My sincere thanks to Jon Bodsworth of the egyptarchive website for his kind permission to reproduce the following on this blog, written by Jon after a recent visit to Giza:
A highlight of my recent trip to Giza was being able to visit the Subterranean Chamber under the Great Pyramid. As there aren't many photos of the chamber around I hope these might be of interest.
This photograph shows the grill over the entrance to the Descending Passage at the point it is intersected by Al-Mamoun's forced Passage.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2002_003.jpg
From this point the passage is cut through the bedrock of the mound in the centre of the pyramid and slopes on down for 300ft to the Subterranean Chamber at which point it is 100ft vertically below the base of the pyramid.
Several natural faults cut through the passage but one is much larger than the others and shows evidence of having been worked on as there are chisel marks and Old Kingdom cement. The consensus seems to be that the passage wall at this point was "made good"
with limestone blocks but that later investigators removed whatever had been put in place.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_059.jpg
The passage is meant to be lit by neon tubes but the nearer I got to the bottom the fewer there were working. So I had to fire my flash to get a clearer idea of what was ahead. Just before the bottom of the passage a large gap opens up on the right which is actually a short tunnel that leads to the bottom of the so-called "Well Shaft". Sadly, at the moment, the Well Shaft is blocked with rubbish which gradually built up through people dropping stuff down it from the top end in the Grand Gallery.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_061.jpg
Shortly afterwards the passage levels out and a final 18ft leads to the Subterranean Chamber. The passage also gets smaller and I found it too low to continue stooping and had to take to my hands and knees. It was almost totally dark at this point as little light was getting through from the neon tubes from either direction.
So I eventually emerged into the Subterranean Chamber which was dimly lit. This photograph is looking back at the entrance I've just come through.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_072.jpg
It's a strange looking place with blocks of stones left in the middle of being cut producing a range of bizarre shapes and cuttings.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_083_02.jpg
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_066.jpg
There is evidence all over the place of the process of cutting with chisel marks very obvious.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_067.jpg
The railing surrounds a deep shaft in the floor that was deepened by another 38ft by Perring in the 1830s. He was looking for any further chambers on the instructions of Howard Vyse.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_071.jpg
On the wall opposite the entrance a narrow passage continues for another 50ft until it stops in a dead end.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_068.jpg
As always when I've scrambled around inside the pyramid I'm struck with admiration for the workmen who managed to cut and remove the stone through such steep and narrow passages. All the stone they cut had to be carried out through the awkward passage I'd just come down. And, it also occurred to me, that anything that they had planned to put into the chamber would have to have been carried in the same way. If they had ever planned to bury Khufu in there it would have been a very small sarcophagus.
I hadn't been in the Queen's Chamber since the 1980s as it has been closed on all my recent trips. It was good to be able to see the shafts etc in light of the current interest in them.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_097.jpg
As the Queen's Chamber and the Subterranean Chamber are officially closed I was very lucky to have been able to visit them.
Jon Bodsworth
http://www2.blogger.com/www.egyptarchive.co.uk
A highlight of my recent trip to Giza was being able to visit the Subterranean Chamber under the Great Pyramid. As there aren't many photos of the chamber around I hope these might be of interest.
This photograph shows the grill over the entrance to the Descending Passage at the point it is intersected by Al-Mamoun's forced Passage.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2002_003.jpg
From this point the passage is cut through the bedrock of the mound in the centre of the pyramid and slopes on down for 300ft to the Subterranean Chamber at which point it is 100ft vertically below the base of the pyramid.
Several natural faults cut through the passage but one is much larger than the others and shows evidence of having been worked on as there are chisel marks and Old Kingdom cement. The consensus seems to be that the passage wall at this point was "made good"
with limestone blocks but that later investigators removed whatever had been put in place.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_059.jpg
The passage is meant to be lit by neon tubes but the nearer I got to the bottom the fewer there were working. So I had to fire my flash to get a clearer idea of what was ahead. Just before the bottom of the passage a large gap opens up on the right which is actually a short tunnel that leads to the bottom of the so-called "Well Shaft". Sadly, at the moment, the Well Shaft is blocked with rubbish which gradually built up through people dropping stuff down it from the top end in the Grand Gallery.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_061.jpg
Shortly afterwards the passage levels out and a final 18ft leads to the Subterranean Chamber. The passage also gets smaller and I found it too low to continue stooping and had to take to my hands and knees. It was almost totally dark at this point as little light was getting through from the neon tubes from either direction.
So I eventually emerged into the Subterranean Chamber which was dimly lit. This photograph is looking back at the entrance I've just come through.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_072.jpg
It's a strange looking place with blocks of stones left in the middle of being cut producing a range of bizarre shapes and cuttings.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_083_02.jpg
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_066.jpg
There is evidence all over the place of the process of cutting with chisel marks very obvious.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_067.jpg
The railing surrounds a deep shaft in the floor that was deepened by another 38ft by Perring in the 1830s. He was looking for any further chambers on the instructions of Howard Vyse.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_071.jpg
On the wall opposite the entrance a narrow passage continues for another 50ft until it stops in a dead end.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_068.jpg
As always when I've scrambled around inside the pyramid I'm struck with admiration for the workmen who managed to cut and remove the stone through such steep and narrow passages. All the stone they cut had to be carried out through the awkward passage I'd just come down. And, it also occurred to me, that anything that they had planned to put into the chamber would have to have been carried in the same way. If they had ever planned to bury Khufu in there it would have been a very small sarcophagus.
I hadn't been in the Queen's Chamber since the 1980s as it has been closed on all my recent trips. It was good to be able to see the shafts etc in light of the current interest in them.
http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/Egypt_2007_F_097.jpg
As the Queen's Chamber and the Subterranean Chamber are officially closed I was very lucky to have been able to visit them.
Jon Bodsworth
http://www2.blogger.com/www.egyptarchive.co.uk
5 comments:
Fascinating! I never got into the pyramid in the first place. It was closed when i was there at that day.
The tunnel on Egypt_2007_F_061.jpg to the 'Well-shaft" is that an original tunnel, or is it from a later date?
Same question for Egypt_2007_F_068.jpg what seems to be a tunnel on the right at the dead end?
These pictures were wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing them with me.
Love the pics! I would eventually visit the pyramids, if not only for my claustrophobia and fear of falling in the deep crevices. We went to Mammoth cave not long ago, and I could hardly go through the tour without getting so nervous and scaring myself with the thought. Makes you wonder how the people back then were able to create something so remarkable, doesn't it?
He took his site down about a year ago (March 2011) so the pictures are no longer available there. Did you perhaps save them to your computer and could post them on your blog? I need to see them close up. Thumbnail versions are available on one website but of course detail is impossible to see in only a thumbnail version. Thanks!
No, I'm afraid that I didn't save them. I don't have any contact details for Jon either. Sorry!
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