DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3558#0004
rp
THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH.
masonry ; so that they were almost as impenetrable as the building itself. It may be added, that superstitious veneration could
not have had much influence with the Egyptians in reference to the Tombs of the Shepherd Kings, whose names, we are informed,
they refused to pronounce; and still less with Cambyses, who is said to have slain the god Apis with his own hand. At
all events, the Pyramids must have been open in the time of Herodotus (445 years before Christ),- and also in that of Pliny
(79 a.d.), as both these authors advert to their interior construction. And, indeed, as the passages were blocked up with masonry
and also with granite portcullises, it can scarcely be supposed that, when these formidable barriers had once been removed,
they were replaced, or that the entrances were again closed up, excepting by loose stones and rubbish,—the effects of time, and
of the violence employed in taking down the exterior of the buildings for the sake of the materials. It is likewise to be
remarked that many of the Tombs at Thebes are supposed to have remained open since the time of the Romans; and, also, that
it is scarcely possible to find in other countries an ancient sepulchre, of any magnitude, which has not been despoiled.
If the sanctity of any tomb could have preserved it from violation, it would have been David's, at Jerusalem; but, according
to Josephus, that monument was twice broken into, not for the purpose of desecration, but to obtain the treasures deposited
within it, first by Hyrcanus, and again by Herod; the former of whom took away 3000 talents of silver. This sepulchre, likewise,
appears to have borne a great resemblance to those of ancient Egypt; for it is said to have contained many chambers filled
with treasures, and a secret receptacle for the body of the King, which was concealed even from those who entered the tomb.
The universal practice of depositing treasure in mausolea was, no doubt, a principal cause of the violation and exposure of
the remains of the dead, which such laborious efforts, and such immense sums had been obviously expended to prevent; for it
was not only to protect the hallowed repose of the tomb, but to secure the immense treasures, which superstitious ostentation
had laid up in store within them, that these mighty structures have been erected, with such skill, and upon such a gigantic
scale, as might seem to set at defiance the zeal of superstitious animosity, the rage of conquest, and even the effects of time.
But avarice-—the most powerful and insatiate of human passions—has violated, with unrelenting rapacity, these gloomy mansions,
notwithstanding the wonderful, and apparently impenetrable barriers, raised in their defence.
Aurum per medios ire satellites
Et perrumpere amat saxa, potentius
Ictu fulmineo.
By whom the Pyramids were first broken into will probably never be revealed; but, as they were apparently entered
by the regular passages, their interior construction must have been at that time known. It appears, likewise, that the
Mahometan Caliphs, who, according to Arabian historians, made the forced passages, must have possessed, either by tradition or
otherwise, some information respecting them.
It is extraordinary that the Great Pyramid should have remained open for so many years, while the entrances of all the
others were closed up, and entirely forgotten,
PLATE I.
SECOND PYRAMID, SECTION AND PLAN.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section, looking westward through the Passages and principal Chambers.
Fig. 2 is a plan, or rather diagram, shewing the extent of rock which has been cut away for the formation of the base and for the surrounding level.
PLATE II,
SECOND PYRAMID, PASSAGES AND CHAMBERS.
Figs. 1 and 2 are a vertical section and plan of the Interior.
The Passage from the Upper Entrance is entirely composed of polished granite. The blocks are well squared, and are laid
vertically to the incline with the greatest exactness. The Horizontal Passage, for the distance of 25 feet, is also lined with
masonry, the rest is an excavation. The flaws which occasionally occur have been made good, and the whole has been covered
with a coating of painted stucco.
It will be seen, by these Plans, that the forced Entrance intersects the top of the Horizontal Passage. This excavation, like
that at the Great Pyramid, was begun at the centre of the Northern Front, and was conducted at a proper level to the eastward,
so as to meet with the regular passages, which could not have been the effect of chance. Both operations were probably carried
on about the same time, and by the same people, who must have known the positions of the inclined passages, and also that they
had originally been blocked up with masonry, or they would, no doubt, have endeavoured to enter by them.
At the commencement of his operations, Signore Belzoni discovered the forced excavation, and penetrated into it as far as A;
when, for the reasons already assigned, he could not proceed. He subsequently removed the rubbish to the eastward, and entered
the Pyramid by the regular Passage, which had been already opened, and was only encumbered by broken stones and by rubbish.
When M. Caviglia was employed in clearing out the interior of the building in January 1837, he found that a part of the
floor in the Horizontal Passage was composed of masonry, and, by removing it, he discovered the excavation B,* parallel to, and
connected by an aperture with, the Inclined Passage, returning beneath it to the northwards. This hollow (and also the upper
Passage in the Third Pyramid), may have been intended to afford air to those employed in making the subterraneous chambers
and communications; but they were most probably parts of original plans, which, for some reason or other, have been discontinued;
particularly the vacancy in the Second Pyramid, as it is only eighteen feet six inches in length.
The upper Entrance Passage had, no doubt, been filled with solid masonry as far as the Portcullis ;j* for when the entrance of
the lower was discovered beneath the Pavement, and opened in 1837, the higher part, for the distance of 36 feet, C, was closed
up by immense squared blocks, close jointed, and laid in cement, which were then partially blasted to allow of an entrance. The
rest of the Passage had been built up in the same way, as fragments of the stones were found in it, which had been broken up
from the interior as far as the Portcullis. This had also been forced from the inside; it consisted of a slab of granite, and had
been inserted in grooves cut in the rock, and had been built into its place.
* The whole was filled with small squared stones laid in cement.
f This portcullis was sufficiently lifted by Signore Belzoni to allow of a person crawling under it: it was entirely lowered in 1837, with the intention of removing it (see "Operations carried on at Gizeh," p. 157, Vol. I.), and it was afterwards raised to
a considerable height.
THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH.
masonry ; so that they were almost as impenetrable as the building itself. It may be added, that superstitious veneration could
not have had much influence with the Egyptians in reference to the Tombs of the Shepherd Kings, whose names, we are informed,
they refused to pronounce; and still less with Cambyses, who is said to have slain the god Apis with his own hand. At
all events, the Pyramids must have been open in the time of Herodotus (445 years before Christ),- and also in that of Pliny
(79 a.d.), as both these authors advert to their interior construction. And, indeed, as the passages were blocked up with masonry
and also with granite portcullises, it can scarcely be supposed that, when these formidable barriers had once been removed,
they were replaced, or that the entrances were again closed up, excepting by loose stones and rubbish,—the effects of time, and
of the violence employed in taking down the exterior of the buildings for the sake of the materials. It is likewise to be
remarked that many of the Tombs at Thebes are supposed to have remained open since the time of the Romans; and, also, that
it is scarcely possible to find in other countries an ancient sepulchre, of any magnitude, which has not been despoiled.
If the sanctity of any tomb could have preserved it from violation, it would have been David's, at Jerusalem; but, according
to Josephus, that monument was twice broken into, not for the purpose of desecration, but to obtain the treasures deposited
within it, first by Hyrcanus, and again by Herod; the former of whom took away 3000 talents of silver. This sepulchre, likewise,
appears to have borne a great resemblance to those of ancient Egypt; for it is said to have contained many chambers filled
with treasures, and a secret receptacle for the body of the King, which was concealed even from those who entered the tomb.
The universal practice of depositing treasure in mausolea was, no doubt, a principal cause of the violation and exposure of
the remains of the dead, which such laborious efforts, and such immense sums had been obviously expended to prevent; for it
was not only to protect the hallowed repose of the tomb, but to secure the immense treasures, which superstitious ostentation
had laid up in store within them, that these mighty structures have been erected, with such skill, and upon such a gigantic
scale, as might seem to set at defiance the zeal of superstitious animosity, the rage of conquest, and even the effects of time.
But avarice-—the most powerful and insatiate of human passions—has violated, with unrelenting rapacity, these gloomy mansions,
notwithstanding the wonderful, and apparently impenetrable barriers, raised in their defence.
Aurum per medios ire satellites
Et perrumpere amat saxa, potentius
Ictu fulmineo.
By whom the Pyramids were first broken into will probably never be revealed; but, as they were apparently entered
by the regular passages, their interior construction must have been at that time known. It appears, likewise, that the
Mahometan Caliphs, who, according to Arabian historians, made the forced passages, must have possessed, either by tradition or
otherwise, some information respecting them.
It is extraordinary that the Great Pyramid should have remained open for so many years, while the entrances of all the
others were closed up, and entirely forgotten,
PLATE I.
SECOND PYRAMID, SECTION AND PLAN.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section, looking westward through the Passages and principal Chambers.
Fig. 2 is a plan, or rather diagram, shewing the extent of rock which has been cut away for the formation of the base and for the surrounding level.
PLATE II,
SECOND PYRAMID, PASSAGES AND CHAMBERS.
Figs. 1 and 2 are a vertical section and plan of the Interior.
The Passage from the Upper Entrance is entirely composed of polished granite. The blocks are well squared, and are laid
vertically to the incline with the greatest exactness. The Horizontal Passage, for the distance of 25 feet, is also lined with
masonry, the rest is an excavation. The flaws which occasionally occur have been made good, and the whole has been covered
with a coating of painted stucco.
It will be seen, by these Plans, that the forced Entrance intersects the top of the Horizontal Passage. This excavation, like
that at the Great Pyramid, was begun at the centre of the Northern Front, and was conducted at a proper level to the eastward,
so as to meet with the regular passages, which could not have been the effect of chance. Both operations were probably carried
on about the same time, and by the same people, who must have known the positions of the inclined passages, and also that they
had originally been blocked up with masonry, or they would, no doubt, have endeavoured to enter by them.
At the commencement of his operations, Signore Belzoni discovered the forced excavation, and penetrated into it as far as A;
when, for the reasons already assigned, he could not proceed. He subsequently removed the rubbish to the eastward, and entered
the Pyramid by the regular Passage, which had been already opened, and was only encumbered by broken stones and by rubbish.
When M. Caviglia was employed in clearing out the interior of the building in January 1837, he found that a part of the
floor in the Horizontal Passage was composed of masonry, and, by removing it, he discovered the excavation B,* parallel to, and
connected by an aperture with, the Inclined Passage, returning beneath it to the northwards. This hollow (and also the upper
Passage in the Third Pyramid), may have been intended to afford air to those employed in making the subterraneous chambers
and communications; but they were most probably parts of original plans, which, for some reason or other, have been discontinued;
particularly the vacancy in the Second Pyramid, as it is only eighteen feet six inches in length.
The upper Entrance Passage had, no doubt, been filled with solid masonry as far as the Portcullis ;j* for when the entrance of
the lower was discovered beneath the Pavement, and opened in 1837, the higher part, for the distance of 36 feet, C, was closed
up by immense squared blocks, close jointed, and laid in cement, which were then partially blasted to allow of an entrance. The
rest of the Passage had been built up in the same way, as fragments of the stones were found in it, which had been broken up
from the interior as far as the Portcullis. This had also been forced from the inside; it consisted of a slab of granite, and had
been inserted in grooves cut in the rock, and had been built into its place.
* The whole was filled with small squared stones laid in cement.
f This portcullis was sufficiently lifted by Signore Belzoni to allow of a person crawling under it: it was entirely lowered in 1837, with the intention of removing it (see "Operations carried on at Gizeh," p. 157, Vol. I.), and it was afterwards raised to
a considerable height.