...

Here are the main parameters of the Cheops pyramid:

• The height of the pyramid is 139 meters.
• The 4 sides of its base are 230 meters long each, with a slight difference.
• Materials for construction - limestone, basalt, granite.
• The total weight of the pyramid is more than 6 million tons. It consists of about 2.5 million stone blocks. The average size of each block is 1 m³, the average weight is 2.5 tons. The heaviest of them weighs as much as 35 tons.

You can climb onto the blocks, which is what I did. True, not too high, otherwise the guards will start swearing. An excellent chance to “touch the antiquity” yourself.

As for the entrance, there are as many as 2 of them. Previously, one entered through the old entrance. The current one is located a little lower, and tourists pass through it these days. It was once broken into the wall of a pyramid, hoping to find treasure there. Not found.

So, let's go inside, passing through the open gate in the background. Unfortunately, this photograph was the only “legal” one inside the Cheops pyramid: for some reason, photography is prohibited here. You must leave your camera at the entrance at your own risk. I resisted for a long time; I was simply scared for the fate of my camera. True, in the end he was returned safe and sound. Further photographs will be taken using the phone, which I carefully hid so that it would not fall into the hands of security :)

The first impression of the pyramid is dim light and silence inside, long and very narrow corridors. There are no statues or wall paintings inside, such as are found, for example, in later tombs in. It has its own special atmosphere.

But imagine my disappointment when I discovered that you could only walk along a few corridors and enter only a few rooms. I compared what was open to tourists with what was on the pyramid plan, and realized that only a third was open to inspection. As a result, the entire hike down to the final point and back, if you don’t look at every corner, took only a few minutes. That's the whole Great Pyramid. I read the comments on the Internet, and came to the conclusion that either I somehow missed the passages to the top, or at that time they were simply closed. I'll explain what we're talking about. Look at Cheops pyramid plan.

As we can see, inside it there are 3 burial chambers, one of which for some reason was not completed. Also, the pyramid has a system of corridors with a large gallery. This is what I expected to see in theory. In fact, what I managed to get through - this is the path from the entrance (2) along the descending corridor (4) to the unfinished underground chamber (5). That's it, comrades! It's a shame.

Descending corridor (4).

The length of the corridor is 105 m. The descent occurs at a large slope. If for some reason you want to stop in the middle, it is unlikely that you will be able to do so unless you want to delay others: the passage is really narrow and does not even accommodate two people wide. Next comes short tunnel, leading to an unfinished underground chamber (5). I saw another passage, closed with bars. Apparently, behind it lies the missing part on the pyramid plan.

Camera (5) is a small, nondescript room. That's all, actually. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place?

Finally, one more fact. In the 20th century, a large wooden rook (boat), disassembled into parts, was found in one of the rooms. Now it is in the Solar Boat Museum, located next to the pyramid. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to visit the museum.

We move on to another one of the most beloved tourist spots in the Giza complex - the Great Sphinx statue, the oldest surviving monumental statue in the world. Let me remind you that in Ancient Egypt the sphinx was a stone figure of a lion with the head of a man. For several millennia it has been basking in the Egyptian sun, carefully guarding the plateau and its buildings.

The height of the Sphinx is 20 m, its width is 73 m. For its age, the statue has been perfectly preserved to this day, although it has lost its nose in the fight against sandy winds. The face of the mythical animal is turned towards the Nile, from where the sun rises. Scientists believe that it bears portrait resemblance to Pharaoh Mikerin, the “master” of one of the three Great Pyramids.

What kind of photographs do travelers who come here take with the Sphinx... Some jump in front of him, others try to hug him, and still others even give him a kiss as hot as the Libyan desert. I was no exception. The Sphinx impressed me almost more than the pyramids themselves, and I think he deserved this kiss.

Next to the statue there is an extension - Temple of the Sphinx. Together they form a single complex. You don’t need separate tickets to visit the temple, no matter how one of the barkers tried to convince me otherwise. He, of course, tried to act as an usher himself.

I end my story with this romantic kiss shot. See you again with the heat of Egypt!

) is truly a wonder of the world. From the foot to the top it reaches 137.3 meters, and before it lost the top, its height was 146.7 meters. Just a century and a half ago, it was the tallest building in the world, only in 1880 it was surpassed by two superstructured towers of the Cologne Cathedral (by 20 meters), and in 1889 by the Eiffel Tower. The sides of its base are 230.4 meters, the area is 5.4 hectares. Its initial volume was 2,520,000 cubic meters; now it is about 170,000 cubic meters smaller, because for centuries the pyramid was used as a quarry. About 2,250,000 stone blocks, each with a volume of more than a cubic meter, were used for its construction; this material would be enough to build a city with a population of one hundred thousand. Its weight is 6.5-7 million tons. If it were hollow, it would fit a space rocket launcher. According to experts, even an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima would not have destroyed it.

It was built, according to the most common dating, in 2560-2540. BC e., although some scientists give dates about 150 years earlier. Inside the pyramid there are three chambers corresponding to the three stages of its construction. The first chamber is carved into the rock at a depth of about 30 meters below the base of the pyramid and not exactly in the middle of it; its area is 8 x 14 meters, height is 3.5 meters. It remained unfinished, as did the second, which is located in the core of the pyramid, exactly below the top, at a height of about 20 meters above the base; its area is 5.7 x 5.2 meters, the vaulted ceiling reaches a height of 6.7 meters; it was once called the “tomb of the queen.” The third chamber is the king’s tomb; unlike the other two, it is finished; the sarcophagus of Cheops was found in it. It was built at a height of 42.3 meters above the base and slightly south of the axis of the pyramid; its dimensions are 10.4 x 5.2 meters; height – 5.8 meters. It is lined with immaculately polished granite slabs carefully fitted to each other; There are five unloading chambers above the ceiling, the total height of which is 17 meters. They take on the weight of about a million tons of rock mass so that it does not press directly on the burial chamber.

The pharaoh's sarcophagus is wider than the entrance to the chamber. It is hewn from one piece of brown-gray granite, without a date or inscription, and is quite badly damaged. It stands in the western corner of the tomb, right on the floor. It was placed here during construction, and apparently no one has moved it since then. This sarcophagus looks like it was cast from metal. But the body of Cheops himself is not in it.

All three chambers have "hallways" and are all connected by corridors or shafts. Some mines end in a dead end. Two shafts lead out from the royal tomb to the surface of the pyramid, going out approximately in the middle of the northern and southern walls. One of their purposes is to provide ventilation; perhaps there were others.

Discovery: Exploding History. Secrets of the Great Pyramid

The original entrance to the pyramid is located on the north side, 25 meters above the base. Now there is another entrance to the pyramid, made in 820 by the Caliph Mamun, who hoped to discover the countless treasures of the pharaoh, but found nothing. This entrance is located about 15 meters lower than the previous one, almost in the very center of the northern side.

Great Pyramid surrounded by no less labor-intensive and expensive buildings. Herodotus, who saw the road leading from the upper (mortuary) temple to the lower one, which was lined with polished slabs and had a width of 18 meters, called its construction a work “almost as huge as the construction of the pyramid itself.” Now only 80 meters of it have survived - the road disappeared at the end of the 19th century during the construction of the village of Nazlat es-Simman, now, like Giza, which has become part of Cairo. Somewhere in its place stood a lower temple, 30 meters high, but it probably fell victim to people looking for building material in ancient times.

Of the buildings surrounding the Great Pyramid, only the ruins of the upper (mortuary) temple and three satellite pyramids have survived. Traces of the temple were discovered in 1939 by the Egyptian archaeologist Abu Seif. As usual, it was located to the east of the pyramid, and its pediment had a length of 100 Egyptian cubits (52.5 meters); it was built of Tura limestone, had a courtyard with 38 square granite pillars, 12 of the same pillars stood in the vestibule in front of the small sanctuary. On both sides of it, about 10 meters, during excavations, two “docks” were found hollowed out in the limestone plateau, where the “solar boats” were probably kept; a third such “dock” was discovered to the left of the road to the lower temple. Unfortunately, the “docks” turned out to be empty, but archaeologists were rewarded by the chance discovery of two more such “docks” in 1954. In one of them rested a perfectly preserved boat - the oldest ship in the world. Its length is 36 meters, and it is made of cedar.

The satellite pyramids also stand east of the Great Pyramid, although they were usually built further south. The pyramids are located from north to south “in height”, the side of the square base of the first pyramid is 49.5 meters, the second – 49, the third – 46.9. Each of them had a stone fence, a funeral chapel and a burial chamber, into which a steep shaft led; in addition, next to the first there was a “dock” for the “solar boat”. Most scientists believe that these pyramids belonged to the wives of Khufu, of whom the first (main), according to ancient custom, was probably his sister. The names of the first two are unknown to us, the third was called Henutsen.

All three satellite pyramids are quite well preserved, only they lack external cladding.

Apparently, it was planned to build another, larger one to the east of the first one, but construction was stopped. According to one hypothesis, it was intended for Queen Hetepheres, the wife of the pharaoh Sneferu and Khufu's mother. In the end, Khufu decided to build a secret rock tomb for her a little further north. This tomb was actually hidden... until January 1925, when the photographer Reisner's tripod fell into the gap between the camouflage blocks. Then members of the Harvard-Boston expedition carried out treasures for three months: thousands of small gold plaques, pieces of furniture and household utensils; gold and silver bracelets, cosmetic boxes with “shadows” for eyeliner, manicure knives, boxes with the name of the queen, filled with jewelry. Canopic jars with her entrails and an alabaster sarcophagus were found, which, however, turned out to be empty. This is the first tomb of a member of the royal family from the Old Kingdom era to be found intact.

The Great Pyramid was surrounded by a ten-meter stone wall. The ruins of the wall show that it was 3 meters thick and was 10.5 meters away from the pyramid. Near it, in the distance, there were mastabas (tombs) of dignitaries: almost a hundred of them have been preserved on the northern side, more than ten on the southern side, and about forty on the eastern side.

History of the construction of the Cheops pyramid

The construction of the pyramid began around 2560 BC. The architect was Hemion, the nephew of Pharaoh Cheops, who managed all the construction sites Ancient kingdom during that period. The construction of the Cheops pyramid took at least 20 years, and, according to various estimates, more than one hundred thousand people were involved. The project required a herculean effort: workers extracted blocks for construction elsewhere, in the rocks, delivered them along the river and lifted them along an inclined plane to the top of the pyramid on wooden sleds. To build the Cheops pyramid, more than 2.5 million granite and limestone blocks were needed, and at the very top a gilded stone was installed, which gave the entire cladding the color of the sun's rays. But in the 2nd century, when the Arabs destroyed Cairo, local residents dismantled the entire cladding of the pyramid to build their houses.

For almost three millennia, the Cheops pyramid occupied the first place on Earth in height, giving the palm only in 1300 to Lincoln Cathedral. Now the height of the pyramid is 138 m, it has decreased by 8 m compared to the original one, and the base area is more than 5 hectares.

The Pyramid of Cheops is revered local residents as a shrine, and every year on August 23, Egyptians celebrate the day its construction began. No one knows why August was chosen, because there are no historical facts No evidence has been found to confirm this.

The structure of the Cheops pyramid

Inside the Cheops pyramid, the most interesting are the three burial chambers, which are located one above the other in a strict vertical line. The lowest one remained unfinished, the second belongs to the pharaoh’s wife, and the third belongs to Cheops himself.

To travel along the corridors, for the convenience of tourists, paths with steps were laid, railings were made and lighting was installed.

Cross section of the Cheops pyramid

1. Main entrance
2. The entrance made by al-Mamun
3. Crossroads, “traffic jam” and the al-Mamun tunnel made “bypass”
4. Descending corridor
5. Unfinished underground chamber
6. Rising corridor

7. “Queen’s chamber” with outgoing “air ducts”
8. Horizontal tunnel

10. Pharaoh's chamber with “air ducts”
11. Prechamber
12. Grotto

Entrance to the pyramid

The entrance to the Cheops pyramid is an arch formed from stone slabs, and is located on the north side, at a height of 15 m 63 cm. Previously, it was filled with a granite plug, but it has not survived to this day. In 820, Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun decided to find treasure in the pyramid and made a seventeen-meter gap 10 meters below the historical entrance. The Baghdad ruler found nothing, but today tourists enter the pyramid through this tunnel.

When al-Mamun made his passage, a fallen block of limestone blocked the entrance to another corridor - an ascending one, and behind the limestone there were three more granite plugs. Since a vertical tunnel was discovered at the junction of two corridors, descending and ascending, it was assumed that granite plugs were lowered down through it in order to seal the tomb after the funeral of the Egyptian king.

Funeral "pit"

The descending corridor, which is 105 meters long, descends underground at an inclination of 26° 26’46 and abuts another corridor 8.9 m long, leading to chamber 5 and located horizontally. There is an unfinished chamber measuring 14 x 8.1 m, running east to west in shape. For a long time it was believed that there were no other rooms in the pyramid except this corridor and chamber, but it turned out differently. The height of the chamber reaches 3.5 m. At the southern wall of the chamber there is a well about 3 m deep, from which south direction a narrow hole stretches for 16 m (0.7 × 0.7 m in cross-section), ending in a dead end.

At the beginning of the 19th century, engineers John Shae Perring and Richard William Howard Vyse dismantled the floor of the chamber and dug a well 11.6 m deep, in which they hoped to discover a hidden burial chamber. They were based on the testimony of Herodotus, who claimed that the body of Cheops was on an island surrounded by a canal in a hidden underground chamber. Their excavations came to nothing. Later studies showed that the chamber was abandoned unfinished, and it was decided to build the burial chambers in the center of the pyramid itself.

Ascending Corridor and Queen's Chambers

From the first third of the descending passage (18 m from the main entrance), an ascending passage (6) about 40 m long, ending at the bottom of the Great Gallery (9), goes up at the same angle of 26.5° to the south.

At its beginning, the ascending passage contains 3 large cubic granite “plugs”, which from the outside, from the descending passage, were masked by a block of limestone that fell out during the work of al-Mamun. It turned out that for almost 3 thousand years scientists were sure that there were no rooms in the Great Pyramid other than the descending passage and the underground chamber. Al-Ma'mun was unable to break through these plugs and simply carved out a bypass to the right of them in the softer limestone.

In the middle of the ascending passage, the design of the walls has a peculiarity: in three places the so-called “frame stones” are installed - that is, the passage, square along its entire length, pierces through three monoliths. The purpose of these stones is unknown.

A horizontal corridor 35 m long and 1.75 m high leads to the second burial chamber from the lower part of the Great Gallery in a southerly direction. It is traditionally called the “Queen’s Chamber,” although according to the ritual, the wives of the pharaohs were buried in separate small pyramids. The Queen's Chamber, lined with limestone, measures 5.74 meters from east to west and 5.23 meters from north to south; its maximum height is 6.22 meters. There is a high niche in the eastern wall of the chamber.

Grotto, Grand Gallery and Pharaoh's Chambers

Another branch from the lower part of the Great Gallery is a narrow, almost vertical shaft about 60 m high, leading to the lower part of the descending passage. There is an assumption that it was intended to evacuate workers or priests who were completing the “sealing” of the main passage to the “King’s Chamber.” Approximately in the middle of it there is a small, most likely natural expansion - a “Grotto” of irregular shape, in which several people could fit at most. The grotto (12) is located at the “junction” of the masonry of the pyramid and a small, about 9 meters high, hill on the limestone plateau lying at the base of the Great Pyramid. The walls of the Grotto are partially reinforced by ancient masonry, and since some of its stones are too large, there is an assumption that the Grotto existed on the Giza plateau as an independent structure long before the construction of the pyramids, and the evacuation shaft itself was built taking into account the location of the Grotto. However, taking into account the fact that the shaft was hollowed out in the already laid masonry, and not laid out, as evidenced by its irregular circular cross-section, the question arises of how the builders managed to accurately reach the Grotto.

The large gallery continues the ascending passage. Its height is 8.53 m, it is rectangular in cross-section, with walls slightly tapering upward (“false vault”), a high inclined tunnel 46.6 m long. In the middle of the Great Gallery, along almost the entire length, there is a square recess with a regular cross-section, 1 meter wide and 60 cm deep, and on both side protrusions there are 27 pairs of recesses of unknown purpose. The recess ends with the “Big Step” - a high horizontal ledge, a platform of 1x2 meters, at the end of the Great Gallery, immediately before the hole into the “hallway” - the Antechamber. The platform has a pair of ramp recesses similar to those in the corners near the wall. Through the “hallway” a hole leads into the funeral “Tsar’s Chamber” lined with black granite, where an empty granite sarcophagus is located.

Above the “Tsar’s Chamber” are discovered in the 19th century. five unloading cavities with a total height of 17 m, between which lie monolithic slabs about 2 m thick, and above there is a gable ceiling. Their purpose is to distribute the weight of the overlying layers of the pyramid (about a million tons) in order to protect the “King’s Chamber” from pressure. In these voids, graffiti was found, probably left by workers.

A network of ventilation ducts leads from the cells to the north and south. The channels from the Queen's Chamber do not reach the surface of the pyramid by 12 meters, and the channels from the Pharaoh's Chamber reach the surface. Such branches have not been found in any other pyramid. Scientists have not reached a unanimous opinion whether they were built for ventilation or are related to the Egyptian ideas about afterlife. At the upper ends of the channels there are doors, most likely symbolizing the entrance to another world. In addition, the channels point to the stars: Sirius, Tuban, Alnitak, which makes it possible to assume that the Cheops pyramid also had an astronomical purpose.

Surroundings of the Cheops Pyramid

At the eastern edge of the Cheops pyramid there are 3 small pyramids of his wives and family members. They are located from north to south, according to size: the base side of each building is 0.5 meters smaller than the previous one. They are well preserved inside; time has partially destroyed only the outer cladding. Nearby you can see the foundation of the mortuary temple of Khufu, inside of which were found drawings depicting a ritual performed by the pharaoh, it was called the Unification of the Two Lands.

Pharaoh's boats

The Pyramid of Cheops is the central figure of a complex of buildings, the location of which had ritual significance. The procession with the late pharaoh crossed the Nile on west bank on numerous boats. In the lower temple, to which the boats sailed, the first part of the funeral ceremony began. Next, the procession headed to the upper temple, where the prayer house and altar were located. West of upper temple the pyramid itself was located.

On each side of the pyramid, boats were walled up in rocky recesses, on which the pharaoh was supposed to travel through the afterlife.

In 1954, archaeologist Zaki Noor discovered the first boat, called the Solar Boat. It was made of Lebanese cedar, consisted of 1224 parts, and had no traces of fastening or joining. Its dimensions are: length 43 m and width 5.5 m. It took 16 years to restore the boat.

On the southern side of the Cheops pyramid there is a museum of this boat.

The second boat was found in a mine located east of where the first boat was found. A camera was lowered into the shaft, which showed traces of insects on the boat, so it was decided not to raise it and to seal the shaft. This decision was made by scientist Yoshimuro from Waseda University.

In total, seven pits were discovered with real ancient Egyptian boats, dismantled into parts.

Video: 5 Unsolved Mysteries of the Pyramids of Egypt

How to get there

If you want to see the Great Pyramid of Cheops, you need to come to Cairo. But there are practically no direct flights from Russia and you will have to make a transfer in Europe. Without a transfer, you can fly to Sharm el-Sheikh, and from there travel 500 kilometers to Cairo. You can get to your destination by comfortable bus, the travel time is approximately 6 hours, or you can continue the journey by plane, they fly to Cairo every half hour. In Egypt they are very loyal to Russian tourists; you can get a visa right at the airport after landing. It will cost $25 and is issued for a month.

Where to stay

If your goal is ancient treasures and you come to the pyramids, then you can choose a hotel in Giza or in the center of Cairo. There are almost two hundred comfortable hotels with all the benefits of civilization. In addition, Cairo has many attractions; it is a city of contrasts: modern skyscrapers and ancient minarets, noisy colorful bazaars and nightclubs, neon nights and quiet palm gardens.

Reminder for tourists

Don't forget that Egypt is a Muslim state. Men should simply ignore Egyptian women, because even an innocent touch can be considered harassment. Women must follow dress codes. Modesty and once again modesty, a minimum of bare areas of the body.

On organized excursions Tickets to the pyramids can be purchased at any hotel.

The pyramid area is open to the public in summer from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in winter it is open half an hour less; the entrance ticket costs approximately 8 euros.

Museums are paid separately: you can see the Solar Boats for 5 euros.

To enter the Pyramid of Cheops you will be charged 13 euros; visiting the Pyramid of Chefre will cost less - 2.6 euros. There is a very low passage here and be prepared for the fact that you will have to walk 100 meters in a half-bent position.

Other pyramids, for example, the wife and mother of Khafre, can be viewed for free by presenting admission ticket to the zone.

The best time to view them is in the morning, immediately after opening. It is strictly forbidden to climb the pyramids, break off a piece as a souvenir and write “I was here...”. You can pay a fine for this that will exceed the cost of your trip.

If you want to take a photo of yourself against the backdrop of the pyramids or just the surrounding area, prepare 1 euro for the right to take photographs; photography is prohibited inside the pyramids. If you are offered to take a photo of you, do not agree and do not give the camera to anyone, otherwise you will have to buy it back.

Tickets to visit the pyramids are limited: 150 tickets are sold at 8 a.m. and the same number at 1 p.m. There are two ticket offices: one at the main entrance, the second at the Sphinx.

Each of the pyramids is closed once a year for restoration work, so you are unlikely to see everything at once.

If you don't want to walk throughout the Giza area, you can rent a camel. Its cost will depend on your bargaining ability. But keep in mind that they won’t tell you all the prices right away, and when you ride around, it turns out that you have to pay to get off the camel.

Tricky tip: The toilet is located in the Solar Boat Museum.

On the territory of the pyramid zone there are cafeterias where you can have a good lunch.

Every evening there is a light and sound show lasting one hour. It passes on different languages: Arabic, English, Japanese, Spanish, French. On Sundays the show is performed in Russian. It is recommended to separate your visit to the pyramids and the show over two days, otherwise you will not be able to fit in as many impressions.