DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6552#0313
274
APPENDIX.
M. JOMARD (1801).
This gentleman, besides various quotations from antient and
modern authors, enters into considerable detail respecting the
Pyramids, and says that the Great Pyramid is four hundred and
eighty-three metres N.E. of the Second, nine hundred and twenty-
six metres N.E. \ N. of the Third, and five hundred and forty-
nine metres N.W. \ N. of the Sphinx. The northern base deviates
from direct east and west 0". 19-58 southward, so that the northern
face is 20 south of east. The base was measured on December
8th, 1799 ; and again afterwards by M. Le Pere, an architect,
and by Colonel Coutelle, Chef de Bataillon, who made excavations
at the northern angles for that purpose. The entrance was in the
northern front, about forty-three feet above the base, and a mound
of rubbish afforded a path to it. The remains of a foss, eighteen
metres six broad, was excavated in the rock, and extended along
its northern front, the depth of which was unknown, but it was
supposed to be in some respects like that near the Second
Pyramid.2
He then observes, that the Great Pyramid had been covered
with a casing, but that it had been totally removed, and that the
3 No traces of a foss exist, nor is there any near the Second Pyramid, where a
space on the western and northern sides of the building has been cleared and levelled,
by removing a part of the rock, by which a low cliffis formed, about twenty or thirty
feet high, around that part of the area. It is remarkable, that this foss is inserted
in the plans, which are very inaccurate in many respects, considering the time and
opportunities that the French had for surveying the ground. In Plate VI. this
foss is inserted, whilst the excavations to the eastward of the Great Pyramid are
omitted, as well as the foundations of buildings near them. The smaller Pyramids,
and other ruins near the large one, are also incorrectly placed. Many errors may
likewise be perceived in the other plates. In the XlVth, for instance, the King's
Chamber is represented in the centre of the Pyramid. It is to be observed, that
the descending passage in the Great Pyramid is made, in the sections, to end at its
junction with the ascending communication; which proves that, notwithstanding
JMr. Davison had examined the lower part of the passage in 1763 for u considerable
distance, the French, although they were employed from 1799 to 1801, had no
idea that it was continued into the Pyramid. This, however, is also clear from the
account of Colonel Coutelle himself. The plans likewise shew, that the back of the
Sphinx was the only part, from which the sand had been removed.
APPENDIX.
M. JOMARD (1801).
This gentleman, besides various quotations from antient and
modern authors, enters into considerable detail respecting the
Pyramids, and says that the Great Pyramid is four hundred and
eighty-three metres N.E. of the Second, nine hundred and twenty-
six metres N.E. \ N. of the Third, and five hundred and forty-
nine metres N.W. \ N. of the Sphinx. The northern base deviates
from direct east and west 0". 19-58 southward, so that the northern
face is 20 south of east. The base was measured on December
8th, 1799 ; and again afterwards by M. Le Pere, an architect,
and by Colonel Coutelle, Chef de Bataillon, who made excavations
at the northern angles for that purpose. The entrance was in the
northern front, about forty-three feet above the base, and a mound
of rubbish afforded a path to it. The remains of a foss, eighteen
metres six broad, was excavated in the rock, and extended along
its northern front, the depth of which was unknown, but it was
supposed to be in some respects like that near the Second
Pyramid.2
He then observes, that the Great Pyramid had been covered
with a casing, but that it had been totally removed, and that the
3 No traces of a foss exist, nor is there any near the Second Pyramid, where a
space on the western and northern sides of the building has been cleared and levelled,
by removing a part of the rock, by which a low cliffis formed, about twenty or thirty
feet high, around that part of the area. It is remarkable, that this foss is inserted
in the plans, which are very inaccurate in many respects, considering the time and
opportunities that the French had for surveying the ground. In Plate VI. this
foss is inserted, whilst the excavations to the eastward of the Great Pyramid are
omitted, as well as the foundations of buildings near them. The smaller Pyramids,
and other ruins near the large one, are also incorrectly placed. Many errors may
likewise be perceived in the other plates. In the XlVth, for instance, the King's
Chamber is represented in the centre of the Pyramid. It is to be observed, that
the descending passage in the Great Pyramid is made, in the sections, to end at its
junction with the ascending communication; which proves that, notwithstanding
JMr. Davison had examined the lower part of the passage in 1763 for u considerable
distance, the French, although they were employed from 1799 to 1801, had no
idea that it was continued into the Pyramid. This, however, is also clear from the
account of Colonel Coutelle himself. The plans likewise shew, that the back of the
Sphinx was the only part, from which the sand had been removed.