ILLUSTRATIONS Alexandre Jubran
1) Lost the hat
It is speculated that, at the top, there was a “mini-pyramid”, probably made of gold or some other noble material. Call “pyramidion”, it was decorated with religious designs, as a way of worshiping the gods who took care of life and death
2) Written in the Stars
On two opposite faces (south and north) of the pyramid are two ventilation channels. But mummies don’t need to breathe, right? Well, their soul needs it. These two tunnels served to guide the spirit of Cheops when the time came to ascend to the stars. One was aligned with the Pole Stars and the other with the Orion constellation.
3) Leader’s room
Located almost in the center of the building, the Royal Chamber it contained the mummy and treasures of Cheops – all stolen throughout the 20th century. Only the sarcophagus remains, as it is larger than the entrance to the chamber (see it enlarged below, after caption 8)
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4) Path blocked
The main inner corridor, 46.7 m long, is called Great Gallery. It is even spacious: it is 2.1 m wide. Here, three granite slabs were found that prevented the advance of invaders or thieves
5) Where’s the missus?
Before the Royal Chamber there is another “room”. At the beginning of archaeological explorations, it was assumed that it was reserved for the pharaoh’s wife. Therefore, it was named Queen’s Chamber. But there are no indications that any sovereign was buried there. Most likely it housed a statue of Cheops
6) Service elevator
The Great Pyramid of Cheops contains more corridors and shafts than the others. Some are so narrow that they were only studied with robotic cameras. This one pit it was an alternate route for workers and priests to escape the tomb. They made their way to the subterranean chamber and then rose to the surface through another exit. After the works, this exit was sealed with granite slabs
7) Anteroom of death
Even “basement” the pyramid has. A underground chamber it was connected by a shaft to the Grand Gallery, but was never used or even finished. Because of this, archaeologists are not sure about its purpose. The best speculation is that it would be the environment for the burial of the pharaoh
8) Ship garage
There are five boat moats. That’s right: boats! One of them was almost completely preserved when it was found in 1954 by the Egyptian archaeologist Kamal el Mallakh. It was 43.3 m long and served to bring the body of Cheops there. It was carefully dismantled and reassembled in the museum at the foot of the Great Pyramid. These vehicles were kept in the pyramids because the pharaohs were buried with their goods to use them in the afterlife.
old graffiti
The roof of the Royal Chamber is a great engineering achievement. Granite blocks of almost 40 tons make up five “relief chambers”. They disperse the colossal weight above them, preventing the structure from collapsing. Inscriptions were found on these blocks with the names of the pharaoh and the workers who helped build the work.
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SOURCES Books History: The Definitive Visual Guideseveral authors, How It Works: Book of Incredible Historyseveral authors, The Great Wonders of the World, by Russell Ash and Richard Bonson; and websites PBS New, Smithsonian Magazine, BBC History, iO9, LiveScience, discovery, NBC News, National Geographic, Harvard Gazette, archeology.org, Derby Telegraph, brooklyn museum, British, Huffington Post, The Telegraph, ScienceDaily, Archeology Magazine It is History Channel