Anthony writes, 'I think it was in the 18th or 19th century... can't quite recall, but an Egyptian Caliph ordered the tearing down of Khufu's pyramid. That single time alone lead to the loss of the top ten to twelve courses. His workers realized it was absolutely hopeless, so they abandoned the cause.'
I can't give you an immediate reference on this, but if you do enough research, you'll find it in the historical record.’
Well, a deep gash in the north face of Menkaure’s pyramid is allegedly the result of an unsuccessful attempt by an unidentified caliph to dismantle the pyramid in 1186.
On the other hand, the gash was the handiwork of Caliph Othman in AD 1197, or possibly even in AD 1215.
There again, the damage may have been down to a caliph ruling sometime in the 16th Century
It all depends which source you choose to believe.
My money is presently on Caliph Malek al Azis Othman, but this is only because Kurt Mendelssohn apparently relates a story where Othman ordered the destruction of Menkaure’s pyramid in 1215 AD (I don’t have a copy of Mendelssohn’s
Riddle of the Pyramids to hand, so this is subject to confirmation).
Looking at a photograph of the north face of Menkaure’s pyramid (Lehner’s
The Complete Pyramids page 137), I gain the impression that we see here is evidence not of somebody attempting to dismantle the pyramid but of somebody trying to locate its entrance.
I have yet to find any reference to a caliph ordering the destruction of Khufu’s pyramid, or, indeed, Khafre’s.
Consequently, and until information/evidence to the contrary comes to light, I opine that Anthony is incorrect in his recall.
Anthony writes, ‘You're wasting time trying to convince the terminally blinkered of the reality of the situation here, by the way. You can show them the exact reference and they'll still pretend it is just your opinion that it exists. The truth hurts them far too much, I suppose.’
Well, Anthony, you provide the exact reference in support of your “I think it was in the 18th or 19th century... can't quite recall, but an Egyptian Caliph ordered the tearing down of Khufu's pyramid” and directly or indirectly show that it is not just a so-called ‘Arab Tale’, and I shall happily accept that this is not just one of your opinions.
Meantime, I shall carry on my own search for other references to material concerning this intriguing question of whether or not Khufu’s pyramid was finished.
MJ