DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6552#0277
288
APPENDIX.
He supposes, that neither of the three greater Pyramids were
ever finished, because the stones immediately over the entrance
of the greatest are placed en decharge, and are of a greater height
than seems necessary for so small a portal ; and because, for a
large space on each side of it, several of the parallel ranges are
discontinued. These circumstances indicate, in his opinion, some
further design ; probably that of a large and magnificent portico.
He considers that the ranges, or steps of stone, were intended to
be cased over, although this operation did not appear to have been
effected at the Great or at the Third Pyramids; while, at the
Second, scarcely a quarter of the building had been finished from
the top. The stones, of which the Pyramids are composed, are
from five to thirty feet long, and from three to four feet high,
and have been laid in mortar similar to that which is now used in
Barbary ; they contain fossil shells, resembling those which are
observed in the rocks on which the Pyramids stand, and have
evidently been quarried from them ; and, indeed, Dr. Shaw is of
opinion that natural eminences of rock constitute a considerable
part of the interior of these buildings. He quotes, from Pliny, the
antient authors who have written about these wonderful monu-
ments, and says, that Cheops, Chefrenes, and Micerinus, are sup-
posed to have built them ; but that, according to some authors,
Suphis built the First, the daughter of Cheops the Second, and
Nitocris the Third ; whilst others affirm that the two larger were
built by the shepherd Philition, and the smaller by Rhodope.
This difference of opinion he considers extraordinary; and observes
that, as the Egyptians were the most learned people of antiquity, and
as they were supposed to have kept a chronological account of the
transactions of their kings, and of all great events, it is therefore
surprising that the authors of such great undertakings should be
disputed, and the account of them so uncertain, that even the pur-
poses for which the Pyramids were erected have not been ascer-
tained. It was generally believed that they were tombs of the
antient kings: but he considers the internal construction of the
Great Pyramid ill adapted for a sepulchre, and thinks that it was
a temple. He remarks, that as the Second and Third bad no open-
ings, they could not certainly have been sepulchral monuments,
unless each was built by the successor over the tomb of his ances-
tor. Taking this view of the subject, he conceives that the granite
sarcophagus, in the Great Pyramid, was intended for the celebra-
tion of the mystical worship of Osiris, and he supposes it to have
contained images, sacred vestments, and utensils, or water for lus-
APPENDIX.
He supposes, that neither of the three greater Pyramids were
ever finished, because the stones immediately over the entrance
of the greatest are placed en decharge, and are of a greater height
than seems necessary for so small a portal ; and because, for a
large space on each side of it, several of the parallel ranges are
discontinued. These circumstances indicate, in his opinion, some
further design ; probably that of a large and magnificent portico.
He considers that the ranges, or steps of stone, were intended to
be cased over, although this operation did not appear to have been
effected at the Great or at the Third Pyramids; while, at the
Second, scarcely a quarter of the building had been finished from
the top. The stones, of which the Pyramids are composed, are
from five to thirty feet long, and from three to four feet high,
and have been laid in mortar similar to that which is now used in
Barbary ; they contain fossil shells, resembling those which are
observed in the rocks on which the Pyramids stand, and have
evidently been quarried from them ; and, indeed, Dr. Shaw is of
opinion that natural eminences of rock constitute a considerable
part of the interior of these buildings. He quotes, from Pliny, the
antient authors who have written about these wonderful monu-
ments, and says, that Cheops, Chefrenes, and Micerinus, are sup-
posed to have built them ; but that, according to some authors,
Suphis built the First, the daughter of Cheops the Second, and
Nitocris the Third ; whilst others affirm that the two larger were
built by the shepherd Philition, and the smaller by Rhodope.
This difference of opinion he considers extraordinary; and observes
that, as the Egyptians were the most learned people of antiquity, and
as they were supposed to have kept a chronological account of the
transactions of their kings, and of all great events, it is therefore
surprising that the authors of such great undertakings should be
disputed, and the account of them so uncertain, that even the pur-
poses for which the Pyramids were erected have not been ascer-
tained. It was generally believed that they were tombs of the
antient kings: but he considers the internal construction of the
Great Pyramid ill adapted for a sepulchre, and thinks that it was
a temple. He remarks, that as the Second and Third bad no open-
ings, they could not certainly have been sepulchral monuments,
unless each was built by the successor over the tomb of his ances-
tor. Taking this view of the subject, he conceives that the granite
sarcophagus, in the Great Pyramid, was intended for the celebra-
tion of the mystical worship of Osiris, and he supposes it to have
contained images, sacred vestments, and utensils, or water for lus-