CUAV. II. EGYPTIAN.

33
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/
SECTION OF PYRAMID OF CHEOPS.
74. In tlie construction of the pyramii's it is manifest they would sorve as tfu-ir own
scafTolcis. The ohiest niunuriients of Egypt are tlie
pyramids at Geezeh, to the north of Memphis, of
which we give a view
(Ji^. 46.), with a section of
the largest of them huilt ly Siipliis I., the Cheo])s
of the Greeks
(./?^. 45.). Sir G. Wilkinson supposes
them to have heen erected 2120 years b.c, Lepsiiis
3426 B c. ; hut the former admits tliat, prpvious to
tlie reign of Osirtasen, 1740 B c, little certainty
exists as to dates. 'Iluse pyrainids
(fig. 46.)
known hy the names of Cheops, Chephtren, and
IMycerinus, are extraordinary for tiieir rize and the
consiquent labour besowed upon them; hut as
works of the art they are of no further iinportance
than being a link in the chain of its history. They
are constructed of stone from the neighbouring mountains, and are in steps, of which in
^ ^
the largest there are two hun-
dred and three, varying in height
from 3 ft. to about 4 and even 5
ft., decreasing in height as they
rise towards the summit. Their
width diminishes in the same
proportion, so that a line drawn
from the base to the summit
touclies the edge of eacii step. So
great a difference exists in the
measures given in the descriptions
l)y the several travellers, that we
Ti-.w. I'vitAMiiis OF GEEZF.H.
here subjoin those given of tlio
pyraiTiid of Cheops, whilst believing that the careful admeasurements taken by Air. I'erring
Hie those to be relied upon :

lit. Authors.
Length
ojliasc.
^?
"^
Hew
steps. "
Hrrodotus - 800 Gr. ft. - 8.52 ICn
Strabo nn:i ~ . GCIi -
Diodorus TOO - - 639 -
Sandys 300 paces
riellonius 3-.>t
Greaves (W iMlg. ft. 207 109 -
I,e Hruyn
7'0
- oriri
I'rospcr Alpinus
-
790
- (j(ji; -
Jti/hois
I.rvgth
oft>ase.
S^-^
^^*'-
Tlievenot .
727 Kng. ft. 208 r^M Kng. ft.
Nu'buhr . 7.'>7 - 41.9
Chazelles -
7ol _ - 49S _
Mail let . . 208
Pococke . .
212
Hclon . .
250
French Engineers .
- 477
Perring
-
767 - - 203 480
Mr Perring, a recent traveller, in respect of the proportions of the great pyramid, has en-
deavoured to prove that the unit of Egyptian measurement is an ell equal to 1"713 English
feet, and that it is expressed a certain number of times without remainder in a correct
measurement of the pyramids of Geezeh. Thus, he says, the perpendicular height of tlie
great pyramid is exactly 280 of such ells, the base 448 ;
and that
I
base : perpendicular
height ;i slant height ; iiase. Upon the top thereof is a platform 32 ft. square, consisting
of nine large stones, each about a ton in weight, though inferior in that respect to others in
the edifice, which vary from 5 ft. to 30 ft. in length, and from 3 ft. to 4 ft. in height. From
tliis platform Dr. Clarke saw the pyrainids of Sakkaraht.j the south, and on the east of them
smaller monuments of the same kind nearer to tlie Nile. lie remarked, iiioreover, an appear-
ance of ruins which might be traced the whole way from the pyramids of Gizeh to those ol
Siccaia, as it the holc had once constituted one great city. The stones of the platform are
soft 1 I httk hardtr and more compact than what in England is called clunch. The
j^jT^-
T
1
^
i-\^^5i!>j!^
pyramids are built with common mortar ex-
-Lj^-^f :>?K^
ternally, but no appearance of mortar can
xE?^E57?^
be discerned in the more perfect parts of
"
the masonry. The faces of the pyramid
are directed to the four cardinal points.
The entrance is in the north front, and
the passage to the central chamber is
shown on the preceding section. That
in the jiyramid of Cliephcren
(fig.
47.)
is thus described by Belzoni: flie first
passage is built of granite, the rest are cut
out of the natuial sandstone rock which
rises above the level of the basis of tiie
4 ft. high, and 3 ft. 6 in. wide ; descending at an
NTKANCE TO TH
This
passage is 104 ft. Ion
angle of 26 degrees: at the bottom is a portcullis, beyond which is a horizontal passage
D