Hi All,


In the fuzz around the aberrant OCT, it strikes me that the real function of the sattelite-pyramids or Queen's pyramids alongside Menkaure's and Khufu's pyramids has been pushed into the shadows. The importance of this function apparantly is completely neglected/ignored. Supporters of the OCT claim that these sattelite-pyramids were 'precessional markers'.


Archaeological/egyptological investigations indicate that Menkaure's largest (eastern) Qp (G3a), was perhaps first intended as a satellite cult pyramid, but later presumably used for the burial of a queen, as were all three satellite pyramids, which had mudbrick chapels attached. The rock-cut burial chamber in G3a once contained a pink granite sarcophagus embedded into the floor, and charred remains of wood and matting were found there. It was the burial place of Menkaure's Chief Wife, Khamerernebty II, who is thought to be buried at Giza. The central Queen's pyramid (G3b) was found to contain a pink granite sarcophagus and the bones of a young woman, while the third pyramid (G3c) was unfinished and had no traces of a burial.


Khufu's 1st (northernmost) Queen's pyramid is thought to have been built for Queen Hetepheres, who was the wife of Sneferu and probably the mother of Khufu. Texts in her burial chamber referred to her as 'Daughter of the God' and 'Mother of the King'. The burial chamber was discovered by accident in 1925, in a deep shaft to the north of the pyramid. This shaft was 27m deep and was blocked with stones and other debris - at its bottom was a chamber with an exquisite alabaster sarcophagus and a small sealed alabaster box containing the queen's internal organs. The 2nd pyramid might belong to Queen Meritetes - who lived through the reigns of Sneferu, Khufu and and Khafre. The 3rd pyramid, which is thought to have belonged to Queen Henutsen, is the only one of the three Queen's pyramids which still has its mortuary chapel still intact.


Obviously, the Queen's or sattelite pyramids were built to be the tombs for the wifes of the pharaohs. Nothing to do with 'precession'.


On the inner walls of the second relieving chamber of G1, Khufu's cartouche and the names of the working teams involved in the construction of the great pyramid have been found. Also in mastaba's around Khufu's pyramid, inscriptions indicating that G1 was built by Khufu, have been discovered. It has been well established that Khufu reigned from around 2589 BC to 2566 BC. Menkaure was Khufu's grandson. He ruled from around 2532 BC–2514 BC. G3a was the burial place of Menkaure's Chief Wife, Khamerernebty II. Hence, G3a must have been built around Menkaure's reign. This fact invalidates the OCT, which claims that the precessional shift begins at the position of Menkaure's Queen's pyramids, at precisely 10.450 BC (Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert, 1994). Furthermore, the fact that the Queen's or sattelite pyramids were built to be the tombs for the wifes of the pharaohs, invalidates the theory of them being built as 'precessional markers'.


Ronald.