Great Pyramid of Giza - Wonder Of The World

Great Pyramid of Giza


The Great Pyramid of Giza, in 2005. Built c. 2560 BC, it is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis.
The Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt, and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that survives substantially intact. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) and constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2551 BC. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Originally the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface, but what is seen today is mainly only the underlying core structure, with a few of the original casing stones that once covered the structure simply representing the four compass points around the base. There have been varying scientific and alternative theories regarding the Great Pyramid's construction techniques. Most accepted construction theories are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place.
There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The so-called[1] Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Building of the Great pyramid of Giza
• 2 Materials
o 2.1 Casing stones
o 2.2 Construction theories
• 3 Interior
o 3.1 Entrance
o 3.2 King's Chamber
o 3.3 Queen's Chamber
o 3.4 Unfinished chamber
• 4 Pyramid complex
• 5 Thieves, tourists and excavators

[edit] Building of the Great pyramid of Giza
It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and constructed over a 14[2] to 20 year period concluding around 2551 BC.[3] Khufu's vizier, Hemon, or Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid.[4] It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall, 146.478 metres (480.57 ft) but with erosion and absence of its pyramidion, its current height is 138.75 metres (455.22 ft). Each base side was 440 royal cubits, 230.37 metres (755.81 ft) in length. A royal cubit measures 0.524 meters.[5] The total mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. The volume, including an internal hillock, is believed to be roughly 2,500,000 cubic meters.[6] Based on these estimates, building this in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day. The first precision measurements of the pyramid were done by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880–82 and published as Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh.[7] Almost all reports are based on his measurements. Many of the casing stones and interior chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid were fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the north eastern casing stones, the mean opening of the joints are only 0.5 millimeters wide (1/50th of an inch).[8]


Great Pyramid of Giza from a 19th century stereopticon card photo
The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years,[9] unsurpassed until the 160-meter-tall spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed c. 1300. The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have a mean error of only 58 millimeters in length [10] The base is horizontal and flat to within 21 mm[11]. The sides of the square base are closely aligned to the four cardinal compass points (within 4 minutes of arc)[12] based on true north, not magnetic north[13], and the finished base was squared to a mean corner error of only 12 seconds of arc[14]. The completed design dimensions, as suggested by Petrie's survey and later studies, are estimated to have originally been 280 cubits in height by 440 cubits in length at each of the four sides of its base. These proportions equate to π/2 to an accuracy of better than 0.05% (corresponding to the approximation of π as 22/7). Some Egyptologists consider this to have been the result of deliberate design proportion[15]. Verner wrote, "We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could not precisely define the value of π, in practice they used it".[16] Petrie, author of Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh, who was the first accurate surveyor of Giza and the excavator and surveyor of the Pyramid of Meidum, concluded: "but these relations of areas and of circular ratio are so systematic that we should grant that they were in the builders design".[17] Earlier in the chapter he wrote more specifically, that: “We conclude therefore that the approximation of 7 to 22 as the ratio of diameter to circumference was recognised”.[18] These proportions equated to the four outer faces sloping by 51.843° or 51° 50′ 34″, which would have been understood and expressed by the Ancient Egyptians as a seked slope of 5½ palms[19].
[edit] Materials
The Great Pyramid consists of more than 2.3 million limestone blocks. The Egyptians obtained the majority of the limestone blocks from a nearby quarry. The Tura limestone used for the casing was quarried across the river. The largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the "King's" chamber, weigh 25 to 80 tonnes and were transported more than 500 miles away from Aswan. Traditionally, ancient Egyptians cut stone blocks by hammering wedges into the stone which were then soaked with water. The wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid.[20]
[edit] Casing stones


casing stone
At completion, the Great Pyramid was surfaced by white 'casing stones' – slant-faced, but flat-topped, blocks of highly polished white limestone. These were carefully cut to what is approximately a face slope with a seqed of 5 1/2 palms to give the required overall dimensions. Visibly, all that remains is the underlying step-pyramid core structure seen today. In AD 1300, a massive earthquake loosened many of the outer casing stones, which were then carted away by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan in 1356 in order to build mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo. The stones can still be seen as parts of these structures to this day. Later explorers reported massive piles of rubble at the base of the pyramids left over from the continuing collapse of the casing stones, which were subsequently cleared away during continuing excavations of the site. Nevertheless, many of the casing stones can be seen to this day in situ around the base of the Great Pyramid, and display the same workmanship and precision as has been reported for centuries. Petrie also found a different orientation in the core and in the casing measuring 193 centimeters ± 25 centimeters. He suggested a redetermination of north was made after the construction of the core, but a mistake was made, and the casing was built with a different orientation.[21] Petrie related the precision of the casing stones as to being "equal to opticians' work of the present day, but on a scale of acres." and "to place such stones in exact contact would be
] Construction theories
Main article: Egyptian pyramid construction techniques
Many alternative, often contradictory, theories have been proposed regarding the Pyramid's construction techniques.[23] Not all even agree that the blocks were quarried; Davidovits believes conceivably some were cast. However, most accept it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry, being only unable to agree whether they were dragged, lifted or even rolled into place. The Greeks believed that slave labour was used but modern Egyptologists accept that it was built by many tens of thousands of skilled workers. They camped near the pyramids and worked for a salary or as a form of paying taxes until the construction was completed.[citation needed] Their cemeteries were discovered in 1990 by archaeologists Zahi Hawass and Mark Lehner. Verner posited that the labor was organized into a hierarchy, consisting of two gangs of 100,000 men, divided into five zaa or phyle of 20,000 men each, which may have been further divided according to the skills of the workers.[24]
One of the mysteries of the pyramid's construction is how they planned its construction. John Romer suggests that they used the same method that had been used for earlier and later constructions, laying out parts of the plan on the ground at a 1 to 1 scale. He writes that "such a working diagram would also serve to generate the architecture of the pyramid with a precision unmatched by any other means." He devotes a chapter of his book to the physical evidence that there was such a plan.[25] In fact, the Cole survey of 1925 discovered as part of some planning an actual Original Builder's Mark, engraved into the pavement perpendicular to the N face, suggesting definitely different slopes planned into the Pyramid E and W faces.
[edit] Interior


Diagram of the interior structures of the Great Pyramid. The inner line indicates the pyramid's present profile, the outer line indicates the original profile.
The Great Pyramid is the only pyramid known to contain both ascending and descending passages. There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. These are arranged centrally, on the vertical axis of the pyramid. From the entrance, an 18 meter corridor leads down and splits in two directions. One way leads to the lowest and unfinished chamber. This chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built. It is the largest of the three, but totally unfinished, only rough-cut into the rock. The other passage leads to the Grand Gallery (49 m x 3 m x 11 m), where it splits again. One tunnel leads to the Queen's Chamber, a misnomer, while the other winds to intersect with the descending corridor. The Grand Gallery itself features a corbel haloed design and several cut "sockets" spaced at regular intervals along the length of each side of its raised base with a "trench" running along its center length at floor level. What purpose these sockets served is unknown. An antechamber leads from the Grand Gallery to the King's Chamber.[3]
[edit] Entrance
Today, tourists enter the Great Pyramid via a forced tunnel dug by the Caliph Al-Ma'mum and his men around 820 AD. The tunnel continues for approximately 30 meters and eventually meets up with the Descending Passage which at the time was found to have been blocked by a series of massive granite plugs. Unable to remove the blocks, the workmen tunneled around the plugs discovering the Ascending Passage which leads to the Grand Gallery and interior chambers only to find them empty. The original entrance, which was apparently unknown at the time, can be seen today several meters directly above the forced entry and would have also been blocked by the granite plugs.
[edit] King's Chamber
At the end of the lengthy series of entrance ways leading into the interior is the structure's main chamber, the King's Chamber. This granite room was originally 10 × 20 × 11.18 cubits, or about 5.24 m × 10.48 m × 5.86 m[26], comprising a double 10 × 10 cubit square floor, and a height equal to half the double square's diagonal. Some believed that the height was consistent with the geometric methods for determining the Golden Ratio φ (phi) as the height is approximately phi times the width minus ½, while phi can be derived from other dimensions of the pyramid[27], but evidence from Petrie’s surveys and later conclusions drawn by others shows that it was in fact the circular proportions that were deliberately incorporated into the internal and external designs of the Great Pyramid by its architects and builders, for symbolic reasons[28]. The so called golden ratio phi simply exists in the proportions of the architecture as an inadvertent by-product of the inclusion of the circular proportions. The reason for the inadvertent inclusion is that phi, the golden ratio, has a naturally occurring mathematical relation to the circular ratio pi that is unrelated to the architecture or geometry, and which was unknown to the pyramid's builders. Petrie confirmed that the King’s Chamber was a triumph of Egyptian geometry, the ratio of its length to the circuit of the side wall being the same as the ratio of 1 to pi, and that the exterior of the pyramid had been built to the same proportions[28][29][30]
The sarcophagus of the King's Chamber was hollowed out of a single piece of Red Aswan granite and has been found to be too large to fit through the passageway leading to the chamber. Whether the sarcophagus was ever intended to house a body is unknown, and no lid has ever been found. The King's Chamber contains two small airshafts that ascend out of the pyramid. Despite being originally discovered closed off at both ends, these shafts were once thought by Egyptologists to have been used as "ventilation shafts", but this idea was eventually abandoned, leaving them to conclude they were instead used for ceremonial purposes. It is now thought that they were to allow the Pharaoh's spirit to rise up and out to heaven.[31]
The King's Chamber is lined with red granite brought from Aswan 935 km (580 miles) to the south. There are 5 relieving chambers above the kings chamber. The first one is reached through a breach in the wall at the upper end of the Grand Gallery, this was named the Davidson chamber. Howard Vyse suspected there was another chamber above this when he found that he was able to thrust a long reed through a crack in the ceiling. He blasted through to find 4 more relieving chambers. These chambers were named the Wellington, Nelson, Lady Arbuthnot and Cambell's chambers. The kings chamber and the first 4 relieving chambers have roofs made out of granite. Each roof includes 8 or 9 granite slabs weighing 25 to 80 tonnes each. Cambell's chamber has a pented roof made of large limestone slabs.[32][33] Egyptologists believe they were transported on barges down the Nile river.[34]
[edit] Queen's Chamber
The Queen's Chamber is the middle and the smallest, measuring approximately 5.74 by 5.23 meters, and 4.57 meters in height. The chamber is lined with fine limestone blocks and the pented roof is made of large limestone slabs.[35] Its eastern wall has a large angular doorway or niche. Egyptologist Mark Lehner believes that the Queen's chamber was intended as a serdab, a structure found in several other Egyptian pyramids, and that the niche would have contained a statue of the interred. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the statue would serve as a "back up" vessel for the Ka of the Pharaoh, should the original mummified body be destroyed. The true purpose of the chamber, however, remains uncertain.[31] The Queens Chamber has a pair of shafts similar to those in the King's Chamber, which were explored using a robot, Upuaut 2, created by the German engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink. In 1992, Upuaut 2 discovered that these shafts were blocked by limestone "doors" with two eroded copper handles. The National Geographic Society filmed the drilling of a small hole in the southern door, only to find another larger door behind it.[36] The northern passage, which was harder to navigate due to twists and turns, was also found to be blocked by a door.

Unfinished chamber
The "unfinished chamber" lies 27.5 meters below ground level and is rough-hewn, lacking the precision of the other chambers. Egyptologists suggest the chamber was intended to be the original burial chamber, but that King Khufu later changed his mind and wanted it to be higher up in the pyramid.[38] Egyptologist Bob Brier believes it was an insurance policy in case Khufu died early. When he was still alive and healthy after about 5 years of construction, the second (Queen's) chamber was begun. Sometime around the fifteenth year this chamber was also abandoned unfinished and the last or King's Chamber was built high up in the center of the pyramid.[39]
[edit] Pyramid complex


Map of Giza pyramid complex
Main article: Giza pyramid complex
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles. One of the small pyramids contains the tomb of queen Hetepheres (discovered in 1925), sister and wife of Sneferu and the mother of Khufu. There was a town for the workers of Giza, which included a cemetery, bakeries, a beer factory and a copper smelting complex. A few hundred meters south-west of the Great Pyramid lies the slightly smaller Pyramid of Khafre, one of Khufu's successors who is also commonly considered the builder of the Great Sphinx, and a few hundred meters further south-west is the Pyramid of Menkaure, Khafre's successor, which is about half as tall. In May 1954, 41 blocking stones were uncovered close to the south side of the Great Pyramid. They covered a 30.8 meter long rock-cut pit that contained the remains of a 43 meter long ship of cedar wood. In antiquity, it had been dismantled into 650 parts comprising 1224 pieces. This funeral boat of Khufu has been reconstructed and is now housed in a museum on the site of its discovery. A second boat pit was later discovered nearby.[40]
[edit] Thieves, tourists and excavators
Although succeeding pyramids were smaller, pyramid building continued until the end of the Middle Kingdom. However, as authors Briar and Hobbs claim, "all the pyramids were robbed" by the New Kingdom, when the construction of royal tombs in a desert valley, now known as the Valley of the Kings, began.[41][42] Joyce Tyldesley states that the Great Pyramid itself "is known to have been opened and emptied by the Middle Kingdom", before the Arab caliph Abdullah Al Mamun entered the pyramid around AD 820.[43]
"The Great Pyramid has lent its name as a sort of by-word for paradoxes; and, as moths to a candle, so are theorisers attracted to it. The very fact that the subject was so generally familiar, and yet so little was accurately known about it, made it the more enticing; there were plenty of descriptions from which to choose, and yet most of them were so hazy that their support could be claimed for many varying theories."
Sir Flinders Petrie
of Gizeh
MYSTIC PLACES - The Great Pyramid

Statistics |
Introduction
The Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Khufu's Pyramid, Pyramid of Khufu, and Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt, and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that survives substantially intact. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian King Khufu (Cheops in Greek) and constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2560 BC. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years.

Southern face of the Great Pyramid.
The base originally measured about 230.33m square.
The original height was 146.59m.



The Great Pyramid (the Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops in Greek) at Gizeh, Egypt,
demonstrates the remarkable character of its placement on the face of the Earth.
The Pyramid lies in the center of gravity of the continents. It also lies in the exact center
of all the land area of the world, dividing the earth's land mass into approximately equal quarters.
The Plate XX from an original 1877 copy of
Piazzi Smyth's "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid".
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900) was Astronomer Royal for Scotland
and a respected Scientist.
The north-south axis (31 degrees east of Greenwich) is the longest land meridian, and the east-west axis (30 degrees north) is the longest land parallel on the globe. There is obviously only one place that these longest land-lines of the terrestrial earth can cross, and it is at the Great Pyramid! This is incredible, one of the scores of features of this mighty structure which begs for a better explanation.
Related local link:

Khufu Pyramid Statistics
A total of over 2,300,000 (or only 590,712)* blocks of limestone and granite were used in its
construction with the average block weighing 2.5 tons and none weighing less than 2 tons.
The large blocks used in the ceiling of the King's Chamber weigh as much as 9 tons.
Construction date (Estimated): 2589 B.C..
Construction time (Estimated): 20 years.
Total weight (Estimated): 6.5 million tons.
The estimated total weight of the structure is 6.5 million tons!

Original entrance of the Great Pyramid.
Massive blocks of limestone form a relieving arch over the entrance.
The base of the pyramid covers 13 acres, 568,500 square feet and
the length of each side was originally 754 feet, but is now 745 feet.
The original height was 481 feet tall, but is now only 449 feet.
The majority of the outer casing, which was polished limestone,
was removed about 600 years ago to help build cities and mosques
which created a rough, worn, and step-like appearance.
* According to Socrates G. Taseos, the actual number of stones used to build the Great Pyramid is only 590,712.
In his book Back in Time 3104 B.C. to the Great Pyramid- Egyptians Broke Their Backs to Build It- How the Great Pyramid Was Really Built
he presents results of his computer calculations.

The base measurements of the Great Pyramid are: north - 755.43 ft; south -
756.08 ft; east - 755.88 ft; west - 755.77 ft. These dimensions show no two
sides are identical; however, the distance between the longest and shortest
side is only 7.8 inches.
Each side is oriented almost exactly with the four Cardinal points. The
following being the estimated errors: north side 2'28" south of west; south
side 1'57" south of west; east side 5'30" west of north; and west side 2'30"
west of north.
The four corners were almost perfect right angles: north-east 90degrees 3'
2"; north-west 89 degrees 59'58"; south-east 89 deg 56'27"; and south-west
90 deg 0'33".
When completed, it rose to a height of 481.4 ft., the top 31 feet of which
are now missing. It's four sides incline at an angle of about 51deg. 51 min.
with the ground. At its base, it covers an area of about 13.1 acres. It was
built in 201 stepped tiers, which are visible because the casing stones have
been removed. It rises to the height of a modern 40-story building.
THE BEDROCK AND CORE
The pyramid is built partly upon a solid, large, bedrock core and a platform
of limestone blocks which can be seen at the northern and eastern sides. The
builder of this pyramid was very wise to choose this site because most of
the stones, with the exception of the casing stones, some granite and basalt
stones, could be cut right on the spot and in the nearby quarry. This
practical choice made it possible to reduce considerably the time and
back-breaking labor needed to drag the stones from distant quarries across
the Nile.
The first Step of the pyramid rests on a platform of finely finished
limestone blocks. These blocks are approximately 2.5 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft..
They project beyond the outer edges of the first Step's Casing Stones an
average of 2 feet on all sides. This platform is so flat that the official
survey of the Egyptian Government found that it was less than ½ of an inch
from being level. The removal of several platform stones showed that the
bedrock had been cut and leveled to receive each individual stone, sometimes
as deep as 1 to 2 inches.
On the north side the platform stones have been laid at an irregular angle,
each socket being carefully cut to receive the next stone. One explanation
for this irregularity of stone placement is that these northern platform
stones will have greater resistance to sliding from the downward and
horizontal pressures of the pyramid's face.
The many surveys done on the pyramid proved that the Egyptians located the
sides of the pyramid along the four Cardinal Points with extreme accuracy.
Whether they used the stars, and/or the rising and setting sun, cannot be
determined. One this is certain, that whatever method they used was direct
and very simple.
Once the sand, gravel and loose rocks had been removed, down to the solid
bedrock of the plateau, the whole pyramid site was open-cast quarried into
blocks, leaving a square core for the center of the pyramid (the core is
approximately 412.7 ft square, and rises approx. 46.25 feet high). These
blocks were then stored outside a low wall; made of mortared stone that
surrounds the core (the outside dimensions of the wall are approx. 887.3
feet square). Today there still remains the foundation of this wall on the
north, south and west sides of the pyramid, at an average distance of 65
feet from the outer edge of the base casing stone.
This core gives the pyramid stability from the downward and horizontal
forces that will develop from the superimposed loads of blocks of stones
that are piled up, as the pyramid rises. Also, from the prevailing
north-west winds that exert enormous pressures on the huge areas of the
pyramid's faces, thus increasing these forces further.
Leveling of the entire pyramid site was accomplished by flooding the area
inside the wall with water, leaving just the high spots. These them were cut
down to the level of the surface of the water. Next, some of the water was
released and the high spots again were cut down to the water's surface. This
process was repeated until the entire pyramid site, between the core and the
four walls, was leveled down to the base of the pyramid's platform.
THE CASING STONES
A few of the fine limestone casing blocks remain at the base of the northern
side and show how accurately the stones were dressed and fitted together.
The core masonry, behind the casing stones, consists of large blocks of
local limestone, quarried right on the spot, built around and over the
bedrock core. The size of this core cannot be determined, since it is
completely covered by the pyramid.
The casing stones were of highly polished white limestone, which must have
been a dazzling sight. Unlike marble, which tends to become eroded with time
and weather, limestone becomes harder and more polished.
HOW MANY BLOCKS DID IT ACTUALLY TAKE TO BUILD
THE GREAT PYRAMID?
Most books and encyclopedia state that there are 2.3 million blocks of stone
in the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), with no mention of method used to
figure this.
Socrates determined the size and weight of the blocks (a standard block),
and ran a Pascal Computer Program (a mathematical model of all the blocks of
stone needed; written by the author to optimize the sizes and weights of the
stones) to come up with the real number of blocks used. Since the volume of
passageways and internal chambers are very small compared to the high volume
of the pyramid, they are ignored at this time, just as though the pyramid
was built of solid stone blocks with mortared joints.
THE SIZE OF THE BLOCKS
The size of the blocks are based on a chance discovery in 1837 by Howard
Vyse. He found two of the original side casing blocks at the base of the
pyramid, 5 ft x 8 ft x 12 ft, with an angle of 51 degrees, 51 minutes cut on
one of the 12 ft. sides. Each of these stones weighed (5 x 8 x 12)/2000 =
39.9 tons before the face angle was cut. These originally were used for the
side casing stones of Step No. 1, in the Pascal computer program. The sizes
of all the other blocks were scaled from these two original blocks of the
remaining Steps 2 to 201.
THE GREAT PYRAMID'S DIMENSIONS AND THEIR LAYOUT
One acre = 43,560 sq. ft, or 208.71 feet on a side.
For the pyramid's base, length = width = (square root of 13.097144 acres) x
208.71 feet = 755.321 feet. Or 755.321 x 12 = 9063.85 inches.
Height = (755.321 x tangent 51deg 51 min)/2 = 480.783 feet. Or 480.783 x 12
= 5769.403 inches.
For the cap stone base: length = width = (32.18 x 2)/tangent 51deg 51 min =
50.55 inches.
The average size of a pyramid stone = (5 x 8 x 12)
The average side measurement, at the base = 759.3 ft.
The height used was 201 steps high, or 480 feet. (This is minus the height
of the Capstone, which was one piece in itself.
The number reached by the Pascal computer program was 603,728 blocks used.
The solid core takes up the space of 13,016 stones.
So, the actual number of stones used to build the Great Pyramid is 603,728 -
13,016 = 590,712.
This figure is (2,300,000 - 590,712) = 1,709,288 blocks less than the often
published 2.3 million value.
NUMBER OF VARIOUS BLOCKS OF STONE USED
TO BUILD THE GREAT PYRAMID
Number of platform blocks used (2.5 ft x 10 ft square), equals (759.3 x
759.3(pyramid base)) - (412.7 x 412.7(core base))/(10 x 10(platform block
base)) = 4,062.
Number of CORNER Casing stones where the pyramid faces meet equals 201 steps
x 4 sides = 804.
Number of side casing stones equals ((244 x 127) + 8,953) = 39,941.
Due to Bedrock Core, in the center of Step 1 through 10, the total number of
blocks needed is reduced by 13,016.
THE NUMBER OF ALL BLOCKS BEHIND
THE CASING STONES EQUALS
(590,712 - 804 - 39,941) = 549,967.
PLACING THE BLOCKS
The average number of blocks that have to be placed each day equals (590,712
blocks)/(20years x 364.25 days) = 81 blocks per day.
If 10 crews of 300 men work on each of the four sides of the pyramid, then
the totals of 40 crews and 12,000 men will be needed. Each of the crews will
be responsible to place 81/40 = 2 blocks per day.
The workload passes through three phases of decreasing difficulty, which are
determined by the weights of the heaviest blocks:
Steps 1 through 21 (60.59 to 27.24 tons)
Steps 22 through 136 (17.66 to 6.44 tons)
Steps 127 through 201 (3.05 to 2.63 tons)
As the weight of the blocks decrease, Step to Step, the sizes of the drag
crews will decrease. However, when this happens, the number of blocks needed
to be dragged each day can be reduced because one large block can be dragged
and cut into several smaller blocks that are needed.
As the pyramid rises there is less space for the crews to work in and fewer
block to be placed. In other words, the number of workers that will be
needed depends on three factors of: weight of blocks, number of blocks to be
placed, and the working space available.

Geometry
Geometry of the Great Pyramid
DIMENSIONS of Great Pyramid
If the calculations concerning the royal cubit are correct the main dimensions of the pyramid should also prove that. The approximate dimensions of the pyramid are calculated by Petrie according to the remains of the sockets in the ground for the casing stones whose remains are still at the top of the pyramid, and the angle 51° 52' ± 2' of the slopes. The base of 9069 inches is approximately 440 royal cubits (the difference is 9 inches which is not a remarkable difference if we consider the whole dimension and consider that the employed data represent only an estimation of the real values) whereas the calculated height, 5776 inches, is precisely 280 royal cubits. The relation 440:280 can be reduced to 11:7, which gives an approximation of the half value of Pi.

Squaring the Circle


The circle and the square are
united through the circumference:
440x4=1760=2x22/7x280
area of square: 440x440=193600
area of circle:28x28x22/7=246400
sum: 440000
The engagement of Pi value in the main dimensions suggests also a very accurate angle of 51° 52' ± 2' of the slopes which expresses the value of Pi. Another coincidence is the relation between the height of the pyramid's triangle in relation to a half of the side of the pyramid, since it appears to be the Golden Section, or the specific ratio ruling this set of proportions, F = (sqr(5)+1)/2 = 1.618 = 356:220. This ratio, 356:220 = 89:55 is also contained in the first of Fibonacci Series:
1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 ...

A single composition contains two apparently contradicting irrational numbers P and F, without disrupting each other. This appears to be completely opposed to the classical architectural canon which postulates that in 'good' composition no two different geometrical systems of proportions may be mixed in order to maintain the purity of design.
But analysis of other architectural and artistic forms suggested that the greatest masters skillfully juggled the proportional canons without losing the coherent system, for they knew that these systems can be interconnected if the path that links them is found. That is obvious In the case of the Great Pyramid where two different principles are interweaved without interference ruling different angles of the composition, which is most importantly a most simple one, namely 11:7, a most simple ratio obviously signifying such infinite mysteries as the value of P and most 'natural' value of F. In spite of common miss-understanding of architectural composition, the most mysterious and praised compositions are very simple but not devoid of anthropomorphic appeal, since everything is made out of human proportions, just like Vitruvius describing the rations of the human body, very simple and very clean. The numbers 7 and in 11 are successive factors in the second of Fibonacci progressions that approximate geometry of the pentagram:
1 3 4 7 11 18 29 47 76 123 ...
The summary of the selected main mean dimensions is:
dimension b. inch m royal cub. palm digit
base 9068.8 230.35 440 3,080 12,320
height 5776 146.71 280 1,960 7,840
sum 720 5,040 20,160
slope 7343.2 186.52 356 2,492 9,968
edge 8630.4 219.21 418 2,926 11,704

The main source of all kinds of delusions and speculations about our mythical past for the western man comes of course from Plato. With the myth of Atlantis he planted the necessary seed of mythical Eden, a culture of high intelligence that lived before the known history. If Plato received any wisdom from the ancient Egypt it could perhaps be traced in the canon of numbers that is so latently present throughout his work, but never on the surface. This canon seems to appear in the descriptions of his fantastic cities where everything is most carefully calculated and proportioned. The topic of Plato's Laws is the description of the ideal state called Magnesia which is entirely composed out of the mysterious number 5,040.
The distance* when Earth is closest to Sun (perihelion) is 147x106 km, which is translated into royal cubits 280x109, hinting at the height of the Great pyramid,
280 royal cubits.
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The Golden Ratio & Squaring the Circle in the Great Pyramid
A straight line is said to have been cut in extreme and mean ratio when,
as the whole line is to the greater segment, so is the greater to the less. [Euclid]
The extreme and mean ratio is also known as the golden ratio.


If the smaller part = 1, and larger part = G, the golden ratio requires that
G is equal approximately 1.6180
Does the Great Pyramid contain the Golden Ratio?
Assuming that the height of the GP = 146.515 m, and base = 230.363 m, and using simple math
we find that half of the base is 115.182 m and the "slant height" is 186.369 m
Dividing the "slant height" (186.369m) by "half base" (115.182m) gives = 1.6180, which is practically equal to the golden ration!
The earth/moon relationship is the only one in our solar system that contains this unique golden section ratio that "squares the circle". Along with this is the phenomenon that the moon and the sun appear to be the same size, most clearly noticed during an eclipse. This too is true only from earth's vantage point…No other planet/moon relationship in our solar system can make this claim.
Although the problem of squaring the circle was proven mathematically impossible in the 19th century (as pi, being irrational, cannot be exactly measured), the Earth, the moon, and the Great Pyramid, are all coming about as close as you can get to the solution!
If the base of the Great Pyramid is equated with the diameter of the earth, then the radius of the moon can be generated by subtracting the radius of the earth from the height of the pyramid

golden ratio intentionally built into the Great Pyramid of Cheops?
Why would anyone intentionally build the golden ratio into a pyramid, or other structure? What was the significance of to the Egyptians? And did the ancient Egyptians intentionally design the Great Pyramid to square the circle?
The answer to these questions is uncertain since designing the Great Pyramid according to the simple rules explained by the graphic below would give the pyramid automatically (by coincidence? ) all its "magic" qualities.
The height of the Great Pyramid times 2π exactly equals the perimeter of the pyramid. This proportions result from elegant design of the pyramid with the height equal two diameters of a circle and the base equal to the circumference of the circle.



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For the angle of the Great Pyramid, any theory of the base, combined with any theory of the height, yields a theoretic angle; but the angles actually proposed are the following** :
Angle of casing measured
By theory of 34 slope to 21 base
Height : circumference :: radius to circle
9 height on 10 base diagonally
7 height to 22 circumference
area of face = area of height squared
(or sine) = cotangent, and many other relations)
2 height vertical to 3 height diagonal
5 height on 4 base 51º 52' ± 2' (51.867)
51º 51' 20"
51º 51' 14.3"
51º 50' 39.1"
51º 50' 34.0"
51º 49' 38.3"
51º 40' 16.2"
51º 20' 25"
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Comparing the Great Pyramid with the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan
The Pyramid of the Sun and the Great Pyramid of Egypt are almost or very nearly equal to one another in base perimeter. The Pyramid of the Sun is "almost" half the height of the Great Pyramid. There is a slight difference. The Great Pyramid is 1.03 - times larger than the base of the Pyramid of the Sun. Conversely, the base of the Pyramid of the Sun is 97% of the Great Pyramid's base.

The ratio of the base perimeter to the height:
Great Pyramid Pyramid of the Sun
6.2800001... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
6.2831853 value for 2 x pi) 12.560171... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
12.566371 value for 4 x pi)

Comparing the Great Pyramid with the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan
The Pyramid of the Sun and the Great Pyramid of Egypt are almost or very nearly equal to one another in base perimeter. The Pyramid of the Sun is "almost" half the height of the Great Pyramid. There is a slight difference. The Great Pyramid is 1.03 - times larger than the base of the Pyramid of the Sun. Conversely, the base of the Pyramid of the Sun is 97% of the Great Pyramid's base.
The Great Pyramid - Metrological Standard
The Great Pyramid is generally regarded as a tomb and as grandiose memorial to the pharaoh who commissioned it. The opposing view is that of the pyramid being the culminating achievement of those who practised an advanced science in prehistory.
The Great Pyramid is a repository of universal standards, it is a model of the earth against which any standard could be confirmed and corrected if necessary.
It is exactly the imperishable standard, which the French had sought to create by the devising of the metre, but infinitely more practical and intelligent.
From classical times, the Great pyramid has always been acknowledged as having mathematical, metrological and geodetic functions. But ancient Greek and Roman writers were further removed in time from the designers of the Great Pyramid than they are from us. They had merely inherited fragments of a much older cosmology; the science in which it was founded having long since disappeared.


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The Concave Faces of the Great Pyramid

Aerial photo by Groves, 1940 (detail).
In his book The Egyptian Pyramids: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Reference, J.P. Lepre wrote:
One very unusual feature of the Great Pyramid is a concavity of the core that makes the monument an eight-sided figure, rather than four-sided like every other Egyptian pyramid. That is to say, that its four sides are hollowed in or indented along their central lines, from base to peak. This concavity divides each of the apparent four sides in half, creating a very special and unusual eight-sided pyramid; and it is executed to such an extraordinary degree of precision as to enter the realm of the uncanny. For, viewed from any ground position or distance, this concavity is quite invisible to the naked eye. The hollowing-in can be noticed only from the air, and only at certain times of the day. This explains why virtually every available photograph of the Great Pyramid does not show the hollowing-in phenomenon, and why the concavity was never discovered until the age of aviation. It was discovered quite by accident in 1940, when a British Air Force pilot, P. Groves, was flying over the pyramid. He happened to notice the concavity and captured it in the now-famous photograph. [p. 65]
This strange feature was not first observed in 1940. It was illustrated in La Description de l'Egypte in the late 1700's (Volume V, pl. 8). Flinders Petrie noticed a hollowing in the core masonry in the center of each face and wrote that he "continually observed that the courses of the core had dips of as much as ½° to 1°" (The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh, 1883, p. 421). Though it is apparently more easily observed from the air, the concavity is measurable and is visible from the ground under favorable lighting conditions.


I.E.S. Edwards wrote, "In the Great Pyramid the packing-blocks were laid in such a way that they sloped slightly inwards towards the centre of each course, with a result that a noticeable depression runs down the middle of each face -- a peculiarity shared, as far as is known, by no other pyramid" (The Pyramids of Egypt, 1975, p. 207). Maragioglio and Rinaldi described a similar concavity on the pyramid of Menkaure, the third pyramid at Giza. Miroslav Verner wrote that the faces of the Red Pyramid at Dahshur are also "slightly concave."


Diagram of the concavity (not to scale).
What was the purpose for concave Great Pyramid sides? Maragioglio and Rinaldi felt this feature would help bond the casing to the core. Verner agreed: "As in the case of the earlier Red Pyramid, the slightly concave walls were intended to increase the stability of the pyramid's mantle [i.e. casing stones]" (The Pyramids, 2001, p. 195). Martin Isler outlined the various theories in his article "Concerning the Concave Faces on the Great Pyramid" (Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 20:1983, pp. 27-32):
1. To give a curved form to the nucleus in order to prevent the faces from sliding.
2. The casing block in the center would be larger and would serve more suitably as a guide for other blocks in the same course.
3. To better bond the nucleus to the casing.
4. For aesthetic reasons, as concave faces would make the structure more pleasing to the eye.
5. When the casing stones were later removed, they were tumbled down the faces, and thereby wore down the center of the pyramids more than the edges.
6. Natural erosion of wind-swept sand had a greater effect on the center.
Isler dismisses the first four reasons based on the idea that "what is proposed for the first pyramid should hold true for the others." He also dismisses the last two because they would not "dip the courses," but rather have simply "worn away the surface of the stone." Adding another category to the list above, "a result of imperfect building method," he proceeds to theorize that the concavity was an artifact of a compounding error in building technique (specifically, a sag in the mason's line). One is tempted to reject this theory based on Isler's own reasoning: "what is proposed for the first pyramid should hold true for the others."
The concavity has prompted more improbable theories, usually in support of some larger agenda. David Davidson (cited by Peter Tompkins in Secrets of the Great Pyramid, pp. 108-114) defended the discredited Piazzi Smyth by attempting to demonstrate that if measurements included the hollowing, they would provide three base measurements that describe the three lengths of the year: solar, sidereal, and "anomalistic." (These lines, on the diagram below, would be AB, AEFB, and AMB.) What Davidson is assuming is that the concavity, present today in the core structure of the pyramid, would extend to the finished cased surface. There is no evidence for this; indeed the extant casing is perfectly flat. Maragioglio and Rinaldi observed that the granite casing of Menkaure's pyramid was flat, but above the granite the packing-blocks formed a concavity in the center of each face. The evidence indicates that the concavity is a functional feature of the core structure that was hidden from sight when the casing stones were applied.


Three proposed "baselines" of the Great Pyramid (not to scale).
John Williams, author of Williams' Hydraulic Theory to Cheops' Pyramid wrote that "the only advantage that I can see - and it is a great one - for having a concave face on a structure is to contain extremely high internal pressures - the type of pressures that would result from using a hydraulic method of my description. Think of this in terms of an egg shell, arch or gabling." This explanation is also voiced
purveyors of the "pump-theory" such as Edward J. Kunkel (author of The Pharaoh's Pump, 1962) and Richard Noone (author of 5/5/2000: Ice: The Ultimate Disaster, 1982). Unfortunately, they fail to understand how an arch or load-bearing gable works. A supporting arch is designed to convert the downward force, or weight, of a structure to an outward force, which in turn is transferred to a buttress, a pier, or an abutment. An arch simply redirects the force; it does not make it vanish. If the sides of the Great Pyramid were designed as arches, then those arches would serve to direct the load into thin air. It doesn't make sense. The eggshell analogy is yet less applicable because the pyramid is not egg-shaped. Like the arch, the egg is strong because it transfers load pressure, in this case into vertical as well as horizontal forces that are distributed more evenly along the structure of the egg due to its shape.
Kunkel likened each pyramid face to a dam. He claimed that each side bends inward against the pressure of the water inside the pyramid just as a dam (Hoover Dam for example) bends towards the force of the water it holds back. An arch dam employs the same structural principles as the arch (described above). The dam curves towards the hydrostatic pressure from the water behind it, which in turn is distributed horizontally to abutments on the side walls against which the dam is built. Again, the pyramid lacks such abutments.
In Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture, Clarke and Englebach wrote:
Most pyramids have individual peculiarities which are as yet difficult to explain. For instance, in the Great Pyramid, as possibly in certain others, a large depression in the packing-blocks runs down the middle of each face, implying a line of extra-thick facing there. Though there is no special difficulty in arranging the blocks of a course in such a manner that they increase in size at the middle, there is no satisfactory explanation of the feature any more than there is of the 'girdle-blocks' [in the Great Pyramid's ascending passage] already discussed. [p. 128]
The purpose for the concavity of the Great Pyramids remains a mystery and no satisfactory explanation for this feature has been offered. The indentation is so slight that any practical function is difficult to imagine.
©
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The Great Pyramid's "Air Shafts"
While shafts in the King's Chamber had been described as early as 1610, the shafts in the Queen's Chamber were not discovered until 1872. In that year, Waynman Dixon and his friend Dr. Grant found a crack in the south wall of the Queen's Chamber. After pushing a long wire into the crack, indicating that a void was behind it, Dixon hired a carpenter named Bill Grundy to cut through the wall. A rectangular channel, 8.6 inches wide and 8 inches high, was found leading 7 feet into the pyramid before turning upward at about a 32º angle. With the two similar shafts of the King's Chamber in mind, Dixon measured a like position on the north wall, and Grundy chiseled away and, as expected, found the opening of a similar channel. The men lit fires inside the shafts in an attempt to find where they led. The smoke stagnated in the northern shaft but disappeared into the southern shaft. No smoke was seen to exit the pyramid on the outside. Three artifacts were discovered inside the shafts: a small bronze grapnel hook, a bit of cedar-like wood, and a "grey-granite, or green-stone" ball weighing 8.325 grains thought to be an Egyptian "mina" weight ball.

Shafts and passages of the Great Pyramid at Giza.
The Shafts of the Queen's Chamber Described
The openings of both shafts are located at the same level in the chamber, at the joint at the top of the second course of granite wall-stone; the ceilings of the shafts are level with the joint.
The northern shaft runs horizontally for just over six feet (76"), then turns upward at a mean angle of 37º 28'. The shaft terminates about 20 feet short of the outside of the pyramid. The total length of the northern shaft is about 240 feet and rises at an angle of 38º for the majority of its length.
The southern shaft also runs horizontally for just over six feet (80"), then turns upward at a mean angle of 38º 28'. The total length of the southern shaft is about 250 feet and, as its northern counterpart, ascends at an angle of 38º for the majority of its length and comes to an end about 20 feet short of the outside of the pyramid.
The Shafts of the King's Chamber Described
The openings of both shafts are located at roughly the same level in the chamber, at the joint at the top of the first course of granite wall-stone. The northern opening is slightly lower, its ceiling being level with the joint, while the floor of the southern opening is roughly level with the joint.
The northern shaft is rectangular, about 7 inches wide by 5 inches high, a shape it maintains throughout its length. The shaft begins on the horizontal for about 6 feet then takes a series of four bends. While maintaining its general upward angle, it shifts first to the north-northwest then back to north, then to north-northeast, and finally back to true north. It has been speculated by some that this unexplained semicircular diversion might have been necessary to avoid some heretofore undiscovered feature of the pyramid. The total length of the northern shaft is about 235 feet and rises at an angle of 31º (with a variation of between 30º 43' and 32º 4') for the majority of its length.
Though the first eight feet of the northern shaft is intact, the next thirty or so feet have been excavated by treasure seekers, presumably following the direction of the shaft in search of treasure. The breach to the shaft was made in the west wall of the short passage leading from the antechamber to the King's Chamber. A modern iron grate today guards the mouth of this breach.
The southern shaft is different in appearance. Its mouth is larger, about 18" wide by 24" high. The dimensions are reduced to about 12" by 18" within a few feet, and then narrows yet more to about 8" by 12". The shape is not rectangular, as is the northern shaft, but has a dome shape where it enters the chamber, with a narrow floor, the angle of the walls being slightly obtuse, and a dome-shaped ceiling. The shaft is horizontal and true south for about 6 feet. At the first bend, its shape changes to an oval, and continues thusly for about 8 feet. Its orientation also changes slightly from true south to south-southwest. At the second bend its shape changes yet again to a rectangle, with a height greater than its width. It retains this shape for the 160 feet to the outside of the pyramid where it emerges at the 101st course of stone. It also changes directions once again at the second bend to a more severe south-southwest diversion. The total length of the southern shaft is about 175 feet and ascends at an angle of 45º (with a variation of between 44º 26' and 45º 30') for the majority of its length.
The Function of the Shafts
When Sandys described the Great Pyramid in 1610, he wrote of the shafts:
In the walls, on each side of the upper room, there are two holes, one opposite to another, their ends not discernable, nor big enough to be crept into -- sooty within, and made, as they say, by a flame of fire which darted through it.
Greaves also wrote of the King's Chamber shafts in 1638. Considering the presence of the lampblack inside, he concluded that the shafts had been intended as receptacles for an "eternal lamp." In 1692, M. Maillet wrote that the shafts served as means of communication for those who were buried alive with the dead king. Not only did the shafts provide air, he reasoned, but they also provides a passage for food which was placed in boxes and pulled through by rope.
By the 20th century, the shafts were presumed to have been designed to provide ventilation. That view has slowly been changing, however. I.E.S. Edwards wrote, "The object of these shafts is not known with certainty; they may have been designed for the ventilation of the chamber or for some religious purpose which is still open to conjecture." (The Pyramids of Egypt, 1961, p. 126.) Ahmed Fakhry wrote, "They are usually referred to as 'air channels,' but most Egyptologists believe that they had a religious significance related to the soul of the king." (The Pyramids, 1969, p. 118.) More recently, Mark Lehner wrote:
A symbolic function should also be attributed to the so-called "air-shafts," which had nothing to do with conducting air. No other pyramid contains chambers and passages so high in the body of masonry as Khufu's and so the builders provided the King's Chamber with small model passages to allow the king's spirit to ascend to the stars. (The Complete Pyramids, 1997, p. 114)
There are many reasons why it is not likely that the shafts were meant for ventilation. The complex angles of the shafts necessitated the piercing of many courses of stone, a daunting logistical challenge during design and construction. Horizontal shafts would have been much easier to build: shafts carved through a single course of stone. One might well wonder why ventilation would be needed at all! No other known pyramid builder made such provisions; even workers in rock-cut tombs managed on the air provided solely by the entrance passage. When the bulk of work on the King's Chamber was being done, ambient air was plentiful as the ceiling had not yet been put in place. The chamber was finished as the superstructure rose.
There are also, however, reasons why it is not likely that the shafts were meant to serve as "launching ramps" for the king's ka. When, in 1964, Alexander Badawy and Virginia Trimble determined that the shafts are "aimed" at certain "imperishable" circumpolar stars and at the constellation of Orion, the function of the shafts as cultic features seemed certain. But the ka did not require a physical means of egress from a tomb -- false doors served this purpose quite nicely both before and after Khufu's reign. The passage that ascends to the entrance of the pyramid is also directed at the circumpolar stars in the manner of previous pyramids. The northern shafts for such a use would have been a needless and bothersome redundancy, although admittedly the Egyptians were not adverse to redundancies.

Location
Location: 29° 59' N 31° 09' E
Satellite images of the Egyptian Pyramids:

Click to view larger image
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I
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The Great Pyramid (the Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops in Greek) at Gizeh, Egypt,
demonstrates the remarkable character of its placement on the face of the Earth.
The Pyramid lies in the center of gravity of the continents. It also lies in the exact center
of all the land area of the world, dividing the earth's land mass into approximately equal quarters.
The Plate XX from an original 1877 copy of
Piazzi Smyth's "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid".
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900) was Astronomer Royal for Scotland
and a respected Scientist.
The north-south axis (31 degrees east of Greenwich) is the longest land meridian, and the east-west axis (30 degrees north) is the longest land parallel on the globe. There is obviously only one place that these longest land-lines of the terrestrial earth can cross, and it is at the Great Pyramid! This is incredible, one of the scores of features of this mighty structure which begs for a better explanation.
Related local link:

Khufu Pyramid Statistics
A total of over 2,300,000 (or only 590,712)* blocks of limestone and granite were used in its
construction with the average block weighing 2.5 tons and none weighing less than 2 tons.
The large blocks used in the ceiling of the King's Chamber weigh as much as 9 tons.
Construction date (Estimated): 2589 B.C..
Construction time (Estimated): 20 years.
Total weight (Estimated): 6.5 million tons.
The estimated total weight of the structure is 6.5 million tons!

Original entrance of the Great Pyramid.
Massive blocks of limestone form a relieving arch over the entrance.
The base of the pyramid covers 13 acres, 568,500 square feet and
the length of each side was originally 754 feet, but is now 745 feet.
The original height was 481 feet tall, but is now only 449 feet.
The majority of the outer casing, which was polished limestone,
was removed about 600 years ago to help build cities and mosques
which created a rough, worn, and step-like appearance.
* According to Socrates G. Taseos, the actual number of stones used to build the Great Pyramid is only 590,712.
In his book Back in Time 3104 B.C. to the Great Pyramid- Egyptians Broke Their Backs to Build It- How the Great Pyramid Was Really Built
he presents results of his computer calculations. The following is derived from the book mentioned above.
The base measurements of the Great Pyramid are: north - 755.43 ft; south -
756.08 ft; east - 755.88 ft; west - 755.77 ft. These dimensions show no two
sides are identical; however, the distance between the longest and shortest
side is only 7.8 inches.
Each side is oriented almost exactly with the four Cardinal points. The
following being the estimated errors: north side 2'28" south of west; south
side 1'57" south of west; east side 5'30" west of north; and west side 2'30"
west of north.
The four corners were almost perfect right angles: north-east 90degrees 3'
2"; north-west 89 degrees 59'58"; south-east 89 deg 56'27"; and south-west
90 deg 0'33".
When completed, it rose to a height of 481.4 ft., the top 31 feet of which
are now missing. It's four sides incline at an angle of about 51deg. 51 min.
with the ground. At its base, it covers an area of about 13.1 acres. It was
built in 201 stepped tiers, which are visible because the casing stones have
been removed. It rises to the height of a modern 40-story building.
THE BEDROCK AND CORE
The pyramid is built partly upon a solid, large, bedrock core and a platform
of limestone blocks which can be seen at the northern and eastern sides. The
builder of this pyramid was very wise to choose this site because most of
the stones, with the exception of the casing stones, some granite and basalt
stones, could be cut right on the spot and in the nearby quarry. This
practical choice made it possible to reduce considerably the time and
back-breaking labor needed to drag the stones from distant quarries across
the Nile.
The first Step of the pyramid rests on a platform of finely finished
limestone blocks. These blocks are approximately 2.5 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft..
They project beyond the outer edges of the first Step's Casing Stones an
average of 2 feet on all sides. This platform is so flat that the official
survey of the Egyptian Government found that it was less than ½ of an inch
from being level. The removal of several platform stones showed that the
bedrock had been cut and leveled to receive each individual stone, sometimes
as deep as 1 to 2 inches.
On the north side the platform stones have been laid at an irregular angle,
each socket being carefully cut to receive the next stone. One explanation
for this irregularity of stone placement is that these northern platform
stones will have greater resistance to sliding from the downward and
horizontal pressures of the pyramid's face.
The many surveys done on the pyramid proved that the Egyptians located the
sides of the pyramid along the four Cardinal Points with extreme accuracy.
Whether they used the stars, and/or the rising and setting sun, cannot be
determined. One this is certain, that whatever method they used was direct
and very simple.
Once the sand, gravel and loose rocks had been removed, down to the solid
bedrock of the plateau, the whole pyramid site was open-cast quarried into
blocks, leaving a square core for the center of the pyramid (the core is
approximately 412.7 ft square, and rises approx. 46.25 feet high). These
blocks were then stored outside a low wall; made of mortared stone that
surrounds the core (the outside dimensions of the wall are approx. 887.3
feet square). Today there still remains the foundation of this wall on the
north, south and west sides of the pyramid, at an average distance of 65
feet from the outer edge of the base casing stone.
This core gives the pyramid stability from the downward and horizontal
forces that will develop from the superimposed loads of blocks of stones
that are piled up, as the pyramid rises. Also, from the prevailing
north-west winds that exert enormous pressures on the huge areas of the
pyramid's faces, thus increasing these forces further.
Leveling of the entire pyramid site was accomplished by flooding the area
inside the wall with water, leaving just the high spots. These them were cut
down to the level of the surface of the water. Next, some of the water was
released and the high spots again were cut down to the water's surface. This
process was repeated until the entire pyramid site, between the core and the
four walls, was leveled down to the base of the pyramid's platform.
THE CASING STONES
A few of the fine limestone casing blocks remain at the base of the northern
side and show how accurately the stones were dressed and fitted together.
The core masonry, behind the casing stones, consists of large blocks of
local limestone, quarried right on the spot, built around and over the
bedrock core. The size of this core cannot be determined, since it is
completely covered by the pyramid.
The casing stones were of highly polished white limestone, which must have
been a dazzling sight. Unlike marble, which tends to become eroded with time
and weather, limestone becomes harder and more polished.
HOW MANY BLOCKS DID IT ACTUALLY TAKE TO BUILD
THE GREAT PYRAMID?
Most books and encyclopedia state that there are 2.3 million blocks of stone
in the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), with no mention of method used to
figure this.
Socrates determined the size and weight of the blocks (a standard block),
and ran a Pascal Computer Program (a mathematical model of all the blocks of
stone needed; written by the author to optimize the sizes and weights of the
stones) to come up with the real number of blocks used. Since the volume of
passageways and internal chambers are very small compared to the high volume
of the pyramid, they are ignored at this time, just as though the pyramid
was built of solid stone blocks with mortared joints.
THE SIZE OF THE BLOCKS
The size of the blocks are based on a chance discovery in 1837 by Howard
Vyse. He found two of the original side casing blocks at the base of the
pyramid, 5 ft x 8 ft x 12 ft, with an angle of 51 degrees, 51 minutes cut on
one of the 12 ft. sides. Each of these stones weighed (5 x 8 x 12)/2000 =
39.9 tons before the face angle was cut. These originally were used for the
side casing stones of Step No. 1, in the Pascal computer program. The sizes
of all the other blocks were scaled from these two original blocks of the
remaining Steps 2 to 201.
THE GREAT PYRAMID'S DIMENSIONS AND THEIR LAYOUT
One acre = 43,560 sq. ft, or 208.71 feet on a side.
For the pyramid's base, length = width = (square root of 13.097144 acres) x
208.71 feet = 755.321 feet. Or 755.321 x 12 = 9063.85 inches.
Height = (755.321 x tangent 51deg 51 min)/2 = 480.783 feet. Or 480.783 x 12
= 5769.403 inches.
For the cap stone base: length = width = (32.18 x 2)/tangent 51deg 51 min =
50.55 inches.
The average size of a pyramid stone = (5 x 8 x 12)
The average side measurement, at the base = 759.3 ft.
The height used was 201 steps high, or 480 feet. (This is minus the height
of the Capstone, which was one piece in itself.
The number reached by the Pascal computer program was 603,728 blocks used.
The solid core takes up the space of 13,016 stones.
So, the actual number of stones used to build the Great Pyramid is 603,728 -
13,016 = 590,712.
This figure is (2,300,000 - 590,712) = 1,709,288 blocks less than the often
published 2.3 million value.
NUMBER OF VARIOUS BLOCKS OF STONE USED
TO BUILD THE GREAT PYRAMID
Number of platform blocks used (2.5 ft x 10 ft square), equals (759.3 x
759.3(pyramid base)) - (412.7 x 412.7(core base))/(10 x 10(platform block
base)) = 4,062.
Number of CORNER Casing stones where the pyramid faces meet equals 201 steps
x 4 sides = 804.
Number of side casing stones equals ((244 x 127) + 8,953) = 39,941.
Due to Bedrock Core, in the center of Step 1 through 10, the total number of
blocks needed is reduced by 13,016.
THE NUMBER OF ALL BLOCKS BEHIND
THE CASING STONES EQUALS
(590,712 - 804 - 39,941) = 549,967.
PLACING THE BLOCKS
The average number of blocks that have to be placed each day equals (590,712
blocks)/(20years x 364.25 days) = 81 blocks per day.
If 10 crews of 300 men work on each of the four sides of the pyramid, then
the totals of 40 crews and 12,000 men will be needed. Each of the crews will
be responsible to place 81/40 = 2 blocks per day.
The workload passes through three phases of decreasing difficulty, which are
determined by the weights of the heaviest blocks:
Steps 1 through 21 (60.59 to 27.24 tons)
Steps 22 through 136 (17.66 to 6.44 tons)
Steps 127 through 201 (3.05 to 2.63 tons)
As the weight of the blocks decrease, Step to Step, the sizes of the drag
crews will decrease. However, when this happens, the number of blocks needed
to be dragged each day can be reduced because one large block can be dragged
and cut into several smaller blocks that are needed.
As the pyramid rises there is less space for the crews to work in and fewer
block to be placed. In other words, the number of workers that will be
needed depends on three factors of: weight of blocks, number of blocks to be
placed, and the working space available.

Geometry
Geometry of the Great Pyramid
DIMENSIONS of Great Pyramid
If the calculations concerning the royal cubit are correct the main dimensions of the pyramid should also prove that. The approximate dimensions of the pyramid are calculated by Petrie according to the remains of the sockets in the ground for the casing stones whose remains are still at the top of the pyramid, and the angle 51° 52' ± 2' of the slopes. The base of 9069 inches is approximately 440 royal cubits (the difference is 9 inches which is not a remarkable difference if we consider the whole dimension and consider that the employed data represent only an estimation of the real values) whereas the calculated height, 5776 inches, is precisely 280 royal cubits. The relation 440:280 can be reduced to 11:7, which gives an approximation of the half value of Pi.

Squaring the Circle


The circle and the square are
united through the circumference:
440x4=1760=2x22/7x280
area of square: 440x440=193600
area of circle:28x28x22/7=246400
sum: 440000
The engagement of Pi value in the main dimensions suggests also a very accurate angle of 51° 52' ± 2' of the slopes which expresses the value of Pi. Another coincidence is the relation between the height of the pyramid's triangle in relation to a half of the side of the pyramid, since it appears to be the Golden Section, or the specific ratio ruling this set of proportions, F = (sqr(5)+1)/2 = 1.618 = 356:220. This ratio, 356:220 = 89:55 is also contained in the first of Fibonacci Series:
1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 ...

A single composition contains two apparently contradicting irrational numbers P and F, without disrupting each other. This appears to be completely opposed to the classical architectural canon which postulates that in 'good' composition no two different geometrical systems of proportions may be mixed in order to maintain the purity of design.
But analysis of other architectural and artistic forms suggested that the greatest masters skillfully juggled the proportional canons without losing the coherent system, for they knew that these systems can be interconnected if the path that links them is found. That is obvious In the case of the Great Pyramid where two different principles are interweaved without interference ruling different angles of the composition, which is most importantly a most simple one, namely 11:7, a most simple ratio obviously signifying such infinite mysteries as the value of P and most 'natural' value of F. In spite of common miss-understanding of architectural composition, the most mysterious and praised compositions are very simple but not devoid of anthropomorphic appeal, since everything is made out of human proportions, just like Vitruvius describing the rations of the human body, very simple and very clean. The numbers 7 and in 11 are successive factors in the second of Fibonacci progressions that approximate geometry of the pentagram:
1 3 4 7 11 18 29 47 76 123 ...
The summary of the selected main mean dimensions is:
dimension b. inch m royal cub. palm digit
base 9068.8 230.35 440 3,080 12,320
height 5776 146.71 280 1,960 7,840
sum 720 5,040 20,160
slope 7343.2 186.52 356 2,492 9,968
edge 8630.4 219.21 418 2,926 11,704

The main source of all kinds of delusions and speculations about our mythical past for the western man comes of course from Plato. With the myth of Atlantis he planted the necessary seed of mythical Eden, a culture of high intelligence that lived before the known history. If Plato received any wisdom from the ancient Egypt it could perhaps be traced in the canon of numbers that is so latently present throughout his work, but never on the surface. This canon seems to appear in the descriptions of his fantastic cities where everything is most carefully calculated and proportioned. The topic of Plato's Laws is the description of the ideal state called Magnesia which is entirely composed out of the mysterious number 5,040.
The distance* when Earth is closest to Sun (perihelion) is 147x106 km, which is translated into royal cubits 280x109, hinting at the height of the Great pyramid,
280 royal cubits.
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The Golden Ratio & Squaring the Circle in the Great Pyramid
A straight line is said to have been cut in extreme and mean ratio when,
as the whole line is to the greater segment, so is the greater to the less. [Euclid]
The extreme and mean ratio is also known as the golden ratio.


If the smaller part = 1, and larger part = G, the golden ratio requires that
G is equal approximately 1.6180
Does the Great Pyramid contain the Golden Ratio?
Assuming that the height of the GP = 146.515 m, and base = 230.363 m, and using simple math
we find that half of the base is 115.182 m and the "slant height" is 186.369 m
Dividing the "slant height" (186.369m) by "half base" (115.182m) gives = 1.6180, which is practically equal to the golden ration!
The earth/moon relationship is the only one in our solar system that contains this unique golden section ratio that "squares the circle". Along with this is the phenomenon that the moon and the sun appear to be the same size, most clearly noticed during an eclipse. This too is true only from earth's vantage point…No other planet/moon relationship in our solar system can make this claim.
Although the problem of squaring the circle was proven mathematically impossible in the 19th century (as pi, being irrational, cannot be exactly measured), the Earth, the moon, and the Great Pyramid, are all coming about as close as you can get to the solution!
If the base of the Great Pyramid is equated with the diameter of the earth, then the radius of the moon can be generated by subtracting the radius of the earth from the height of the pyramid (see the picture below).

Also the square (in orange), with the side equal to the radius of the Earth, and the circle (in blue),
with radius equal to the radius of the Earth plus the radius of the moon, are very nearly equal in perimeters:
Orange Square Perimeter = 2+2+2+2=8
Blue Circle Circumference = 2*pi*1.273=8
Note:
Earth, Radius, Mean = 6,370,973.27862 m *
Moon, Radius, Mean = 1,738,000 m.*
Moon Radius divided by Earth Radius = 0.2728 *
Let's re-phrase the above arguments **

In the diagram above, the big triangle is the same proportion and angle of the Great Pyramid, with its base angles at 51 degrees 51 minutes. If you bisect this triangle and assign a value of 1 to each base, then the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) equals phi (1.618..) and the perpendicular side equals the square root of phi. And that’s not all. A circle is drawn with it’s centre and diameter the same as the base of the large triangle. This represents the circumference of the earth. A square is then drawn to touch the outside of the earth circle. A second circle is then drawn around the first one, with its circumference equal to the perimeter of the square. (The squaring of the circle.) This new circle will actually pass exactly through the apex of the pyramid. And now the “wow”: A circle drawn with its centre at the apex of the pyramid and its radius just long enough to touch the earth circle, will have the circumference of the moon! Neat, huh! And the small triangle formed by the moon and the earth square will be a perfect 345 triangle (which doesn’t seem to mean much.)

Was the golden ratio intentionally built into the Great Pyramid of Cheops?
Why would anyone intentionally build the golden ratio into a pyramid, or other structure? What was the significance of to the Egyptians? And did the ancient Egyptians intentionally design the Great Pyramid to square the circle?
The answer to these questions is uncertain since designing the Great Pyramid according to the simple rules explained by the graphic below would give the pyramid automatically (by coincidence? ) all its "magic" qualities.
The height of the Great Pyramid times 2π exactly equals the perimeter of the pyramid. This proportions result from elegant design of the pyramid with the height equal two diameters of a circle and the base equal to the circumference of the circle.



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For the angle of the Great Pyramid, any theory of the base, combined with any theory of the height, yields a theoretic angle; but the angles actually proposed are the following** :
Angle of casing measured
By theory of 34 slope to 21 base
Height : circumference :: radius to circle
9 height on 10 base diagonally
7 height to 22 circumference
area of face = area of height squared
(or sine) = cotangent, and many other relations)
2 height vertical to 3 height diagonal
5 height on 4 base 51º 52' ± 2' (51.867)
51º 51' 20"
51º 51' 14.3"
51º 50' 39.1"
51º 50' 34.0"
51º 49' 38.3"
51º 40' 16.2"
51º 20' 25"
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Comparing the Great Pyramid with the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan
The Pyramid of the Sun and the Great Pyramid of Egypt are almost or very nearly equal to one another in base perimeter. The Pyramid of the Sun is "almost" half the height of the Great Pyramid. There is a slight difference. The Great Pyramid is 1.03 - times larger than the base of the Pyramid of the Sun. Conversely, the base of the Pyramid of the Sun is 97% of the Great Pyramid's base.

The ratio of the base perimeter to the height:
Great Pyramid Pyramid of the Sun
6.2800001... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
6.2831853 value for 2 x pi) 12.560171... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
12.566371 value for 4 x pi)
Comparing the Great Pyramid with the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan
The Pyramid of the Sun and the Great Pyramid of Egypt are almost or very nearly equal to one another in base perimeter. The Pyramid of the Sun is "almost" half the height of the Great Pyramid. There is a slight difference. The Great Pyramid is 1.03 - times larger than the base of the Pyramid of the Sun. Conversely, the base of the Pyramid of the Sun is 97% of the Great Pyramid's base.
The Great Pyramid - Metrological Standard
The Great Pyramid is generally regarded as a tomb and as grandiose memorial to the pharaoh who commissioned it. The opposing view is that of the pyramid being the culminating achievement of those who practised an advanced science in prehistory.
The Great Pyramid is a repository of universal standards, it is a model of the earth against which any standard could be confirmed and corrected if necessary.
It is exactly the imperishable standard, which the French had sought to create by the devising of the metre, but infinitely more practical and intelligent.
From classical times, the Great pyramid has always been acknowledged as having mathematical, metrological and geodetic functions. But ancient Greek and Roman writers were further removed in time from the designers of the Great Pyramid than they are from us. They had merely inherited fragments of a much older cosmology; the science in which it was founded having long since disappeared.


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The Concave Faces of the Great Pyramid

Aerial photo by Groves, 1940 (detail).
In his book The Egyptian Pyramids: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Reference, J.P. Lepre wrote:
One very unusual feature of the Great Pyramid is a concavity of the core that makes the monument an eight-sided figure, rather than four-sided like every other Egyptian pyramid. That is to say, that its four sides are hollowed in or indented along their central lines, from base to peak. This concavity divides each of the apparent four sides in half, creating a very special and unusual eight-sided pyramid; and it is executed to such an extraordinary degree of precision as to enter the realm of the uncanny. For, viewed from any ground position or distance, this concavity is quite invisible to the naked eye. The hollowing-in can be noticed only from the air, and only at certain times of the day. This explains why virtually every available photograph of the Great Pyramid does not show the hollowing-in phenomenon, and why the concavity was never discovered until the age of aviation. It was discovered quite by accident in 1940, when a British Air Force pilot, P. Groves, was flying over the pyramid. He happened to notice the concavity and captured it in the now-famous photograph. [p. 65]
This strange feature was not first observed in 1940. It was illustrated in La Description de l'Egypte in the late 1700's (Volume V, pl. 8). Flinders Petrie noticed a hollowing in the core masonry in the center of each face and wrote that he "continually observed that the courses of the core had dips of as much as ½° to 1°" (The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh, 1883, p. 421). Though it is apparently more easily observed from the air, the concavity is measurable and is visible from the ground under favorable lighting conditions.


I.E.S. Edwards wrote, "In the Great Pyramid the packing-blocks were laid in such a way that they sloped slightly inwards towards the centre of each course, with a result that a noticeable depression runs down the middle of each face -- a peculiarity shared, as far as is known, by no other pyramid" (The Pyramids of Egypt, 1975, p. 207). Maragioglio and Rinaldi described a similar concavity on the pyramid of Menkaure, the third pyramid at Giza. Miroslav Verner wrote that the faces of the Red Pyramid at Dahshur are also "slightly concave."


Diagram of the concavity (not to scale).
What was the purpose for concave Great Pyramid sides? Maragioglio and Rinaldi felt this feature would help bond the casing to the core. Verner agreed: "As in the case of the earlier Red Pyramid, the slightly concave walls were intended to increase the stability of the pyramid's mantle [i.e. casing stones]" (The Pyramids, 2001, p. 195). Martin Isler outlined the various theories in his article "Concerning the Concave Faces on the Great Pyramid" (Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 20:1983, pp. 27-32):
1. To give a curved form to the nucleus in order to prevent the faces from sliding.
2. The casing block in the center would be larger and would serve more suitably as a guide for other blocks in the same course.
3. To better bond the nucleus to the casing.
4. For aesthetic reasons, as concave faces would make the structure more pleasing to the eye.
5. When the casing stones were later removed, they were tumbled down the faces, and thereby wore down the center of the pyramids more than the edges.
6. Natural erosion of wind-swept sand had a greater effect on the center.
Isler dismisses the first four reasons based on the idea that "what is proposed for the first pyramid should hold true for the others." He also dismisses the last two because they would not "dip the courses," but rather have simply "worn away the surface of the stone." Adding another category to the list above, "a result of imperfect building method," he proceeds to theorize that the concavity was an artifact of a compounding error in building technique (specifically, a sag in the mason's line). One is tempted to reject this theory based on Isler's own reasoning: "what is proposed for the first pyramid should hold true for the others."
The concavity has prompted more improbable theories, usually in support of some larger agenda. David Davidson (cited by Peter Tompkins in Secrets of the Great Pyramid, pp. 108-114) defended the discredited Piazzi Smyth by attempting to demonstrate that if measurements included the hollowing, they would provide three base measurements that describe the three lengths of the year: solar, sidereal, and "anomalistic." (These lines, on the diagram below, would be AB, AEFB, and AMB.) What Davidson is assuming is that the concavity, present today in the core structure of the pyramid, would extend to the finished cased surface. There is no evidence for this; indeed the extant casing is perfectly flat. Maragioglio and Rinaldi observed that the granite casing of Menkaure's pyramid was flat, but above the granite the packing-blocks formed a concavity in the center of each face. The evidence indicates that the concavity is a functional feature of the core structure that was hidden from sight when the casing stones were applied.


Three proposed "baselines" of the Great Pyramid (not to scale).
John Williams, author of Williams' Hydraulic Theory to Cheops' Pyramid wrote that "the only advantage that I can see - and it is a great one - for having a concave face on a structure is to contain extremely high internal pressures - the type of pressures that would result from using a hydraulic method of my description. Think of this in terms of an egg shell, arch or gabling." This explanation is also voiced by other purveyors of the "pump-theory" such as Edward J. Kunkel (author of The Pharaoh's Pump, 1962) and Richard Noone (author of 5/5/2000: Ice: The Ultimate Disaster, 1982). Unfortunately, they fail to understand how an arch or load-bearing gable works. A supporting arch is designed to convert the downward force, or weight, of a structure to an outward force, which in turn is transferred to a buttress, a pier, or an abutment. An arch simply redirects the force; it does not make it vanish. If the sides of the Great Pyramid were designed as arches, then those arches would serve to direct the load into thin air. It doesn't make sense. The eggshell analogy is yet less applicable because the pyramid is not egg-shaped. Like the arch, the egg is strong because it transfers load pressure, in this case into vertical as well as horizontal forces that are distributed more evenly along the structure of the egg due to its shape.
Kunkel likened each pyramid face to a dam. He claimed that each side bends inward against the pressure of the water inside the pyramid just as a dam (Hoover Dam for example) bends towards the force of the water it holds back. An arch dam employs the same structural principles as the arch (described above). The dam curves towards the hydrostatic pressure from the water behind it, which in turn is distributed horizontally to abutments on the side walls against which the dam is built. Again, the pyramid lacks such abutments.
In Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture, Clarke and Englebach wrote:
Most pyramids have individual peculiarities which are as yet difficult to explain. For instance, in the Great Pyramid, as possibly in certain others, a large depression in the packing-blocks runs down the middle of each face, implying a line of extra-thick facing there. Though there is no special difficulty in arranging the blocks of a course in such a manner that they increase in size at the middle, there is no satisfactory explanation of the feature any more than there is of the 'girdle-blocks' [in the Great Pyramid's ascending passage] already discussed. [p. 128]
The purpose for the concavity of the Great Pyramids remains a mystery and no satisfactory explanation for this feature has been offered. The indentation is so slight that any practical function is difficult to imagine.
©
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The Great Pyramid's "Air Shafts"
While shafts in the King's Chamber had been described as early as 1610, the shafts in the Queen's Chamber were not discovered until 1872. In that year, Waynman Dixon and his friend Dr. Grant found a crack in the south wall of the Queen's Chamber. After pushing a long wire into the crack, indicating that a void was behind it, Dixon hired a carpenter named Bill Grundy to cut through the wall. A rectangular channel, 8.6 inches wide and 8 inches high, was found leading 7 feet into the pyramid before turning upward at about a 32º angle. With the two similar shafts of the King's Chamber in mind, Dixon measured a like position on the north wall, and Grundy chiseled away and, as expected, found the opening of a similar channel. The men lit fires inside the shafts in an attempt to find where they led. The smoke stagnated in the northern shaft but disappeared into the southern shaft. No smoke was seen to exit the pyramid on the outside. Three artifacts were discovered inside the shafts: a small bronze grapnel hook, a bit of cedar-like wood, and a "grey-granite, or green-stone" ball weighing 8.325 grains thought to be an Egyptian "mina" weight ball.

Shafts and passages of the Great Pyramid at Giza.
The Shafts of the Queen's Chamber Described
The openings of both shafts are located at the same level in the chamber, at the joint at the top of the second course of granite wall-stone; the ceilings of the shafts are level with the joint.
The northern shaft runs horizontally for just over six feet (76"), then turns upward at a mean angle of 37º 28'. The shaft terminates about 20 feet short of the outside of the pyramid. The total length of the northern shaft is about 240 feet and rises at an angle of 38º for the majority of its length.
The southern shaft also runs horizontally for just over six feet (80"), then turns upward at a mean angle of 38º 28'. The total length of the southern shaft is about 250 feet and, as its northern counterpart, ascends at an angle of 38º for the majority of its length and comes to an end about 20 feet short of the outside of the pyramid.
The Shafts of the King's Chamber Described
The openings of both shafts are located at roughly the same level in the chamber, at the joint at the top of the first course of granite wall-stone. The northern opening is slightly lower, its ceiling being level with the joint, while the floor of the southern opening is roughly level with the joint.
The northern shaft is rectangular, about 7 inches wide by 5 inches high, a shape it maintains throughout its length. The shaft begins on the horizontal for about 6 feet then takes a series of four bends. While maintaining its general upward angle, it shifts first to the north-northwest then back to north, then to north-northeast, and finally back to true north. It has been speculated by some that this unexplained semicircular diversion might have been necessary to avoid some heretofore undiscovered feature of the pyramid. The total length of the northern shaft is about 235 feet and rises at an angle of 31º (with a variation of between 30º 43' and 32º 4') for the majority of its length.
Though the first eight feet of the northern shaft is intact, the next thirty or so feet have been excavated by treasure seekers, presumably following the direction of the shaft in search of treasure. The breach to the shaft was made in the west wall of the short passage leading from the antechamber to the King's Chamber. A modern iron grate today guards the mouth of this breach.
The southern shaft is different in appearance. Its mouth is larger, about 18" wide by 24" high. The dimensions are reduced to about 12" by 18" within a few feet, and then narrows yet more to about 8" by 12". The shape is not rectangular, as is the northern shaft, but has a dome shape where it enters the chamber, with a narrow floor, the angle of the walls being slightly obtuse, and a dome-shaped ceiling. The shaft is horizontal and true south for about 6 feet. At the first bend, its shape changes to an oval, and continues thusly for about 8 feet. Its orientation also changes slightly from true south to south-southwest. At the second bend its shape changes yet again to a rectangle, with a height greater than its width. It retains this shape for the 160 feet to the outside of the pyramid where it emerges at the 101st course of stone. It also changes directions once again at the second bend to a more severe south-southwest diversion. The total length of the southern shaft is about 175 feet and ascends at an angle of 45º (with a variation of between 44º 26' and 45º 30') for the majority of its length.
The Function of the Shafts
When Sandys described the Great Pyramid in 1610, he wrote of the shafts:
In the walls, on each side of the upper room, there are two holes, one opposite to another, their ends not discernable, nor big enough to be crept into -- sooty within, and made, as they say, by a flame of fire which darted through it.
Greaves also wrote of the King's Chamber shafts in 1638. Considering the presence of the lampblack inside, he concluded that the shafts had been intended as receptacles for an "eternal lamp." In 1692, M. Maillet wrote that the shafts served as means of communication for those who were buried alive with the dead king. Not only did the shafts provide air, he reasoned, but they also provides a passage for food which was placed in boxes and pulled through by rope.
By the 20th century, the shafts were presumed to have been designed to provide ventilation. That view has slowly been changing, however. I.E.S. Edwards wrote, "The object of these shafts is not known with certainty; they may have been designed for the ventilation of the chamber or for some religious purpose which is still open to conjecture." (The Pyramids of Egypt, 1961, p. 126.) Ahmed Fakhry wrote, "They are usually referred to as 'air channels,' but most Egyptologists believe that they had a religious significance related to the soul of the king." (The Pyramids, 1969, p. 118.) More recently, Mark Lehner wrote:
A symbolic function should also be attributed to the so-called "air-shafts," which had nothing to do with conducting air. No other pyramid contains chambers and passages so high in the body of masonry as Khufu's and so the builders provided the King's Chamber with small model passages to allow the king's spirit to ascend to the stars. (The Complete Pyramids, 1997, p. 114)
There are many reasons why it is not likely that the shafts were meant for ventilation. The complex angles of the shafts necessitated the piercing of many courses of stone, a daunting logistical challenge during design and construction. Horizontal shafts would have been much easier to build: shafts carved through a single course of stone. One might well wonder why ventilation would be needed at all! No other known pyramid builder made such provisions; even workers in rock-cut tombs managed on the air provided solely by the entrance passage. When the bulk of work on the King's Chamber was being done, ambient air was plentiful as the ceiling had not yet been put in place. The chamber was finished as the superstructure rose.
There are also, however, reasons why it is not likely that the shafts were meant to serve as "launching ramps" for the king's ka. When, in 1964, Alexander Badawy and Virginia Trimble determined that the shafts are "aimed" at certain "imperishable" circumpolar stars and at the constellation of Orion, the function of the shafts as cultic features seemed certain. But the ka did not require a physical means of egress from a tomb -- false doors served this purpose quite nicely both before and after Khufu's reign. The passage that ascends to the entrance of the pyramid is also directed at the circumpolar stars in the manner of previous pyramids. The northern shafts for such a use would have been a needless and bothersome redundancy, although admittedly the Egyptians were not adverse to redundancies.
That fact that no other pyramid in Egypt is known to posses similar shafts as those of the Great Pyramid is problematic. If the shafts were so important for either ventilation or as passages for the king's ka, then why were they omitted in other funerary structures? It is obvious that the builders of Khufu's pyramid went to a jolly lot of trouble to incorporate the shafts into the design of the pyramid, but the true reason why still remains a mystery.




After the Great Pyramid was initially sealed, it's original entrance was hidden and faced with smooth limestone. Because this blended in so well with the surrounding casing, the opening was invisible. Around 820 AD, Abdullah Al Mamun mobilized men to bore a tunnel into the pyramid to search for chambers and treasure. Due to the difficulty of the task of breaking up the hard rock, fires were built to heat the rock and then cold vinegar was poured over the heated rock. Battering rams were used to pound away the weakened rock and clear a tunnel. Eventually, a passageway was found which descended into the lowest chamber of the pyramid. Following this passageway back upward, the original entrance was finally located. In these pictures of the NORTH side you can see the intrusive entrance lower down, and the original entrance higher up flanked by angled stones:

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From the outside, near the original entrance. In the left view on the lower left you can see a granite block, believed to be one of the large portcullis blocks that were originally lowered in the antechamber to seal the main burial chamber. These have all been removed from their original place, this one remains here. The picture on the right is looking down the original entrance through the grating that is now in place, this passageway runs over 100 yards in length to the subterranean chamber:

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Here, we enter the intrusive passageway, which in modern times is the main entrance. You can notice the rough nature of this tunneling, while the original passageways and chambers inside the pyramid are smooth and finished:

The right view includes modern metal braces which were added to reinforce this tunneled passageway.
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As mentioned, the original entry passageway was refound, this first view shows the descending passageway leading into the lowest subterranean chamber, and also leading back up to the original opening. During the intrusive tunneling, supposedly the sound of falling rock was heard above revealing the existence of an upper cavity. Al Mamun tunneled toward the sound and, amazing, burst into an ascending passageway. The second view shows the original granite blocks, known as portcullis blocks, that were set in place to originally seal access to these upper passageways and chambers. When Mamun had bored through to the ascending passageway he had tunneled just to the side of these blocks which are still in their original place:



About the Great Pyramid
Considered to represent the pinnacle of the Pyramid Age, the Great Pyramid is the epitome of the knowledge and experience of all previous pyramids. Khufu had every advantage in growing up in an atmosphere of the several pyramid building projects of his father, King Sneferu. In light of this it becomes easier to understand that Khufu was more than qualified to oversee and organize the grand task of building the monument that is the only surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the World. So much uninformed speculation abounds as to the origin, engineering and construction of the Great Pyramid, though we have a wealth of archaeological evidence to piece together much of the accomplishment. Recently, remnants of ramps have been found by Dr. Zahi Hawass on the south side of the pyramid that attest that some type of ramping was indeed used in the construction of this monument. The attribution of the pyramid to King Khufu is supported by workman’s markings that were found in the pyramid, located in small weight relieving chambers that were never intended to be opened or seen after they were completed.
The precision with which the pyramid was executed is often the source of marvel and speculation. It is likely that the attention to this precision was related to the many structural problems encountered in previous pyramids. To minimize many of the previous errors, the attention to precision produced a pyramid whose base is level within 2.1 cm (less than 1 in!), with the only difference in the length of the sides being 4.4 cm (1.75 in). The blocks used in the pyramid are large, with a commonly stated average of 2.5 tons. Many blocks are indeed smaller than this, the blocks toward the top decrease in size. Some of the casing stones at the base are very large, weighing as much as 15 tons. The heaviest blocks are the granite blocks used to roof the kings chambers and the weight relieving chambers above the king’s chamber. These are estimated to weigh from 50 to 80 tons each!!
New Features
The Great Pyramid has an internal arrangement that is more elaborate than most of the other pyramids. Here, for the first time we see a series of upper passageway and chambers that exist within the body of the pyramid. A unique ascending passageway leads to a magnificent corbelled gallery, know as the Grand Gallery. While it is tempting for people to think that this gallery looks to be ceremonial in appearance, the function of the gallery is more likely a holding place for large blocks which were to seal off the upper chambers after the burial of the king, in order to secure his sacred burial.
There is an antechamber between the grand gallery and the main chamber. It has a configuration that housed large portcullis blocking slabs which were designed to be lowered to seal the chamber after the burial of the king.
The main burial chamber has two small shafts in the north and south walls which extend through the substance of the pyramid to the surface. The north channel is only 5" high x 7" wide and ascends at an angle of approximately 3 1and is 235' in length. The southern channel measures about 8" high x 12" wide, rises at an angle of 41 and is 175' in length. The middle chamber, the so-called Queen's chamber, has an even more peculiar feature. It also has similar small shafts, though these end with a closing plug and do not appear to pierce through to the outer surface of the pyramid.

The age of the first ancient wonders of the world began with the pyramids of Sneferu, he built three pyramids and may have had a hand in others. His pyramid at Medum began as a step pyramid and was then modified to form the first true pyramid. He built two pyramids at Dahshur one called the Bent Pyramid because its upper part has a shallower angle of inclination than the lower part.

Seneferu's Bent pyramid at Dahshur was originally planned as a true pyramid, but its geometry was altered at a point just above half its height. The angle of incline was decreased from 54º 31' 13'' to 43º 21'.

When Khufu, also known as Cheops, became pharaoh one of his first acts was to curtail the growing power of the priesthood. He "shut up all the temples and forbade sacrifices". As a priest’s living came from performing these rituals it is not surprising that Khufu was unpopular with the religious orders.

Khufu's pyramid at Giza showing the plan of passages and burial chamber.

Some believe that his pyramid at Giza was built by slaves but this is not true. One hundred thousand people worked on it for three months of each year. This was the time of the Nile's annual flood which made it impossible to farm the land and most of the population was unemployed. He provided good food and clothing for his workers and was kindly remembered in folk tales for many centuries.

There are three pyramids at Giza, each of which once had an adjoining mortuary temple. Attached to this temple would have been a covered causeway descending down to a valley temple, near the Nile. The 'great' pyramid itself is truly an astonishing work of engineering skill - for over four thousands years, until the modern era, it was the tallest building in the world.

The sides are oriented to the four cardinal points of the compass and the length of each side at the base is 755 feet (230.4 m). They rise at an angle of 51 52' to a height , originally, of 481 feet (147 m) but nowadays 451 feet (138 m). It was constructed using around 2,300,000 limestone blocks, weighing, on average, 2.5 tons each. Although some weigh as much as 16 tons. Until recently, relatively speaking, it was cased in smooth limestone but this was plundered to build Cairo.

Is it conceivable that by bringing together so many people and giving them a common goal, that of making a mountain, a national identity is forged in their hearts. From Upper and Lower Egypt communities would have got to know each other and a common bond would have been manifest in the object of the pyramid. If this is true it is unique because all other forms of nationalism have grown out of war. For example England and France in the Hundred years war and the USA through the revolutionary, civil and Indian wars.


The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is the largest of the original Seven Wonders of the World that is basically stilled in tact. This pyramid is an architectural feat that cannot be duplicated with our modern technology and advanced knowledge. Many, including the Japanese, have tried to build a smaller pyramid to scale, but have not been successful.
This structure has been a mystery and an enigma to mankind for ages. The 5th century (B.C.) Greek historian Herodotus spoke of the Great Pyramid in his writings and put forth his theory of how it was built. He thought 100,000 men over a period of 20 years constructed the pyramid. Many books have been written most within the last 120 years, about the pyramid.
Peter Lemesurier states the following about historians in his book The Great Pyramid Decoded. "The sober truth is, of course, that no historian has yet advanced an explanation of the Great Pyramid’s construction that is convincing (p. 6)." Now the Great Pyramid is not the only pyramid in Egypt. There are many in Egypt and elsewhere in the whole world such as in South America and Mexico.
Max Toth's book Pyramid (Destiny Books © 1978 ©1988) states that "most pyramid-based cultures are found throughout the world within a 30-degree zone above and beneath the equator circumscribing the earth (p. 46; see diagram p. 31)." This includes the pyramids built in Mexico and South America (see diagram p. 33).
Max Toth states that there were unknown influences in the past, similar to the unknown influences in Egypt, mysteriously producing pyramid cultures. Although many theories have been put forth, none have satisfactorily explained why many of these great pyramid civilizations were located in inhospitable places such as the desert, jungles, or in the high mountains.
Richard Hoagland's book The Monuments of Mars-A City of the Edge of Forever (© 1987 North Atlantic Books) allege pictures of the planet Mars, in region of the planet called the Cydonia, taken by the Viking space probe, in 1976, reveal a humanoid face and a set of pyramids. If these pyramids of do exist on Mars than this expand the mysteries of the pyramids to solar system and brings about question that it answer.
What is the intent of this article?
This article is the first in a two-part series on the Great Pyramid. The intent of this article is to give the reader some general knowledge of the outer dimensions of the Great Pyramid and their significance. We will also explore who is the architect of the Great Pyramid.
These dimensions are part of a puzzle that will provide clues to its architect and designer, and for what purpose the Great Pyramid was built. It will also show that as Elohim gave instructions to build the tabernacle (Ex. 25:40) and Solomon's temple (I Chr. 28:19), He gave instructions to build the Great Pyramid. Now part two of the Great Pyramid will examine its interior that consists of passageways and the three chambers. Before discussing the history of the Great Pyramid a discussion of its symbolism follows.

Who used the pyramid as a symbol?
Many of the secret societies, such as the Rosticrucians, Masons, Jewish mystics, and others, have assigned importance to the Great Pyramid through mysticism. On the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States is the symbol of a Pyramid with a cap stone bearing the All-Seeing-Eye. The Great Seal's design was largely due to many of the founding fathers of the United States of America, such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to name a few, being Masons. Space is not available in this article to discuss the Great Seal in detail.
Many secret schools taught the mysteries concerning the Great Pyramid. Max Toth in his book Pyramid writes about the base of the pyramid and its points. He states: "…the sides of the great Pyramid, facing the four cardinal points, signify extremities of dark and light (west and east) and the extremes of cold and heat (north and south). The base of the pyramid further represents to the student the four material elements of nature from which the body of man is formed: air, water, fire, soil. The face of the pyramid, being a triangle signifies the triune within every object in nature. The twelve signs of the zodiac appear also to be represented by the total number of lines and faces of the pyramid. The spiritual centers of man are represented by three main chambers of the pyramid as the heart, the brain, and the reproductive organ (p. 29)." The pyramid also resembles a man sitting in yoga or meditation. Many believed that the great pyramid was set as a temple representing sacred truths.
Now some of the similarities structurally between the tabernacle and the pyramid are as follow. It is compose of the three compartments (Most Holy Place, Holy Place, and Court Round About) as the Great Pyramid has three side to the triangle faces and there are three chambers inside it. They are the King, the Queen and the Subterrain chambers. There were 12 tribes camp around the tabernacle corresponding to the twelve points to the Great pyramid.
What is the history of the Great Pyramid?
The Arabs were the oldest documented people to enter the Great Pyramids. The Calip Al Mamoum of Baghdad, around 820 A.D., hired an army of workers to dig through the stones of the pyramid to enter it. They were unable to find the entrance, which was concealed, on the north side of the structure. The Calip had hoped to find treasures within because many tales described riches hidden there. Instead of finding treasures or writings, they only discovered a coffin made of marble in the king's chamber, which is one of three chambers in the Great Pyramid. There was no inscription or writings found therein.
Now modern history of the Great Pyramid that include its measurements and theories began in the first half of the 18th century. John Greaves, a professor of mathematics and astronomer at Oxford University, obtained the first measurements of it and wrote them in his book Pyramidographia (1646).
Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt with an army and a large number of scholars to examine the Great Pyramid in 1797. The great finding of this expedition was the Rossettsa stone. It was the key to unlocking the secrets of the Egyptian hieroglyphs.
According to Max Toth’s book Pyramid (p. 169, 174-174), the three men credited with establishing the definitive measurements of the Great Pyramid in the 1800s were Colonel Richard Howard-Vyse, Professor Piazzi Smyth, and Professor Sir W. M. Flinders Petrie.
In order to begin this investigation one has to start with the dimensions of the pyramid. As in any crime scene, it is the evidence that will establish the motive. In this case it will reveal something about the designer.

What are the dimensions of the Great Pyramid?
The Great Pyramid is composed of four triangular sides and a square base. It covered an area of 13 acres. The original height of the Great Pyramid was 485 feet, but due to erosion its height declined to 450 feet. Each side of the square base is 755.5 feet in length. The angle of the pyramid is 51 degrees, 51 minutes, and 14.3 seconds.
Now the Great Pyramid is built on a perfectlu level ground. Its level is so exact that it varies less that 1/2 inches over the 13 acres says Max Thoth. This is an amazing feat for the ancient surveyors and would have been difficult, if not almost impossible to match, even today with our advanced technology.
It consists of approximately 2.5 million blocks that weight from 2 tons to over 70 tons. The blocks on the top of the pyramid are from the same site and time period as those on the bottom. The stones are cut so precisely that a credit card cannot fit between them. No one knows if the builders deliberately or inadvertently left the capstone off, but this will be discussed in Part Two.
Originally, the Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid Decoded was covered with highly polished limestones that reflected the sunlight. Peter Lemesurier states in his book that the Great Pyramid cast a star light reflection on the desert floor, which the Egyptians used to discern the seasons of the year and as a beacon light.
Max Toth points out in his book Pyramid that archaeologists believed that the copper tools of the Egyptians used during the estimated period the great Pyramid was built, would be too soft for cutting the stones. How these stones were cut is great mystery. Even with today's technology the cutting of these stones is an awesome task. How these stones were transported and put into place is another mystery. Now there are all types of theories about the construction of the Great pyramid but none of them furnish satisfactory answers.

What is the alignment of the Great Pyramid?
There are many remarkable points found in the dimensions of the pyramid. One of the first items discovered about the pyramid is that it is aligned with the four points of the compass. This means that its four sides point toward true East, West, North, and South.
The error from true north is about 1/12 of a degree and what is even more astounding is that this orientation was done without a compass, which was not invented until the 1500 years after the Messiah's birth. Now you may wonder if the perfect aligning to the four points of the compass was a coincidence or was this purposed and planned in the design. Some believe that the pyramid was built about 4000 years before the birth of the Messiah.
For the Great Pyramid to be perfectly aligned with the four cardinal points on the compass means that the builder either had some way of determining directions or that neither the Egyptians nor any human designed it. Other dimensions of the Great Pyramid show that it was literally impossible for Egyptians or any other humans to have designed or built it.
The Great Pyramid is one of the heaviest structures on earth and could not be built anywhere. The architect had to pick a site that could withstand the weight of the Great Pyramid. How this knowledge was obtained no one knows. In short, the builders of the Great Pyramid had to be some of the best world geologists to be able to pick the site.
The Great Pyramid is located in the center of all the landmasses (see diagram on p. 31). Many pyramidologists believe that the meridian line running north and south on the globe passing through the Pyramid (31 degree East of Greenwich) should be the zero line of the whole world. By drawing a horizontal line through the pyramid one can see the pyramid is the center of the landmasses. Again one sees that the architect of the Pyramid had to know the location in advance and it has only been in the last 100 years that men have had these capabilities.
Now the angle of passageways inside the pyramid is 26 degrees 18 minutes 9.7 seconds. Traveling away from the Great Pyramid at the same angle of 26 degrees 18 minutes 9.7 seconds to the equator, one would pass through the birthplace of the Messiah. This has to something more than coincidence, which will be discuss in more detail than in Part II.

What revelations are known about the dimensions of the Great Pyramid?
Max Toth in his book Pyramid states how many interpreted the various dimensions of the Great Pyramid. It reads: "…pyramidologists believe that the Pyramid in all its symbolism, represents the laws of the universe expressed geometrically (p. 189)." This cannot be denied if history is correct about when men acquired certain knowledge. The dimensions of the Great Pyramid will show its purpose and plan in the design. Space is not available to list all these correlation's, but a few of the most important and the simplest to understand will be provided. Here are some of the dimensions and their correlation to astronomical calculations.
The base unit of measurement in the Pyramid's is 25.052 inches. The Pryamid's inch is 1.0025 of our regular inch. Each side of its base is 365.2422 cubits, which is the exact number of days in a solar year. Now 365.24 cubits occur five or six times somewhere within the pyramid that shows it was not a coincidence.
The Pyramid's perimeter, the distance around the four sides of the base, correlates with the circumference of the earth.
According to Professor Piazzi Smyth, multiplying the height of the Pyramid's 35th layer by 10 derives the distance of the earth from the sun.
The base unit of measurement used by the Pyramid designer is ten-millionth of the earth's polar radius, according Peter Lemeisuier. Simply put it is one ten millionth the distance from the North Pole to equator.
The number of days in a century (100 years) is 36,524 days and corresponds to the total inches valued in the Pyramid's perimeter.
The number Pi is the mathematical constant 3.1415, with the ratio of the diameter to the distance around the circle, called the circumference. In the pyramid it is the ratio of the height to twice the length of the base.
Who built the Great Pyramid?
One of the enigmas about the Great Pyramid is who built it. There are many theories, but certain factors have to be taken into consideration in answering this question. For example, the astronomical calculations found on the Great Pyramid determine that is was literally impossible for the Egyptians to have designed it.
Quoting Max Toth’s book points out his fact. "Nonetheless, Egyptians are thought to have been exceedingly backward in astrology; their meteorology and division of the seasons in their system has convinced researchers that no true system of cosmology could have originated among them. These researchers indicate that Egyptian astronomy was primitive (p. 192)."
Clearly, this shows that the Great Pyramid may be in Egypt, but it does not mean the Egyptians or any other humans designed. Simply put, the knowledge displayed in the Great Pyramid is too advanced for humans of this time. Thus, this means that if the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid they had to get the design from some source.
Using the Bible as a model, we see that Yahweh Elohim gave mankind many structures to build. For example, Elohim gave Israel the specifications to build the tabernacle (Ex. 25:40), Solomon's and Zerruabbel's Temple (I Chron. 28:18-19). Israel was not the first people that Elohim instructed to build something. Noah was given instructions to build the ark (Gen. 6:13-16, 22). When Israel came across the River Jordan into the Promised Land, Joshua the Son of Nun made Israel erect two sets of 12 stones as a sign that the Ark of the Covenant divided the river (Jos. 4th chp.)
Some believe that Elohim (God) designed and built the Great Pyramid structure, but there is little proof to support this hypothesis. The Bible shows that Elohim always gave man designs for the structures He wanted them to build and it was always man that built them to His specification.
Could aliens from another planet have built the Great Pyramid?
There are some that believe UFOs built the Great Pyramid. Now Von Danikien in his book Chariot of the Gods put forth this hypothesis. He states that beings from another planet had advanced technology to perform this task. There is absolutely no proof for this theory.
Part Two of this article on the Great Pyramid will show that the Great Pyramid is a tool for prophecy. The inner passageways and chambers explain the future of man, especially the coming of the Messiah. If one supposes that aliens from another planet built the Great Pyramid and accepts the fact that the Great Pyramid prophesied of future events, the question remains of how did they know about future events on earth.
Now the only way that these measurements could prophesy of the future is that the designer had to have precise knowledge of the future. Isaiah wrote: "Remember the former things of old: for I am Elohim (God), and there is none else; I am Elohim (God), and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done… (Isa. 46:9-10)." Thus, Elohim had to be the designer and/or architect of this structure, for no man or alien (ET) from another planet could know the future in advance.
Did previous civilizations build the Pyramid?
Others believe that an advanced civilization, such as Atlantis etc., that existed in previous ages and perished in some type of disaster built the Great Pyramid. Lemesurier states in his book that: "… the apparent lack of archaeological evidence of earlier highly developed human societies ought not to be regarded as a conclusive argument against the existence of such antediluvian civilizations such as Plato's description of Atlantis."
What was the purpose of the Great Pyramid?
There are also many theories about the purpose of the Great Pyramid. Along with not being able to conclude absolutely who built the Great Pyramid, mankind also does not understand why it was built. Many believe that Pharaoh Cheops (or Khufu) built the Great Pyramid for his tomb around 3350 BC, because many of the other pyramids in the area have been found to be burial chambers for the various kings of Egypt.
Now there are some that believe the Great Pyramid monument was a time capsule left by an advanced civilization. There may have been some cataclysm and leaders of this civilization wanted to leave a message to future civilizations. Others think it was some civil service project.
In Peter Lemesurier's book The Great Pyramid Decoded, he states the Great Pyramid is a sign by Elohim. He writes: "the Great Pyramid contains a detailed prophecy in mathematical code—a prophecy whose main purpose appears to be the validating of just such a redemptive or Messianic plan for mankind as appears to have been outlined by Jesus of Nazareth (p. 155)."


Is there any Biblical mention of the Pyramid?
The Bible does not mention the Great Pyramid of Egypt although it did exist long before Israel came into Egypt and was there when Joseph and Mary brought the Messiah into Egypt at His birth (Matt. 2:13).
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the Great Pyramid was a hot topic. Many theologians began to look for scriptures within the Bible that might show its existence in symbolic form.
Clarence Larkin in his book Dispensational Truth (© 1918 Rev. Clarence Larkin Est.) asked the following questions about the purpose of the Great Pyramid. "Could it be that the Great Pyramid was built for the purpose of embodying in its construction not only mathematical and astronomical knowledge, but also chronological and scriptural knowledge?"
The scripture he used is Isaiah 19:19-20: "In that day shall there be an altar to Yahweh (the LORD) in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Yahweh (the LORD). And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Yahweh (the LORD) of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto Yahweh (the LORD) because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them."
Mr. Larkin believes that this scripture has yet to be fulfilled and points to the Great Pyramid. He believes the Great Pyramid was the pillar and altar that Isaiah referred to. He goes on to point out the correlation between the Great Pyramid and the Messiah. Not having the pattern to interpret the Scriptures leads to this erroneous interpretation of the scriptures.
Space is not available for a full explanation of this scripture. However, the Great Pyramid is neither the altar nor the pillar in Egypt that Isaiah is referring to for two reasons. First, the Great Pyramid was already built at the time of Isaiah, which was about 780 years before the birth of the Messiah. Second, Isaiah is prophesying about what is about to happen to various Gentiles nations, which had nothing to do with the Great Pyramid.
Using the tabernacle pattern, the brazen altar was in the Court Round About which symbolically represents the land of Egypt. The cross the Messiah was crucified on fulfilled the altar in Egypt, as the door to the house of the Israelites in Egypt prefigured an altar. Four points of blood of the lamb or goat was placed upon their doors, as four points of blood was on the altar. The Apostle John referred to Jerusalem where the Messiah was crucified as Egypt. "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified (Rev. 11:8)."
Conclusion
From the dimensions of the Great Pyramid, one can clearly see that the knowledge displayed there is more advanced than the Egyptians or any human civilization had at that time. No one knows or can explain how the Egyptians or humans received plans for the Great Pyramid except they originated from Elohim (God)—The Architect of the Universe. Elohim gave someone the specifications for the Great Pyramid in a vision or dream, as the Bible states that He gave specifications for the Ark, Tabernacle, and Solomon's Temple to Noah, Moses, and Solomon.
The principle here is that anytime Elohim reveals something to man, He required man to construct it. Although many believe that Elohim designed and built the Pyramid, there is no proof to substantiate this. Since many do not believe that Elohim (God) designed or constructed the Great Pyramid, they have other wild explanations that have less evidence than the Bible.
In the human body, there are many cells that have pyramid shapes. There is an organ called the adrenal gland atop both of the kidneys that are shaped like pyramids. The adrenal glands secrete many types of hormones. One of the most important aids the body in fight-flight situations.
Now the mystery about where the knowledge came from to build the Great pyramid is apart of a bigger question, just where did mankind get his knowledge. Throughout man's history it can be shown that there was some knowledge obtained in each era that did not fit the period. This untimely information propelled man to new heights. Historians are unable to understand from where and how man obtained this knowledge. Malcolm Godwin in his book Angels An Endangered Species (©1990 Simon Schuster) states the following current orthodox theory human history. "However there are a number of unorthodox views as to how primitive, foraging, cavemen so abruptly acquired a superb civilization in the Middle and Near East as if from nowhere. Theories of how this could have come about range from the plausible to the outrageous (p. 210-211)." Without accepting Elohim as the source of knowledge and that spirits interacts with humankind more than man think, this mystery will always remain unsolved.