40

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THEORIES OF THE CONSTRUCTION

[B.C. 3733 "but marvellous structures which have been built above "the tombs of ancient kings. They are solid and massive, "and not hollow and empty. We examined the opening "which exists on the side of one of these pyramids, and "it is about forty cubits deep. We were able to ascertain "that these pyramids are built of hewn stones which are laid one upon the other in such wise that they form a "base which is five hundred cubits in length on each "side, and the layers continue to diminish in size as they "ascend until that at the top is only one cubit [square]. "The pyramids are two hundred and fifty cubits in "height. Each stone measures from ten to fifteen cubits "each way, and the pyramids at a distance resemble 'high mountains." Dionysius also mentions the obelisks of Heliopolis, which he describes as being sixty cubits high and six cubits square, and made of hard stone. In his time, apparently, the "white brass" caps with which their points are said to have been covered were still upon them, and he says that each metal cap weighs one thousand pounds.1

The method actually followed in the construction of the Great Pyramid and of its fellows has been much discussed from the time of Lepsius downwards. According to this eminent man, after a suitable site had been chosen and cleared, a mass of rock was, if possible, left in the middle of the area to form the core of the building; around this core a truncated pyramid was built, layer by layer, the steps being

1 See Chronique de Denys de Tell-Mahrê, Paris, 1895, p. xxv.

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OF THE GREAT PYRAMID

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66

filled up with suitably shaped blocks of stone. Coat after coat of stone was built round the work, which grew larger and larger until it was finished. Dr. Lepsius thought that on ascending the throne a king built for his tomb a small but complete pyramid, and that he built a new coating of stone round it every year; and that when he died the sides of the pyramid, which then resembled long flights of steps, were finished off by filling up the steps with right-angled triangular blocks of stone. This explanation has been generally accepted, and it certainly answers satisfactorily more objections than do the views of other theorists on this matter; Prof. Petrie, however, thinks that the "great pyramid was set out from the first upon a vast scale . . . and "that it could not have been designed of any much "smaller size is shown conclusively by the internal pas"sages. The entrance to these would have been quite "impracticable in design on any size of building not "much over two-thirds of the present base. The actual "size, moreover, shows that both this and the Pyramid of "Medum were designed to an exact dimension." On the other hand, Herr Borchardt is convinced, after an exhaustive study of the subject, that Dr. Lepsius's pyramid accretion theory is substantially correct, and that it needs correction in a few minor points only. In certain cases the original plans were strictly adhered to, but in others they were modified or enlarged according to the fancies of those who built for themselves pyramids.

1 History of Egypt, vol. i. p. 38.

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AREA OF GREAT PYRAMID AT BASE [B.C. 3733 This last view agrees very well with the known facts; a matter of this kind must be settled by the trained architect and not by the Egyptologist. The Great Pyramid, which was originally covered with inscribed slabs of smooth limestone or polished granite, is 451 feet high, and the greatest length of each of the four sides at the base is about 755 feet; originally its

Diagram showing the arrangement of the passages in the Great Pyramid, and the position of the sarcophagus chambers.

sides were 20 feet longer, and it was about 30 feet higher. The cubic contents of the masonry, according to a recent calculation, amount to over 3,000,000 yards, and the pyramid covers an area of twelve and a half acres; in Egyptian the building was called KHUT

A, i.e., "Glory." The Great Pyramid has

formed the subject of some of the most fanciful theories

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HERUTĀTĀF AND THE MAGICIAN

43

which have ever been evolved concerning a building, and until quite recently certain writers solemnly declared that beneath it and inside it there were chambers filled with gold, and silver, and precious stones, in vast quantities; it cannot be too clearly stated that this pyramid was a tomb, and that it had no connection whatsoever with antediluvian patriarchs, and was not built by or for any one mentioned in Holy Scripture.

Of Khufu, or Cheops, the Westcar Papyrus has preserved an interesting story which illustrates the power of the magician of the period. It seems that the king's son, Heruṭāṭāf, was one day telling him of the skill possessed by the ancients in working magic, and in answer to some remark made by his father, Heruṭāṭāf promised to produce a magician who lived in TetSeneferu, who was 110 years old, and who had the power of re-attaching to its body a head which had been cut off. Khufu at once ordered his son to go and bring the sage into his presence, and the royal barge having been brought, Heruṭāṭaf set out to fulfil his father's behest. In due course the abode of Teta the magician was reached, and when he had been informed of the cause of the prince's visit, he rose up and with his help reached the river, where he embarked on the royal barge; after a time the party arrived at Khufu's palace, and the coming of the sage was announced. When Teta had entered the presence, the king asked him if he could do according to what Heruṭāṭāf had declared, and Teta having answered in

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THE POWER OF THE MAGICIAN [B.C. 3733

the affirmative, the king wished to have a prisoner brought that he might see the doom inflicted upon

him; but the magician objected to exercising his skill upon a human being, and suggested that a sacred bird or animal should be brought for the purpose. Thereupon a goose was fetched, and Teta, having cut off its head, laid the body on one side of the apartment and the head on the other; this done, he rose up and began to utter certain words of power, whereupon the body began to move and the head likewise, and each time they moved they came nearer to

each other, until at

(The original is in the Egyptian Museum, length the head moved

Cairo.)

to its former place on

the neck of the bird, which straightway cackled. The experiment was then repeated by Teta upon another