DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11715#0059
ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO.
remains of oxen ; but the sarcophagus was not large enough to admit more than a
human mummy. Besides the large vault, Belzoni found a smaller one, eleven feet
long, and a third, measuring thirty-four feet by ten, and eight feet five in height, but
neither contained any sepulchral remains.
The general workmanship of this pyramid is inferior to that of the larger one. It re-
tains its outer casing for about one hundred and fifty feet from the top, and is, conse-
quently, more difficult of ascent. No name has been found on any part of the Second
Pyramid, and its erection is not mentioned by Manetho. A tradition preserved by Di-
odorus assigned it to Amasis ; but an ad-
jacent tomb contains an inscription to a
royal architect, in which the monarch is
called Shafra the Great of the Pyramid,
and this has been supposed to be
Chephren, the brother of Cheops, to
whom Herodotus ascribes the Second
Pyramid.
The Third or Red Pyramid—so called
from the color of the granite casing which
covered the lower half, and has protected
its base from diminution—is described by
the classical writers as the most sumptuous
and magnificent of all. It certainly sur-
passes the other two in beauty and regu-
larity of construction. It covers a suite of
three subterranean chambers, reached as
usual by a sloping passage from the north-
ern face. The first is an ante-room twelve
feet long, the walls paneled in white stucco.
Its door was blocked by huge stones, and
when these had been removed, three granite
portcullises, in close succession, guarded
the vault beyond. In this apartment,
which measures forty-six feet by twelve,
and is nearly under the apex of the pyra-
mid, a sarcophagus had apparently been
sunk, but none remained. The floor was
covered with its fragments as Perring sup-
posed in red granite ; and Bunsen ascribes the fracture to Egyptian violence. Others,
however, imagine these fragments to be only the chippings made by the masons in
fitting the portcullises.
Beyond and below this vault is a second, somewhat smaller, in which General Vyse
found an elegant sarcophagus of basalt : " the outside was very beautifully carved in
compartments in the Doric style," or rather " had the deep cornice which is character-
istic of the Egyptian style." It was empty, and the lid was found broken in the
larger apartment. This valuable relic being very brittle, and in danger of disappearing
under the curiosity of visitors, General Vyse removed the sarcophagus with great
55
VIEW OF GALLERY IN THE GREAT PYRAMID, FROM
THE LOWER AND UPPER LANDING-PLACES.
remains of oxen ; but the sarcophagus was not large enough to admit more than a
human mummy. Besides the large vault, Belzoni found a smaller one, eleven feet
long, and a third, measuring thirty-four feet by ten, and eight feet five in height, but
neither contained any sepulchral remains.
The general workmanship of this pyramid is inferior to that of the larger one. It re-
tains its outer casing for about one hundred and fifty feet from the top, and is, conse-
quently, more difficult of ascent. No name has been found on any part of the Second
Pyramid, and its erection is not mentioned by Manetho. A tradition preserved by Di-
odorus assigned it to Amasis ; but an ad-
jacent tomb contains an inscription to a
royal architect, in which the monarch is
called Shafra the Great of the Pyramid,
and this has been supposed to be
Chephren, the brother of Cheops, to
whom Herodotus ascribes the Second
Pyramid.
The Third or Red Pyramid—so called
from the color of the granite casing which
covered the lower half, and has protected
its base from diminution—is described by
the classical writers as the most sumptuous
and magnificent of all. It certainly sur-
passes the other two in beauty and regu-
larity of construction. It covers a suite of
three subterranean chambers, reached as
usual by a sloping passage from the north-
ern face. The first is an ante-room twelve
feet long, the walls paneled in white stucco.
Its door was blocked by huge stones, and
when these had been removed, three granite
portcullises, in close succession, guarded
the vault beyond. In this apartment,
which measures forty-six feet by twelve,
and is nearly under the apex of the pyra-
mid, a sarcophagus had apparently been
sunk, but none remained. The floor was
covered with its fragments as Perring sup-
posed in red granite ; and Bunsen ascribes the fracture to Egyptian violence. Others,
however, imagine these fragments to be only the chippings made by the masons in
fitting the portcullises.
Beyond and below this vault is a second, somewhat smaller, in which General Vyse
found an elegant sarcophagus of basalt : " the outside was very beautifully carved in
compartments in the Doric style," or rather " had the deep cornice which is character-
istic of the Egyptian style." It was empty, and the lid was found broken in the
larger apartment. This valuable relic being very brittle, and in danger of disappearing
under the curiosity of visitors, General Vyse removed the sarcophagus with great
55
VIEW OF GALLERY IN THE GREAT PYRAMID, FROM
THE LOWER AND UPPER LANDING-PLACES.