Home Fertilizers Pharaoh burials in the highest pyramid. Construction of the Pyramid of Cheops (26th century BC). Theories about the construction of the Egyptian giants

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Pharaoh burials in the highest pyramid. Construction of the Pyramid of Cheops (26th century BC). Theories about the construction of the Egyptian giants

The Pyramid of Cheops

The largest pyramid of Ancient Egypt is the Pyramid of Cheops. The volume of this pyramid is approximately 2,521,000 cubic meters. Its base area is 53,000 square meters. The weight of the pyramid is 6,400,000 tons.

Initially, the height of the pyramid was 146.6 meters, but due to the loss of the crowning granite block - the pyramidion - as a result of an earthquake, its height has now decreased by 9.8 meters and is now 137.2 meters. The length of the side of the pyramid is 230 meters. It is made up of approximately 2.3 million stone cubes, stacked in 203 tiers (originally 210). The average weight of a stone is 2.5 tons, but there are also larger ones whose weight reached 15 tons.

The pyramid was built in the 26th century BC. e. Pharaoh Khufu (2590-2568 BC), in Greek his name sounded like “Cheops”. Thus, for more than three thousand years (until the construction of the cathedral in Lincoln, England, around 1300), the pyramid was the tallest building on Earth. The volume of this pyramid is approximately 2,521,000 cubic meters. Its base area is 53,000 square meters (the area of 10 football fields). The weight of the pyramid is 6,400,000 tons. Its base rests on a natural rocky elevation about 9 m high in the center. The architect of the pyramid is considered to be Hemiun, a vizier and relative of Cheops.

One of the wonders of the world

Already in ancient times, the pyramids of Giza were considered one of the seven “wonders of the world.” The largest of the pyramids was built by Pharaoh Khufu (2590 - 2568 BC), in Greek his name was Cheops. Currently, the height of the pyramid is 138 m, although originally it was 147 m: the top stones fell during earthquakes. The pyramid is made up of 2.5 million limestone blocks different sizes weighing an average of 2.5 tons. Initially, it was lined with white sandstone, which was harder than the main blocks, but the lining has not been preserved. At the base of the pyramid lies a square with a side of 230 m, oriented to the cardinal points. According to some legends, the corners of the square symbolize Truth, Reason, Silence and Depth; according to others, the pyramid is based on the four material substances from which the human body is created.

There are no inscriptions or decorations inside the Cheops pyramid, with the exception of a small portrait in the passage leading to the Queen's chamber. This image resembles a photograph on a stone. On the outer walls of the pyramid there are numerous curvilinear grooves of large and small sizes, in which, at a certain lighting angle, one can discern an image 150 meters high - a portrait of a man, apparently one of the deities of Ancient Egypt. This image is surrounded by other images (the trident of the Atlanteans and Scythians, a bird-plane, plans of stone buildings, pyramid rooms), texts, individual letters, large signs resembling a flower bud, etc. On the north side of the pyramid there is a portrait of a man and a woman with their heads bowed towards each other. These huge images were painted just a few years before the main pyramid was completed and installed in 2630 BC. top stone.

Inside the Cheops pyramid there are three burial chambers, located one above the other. The construction of the first chamber was not completed. It is carved into the bedrock. To get into it, you need to overcome 120 m of a narrow descending corridor. The first burial chamber is connected to the second by a horizontal corridor 35 m long and 1.75 m high. The second chamber is called the “queen’s chamber,” although according to the ritual the wives of the pharaohs were buried in separate small pyramids.

Pyramid of Khafre

The second largest pyramid of Giza belongs to Pharaoh Khafre.

It was built 40 years later than the first. Sometimes it seems that the pyramid of Khafre is even larger than Cheops. It's actually a little smaller. The side of the square base of the Khafre pyramid is 215 meters. Height - 136 meters.

The ensemble of the great pyramids of Giza is completed by the pyramid of Mikerin. Its construction was completed in 2505 BC. This pyramid is significantly smaller than its predecessors. The base side is 108 meters, the original height is 66.5 meters (today - 62).

The burial chamber of the pyramid is carved into its rocky base. The Pyramid of Mikerin emphasizes the greatness of the pyramids of Cheops and Khafre. The latter are not difficult to distinguish from each other: the Pyramid of Khafre has partially preserved white basalt cladding near the top

Many years of research by scientists have shown how the pyramids were created. Stone blocks were cut down in Mount Muqattam on the other side of the Nile. The ancient quarries are still clearly visible. They were then transported by ship to Giza along a canal specially dug for this purpose. Recently, archaeologists found a pier next to the pyramids. The blocks were dragged onto the pyramid along an inclined earthen embankment.

The Great Pyramids are part of the vast necropolis of Giza. Next to them are several small pyramids, where the wives of the pharaohs, tombs of priests and major officials are buried.

Great Sphinx

Not far from the pyramids of Giza there is another famous monument of Ancient Egypt - the Great Sphinx.

Near the lower granite temple, devoid of a roof, lie the ruins of the Sphinx temple. And behind them, the ancient guardian of the pyramids, the Sphinx, a resting lion with the head of a man (Mamluk soldiers shot off his nose), turned his gaze to the east.

The Great Sphinx is a mysterious creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man, carved from solid stone. The length of the Sphinx from the tip of its paws to its tail is 57.3 meters, its height is 20 m. It is believed that the Sphinx was cut down during the construction of the Pyramid of Khafre, and its face bears the features of this pharaoh. According to one version, the Sphinx was fired upon by Napoleon's artillerymen in the last century. According to another, the Mamelukes, who ruled Egypt at one time, fired at the Sphinx from cannons.

In Egypt, during the Middle and New Kingdoms, sphinxes were often depicted with the head of a ram or falcon. For example, in the Karnak Temple a whole alley of ram-headed sphinxes has been preserved. However, the Great Sphinx of Giza is the most ancient of the Egyptian sphinxes. Apparently, the sphinxes played the role of guardians of sacred places. It’s hard to even imagine how many centuries have flown past this proud guardian of antiquity. And each generation settled only as dust from the sands at his paws. How much has he seen different persons and peoples! Entire civilizations buried in the sands of oblivion.

Egypt is a country of ancient secrets, still protected by its sphinxes from overly curious eyes, but revealing its secrets to those who seek knowledge.

MOSCOW, November 2 – RIA Novosti. Physicists have found a previously unknown void area in the Cheops pyramid that may be a secret tomb or a passage into it, according to a paper published in the journal Nature.

“When we saw this area of emptiness, we realized that we had come across something very interesting and big, we abandoned all other projects and concentrated on studying this area, located directly above the corridor to the tomb of Cheops. Now we are sure that it really exists, and this "This is the first discovery of its kind in the Cheops pyramid since the Middle Ages, when it was opened by Caliph Al-Mamun in the 9th century," said Mehdi Tayoubi from the HIP Institute in Paris (France).

Physicists have found two “unknown voids” in the Cheops pyramidArchaeologists and physicists have discovered two, as they put it, “previously unknown voids” inside the Cheops pyramid, which may be secret rooms where the remains of Pharaoh Khufu rest.

Secrets of the Pharaohs

The Pyramid of Cheops, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was built in the middle of the third millennium BC, during the time of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), a representative of the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, at the same time as all the “great pyramids” of Ancient Egypt. This structure, 145 meters high and 230 meters wide and long, remains one of the tallest and largest buildings ever created by mankind.

Over the past two centuries, scientists have discovered three rooms in the pyramid, in one of which the pharaoh himself was supposedly buried, in the other his wife, and the third was considered a bait or trap for robbers. In the walls of the corridors that lead to Khufu's tomb, unusual channels and structures were found, which scientists believe are elements of the “security system” that protected the pharaoh from defilers.

The mummies of the pharaoh and his wife were never discovered, which is why many archaeologists believe that in fact their tombs are still hidden in the thickness of the pyramid. Two years ago, scientists from the universities of Nagoya, Paris and Cairo began searching for these secret rooms, studying the pyramid using cosmic particle detectors and telescopes as part of the ScanPyramids project.

Breath of space

Every second, millions of muons are formed in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere - charged particles resulting from the collision of cosmic rays with gas molecules in the air. These collisions accelerate muons to near-light speeds, thanks to which they penetrate tens and hundreds of meters deep into the surface of the planet. Scientists' measurements show that every square meter of the Earth's surface absorbs about 10 thousand of these particles.

French archaeologists and physicists, together with Japanese scientists, have adapted telescopes capable of “seeing” muons to search for voids and hidden rooms in monuments ancient architecture.

This technique works very simply - the flux of muons decreases in the air and in empty space much more slowly than when passing through rock or earth, which makes it possible to search for secret rooms by bursts in the muon background.

Last October, participants in the ScanPyramids project announced a sensational discovery - they managed to find several previously unknown voids in the pyramid, which could be the secret tombs of the “lord of two houses” and his wife. This discovery caused sharp rejection among archaeologists and Egyptologists, who accused physicists of incorrectly interpreting the data obtained.

Physics and lyrics

These accusations forced scientists to take repeated measurements using three different muon telescopes. This time, as Tayubi emphasized, the observations were carried out according to the same rules and principles by which the Higgs boson and other particles unknown to science were searched for at the LHC and other accelerators.

“Our measurements absolutely rule out that this void area could have arisen due to differences in the properties of the stones or due to errors in construction,” says Zahi Hawass. Voids of this size and configuration could not have appeared between the blocks by chance, neither with engineering nor any other technology. "The Egyptians were too good builders to screw up the pyramid, leave a hole in it and create a room or corridor somewhere else," said Hany Helal of Cairo University.

Checking whether this is true or not, scientists installed a set of films sensitive to the action of muons in the supposed tomb of Cheops’s wife, and placed semiconductor particle detectors at the bottom of the pyramid. After a few months, they collected the data, processed it and compared it with how muons should move through the pyramid if there were no other voids in it, except for the already known corridors and rooms.

If the initial results of scanning the Cheops pyramid were erroneous, then, as Elal notes, the “pictures” obtained by different muon telescopes would not match. In fact, they turned out to be the same, which confirmed the assumptions of physicists and refuted the insinuations of archaeologists.

The images showed that above the main corridor of the pyramid there is a zone of emptiness thirty meters long, eight meters high and about two meters wide. As Tayubi noted, it can be either a solid corridor running parallel to the ground, up or down, or a suite of rooms. So far, physicists do not have enough data to rule out the first or second option.

Scientists emphasize that they are not interpreting their discovery in any way and do not claim that they managed to find a secret room - this task, according to them, should be carried out by Egyptologists.

Jean-Baptiste Mouret, a physicist at the University of Paris, hopes his team's discovery will convince Egyptian historians that they were wrong in their assessments and will open the door to debate whether it is worth trying to penetrate this void zone. if yes, how to do it.

A new round of history

In the near future, as scientists noted, they plan to continue studying the void zone, as well as other sections of the Cheops pyramid, including the tomb of the pharaoh himself, and will begin to scan other pyramids that may hide secret rooms and unknown voids.

These data, physicists hope, will help us understand exactly how the pyramids were built and whether we can trust the descriptions of their construction, which have come down to our time in the works of Herodotus.

At the same time, as scientists noted, muon scanners can not reveal all the secrets. ancient history. For example, according to Tayubi, they cannot be used to search for the secret tomb of Nefertiti in the tomb of Tutankhamun, the existence of which was recently announced by the famous British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves.

“Muon scanners cannot be used to study the tomb of Tutankhamun and other burials in the Valley of the Kings for the reason that we do not know how the voids are distributed in the rocks located above them,” the scientist explained, answering a question from RIA Novosti.

Such research, added Sebastien Procureur, a colleague of Moret, is further complicated by the fact that man-made particle accelerators cannot be used to scan pyramids and other ancient buildings, since delivering them to Giza or the Valley of the Kings would entail unacceptably high costs.

"In short, this is simply not feasible. Muons cannot be created directly - they arise from the decays of kaons and pions, and there are too few particle accelerators in the world capable of accelerating them to required speeds. In addition, they are all very large - at least 700 meters in length. It would be easier for us to transport the pyramid to such a installation than to try to build it in Giza or other parts of Egypt. Therefore, we have to rely on space for such observations,” the agency’s interlocutor concluded.

The only one of the 7 wonders of the world that has survived to this day is the Pyramid of Cheops, or the Pyramid of Khufu, as the Egyptians themselves call it, unlike the rest of the world, which uses the Greek pronunciation of the name of the pharaoh.

To fully understand how far from us are those times when the Cheops Pyramid was built, one only has to think that for contemporaries of the other six wonders of the world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was so old that they no longer knew the answer to its secret.

Despite the fact that the largest pyramid in the world is more than four thousand years old, it has been quite well preserved to this day. Today, excursions to the Egyptian pyramids can be booked from almost any hotel in Cairo.

History and construction of the Great Pyramid of Cheops

It is believed that a certain Hemion, the nephew and vizier of the pharaoh, and, by extension, also a court architect, was involved in bringing the royal ambitions to life. The Pyramid of Cheops was built around 2540 BC, and its construction began twenty years earlier - somewhere in 2560 BC.

More than two million huge stones were needed to build the Great Pyramid of Giza. The largest blocks weighed several tens of tons. For the structure weighing 6.4 million tons, so that it does not sink underground under its own weight, strong rocky soil was chosen. Granite blocks were delivered from a quarry that was located 1000 km away. Scientists still cannot find the answer to the question of how these stones were transported and how the Cheops pyramid was built

The purpose of the tallest pyramid in Ancient Egypt also causes a lot of controversy. According to the most common opinion, this is really the tomb of Cheops (the second pharaoh of the IV dynasty of rulers) and members of his family. But nevertheless, discussions around the mystery of the pyramid do not subside. For example, from the point of view of some astronomers, some kind of observatory was equipped here, since the ventilation ducts and corridors point with amazing accuracy to the stars Sirius, Thuban, and Alnitak. It is also interesting that during the construction of the Cheops pyramid, the coordinates of the Earth’s magnetic poles were also taken into account.

Geometry and description of the pyramid of Khufu

The dimensions of the Cheops pyramid are surprising even modern man. Its base occupies a huge area of 53 thousand square meters, which is equivalent to ten football fields. Other parameters are no less striking: the length of the base is 230 m, the length of the side edge is the same, and the area of the side surface is 85.5 thousand square meters.

Now the height of the Cheops pyramid is 138 meters, but initially it reached 147 meters, which can be compared to a fifty-story skyscraper. The years have left their mark on the safety of the pyramid. Numerous earthquakes over thousands of years collapsed the stone top of the structure, and the smooth stone with which the outer walls were lined crumbled. And yet, the interior of the attraction, despite many robberies and vandals, remained virtually unchanged.

The entrance to the pyramid, located on the north, was originally at a height of almost 16 meters and was sealed with a granite plug. Now tourists get inside through a huge gap made ten meters below, left in 1820 by the Arabs led by Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun, who attempted to find treasures supposedly hidden here.

Inside the Cheops pyramid there are three tombs, located one above the other. The lowest, unfinished underground chamber is located at the base of the rock. Above it are the burial chambers of the queen and pharaoh, to which the rising Great Gallery leads. Those who built the pyramid created a complex system of corridors and shafts, the plan of which is still being studied by scientists. Egyptologists have put forward a whole theory of understanding the afterlife of people of that time. These arguments explain the secret doors and other design features.

For many years now, the Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops in Giza, like the Great Sphinx, has been in no hurry to reveal all its secrets. For tourists, it remains the most striking attraction of Egypt. It is impossible to fully comprehend the secrets of its corridors, shafts and ventilation ducts. Only one thing is clear: the Great Pyramid is the fruit of a brilliant design idea.

There are many opinions about when the Cheops pyramid was built and who did it. The most original assumptions are various versions of construction completed long before the Flood by civilizations that did not survive it, as well as hypotheses about alien creators.
Despite the fact that no one knows the exact time when the Pyramid of Cheops was built, in Egypt the date of the start of its construction is officially celebrated - August 23, 2560 BC.
The latest excavations, carried out at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that the work of the pyramid builders was hard, but at the same time they were well cared for. They had a high-calorie diet of meat and fish and comfortable sleeping places. Many Egyptologists are of the opinion that they were not even slaves.
Studying the ideal proportions of the Great Pyramid of Giza, scientists came to the conclusion that already in those days the ancient Egyptians knew very well what it was golden ratio, and actively used its principle when creating the drawing.

There are no decorative paintings or historical inscriptions inside the Cheops pyramid, except for a small portrait in the passage to the queen's chamber. There is not even any evidence that the pyramid even belonged to Pharaoh Khufu.
Until 1300, for three millennia, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure on the planet, until Lincoln Cathedral was built to surpass it.
The heaviest stone block used in the construction of the pyramid weighs 35 tons and is placed above the entrance to the pharaoh's burial chamber.
Before the Vandal Arab invasion of Egypt, the outer slabs of the Cairo pyramid were so carefully polished that in the light of the moon they emitted a mysterious shimmer, and in the rays of the sun their cladding shone with a soft peach light.
To explore rooms that are difficult for humans to reach, scientists used a special robot.
From 6 to 10 thousand tourists visit the pyramids every day, and about 3 million per year.

Useful information for tourists

Currently, in the museum on the south side of the pyramid you can get acquainted with exhibits that were found during excavations and in the pyramid itself. There is an opportunity to see the restored unique cedar boat (Solar Boat), which was built by the ancient Egyptians. You can also buy souvenirs here. And the next viewing point on the territory will be the Great Sphinx.

In the evenings, a sound and light show is shown in Giza: alternating spotlight illumination of local attractions is accompanied by a fascinating story, including in Russian and English.

Opening hours of the Giza Museum complex

daily from 8.00 to 17.00;
in winter - until 16.30;
during Ramadan - until 15.00.

Ticket prices

entrance ticket to the Giza zone for foreigners - $8;
entrance to the Cheops pyramid - $16;
inspection of the Solar Boat - $7.

For children and students, prices are usually two times lower.

To visit the Cheops Pyramid, only 300 tickets are sold per day: 150 at 8.00 and 150 at 13.00.
It is best to go to the pyramids in the morning to grab a ticket and protect yourself from the midday heat.
The entrance to the pyramid is very low, you will have to walk 100 meters bent over, and it is also very dry, hot and slightly dusty inside. People suffering from claustrophobia or illness respiratory tract and hearts of water are undesirable.
Photo and video shooting is prohibited inside. As for photographs against the backdrop of the Great Pyramid, it is better not to give your camera into the wrong hands, as there are frequent cases of theft.
Take photos of the Cheops pyramid (as well as other pyramids) better in the morning or in the evening when the sun is not shining too brightly, otherwise the image will turn out flat.
Climbing the pyramid is strictly prohibited.
For local residents, tourists are the main and often the only source of income, so you will constantly be offered to buy something. Therefore, think carefully about whether you need certain offers, and in any case, be sure to bargain. Give tips only to those who truly deserve them.
Be careful: there are a lot of pickpockets around.

How to get to the Cheops pyramid

Address: Egypt, Cairo, El Giza district, El Haram street

Getting there from Cairo:

By metro (line No. 2) - to Giza station. Then transfer to bus No. 900 or No. 997 and drive along Al-Haram avenue for 15-20 minutes.
By bus No. 355 and No. 357 from the airport and Heliopolis. It runs every 20 minutes.
Take a taxi to Al-Haram.

From Hurghada or Sharm el-Sheikh: on tourist bus or taxi.

Pyramid of Cheops on the map of Cairo

To fully understand how far from us are those times when the Cheops pyramid was built, one only has to think that for contemporaries of the other six wonders of the world Veli..." />

The city of Giza, necropolis of ancient Memphis in Egypt.

“The false tale that in ancient times Ossa and Pelion with her were perched on Olympus has been preserved for centuries. And the pyramids near the Nile even now extend their proud heights up to the golden Pleiades.”

That's what he wrote ancient Greek poet, whose name has not reached us, about one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - the pyramids.

Everyone knows how many interesting, sometimes amazing scientific discoveries were made by scientists on ancient Egyptian soil. Her tombs and temples yielded a lot of wonderful finds. But the greatest miracle of Egypt, which amazed people even in ancient times, were the pyramids - these amazing artificial mountains - the tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings. Travelers sailing along the yellow waters of the Nile were always struck by the sharp edge where the Nile Valley with its green fields and date groves gives way to the hot sands of the dead Libyan Desert.

These are pyramids.

They seem to grow out of the desert sands - colossal, majestic, overwhelming a person with their extraordinary size and severity of outline. Standing at the foot of the pyramid, it is difficult to imagine that these huge stone mountains were created by human hands. Meanwhile, they were actually built from individual stone blocks, just as children today build pyramids from cubes. Thousands of hands of slaves and Egyptians subject to the pharaoh were busy with hard and useless labor - the creation of a huge stone mountain, which was supposed to hide the dead body of the Egyptian king in its depths.

By creating an eternal tomb, the pharaoh provided his immortal spirit with an eternal home.

The first Egyptian king to erect a pyramid over his tomb was Pharaoh Djoser. This oldest pyramid in Egypt consists of six huge steps. Before the construction of the first pyramid, tombs with a massive rectangular above-ground part made of stone were erected in Egypt. In shape they resemble Arab benches - mastabas - and under this name they entered science. The pyramid of Djoser was essentially six such mastabas, placed one on top of the other, decreasing towards the top. The creation of the world's first stone structure of such significant size (height about 60 m) is attributed to Imhotep, a remarkable medical scientist, mathematician and architect, former vizier of King Djoser. Imhotep's fame was so great that within a few centuries his name was surrounded by legends. From later times, figurines depicting this remarkable architect have been preserved. Apparently, Pharaoh Djoser himself was so pleased with the unprecedented tomb built by Imhotep that he allowed the architect’s name to be carved on the base of his statue - an honor completely unheard of in ancient Egypt. During excavations of the mortuary temple, located near the pyramid of Djoser, scientists found fragments of several statues of the pharaoh and among them a pedestal on which the name of Imhotep was written.

Excavations near the pyramid of Djoser discovered an entire “city of the dead” surrounding the tomb of the pharaoh. Mastabas - tombs of members - were built around royal family and nobles close to the pharaoh. There was also a mortuary temple here, where sacrifices were made in honor of the deceased pharaoh. During excavations of the temple, archaeologists discovered a hall decorated with the oldest columns in the world. True, these were not yet ordinary round columns, they only protruded half from the walls, but Imhotep, long before the Greek architects, created the prototype of a strict and slender Dorian colonnade.

The mortuary temple and the pyramid were surrounded by a wall of white limestone and, according to the architect’s plan, formed a single architectural ensemble.

The space near the pyramid was carefully studied by archaeologists at the beginning of this century. However, the Egyptian scientist Mohammed Ghoneim drew attention to one of the terraces southeast of the Pyramid of Djoser. A thorough examination carried out by Goneim discovered the remains of stone walls, fragments of processed limestone and alabaster, Goneim decided to carry out excavations. The work revealed the remains of masonry made of large uncut stones. This was the foundation of a massive fence, the same as the one that once surrounded the pyramid of Djoser. The top of this fence was dismantled in ancient times. Then a well-preserved part of the fence was revealed under a thick layer of sand and rubble - the workers called it the White Wall. It was magnificent - lined with white polished limestone, decorated with elegant protrusions.

Undoubtedly, the wall enclosed the pyramid. But where are the traces of the tomb itself, as ancient as the still unique pyramid of Djoser?

Ghoneim decided to look for the remains of a pyramid in the center of the site and was right. From under a multi-meter layer of sand, rubble and construction debris, the lower massive step of the ancient tomb appeared. The height of the step was 7 m. Goneim determined that this pyramid should have seven steps. Consequently, it was one step higher than the famous pyramid of Djoser. The height of the open pyramid should have reached 70 m. But if the remains of the pyramid were buried under a deep layer of sand, then the burial itself was intact. We had to look for him. Near the bottom step of the pyramid, a passage carved into the rock was discovered. It was a long corridor with branches.

In some of the galleries, things were found that only increased interest in the central burial, proving that the tomb had not been robbed in ancient times. Goneim found many stone and clay vessels, gold jewelry, a rubbing box made of gold, and a large number of beautiful porphyry bowls.

But the most valuable find were seals on small vessels made of dark red clay. On the seals Goneim read the name Sekhemkhet, which meant “mighty in body” - this was the hitherto unknown name of the pharaoh of one of the most ancient dynasties. Interest in the unknown ruler buried in the pyramid increased even more. Egyptian newspapers were full of articles with mysterious and sensational headlines like: “The shine of gold from the tomb of the pharaoh” or “Gold placers of the unfinished pyramid.” Everyone eagerly followed the progress of the work.

After a long search, many disappointments, with great risk (stones collapsed in underground passages several times), the scientist managed to enter the tomb.

In the unfinished, hastily hewn central hall (the construction debris was not removed, but was only shoveled into the adjacent galleries) stood a magnificent alabaster sarcophagus. When the archaeologist carefully examined the sarcophagus, he was amazed - the sarcophagus had no lid. Carved from a single block of alabaster, it was closed on the end side with a door that lowered and rose in grooves. With excitement, Goneim became convinced that after the sarcophagus was placed in the tomb, no one touched it - a funeral wreath of decayed flowers and herbs was placed on top, or rather, what remained of the funeral wreath laid on the sarcophagus 4,700 years ago .

The son of Pharaoh Sneferu and his wife Hetpeheres ruled from 2551 to 2528 BC. Built the pyramid from 2589-2566. BC. The area occupied by the pyramid is 13 acres 2. The length of each side along the lower perimeter was 230 meters initially, 227 meters at this moment. The total weight of the pyramid is 6,500,000 tons. The average block weight is 2.5 tons. The weight of individual blocks of the tomb ceiling reaches 9 tons. Height - 146.5 during construction and 137 at this time. Slope angle: 51 o 50"35". Material: limestone and granite. On the north side is the entrance to the pyramid. Many corridors, galleries, and passages lead to the tomb of the pharaoh. The Pharaoh's Tomb is located at the heart of the pyramid, and is accessible through the Grand Gallery and a raised corridor. The pharaoh's sarcophagus is made of red granite, as are the internal walls of the tomb. The most impressive is the huge stone above the entrance (3 m x 2.4 m x 1.3 m). All the inner stones fit so well that a sheet of paper cannot fit between them. The sarcophagus is oriented in accordance with the cardinal directions.

On the day appointed for the opening of the sarcophagus of a hitherto unknown pharaoh, the underground crypt was filled with a crowd of Egyptologists, photo and film reporters, and journalists. The crowd watched with bated breath as the workers began lifting the heavy alabaster door. In deep silence the sarcophagus was opened. It was empty. Shocked, Goneim carefully examined the sarcophagus. On its walls there were only traces left by the tools with which the craftsmen drilled and gouged out the inside of the sarcophagus. No one has ever been buried in this magnificent tomb. Rubble and construction debris not removed from the galleries and passages, the unfinished appearance of the tomb itself, the unfinished pyramid, the empty sarcophagus - all this presented a mystery to Egyptologists.

The mystery of the unfinished pyramid was difficult to unravel. Perhaps the pharaoh for whom the tomb was intended died unexpectedly, and his successor did not consider it necessary to continue construction. Perhaps some other important events occurred, unknown to us (just as the name of King Sekhemkhet himself was unknown until recently), which forced the pharaoh to suddenly interrupt the construction of the pyramid. The secret remains a secret. But the mysteries that arise for scientists are sooner or later solved by them. This was the case with many other monuments discovered on ancient Egyptian soil.

Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek)

Here is what is known today about the only surviving seven wonders of the world - the Pyramid of Cheops: built approximately 4500 years ago during the IV dynasty of the pharaohs of the Ancient Egyptian Kingdom, height - 146.5 m (now about 8 m of the top is missing, as is the outer cladding), side length - 230.5m. The pyramid is made of 2.5 million sandstone blocks weighing from 0.5 to 2 tons. Inside the pyramid (see picture) there are three chambers. The lower underground chamber (c) is located 30 meters below the center of the base of the pyramid. A corridor (b) 105 m long leads into it at an angle of 26.52 o from the entrance located at a height of 17 m from the base of the northern side. The first above-ground chamber ((f), the so-called "Queen's Chamber") is located on the central axis of the pyramid at a height of 21.2 m above the base. The second above-ground chamber (j), the "King's Chamber" measuring 5.25x10.47m with a ceiling of 5.85m, is located at a height of 42.95m and is shifted south of the central axis of the pyramid by 11.02m. The walls and roof of the “King’s Chamber” and the five “unloading chambers” (k) located above it are made of granite blocks weighing up to 40 tons. The upper chamber is led by a “Great Gallery” (h) 47.8 m long, 8 m high and 2.09 m wide, inclined at an angle of 26.22 o.

From the upper chambers to the surface of the pyramid, shafts with a cross-section of approximately 20x25 cm are laid, directed at different angles to its southern and northern faces. The upper shafts lead from the king's chamber directly to the surface of the pyramid. The slope of the southern shaft is 45 o, the northern one is 32.6 o. The southern lower shaft (the same one where Rudolf Gantenbrink discovered the first of the “doors” in 1993) is inclined at an angle of 39.61 o. The northern lower shaft was built to bypass the Great Gallery, so it has many breaks; its slope has not been precisely measured. The upper shafts are (and may have been) used for ventilation (although the use of ventilation shafts in the tomb(?) is highly controversial). During the construction of the pyramid, the lower shafts were closed from the side of the “Queen’s Chamber”: the walls of the chamber were made of blocks; grooves were cut in these blocks, which are not through holes: their depth is the width of the block minus 10 cm. The shafts were found by tapping the walls of the chamber; there were no traces on the walls indicating the presence of anything in the depths of the solid block.

Much was unclear in the largest pyramid, built by Pharaoh Khufu (or Cheops in Greek), who lived in the 28th century. BC.

This huge pyramid has stood for almost five thousand years. Its height reached 147 m (now, due to the collapse of the top, its height is 137 m), and each side is 233 m long. In order to go around the Khufu pyramid, you need to walk about a kilometer. Until the end of the 19th century. Khufu's pyramid was the tallest structure on earth. Its enormous size amazed everyone who was in Egypt. It is not for nothing that the first Russian travelers who came to Egypt called the pyramids “man-made mountains.”

Scientists have calculated that Khufu's pyramid was made of 2,300,000 huge blocks of limestone, polished smooth, and each of these blocks weighed more than two tons. Carefully hewn and polished limestone blocks were so skillfully fitted to one another that it was impossible to insert a knife blade into the gap between two stones.

The stones were tightly adjacent to one another and held together by their own weight. The accuracy of the work of stonemasons and grinders is worthy of surprise, especially if you imagine that the ancient artisans who created such grandiose monuments of human labor also used stone tools. In the quarries on the right bank of the Nile, near the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, thousands of workers quarried stone to build the pyramid. Along the boundaries of the stone block marked on the limestone rock, workers hollowed out deep grooves in the stone. This work took a lot of effort and labor. Having dug holes in the furrow, the workers hammered wedges of dry wood into them and watered them with water. The wet wood began to swell, the crack grew larger, and the block broke away from the rock. The broken stone was pulled out of the quarry shafts using thick ropes woven from papyrus (such ropes were found in ancient quarries). The limestone blocks were then hewn together by specialist stonemasons. Stonemasons worked using a range of tools made from wood, stone and copper. This work, of course, was easier than the work of quarrying stone, but even here they had to work from dawn to dusk under the scorching sun. In the famous teaching of the ancient Egyptian scribe Akhtoy, in which he tells his son Piopi about various professions, it is said: “The stonemason is looking for work on every hard stone, when he finishes, his hands drop, he is tired. And so he sits until dusk, his knees and his back is bent." This teaching was written by a scribe who lived during the Middle Kingdom. But the pyramids were built many centuries before, and it is unlikely that the work of a stonemason of that time was easier than in the time of the scribe Akhtoy. Blocks of white facing limestone were transported on boats to the other side of the Nile. They were transported to the construction site by loading them onto special wooden sleds. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century. BC, was the first scientist to report in detail the information he collected about the pyramids. Herodotus's work was an extensive narrative consisting of nine books, in one of which he described his journey to Egypt. The first chapter of the famous “History” of Herodotus began with the words: “Herodotus the Halicarnassian presents the following research so that over time the deeds of people will not be erased from our memory, and also so that the huge and amazing structures worthy of surprise, executed partly by Hellenes, partly by barbarians, will not be ingloriously forgotten.” . Herodotus conscientiously and thoroughly recorded the stories of the Egyptians about how the pyramids were created. The road alone, along which stones were delivered from the quarries to the place where the pyramid was erected, took about ten years to build. This road itself, wide, lined on the sides with polished stone, decorated with various images, according to Herodotus, was an amazing structure.

After the stonemasons, the face of the facing stone was processed by grinders. They worked using grinding stone, water and sand. As a result of prolonged processing, the surface of the slab became smooth and shiny. After this, the stones were considered ready for construction.

On a limestone cliff, cleared of sand, gravel and stone, the builders erected a huge pyramid, laying blocks in giant steps. Among these blocks, according to Herodotus, there was not a single one that did not reach 9 m.

According to Herodotus, in order to drag the stone blocks up, an inclined embankment was built. Subsequently it was leveled. Along it, the builders, driven by the sticks of the overseers, pulled heavy stones on ropes, which were installed in place with the help of a wooden lever. How many people died under the weight of a broken block of stone, how many were maimed while laying stones, how many died from backbreaking labor right here, near the still unfinished walls of the pyramid! And this has been going on for twenty long years. When the masonry of the pyramid was completed, its steps were laid with facing blocks. They were brought from quarries located in Upper Egypt, near Aswan. The facing blocks were lifted up along the ledges of the pyramid and laid from top to bottom. Then they were polished. Under the rays of the southern sun they shone with a dazzling brilliance against the background of the cloudless Egyptian sky. Herodotus says that the construction of Khufu's pyramid lasted about twenty years. Every three months, workers were changed, the number of which reached 100,000 people. The whips of the overseers, the grueling heat, and inhuman labor did their job. After all, there were no machines for lifting two-ton limestone blocks. Everything was done only with the help of living human power. Even if we accept Taking into account that Herodotus made a number of obvious exaggerations and inaccuracies, the figures he cited still give an idea of the enormous scale of work undertaken by Cheops to create a colossal tomb. In the same story, Herodotus mentions an inscription made on the pyramid, which indicated the amount, spent on onions, garlic and radishes for the workers was equal to 1600 talents. “If this is really so,” exclaims Herodotus, “then how much should be spent on iron tools for work, for food and clothing for workers?

According to many theories, the base angle of the pyramid was 51.8428, that is, atan(14/11). The ancient Egyptians had a concept of “seced”, very similar in meaning to our modern tangent, that is, the ratio of the legs of a right triangle. Ancient architects would say that the seced of the Cheops pyramid is 14 to 11, and the seced of the second pyramid (Khefre) is 4 to 3 (the angle of the second pyramid is 53.13 o =atan(4/3) .

The entire burial structure was almost solid masonry. The entrance to the pyramid was always located on its northern edge, at a height of about 14 m from the ground. Inside the pyramid there were several chambers, of which only two were burial chambers. One, the lower one, as scientists suggest, was intended for the king’s wife. Second, several large sizes(10.6 X 5.7 m), located at a height of 42.5 m from the base of the pyramid, served as the tomb of the pharaoh himself. It contained a sarcophagus made of red polished granite. Above the king's burial chamber there are five blind chambers, one above the other, apparently intended to distribute the pressure above the chamber. In the thickness of the pyramid there are several narrow and long passages leading to chambers located inside the pyramid and to a chamber dug under its base. Scientists also traced two ventilation slits that penetrated the thickness of the stonework and came from the chamber of Cheops itself. When clearing the surface of the pyramid, marks made in red paint and containing the name of Pharaoh Khufu were discovered on many blocks. Parts of the ancient cladding were discovered by archaeologists while clearing the sand-covered lower part of the pyramid. The pressing of the facing stones was so perfect that it was impossible to immediately determine the places where they were connected. And when photographing this cladding, the researchers had to specially paint around the seams where the blocks met. We can safely say that none of the kings who ruled after Khufu could surpass his tomb in size and grandeur, but the name of the pharaoh, who decided to glorify himself by building a pyramid of unprecedented magnificence, was hated by the population of Egypt for many centuries.

The second largest after the tomb of Khufu is considered to be the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre (Khefre). It is 8 m lower, but less destroyed. The top of the pyramid retains part of the polished cladding. The remaining pyramids are much smaller, and many of them are badly damaged.

Near the pyramid of Khafre, a hill rises from the desert sand. Its height is about 20 m, length is about 60 m. Approaching the hill, travelers see a huge statue carved almost entirely from rock. This is the famous Great Sphinx - a figure of a reclining lion with a human head. His face was cracked, his nose and chin were broken off. So the Muslim Arabs mutilated the statue, which had stood for thousands of years. The Arabs believed that ancient Egyptian gods lived in statues. evil spirits, and therefore tried to destroy as many of their images as possible. They were unable to cope with such a giant as the Great Sphinx, but they disfigured him thoroughly.

“Father of Terror” is what the desert inhabitants call the Great Sphinx. He inspires them with the greatest fear at night, illuminated by the bright moon, when deep shadows give his features special expressiveness.

Who does this colossal statue represent, and why did it end up in such close proximity to the pyramids? On the head of the statue is a bandage that was worn only by pharaohs. Scientists believe that this is a statue of Pharaoh Khafre, which was part of a number of structures associated with the tomb of the pharaoh.

In ancient Egypt, not every mortal had the right to approach the pyramid - this “eternal horizon”, beyond which the pharaoh “went” (they did not say about the pharaoh that he died - he “went” beyond the horizon, like the sun; Egyptian kings called themselves sons sun). In order for those who wished to be able to honor the memory of the deceased pharaoh without offending his greatness, a funeral temple was erected at some distance from the pyramid - something like a reception hall for the deceased king. Massive rectangular pillars of polished granite supported the ceiling. The granite walls and floor of the building were carefully polished.

The light fell from small holes punched in the upper part of the walls, and created a solemn twilight, in which the dark statues of the pharaoh, the ruler receiving respectful guests, seemed especially majestic. A long covered corridor led from this ceremonial hall to the pyramid. Its walls and floor were also made of polished granite. Along this corridor, the body of the pharaoh was taken to the pyramid in a heavy sarcophagus made of valuable stone.

In order to preserve the king’s body, which was the abode of his soul (the Egyptians called it Ka), from decay, he was embalmed. A detailed account of the embalming process was preserved for us by the ancient Greek writer Diodorus, who lived in the 1st century. AD Herodotus also talks about embalming the dead. The deceased was brought into the room for embalming. The corpse was laid on the floor and a person approached it, who was called the sign scribe. On the left side of the body, he marked with a line the place where the incision was to be made. Then another person approached and made a cut on the corpse with an Ethiopian stone, after which he fled, since, according to custom, everyone present threw stones at him with curses. These curses constituted an ancient religious ritual associated with mutilation of the deceased. After this, the embalmers directly began to work on the body. One was using iron hooks through his nostrils to remove part of the brain from the skull. The remaining brain was dissolved by injecting various strong drugs. The entrails were removed through a wound in the side and washed with palm wine and fragrant essences. Then they were wrapped in thin linen and placed in special canopic vessels made of clay, alabaster or porphyry. The canopic lids were made in the shape of various heads. The stomach and intestines were placed in a canopic jar with a lid depicting a human head, the lungs and heart lay in a canopic jar with a jackal’s head, and a vessel with a falcon’s head was intended for the liver. At this time, the body of the deceased was first rubbed with cedar oil and washed inside with palm wine. Then they put it in a special alkaline solution for 40 days. Then they were washed again with wine and soaked in various aromatic resins that protected them from rotting. Having filled the inside of the body with aromatic substances, the incision was stitched up and the embalmed corpse was handed over to special dressers who decorated it. Often the fingernails and toenails were gilded, and eyes made of crystal or ivory were inserted. Rings were put on the fingers and toes. Having dressed the deceased in this way, the dressers covered the entire body with a layer of glue and began to wrap it in thin linen bandages. They carefully wrapped the fingers and toes and the entire body several times, so that the length of these bandages was several hundred meters. In this way, a mummy was prepared - an imperishable abode for the spirit of Ka, which was supposed to live forever.

The same Diodorus says that when the king of Egypt died, a long period of mourning was imposed on the entire country, lasting seventy-two days. The temples were locked, no sacrifices were made to the gods, no celebrations were celebrated, no incense was anointed. All these days the Egyptians ate neither meat, nor wine, nor flour food. Having sprinkled dust on their heads, crowds of men and women wandered around the city singing plaintive chants in which the virtues of the deceased pharaoh were glorified. On the day appointed for burial, the sarcophagus with the embalmed body of the pharaoh was placed on special runners, decorated with rich carvings and paintings, and with solemn ceremonies the deceased ruler, the “son of the sun” who had gone to the gods, was escorted on his last journey. The sarcophagus containing the king's body was placed in a crypt inside the pyramid, the granite walls and ceiling of which were carefully polished.

The pharaoh's relatives and priests made sure that the deceased was not in danger in the afterlife, that he could move freely inside his tomb, and that the gods would accept him as an equal. Therefore, the walls of rooms inside the pyramids are often covered with prayers and spells. Doors that led from one room to another or from a corridor to a cell were subjected to especially careful spells. In the pyramid of the 6th dynasty pharaoh Pepi, an entire hymn is written near the first door, which states that these “doors of heaven” are opened only for Pepi, but not for anyone else. In front of the other door there is a text that ends with the words: “When Pepi comes with his Ka, the door should open. This pyramid is dedicated to Pepi and his Ka.” On the walls adjacent to the doors there are images of door guards - baboons, wolves, lions, and spells against them and evil demons threatening the deceased pharaoh. These texts, found in large quantities, are one of the oldest works of religious literature. Scientists called them “pyramid texts” after the place where they were found.

Caring for the safety of the spirit of the deceased in the afterlife, his relatives did not forget about vital things. Jewels and various items that belonged to the pharaoh were kept in special rooms. After all, the ancient Egyptians believed that the deceased continues to live after death, that he needs all the things that he needed during life. And the magnificent tomb of the king served as his home, just as a luxurious palace was his home during his lifetime.

On holidays in memory of the deceased pharaoh, a solemn procession headed to his pyramid. In a hall with columns in front of the image of the pharaoh, “seated next to Ra,” prayers were performed and sacrifices were made. These days in the “city of the dead” near the large pyramids it was noisy and lively. Herds of sacrificial animals were being driven, people were walking with baskets of gifts, flowers, and offerings. Only the king’s relatives, close associates and priests were allowed into the funeral temple. The rest of the participants in the procession in honor of the deceased pharaoh remained in the valley at the entrance to the corridor leading to the mortuary temple of the king, and waited for the end of the sacrifice. A mere mortal did not dare approach the pyramid - the sacred resting place of the pharaoh who became a deity. However, the riches that filled the storerooms of the royal tomb were a great temptation for robbers. The builders of the pyramids also foresaw this. The entrance to the crypt was closed from the inside with a heavy keystone. After the end of the funeral ceremonies, the supports were knocked out from under the stone and the entrance to the central chamber of the pyramid, where the magnificent granite sarcophagus with the body of the pharaoh stood, was closed forever.

The same huge stone, lowered down an inclined passage into the crypt, blocked the passage to the corridor.

The well through which people descended was filled up after all the entrances and exits were walled up. The royal grave was inaccessible to people and demons. The pharaoh could rest peacefully under the hundred-meter huge pyramid hanging over the vaulted crypt.

But all precautions were in vain. The royal tombs were robbed in ancient times, and to this day only empty halls and complex passages inside the pyramids have survived. One could only guess about the unheard-of value of the treasures that were hidden in the royal graves until in 1922-1923. The famous tomb of the 18th dynasty king Tutankhamun, who died in the 14th century, was not opened. BC, more than 32 centuries ago. By a lucky coincidence, it was not plundered, and all the utensils that accompanied the king into his afterlife appeared before the eyes of scientists.

Several rooms surrounded the central room, where stood the sarcophagus of the young king, who died when he was only 18 years old. All these storerooms were filled with a lot of things. Here were four royal chariots, shrouded in gold, magnificent royal beds with the heads of animals, a golden throne, on the back of which precious stones an image was made of the deceased pharaoh and his wife. Fragrant ointments were kept in wonderful vessels made of transparent alabaster. In wooden cases they found roasted geese and hams - the food of the young king in his afterlife. Numerous chests with clothes, jewelry, shoes, and vessels filled the storerooms.

At the entrance there were statues of the pharaoh himself, guarding the doors that led to the central room. When the door was opened, the scientists saw a solid golden wall decorated with turquoise tiles. It was a huge box - a sarcophagus that occupied almost the entire room. On one side of the box there were doors sealed with a seal with the name of Tutankhamun and closed with a bronze bolt. Three thousand years have passed since the seal of the pharaoh was placed on these doors, and now they creaked again, but now under the hand of an archaeologist. The first case was removed. Beneath it was a second one, equally richly decorated. The spaces between the first and second sarcophagi were also filled with things. Here lay two magnificent golden fans made of ostrich feathers, wonderful alabaster vessels and many other valuable things.

The third coffin was made of expensive carved gilded oak. When they removed it, they found underneath it a sarcophagus made of pink granite of extraordinary beauty. Having removed the lid, the scientists saw a gilded bed on which there was a sarcophagus in the shape of a swaddled mummy. It was covered with sheets of gold and sparkled with precious stones.

The last case, in which lay the mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, wrapped in 16 linen shrouds, was made of pure gold. On the face of the mummy there was a golden mask, a portrait of a young pharaoh. Found on a mummy great amount gold jewelry - necklaces and bracelets. Gold forged sandals were worn on the feet, and the fingers and toes were encased in gold cases. The treasures found in the tomb of the young king had no price. But this was not yet the richest burial of the Egyptian rulers.

Pharaoh Tutankhamun was an insignificant ruler, under him Egypt did not achieve much power and wealth. A pyramid was not erected over his grave. During this era, pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings, in tombs carved into the rock.

What countless riches must have been contained in the burials of other, more powerful rulers of Egypt! It is no coincidence that the Babylonian king wrote to the Egyptian pharaoh: “My brother, there is as much gold in your country as sand.”

And, probably, weeks and months were needed to place in numerous storerooms and hiding places all the priceless gifts, treasures and sacrificial offerings that were due to the powerful king.

It is not for nothing that the inscriptions found in the pyramids compare the deceased pharaoh with the sun god Ra himself, the supreme deity of the Egyptians.

“He is flying, flying away... He is flying away from you, O people,” reads one of the inscriptions. “He is no longer on earth, he is in heaven... He rows in your boat, O Ra, in your boat he rules in the sky, and when you emerge from the eastern horizon, he sails with you in your boat, O Ra , oh Sun!"

But although the texts of the pyramids praised the divine power of the pharaoh, although the powerful walls of the pyramid reliably covered the burial of the king, the huge granite sarcophagi in the pyramids of kings Khufu and Khafre are empty. Even in ancient times, the temples at the pyramid of Khafre were destroyed. Huge statues of Pharaoh Khafre were broken and thrown into a well, from where archaeologists extracted them during excavations. It was clear that these magnificent statues made of dark, hard stone had not suffered from time. They were deliberately damaged, broken into pieces, mutilated.

Herodotus, who during his travels through Egypt collected stories about the pharaohs - the builders of the pyramids, wrote that the kings Khufu and Khafre, who erected the most great pyramids, were hated by the people even after death. It was said that the people, driven to despair by backbreaking labor, extortion, hunger and poverty, rebelled and plundered the tombs of these two most merciless tyrants. The mummies of Khufu and Khafre were thrown from their magnificent tombs and torn to pieces. The statues that perpetuated the memory of these cruel oppressors were smashed by the indignant people wherever they were found. And the hated names of Khufu and Khafre were consigned to oblivion for many centuries, the people avoided calling them.

It is easy to imagine what a grandiose uprising resulted in the despair of the people who had been languishing for decades on the construction of the huge pyramid of Khufu.

Vague legends have reached our time about this uprising. But papyri telling about the performances of the Egyptian poor in later times say that the Egyptian people were not humble sufferers. He tried to protect his freedom from the tyranny of the rich. Papyri repeatedly mention popular unrest, when the people, driven out of patience by the despotism of the pharaoh, priests and rich people, took up arms. Stonemasons and stone cutters rebelled, exhausted by back-breaking work. Craftsmen and peasants rose up. They were joined by slaves who worked in quarries, on irrigation canals and dams. They destroyed rich estates, temples, killed oppressors, destroyed the very memory of them, captured in statues, tombs, and mortuary temples.

“The rich man falls asleep hungry, and those who previously begged him for olives drink strong wine... those who had no bread now have barns...” - this is what it says in one of the papyri, which is called “Ipuver’s Complaint”. “The earth has turned like a potter’s wheel: the insignificant ones own the treasures... The noble ones are full of complaints, and the insignificant ones are full of joy,” the priest Ipuver narrated with horror.

Apparently, the rebel people managed to temporarily seize into their own hands part of the wealth of the nobility, land, livestock, and granaries. The exploiters were forced to work in the most difficult and humiliating jobs. Civil war broke out in Egypt.

But from the same papyri, scientists learned that the previous order had been restored again, when, according to Ipuver, “the hands of people will build pyramids, dig ponds, plant groves of trees for the gods; it is good when noble people stand dressed in thin dress and they look at the rejoicing in their house..."

These people, whose hands were supposed to build the pyramids again, were the same Egyptian poor - artisans, farmers, slaves. The merciless burden of taxes, duties, exhausting and hard work fell on them again.

During the uprising and civil war Temples, royal tombs and tombs of the nobility were not built. But when calm came, the pharaohs and nobles began to again erect magnificent funeral structures.

In Egypt, even the most noble person did not dare to think about building such a funerary structure as a pyramid. Only Pharaoh, the son of the Sun, could have such a grandiose tomb. The tombs of noble Egyptians were either carved into the rock or built of stone or brick. These were low rectangular structures built above the crypt. The tombs of the Egyptian nobility are usually crowded around the pyramids, as if the nobles wanted to be closer to the pharaoh even after death.

These mastaba tombs usually had several rooms. In the main one there was a sarcophagus with the body of the deceased. In one of the rooms, things that belonged to the owner of the tomb were stored. In a small room there was usually a statue of the deceased. The walls of the mastabas were decorated with paintings or painted reliefs. The colors of the paintings amaze with their brightness and freshness. The liveliness and subtlety of the drawing were amazing. But Egyptian artists worked with rather rough brushes made from pieces of fibrous wood. At one end such a piece was broken with a stone until it was softened, forming a rough fringe. It was with such primitive brushes (several brushes with remains of paint on them were found in tombs) that artists created elegant, picturesque images that decorated the walls of the tombs.

Here you can see scenes of everyday life - harvesting, sowing, artisans and farmers at work, hunting, boating on the Nile, girls dancing, warriors dancing. Simple people, hardworking and talented - these were the Egyptian workers depicted at their usual activities.

And it was not the nobles - the owners of rich, decorated mastabas, who boastfully listed their services to the pharaoh, who immortalized themselves by building these tombs, but humble workers, whose names are not mentioned in the inscriptions.

It was they who grew the wonderful crops of the Nile Valley.

They built irrigation canals and dams, they carved magnificent statues, erected beautiful temples, and decorated the walls of buildings with wonderful reliefs full of life's truth. And in these pictures of everyday life they immortalized themselves, their invisible work, without which the entire thousand-year-old culture of Egypt could not have existed. Without knowing it themselves, they have preserved to this day on the stone pages of the walls stories about their hard working life, about the forced existence of some and the prosperity of others, about their sorrows, fun and entertainment.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Babylon

Eastern bank of the Euphrates River, about 50 km. from southern Baghdad, Iraq.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are younger than the pyramids. They were built at a time when the Odyssey already existed and were erected greek cities. And at the same time, the gardens are much closer to the Egyptian ancient world, rather than to the Greek world. The gardens mark the decline of the Assyro-Babylonian power, a contemporary of ancient Egypt and its rival. And if the pyramids survived everyone and are alive today, then the Hanging Gardens turned out to be short-lived and disappeared along with Babylon - a majestic, but not durable giant made of clay.

Architecturally, the Hanging Gardens were a pyramid consisting of four tiers - platforms, they were supported by columns up to 25 m high. The lower tier had the shape of an irregular quadrangle, the largest side of which was 42 m, the smallest - 34 m. To prevent the seepage of irrigation water, the surface Each platform was first covered with a layer of reeds mixed with asphalt, then two layers of brick held together with gypsum mortar, and lead slabs were laid on top. lay on them like a thick carpet fertile land, where seeds of various herbs, flowers, shrubs, and trees were planted. The pyramid resembled an ever-blooming green hill.

Pipes were placed in the cavity of one of the columns, through which water from the Euphrates was pumped day and night to the upper tier of the gardens, from where it, flowing in streams and small waterfalls, irrigated the plants of the lower tiers. The murmur of water, shade and coolness among the trees taken from distant Media seemed miraculous.

Babylon was already heading towards sunset. It ceased to be the capital of a great power and was turned by the Persian conquerors into the center of one of the satrapies, when the troops of Alexander the Great entered there - a man who, although he did not build any of the wonders of the world, influenced to one degree or another the fate of many great monuments of the past, for their creation or destruction.

In 331 BC, the inhabitants of Babylon sent envoys to the Macedonians with an invitation to enter Babylon in peace. Alexander was struck by the wealth and grandeur of the largest city in the world, although in decline, and stayed there. In Babylon, Alexander was greeted as a liberator. And ahead lay the whole world that had to be conquered.

Less than ten years have passed since the circle has closed. The Lord of the East Alexander, tired, exhausted by the inhuman stress of the last eight years, but full of plans and plans, returned to Babylon. He was already ready to conquer Egypt and march to the West in order to subjugate Carthage, Italy and Spain and reach the limit of the then world - the Pillars of Hercules. But in the midst of preparations for the campaign, he fell ill. For several days, Alexander struggled with illness, conferred with the generals, and prepared the fleet for the campaign. The city was hot and dusty. The summer sun, through the haze, tilted the red walls of multi-story buildings. During the day, the noisy bazaars fell silent, deafened by an unprecedented flow of goods - cheap slaves and jewelry brought by soldiers from the Indian borders - easy-to-get, easy-to-go booty. The heat and dust penetrated even through the thick walls of the palace, and Alexander was suffocating - for all these years he had never been able to get used to the heat of his eastern possessions. He was afraid to die not because he was in awe of death - he looked closely at it, a stranger and his own, in battles. But death, understandable and even acceptable ten years ago, was now unthinkable for him, a living god. Alexander did not want to die here, in the dusty stuffiness of a foreign city, so far from the shady oak forests of Macedonia, without completing his fate. After all, if the world so obediently lay down at the feet of his horses, then it means that the second half of the world must join the first. He could not die without seeing and conquering the West.

And when the bishop felt very bad, he remembered the only place in Babylon where he should feel better, because it was there that he caught, remembered - and, having remembered, was surprised - the aroma of Macedonian, filled with the bright sun, the murmuring of a brook and the smell of forest herbs. Alexander, still great, still alive, at the last stop on the path to immortality, ordered himself to be transferred to the Hanging Gardens...

Nebuchadnezzar, who created these gardens, was guided by the noble whim of a despot, for despots also have noble whims - for some, but never for everyone. Nebuchadnezzar loved his young wife, a Median princess, who yearned in dusty and green Babylon for fresh air and the rustle of trees. The Babylonian king did not move the capital to the green hills of Media, but did something that is inaccessible to other mortals. He brought here, to the center of the hot valley, the illusion of those hills.

All the forces of the ancient kingdom, all the experience of its builders and mathematicians, were thrown into the construction of the gardens, a shelter for the queen. Babylon proved to the whole world that it could create the world's first monument in honor of love. And the name of the queen was fabulously mixed in the memory of descendants with the name of another, Assyrian ruler, and the gardens became known as the gardens of Semiramis - perhaps it was the jealousy of human memory, for which a great deed should be associated with a great name. Queen Tamara never lived in the castle named after her, and never, being a pious woman who loved her second husband and children, never thought about throwing unlucky lovers off the cliffs. But the tragedy must be sanctified by a great name: otherwise it lacks drama.

The gardens created by the builders of Babylon were four-tiered. The vaults of the tiers rested on columns twenty-five meters high. The platforms of the tiers, made of flat stone slabs, were covered with a layer of reeds, filled with asphalt and covered with lead leaves to prevent water from leaking into the lower tier. On top of this was poured a layer of earth sufficient to allow plants to grow here. big trees. The tiers, rising in ledges, were connected by wide, gentle stairs lined with colored tiles.

Construction was still going on, they were still smoking brick factories, where wide flat bricks were fired, endless caravans of carts with fertile river silt were still wandering from the lower reaches of the Euphrates, and seeds of rare herbs and bushes and tree seedlings had already arrived from the north. In winter, when it became cooler, large trees, carefully wrapped in damp matting, began to arrive in the city on heavy carts drawn by oxen.

Nebuchadnezzar proved his love. Above the hundred-meter walls of Babylon, so wide that two chariots could pass on them, rose the green cap of the garden trees. From the upper tier, basking in the cool shade, listening to the murmur of water jets - day and night slaves pumped water from the Euphrates for many kilometers around the queen saw only the green land of her power.

With the death of Alexander the Great, his empire instantly crumbled, torn to pieces by arrogant commanders. And Babylon did not have to become the capital of the world again. He grew sick, life gradually left him. The flood destroyed Nebuchadnezzar's palace, the bricks of the hastily built gardens were not fired enough, high columns collapsed, platforms and stairs collapsed. True, the trees and exotic flowers died much earlier: there was no one to pump water from the Euphrates day and night.

Today, guides in Babylon point to one of the clay brown hills, stuffed, like all the hills of Babylon, with fragments of bricks and fragments of tiles, like the remains of the gardens of Babylon.

The veil of uncertainty has been lifted over one of the seven wonders of the world.

The Cheops pyramid inside is like a “Russian nesting doll” - it consists of three pyramids of three pharaohs.”

What does it mean that the pyramid of Cheops is similar to a “Russian nesting doll”, containing within itself two more pyramids, one inside the other? Let's think, understand the facts and create new knowledge on this basis.

Every creation of human hands has meaning. "... Everything that arises must have some reason for its occurrence, for it is absolutely impossible to arise without a cause.” (IV century BC e., Plato, Timaeus).

Mysteries are overcome by knowledge. Knowledge can be obtained or created.

As a “tool for creation,” let’s take common sense, the logic of thinking and the knowledge of people who used ideas about the world at that distant time.

“What is comprehended through reflection and reasoning is obviously an eternally identical being; and that which is subject to opinion... arises and dies, but never really exists.” (IV century BC, Plato, Timaeus).

To confirm the conclusion put forward above, let's start with the facts and look at the cross-sectional diagram of the Cheops pyramid (what it is).

Firstly, there are three burial chambers in the Cheops pyramid . Three! From this fact it follows that the pyramid has different time there were three owners (three pharaohs), and therefore each had their own separate burial chamber. Few living people even think of preparing a tomb for themselves in three “instances.” In addition (as can be seen from the size of the pyramids), their construction is quite labor-intensive in our time. Archaeologists have also established that the pharaohs built tomb pyramids separately and of a much smaller size for their wives.

Egyptian historians have established that long before the construction of the pyramids in ancient Egypt in the 4th millennium BC. and earlier pharaohs were buried in structures called mastabas. The ancient crypt of the pharaoh (mastaba) consists of underground and above-ground parts. The pharaoh's mummy was located deep underground in an underground hall. In the ground part above the hall, a low, trapezoidal truncated pyramid was built from stone blocks. Inside there was a prayer room with a statue of the pharaoh. After death (according to the ancient Egyptian priests), the soul of the deceased pharaoh moved into this statue. The halls in the above-ground mastaba room could be connected to each other (or isolated from each other). Under the Cheops pyramid there is an underground passage (4) at the end of which there is a vast unfinished underground hall (5) with an exit (12). According to the burial theory, the passage of the pharaoh's soul into the above-ground part of the mastaba premises.

According to the plan of the section of the Cheops pyramid, we can conclude that - if there is an underground hall (5) and there is an exit from it to the top (12), then the upper prayer room the mastaba room should be in the center and just below the middle burial chamber (7). Unless, of course, by the time the second pharaoh began construction of his pyramid above the mastaba, these premises were not filled up, destroyed and preserved.

The conclusion about the presence of a mastaba on the plateau in the center of the Cheops pyramid is also confirmed by the facts of research by French scientists - Gilles Dormayon and Jean-Yves Verdhart. In August 2004, while examining the floor in the middle burial chamber (7) with sensitive gravitational instruments, they discovered an impressively sized void below the floor at a depth of about four meters.

According to the plan of the pyramid's section, a narrow inclined-vertical shaft (12), built for the passage of the pharaoh's soul, goes up from the underground burial pit (5). This passage should connect to the above-ground prayer room of the mastaba. At the exit of the mine, at the level of the ground surface under the base of the pyramid, there is a small grotto (extension up to 5 meters in length) the walls of which consist of ancient masonry , not belonging to the pyramid . The passage rising from the underground hall and the ancient stonework are nothing more than belonging to the first mastaba. From the grotto (12) to the center of the pyramid there should be a passage to the ground hall (halls) of the mastaba. This passage was probably walled up by the builders of the second pyramid.

According to appearance and archaeologists, the underground burial chamber (5) remained unfinished. Perhaps the upper above-ground part of the mastaba with the prayer room remained unfinished ( which is to be found out by opening the passage).

The height of the first internal truncated pyramid (mastaba), according to the diagram, should be no more than 15 meters.

The presence of an unfinished burial structure, located in the most advantageous place (on the top of a stone plateau in the town of Giza), served as a pretext for the second (before Cheops) unknown pharaoh to use the mastaba to build a pyramid over it.

The fact that the Giza plateau was previously “inhabited” by ancient mastabas is also supported by the fact that the Sphinx was there. The age of the “Sphinx” (the deity into which the soul of the pharaoh should move) is estimated to be much older than the pyramids - about 5-10 thousand years.

In Egypt, by the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. The burials of the pharaohs in mastabas were replaced by more majestic structures - step pyramids, and later by “smooth” pyramids. The Egyptian priests also developed a new worldview about the place of residence of souls after death. According to their ideas, after death the soul flew to life in the stars. “Whoever lives the time allotted to him properly, will return to the abode of the star named after him" (Plato, Timaeus).

The burial chamber (7) belonging to the second inner pyramid (on the cross-sectional plan) is located above the prayer part of the first mastaba. The corridor ascending to it (6) is laid along the wall of the mastaba, and the horizontal corridor (8) along its roof. Thus, these corridors to chamber (7) show the approximate contours of the ancient first internal truncated, trapezoidal mastaba pyramid.

Second inner pyramid ten meters on each side is smaller than the current outer third pyramid of Cheops. This can be judged by the length of two emanating from the chamber (7) in opposite directions, the so-called (in modern terms) “ventilation ducts”. These channels, with a cross section of 20 by 25 cm, are approximately ten meters short of the boundary of the outer walls of the pyramid. The name of these channels - air ducts, of course, is not correct. The deceased pharaoh did not need any ventilation ducts. The channels had a different purpose. This is one of the “keys” to solving the mystery of the Cheops pyramid. Channels – indicating, aimed at the sky path, oriented with great accuracy (up to a degree) to those stars where, according to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the soul of the pharaoh would settle after death. At the time the second pyramid was built, the channels from the burial chamber (7) reached the edge of the outer walls and were open to the sky.

The second burial chamber of the pharaoh was probably also unfinished (judging by the lack of its interior decoration). This suggests that the entire pyramid was not completed (for example, there was a war, the pharaoh was killed, died prematurely from illness, an accident, etc.). But, in any case, the second pyramid had already been erected to a level not lower than the height of the channels emanating from the burial chamber (7) to the outer walls.

The second internal pyramid reveals itself not only with tightly closed channels and its own separate burial chamber, but also with a walled-up central entrance (1) to the pyramid. Obviously, it is striking that the entrance, walled up with huge granite blocks, is buried in the body of the pyramid (approximately the same ten meters as the shortened channels from the second burial chamber).

During the construction of the third pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops given input they did not extend it to the boundaries of the outer wall, and therefore, after increasing the perimeter of the walls, the entrance turned out to be “recessed” inside. The entrance gates of buildings are always made slightly outside the structure, and not buried in the depths of the structure.

Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) was the third builder and owner of the tomb pyramid

Archaeologists and historians, according to the deciphering of hieroglyphs, have established that the Cheops pyramid was built not by slaves (as previously thought), but by civilian builders, who, of course, had to be paid well for hard work. And since the volume of construction was enormous, it was more profitable for the pharaoh to take an old or unfinished pyramid than to build a new one from scratch. In this case, the advantageous location of the second pyramid was also important - at the very top of the plateau.

The construction of the third pyramid began with the fact that dismantled the central part of the unfinished second pyramid. In the resulting “crater” at a height of approximately 40 meters from the ground, a pre-chamber (11) and the third burial chamber of the pharaoh itself (10) were built. The passage to the third burial chamber only needed to be extended. The ascending tunnel (6) was continued in the form of a large 8-meter high cone-shaped gallery (9). The cone-shaped shape of the gallery, which is not similar to the initial part of the ascending passage, indicates that the passage was not made at one time, but at different times according to different projects.

After the third Cheops pyramid was “expanded at the hips”, adding about 10 meters on each side, the old outgoing channels for the “exit of the soul” from the chamber (7) turned out to be closed. If the burial chamber (7) was empty, then the builders of the third pyramid had no reason to extend the old channels. The canals were filled with new rows of wall blocks.

In September 2002, English research scientists launched a caterpillar robot into one of the narrow “air ducts” from the middle burial chamber (7). Having risen to the end, he rested against a limestone slab 13 cm thick, drilled through it, inserted a video camera into the hole, and on the other side of the slab at a distance of 18 cm, the robot saw another stone barrier. These are the blocks of the wall of the third pyramid.

New channels (10) were also laid from the third burial chamber of Pharaoh Cheops for the “flight of the soul” to the stars. If you look closely at the section of the pyramid, the channels from the second and third chambers are almost parallel, but not quite! During the construction of the pyramids, the channels were aimed at the same stars. The channels from the upper third chamber, relative to the channels of the second, are slightly rotated clockwise by 3-5 degrees. This discrepancy in degrees is not an accident. Egyptian priests and builders very scrupulously recorded the position of the stars in the sky and the direction of the channels on them. - Then what's the matter?

The Earth's rotation axis shifts by 1 degree every 72 years, and every 25,920 years, the Earth's axis, rotating with an inclination like a spinning top, makes a full circle of 360 degrees. This astronomical phenomenon is called precession. The ancient Egyptian priests knew about the declination of the Earth's axis and its swing around the poles. Plato called the rotation time of the Earth's axis 25920 years - “The Great Year”.

When the Earth's axis shifts by one degree over 72 years, the angle of view in the direction of the desired star also changes by 1 degree (including the angle of view on the Sun). If the displacement of a pair of channels differs by approximately 3-5 degrees, then we can calculate that the difference between the construction of the second pyramid and the third pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) is 216-360 years.

Egyptian historians say that Pharaoh Khufu reigned from 2540-2560 BC. By measuring “degree” years ago, we can tell when the second inner pyramid was built.

In the entire Cheops pyramid, in the only place under the ceiling (on powerful vaulted granite slabs like a roof above the third burial chamber) there is a personal hieroglyph made by the workers - “Builders, friends of Pharaoh Khufu.” No other mention of the names or affiliations of the pharaohs to the pyramid has yet been found.

More likely, the third pyramid of Cheops was completed and used for its intended purpose. Otherwise, they would not have descended into the ascending passage (6) from the inside along inclined plane a cork made from several granite cubes. Thus, the pyramid was tightly closed to everyone for three thousand years (until 820 AD).

The ancient Egyptian name of the Cheops pyramid is read in hieroglyphs - “Horizon of Khufu”. The name has a literal meaning. The angle of inclination of the side face of the pyramid is 51° 50′ This is the angle at which the Sun rose exactly at noon in the days of autumn - spring equinox. The sun at noon crowned the pyramid like a golden “crown”. Throughout the year, the Sun (the ancient Egyptian God - Ra) walks across the sky higher in summer, lower in winter (just like the pharaoh through his domains) and the Sun (pharaoh) always returns to his “home”. Therefore, the angle of inclination of the walls of the pyramid points to the house of the “God - the Sun” and to the horizon of the “house - pyramid” of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) - “the son of the Sun God”

The edges of the walls are arranged at an angle of view towards the Sun not only in this pyramid. In Khafre's pyramid, the angle of inclination of the wall faces is slightly more than 52-53 degrees (it is known that it was built later). In the Mikerin pyramid, the slope of the faces is 51°20′25″ (less than that of Cheops). Historians did not know whether it was built before the Cheops pyramid or later. But, taking into account the “degree time” (smaller angle of inclination of the walls) and if the builders were not mistaken, then this fact indicates that the pyramid of Mikerinus was built earlier. When applied to the “degree age scale,” a difference in slope of 30 minutes corresponds to 36 years. In later Egyptian pyramids, the slope of the faces is correspondingly higher.

There are also many pyramids in Sudan, the slope of which is much steeper. Sudan is south of Egypt and the Sun on the day of the spring-autumn equinox stands much higher above the horizon there. This explains the great steepness of the walls of the Sudanese pyramids.

In 820 A.D. The Baghdad caliph Abu Jafar al-Mamun, in search of the countless treasures of the pharaoh, made a horizontal break (2) at the base of the Cheops pyramid, which tourists use to enter the pyramid to this day. The breach was made to the beginning of the ascending corridor (6), where they ran into granite cubes, which were bypassed to the right and thus penetrated into the pyramid. But, according to historians, they found nothing but “half a cubit’s worth of dust” inside. If there was anything valuable in the pyramid, the caliph’s servants took it. And what was left was taken away over the next 1200 years.

Judging by the appearance of the gallery (9), it looks like 28 pairs of ritual statues stood along its walls in rectangular recesses. But they don’t know the exact purpose of the recesses. The fact that there were tall statues there is evidenced by two facts - the eight-meter height of the gallery, and also on the walls there were large round peeling prints from the mortar with which the inclined statues were attached to the walls. (see photo gallery on Wikipedia).

I will disappoint those who are determined to find “miracles” in the design of the pyramids. Over a hundred pyramids have been discovered in Egypt today, and they are all different from each other. There are different angles of inclination of the faces oriented towards the Sun (because they were built at different times), there is a pyramid with a “broken side” at a double angle, there are stone and brick pyramids, smoothly lined and stepped, there are with a rectangular base (of Pharaoh Djoser) . There is no unity even among the three pyramids at Giza. The smaller of the three pyramids of Mikerinus at its base is not oriented strictly to the cardinal points. The exact orientation of the sides is not given importance. In the main pyramid of Cheops, the third (upper) burial chamber is not located in the geometric center of the pyramid or even on the axis of the pyramid. In the pyramids of Khafre and Mikerin, the burial chambers are also off-center. If there was some kind of secret law, secret or knowledge in the pyramids, the “golden ratio” and so on, then everyone would have uniformity. But there is nothing like it.

Former Egyptian Minister of Archeology and leading current expert on ancient pyramids ZahiHawass speaks: “Like any practitioner, I decided to check the statement that food does not spoil in a pyramid. Divided a kilogram of meat in half. I left one part in the office and the other in the Cheops pyramid. The part in the pyramid deteriorated even faster than in the office.”

What can you look for in the Cheops pyramid? Perhaps try to find the above-ground prayer room of the first mastaba, for which we could drill down several holes in the floor of the second (7) burial chamber until an internal cavity is discovered below. Either from the grotto (12) find a walled passage into the halls (or re-pave it). This will not be detrimental to the pyramid, since there was originally a connecting entrance from the underground burial chamber to the above-ground mastaba room. And you just have to find it. After which, perhaps, it will become known about the pharaoh of the first mastaba - a truncated trapezoidal pyramid.

The Sphinx is also of great interest on the Giza plateau. Stone body ancient Sphinx, located from west to east. Burial chambers and burials were also made from west to east. It can be assumed that the Sphinx is component aboveground structure (mastaba) – tomb of an unknown pharaoh.

Searches in this direction would expand the boundaries of knowledge of the history of ancient Egypt. Perhaps an even earlier civilization, for example, the Atlanteans, whom the Egyptians deified and attributed to their ancient ancestors and predecessor gods.

An identification study by American criminologists concluded that the face of the Sphinx does not resemble the faces of the statues of Egyptian pharaohs, but has distinct Negroid features. That is, the ancient ancestors of the Egyptians - including the legendary Atlanteans - had Negroid facial features and African descent.

It is likely that the burial chamber and mummy of an ancient pharaoh of Negro origin is located under the front paws of the Sphinx. In this case, there should be a passage upward from the underground hall - a path for the relocation of the “soul” of the pharaoh, for subsequent life in the body of the Sphinx statue (according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians).

Sphinx - lion (symbol royal power) with a human head and the face of a pharaoh.

It is possible that the face of the discovered mummy of the pharaoh (after plastic restoration) will turn out to be “two peas in a pod” similar to the face of the Sphinx.

The veil of secrecy has been lifted over the “secrets” of Egyptian structures in Giza.

Now all that remains is to “log in”. This requires permission from the Egyptian authorities, which they give to research scientists with great reluctance.

Every secret loses its attractive power when it is revealed.

Vladimir Garmatyuk, Vologda