1 - 7 November 2001
Issue No.558
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 1 - 7 November 2001 Issue No.558 |
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Dig-days
The five secret chambers
The Great Pyramid of Khufu, standing in splendour on the Giza necropolis, has always stirred the imagination ... the wonder of people from far and wide. Through the ages it has been a fascinating topic, and non- professionals, time and again, have come up with imaginative stories about its construction: it was built by the inhabitants of the lost continent of Atlantis, or by people from outer space. They have given public lectures in which they claim that the only evidence that the fourth-dynasty Pharaoh Khufu built the Great Pyramid is graffiti found in the five chambers located above the king's chamber. This graffiti, they maintain, was written not by the workmen who built the pyramid, but by scholars and adventurers who entered the pyramid in the 19th century. In other words, that it is modern graffiti. These Pyramidiots, as I like to call them, stressed that the chambers were unique; and that the fact that no similar chambers have been found in any other pyramid is indisputable proof that the Great Pyramid was not built by the ancient Egyptians!
Unfortunately, the general lay public is easy prey and the Pyramidiots have always found a ready audience. Their interpretations are interesting, exciting and romantic, if scientifically unsound. Who would not rather listen to a fairy tale than the often tedious scientific facts of the scholars? The trouble is that the fairy tales spread like a disease over the Internet!
Sometimes, however, new facts come to light and the truth can be told. Some years ago we temporarily closed the Great Pyramid to carry out conservation and improve the ventilation system. During the exercise we started to clear the five chambers of accumulated rubble. Half way through, news spread that Egyptologists were secretly digging inside the pyramid; that one of the inspectors had found a piece of papyrus that confirmed that the Great Pyramid was built by Atlantians; and that, moreover, I personally had taken possession of the text, hidden it, and then fired the inspector who was witness to the event!
As soon as the pyramid was open to the public once again, I told my student Leslie Warden at the American University in Cairo to tell the rest of the students in my class that we were going on an adventure inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu, and that we would enter the five chambers in question. I told Marli Pope to be ready with her digital camera to record all we saw inside the chambers, and I asked Abdel-Hamid Qotb, the architect at Giza, to make sure we had a sturdy ladder for our perhaps hazardous adventure. My assistant Brook, anxious not to be left out, asked if she could join.
The chambers are about four metres above the entrance of the main burial chamber in Khufu's pyramid, which itself has no parallel. It consists of nine huge granite slabs, each weighing about 40 tons, and above the flat ceiling are five separate rooms; we call them the "relieving chambers."
With my gang of enthusiastic followers, I entered the Great Pyramid and passed through the Grand Gallery until we reached the entrance of the King's chamber. You could feel the excitement in the air. I led the way and we started to climb the ladder until we reached the first of the upper chambers.
The ceilings of the first four rooms are flat, while the fifth has a pointed ceiling. It was a dusty, difficult climb. I believe that the purpose of constructing the chambers was to eliminate any risk of the ceiling of the king's chamber collapsing under the weight of the superincumbent masonry. My companions were close beside me as I pointed out some of the ancient graffiti which read, "friends of Khufu." This is one of the names used by members of the crew who built the pyramid. I also showed them the sign of Life, the sign of a pyramid, and an inscription which reads "Year 17 of Khufu's reign."
Behind one of the blocks I pointed out one of the most interesting markings that could only have been made by one of the workmen engaged on moving the stone. The students were in awe and wonder in the face of the indisputable evidence of ancient Egyptian graffiti.
It is a joy to see the enthusiasm of my students, sweaty and dirty, intently examining the rocks. They leaped around like gazelles, and Leslie teased me: "You are getting old, Dr Hawass!" They gathered around me when I said I had some good news for them.
"Today," I informed them, "the French team working inside the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur found three relieving chambers above the main corridor. The chambers inside this pyramid are not unique. They are an architectural feature of others. The Pyramidiots have not had the final word."
My students laughed soundly. Their delight echoed through the Grand Gallery until the sound seemed to take on a life of its own.
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