DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6553#0098
APPENDIX.
61
The building was carried down much lower than Mr. Perring
expected ; he accordingly enlarged the excavation, and he found
a wall of rubble-work, which appeared to be a protection to an
entrance. On the 24th he arrived at the base of the building, 30
feet below the surface of the ground. He found a pavement
composed of large stones, and towards the north a hollow about
2 feet 8 inches wide, which had been stopped up by a block, and
had in some degree the appearance of an entrance to an inclined
passage. The foundation was remarkable. The stony surface of
the desert had been made level by a layer of fine sand, confined
on all sides by a stone platform, 14 feet 6 inches wide, and 2 feet
9 inches thick, which supported the external casing ; and the
Pyramid was built upon the sand, which was firm and solid.
Mr. Perring has met with other instances in Egypt where sand
has been thus used;4 and, provided it be retained in its place, it
apparently may be depended upon. The blocks composing the
platform were laid upon four courses of bricks.
Many of the stones, which belonged to the casing, are large.
The dimensions of one are as follows :— ,
Base, 8 feet 3 inches; vertical height,
1 foot 11 inches; and the face of it is
above 6 feet in length. The blocks /
were not laid in regular courses of an/
equal thickness, but each stone had been fitted to those adjoining,
as in the masonry termed polygonal. Putlock holes had been
cut into many of the blocks to receive the ends of the poles, upon
which a scaffold had been placed, that the workmen might be
enabled to finish, and trim off the casing to an even surface.5 And
these holes had been in every instance filled up with small pieces
of the same stone, laid in cement or in gypsum, and so exactly
worked, that many of them were not discovered until the stones
had been broken. Several of the blocks,
particularly in the lower part, were held
together by stone cramps, thus. The base
of the single stone, which formed the apex
of the Pyramid, was about 6 feet 8 inches
square. It had been fixed upon the course
4 Namely, Campbell's Tomb at Gizeh, the Temple near the Pyramid of
Reegab, the Platform of the Northern Pyramid of Aboiiseir, and some smaller
tombs.
• These holes were probably intended for the above-mentioned purpose;
at the same time a reference is made to Vol. I. p. 33.
61
The building was carried down much lower than Mr. Perring
expected ; he accordingly enlarged the excavation, and he found
a wall of rubble-work, which appeared to be a protection to an
entrance. On the 24th he arrived at the base of the building, 30
feet below the surface of the ground. He found a pavement
composed of large stones, and towards the north a hollow about
2 feet 8 inches wide, which had been stopped up by a block, and
had in some degree the appearance of an entrance to an inclined
passage. The foundation was remarkable. The stony surface of
the desert had been made level by a layer of fine sand, confined
on all sides by a stone platform, 14 feet 6 inches wide, and 2 feet
9 inches thick, which supported the external casing ; and the
Pyramid was built upon the sand, which was firm and solid.
Mr. Perring has met with other instances in Egypt where sand
has been thus used;4 and, provided it be retained in its place, it
apparently may be depended upon. The blocks composing the
platform were laid upon four courses of bricks.
Many of the stones, which belonged to the casing, are large.
The dimensions of one are as follows :— ,
Base, 8 feet 3 inches; vertical height,
1 foot 11 inches; and the face of it is
above 6 feet in length. The blocks /
were not laid in regular courses of an/
equal thickness, but each stone had been fitted to those adjoining,
as in the masonry termed polygonal. Putlock holes had been
cut into many of the blocks to receive the ends of the poles, upon
which a scaffold had been placed, that the workmen might be
enabled to finish, and trim off the casing to an even surface.5 And
these holes had been in every instance filled up with small pieces
of the same stone, laid in cement or in gypsum, and so exactly
worked, that many of them were not discovered until the stones
had been broken. Several of the blocks,
particularly in the lower part, were held
together by stone cramps, thus. The base
of the single stone, which formed the apex
of the Pyramid, was about 6 feet 8 inches
square. It had been fixed upon the course
4 Namely, Campbell's Tomb at Gizeh, the Temple near the Pyramid of
Reegab, the Platform of the Northern Pyramid of Aboiiseir, and some smaller
tombs.
• These holes were probably intended for the above-mentioned purpose;
at the same time a reference is made to Vol. I. p. 33.