DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6552#0350
APPENDIX.
311
death of Mr. Mayo was not to be wondered at.* He then
examined the interior, and describes the passage as being " cased
with slabs of Oriental porphyry, finely polished, and so exquisitely
fitted to each other as to seem but one piece. Having reached,"
he observes, "a certain depth, we climbed over a high slippery
rock overhanging- the mouth of the well, and entered the adit
DO 7
leading to the King's Chamber. This narrow smooth corridor,
which mounts with a steep ascent, is cased like the former with
porphyry; we passed over the mouth of the entrance to the
Queen's Chamber, which lies directly under that of the King's;
notches cut in the pavement enabled us to fix our footsteps, and,
after groping along for a considerable time through dust and heat,
we arrived at a level passage of no great length, which led directly
into the Royal Chamber."
Mr. St. John does not seem to consider that the coffer of granite
had been a sarcophagus. He remarked, in the southern wall of
the King's Chamber, a small niche, which he considered was for
mysterious purposes. The ceiling was formed of blocks of stone
three feet broad, " and, being alternately of a lighter and darker
grain, gave the roof the appearance of being painted in broad stripes
of different colours. We found the length of the apartment to be
about thirty-nine feet, the breadth about eighteen, and the height
about twenty-two, in the north-west corner there were two small
square cavities sunk in the floor, and probably of great depth ;
they were now nearly filled with dust; their use we could not
conjecture." He conceived, from the echoes produced by the
firing of a pistol, that many undiscovered chambers and passages
s'ill existed.
He then descended to the Queen's Apartment, and found that
't was considerably smaller than the other, and that its ceiling
was inclined. As he was not furnished with a ladder, he could
not examine Davison's Chamber; neither did he, at that time,
enter the Second Pyramid : but, from a cursory examination of
its exterior, it appeared to him probable that many subterraneous
Passages existed between the Great and Second Pyramids.
On his return from Upper Egypt, he again went to Gizeh, and
entered the Second Pyramid. He observes, that the passages were
beautifully cased with Oriental porphyry, and that in the floor
°f the large Chamber there was a sarcophagus, in which bones were
found, said to have been those of an ox, but which, he imagines,
* Tliis unfortunate accident is the only one on record.
311
death of Mr. Mayo was not to be wondered at.* He then
examined the interior, and describes the passage as being " cased
with slabs of Oriental porphyry, finely polished, and so exquisitely
fitted to each other as to seem but one piece. Having reached,"
he observes, "a certain depth, we climbed over a high slippery
rock overhanging- the mouth of the well, and entered the adit
DO 7
leading to the King's Chamber. This narrow smooth corridor,
which mounts with a steep ascent, is cased like the former with
porphyry; we passed over the mouth of the entrance to the
Queen's Chamber, which lies directly under that of the King's;
notches cut in the pavement enabled us to fix our footsteps, and,
after groping along for a considerable time through dust and heat,
we arrived at a level passage of no great length, which led directly
into the Royal Chamber."
Mr. St. John does not seem to consider that the coffer of granite
had been a sarcophagus. He remarked, in the southern wall of
the King's Chamber, a small niche, which he considered was for
mysterious purposes. The ceiling was formed of blocks of stone
three feet broad, " and, being alternately of a lighter and darker
grain, gave the roof the appearance of being painted in broad stripes
of different colours. We found the length of the apartment to be
about thirty-nine feet, the breadth about eighteen, and the height
about twenty-two, in the north-west corner there were two small
square cavities sunk in the floor, and probably of great depth ;
they were now nearly filled with dust; their use we could not
conjecture." He conceived, from the echoes produced by the
firing of a pistol, that many undiscovered chambers and passages
s'ill existed.
He then descended to the Queen's Apartment, and found that
't was considerably smaller than the other, and that its ceiling
was inclined. As he was not furnished with a ladder, he could
not examine Davison's Chamber; neither did he, at that time,
enter the Second Pyramid : but, from a cursory examination of
its exterior, it appeared to him probable that many subterraneous
Passages existed between the Great and Second Pyramids.
On his return from Upper Egypt, he again went to Gizeh, and
entered the Second Pyramid. He observes, that the passages were
beautifully cased with Oriental porphyry, and that in the floor
°f the large Chamber there was a sarcophagus, in which bones were
found, said to have been those of an ox, but which, he imagines,
* Tliis unfortunate accident is the only one on record.