Hello Ronald,

You write, ‘Imo, the work in the SC was halted in an early stage, not only due to the survival of Khufu but also due to the ambition by which this pharaoh is characterized. Let's not forget that this SC may have had a very symbolic function (too).’

Okay, let me try a different approach.
Let’s assume for the sake of this discussion that Khufu died several years after the Subterranean Chamber was (partly) excavated and more than, say, a year before the Queen’s Chamber was built.
What in your opinion would then have happened to Khufu’s mortal remains and his part-built pyramid?


As for the Subterranean Chamber possibly having a symbolic function.
I suggest that this Chamber with a Shaft in the floor is a nod to earlier pyramid interiors.
When I look at sections of the pyramids pre-Khufu and then look at a section of Khufu’s pyramid I get the distinct impression that the person/s who designed Khufu’s pyramid was/were deliberately incorporating into it aspects from the tombs/temples of Khufu’s ancestors/predecessors (the KC and QC shafts appear to be an exception).
But it is something that appears to start tailing off immediately after Khufu (as witnessed by the pyramids of Djedfre, Khafre, and Menkare).
I have no suggestions to make as to why Khufu’s architect would have done this; my knowledge of 4th Dyn. Religion/magic/science isn’t up to the job.


You write, ‘… we have two pharaoh's who apparently reigned about equally long. Nevertheless, Khafre did not built his chambers above ground-level and he built only two of them. Khufu built three of them, of which two above ground-level + long passages + a really impressive Grand Gallery + long shafts + 'relieving chambers'.
Why this difference ? By the way, look at the similarities between Khafre's and Menkaure's (who died early).

Well, adding to my paragraph above I would suggest that there was a fundamental shift in attitudes towards the king and his pyramid.
I have a vague recollection that after Khufu the king was seen as the son of god and not god incarnate – well, something along these lines.
And the abrupt shift to pyramids with smaller superstructures (note how Khafre cleverly built a [slightly] smaller pyramid on higher ground) and less complex interiors suggests to me that suddenly the people decided they had had enough of their kings building such massive structures.
I suppose one could see it as a major socio-economic change occurring with the end of Khufu’s reign.

I must remind you that all of this is pure speculation on my part, and I am well out of my depth…


You write, ‘Imo, the GP obviously is the result of a very personal view on resurrection and the Afterlife by a very ambitious pharaoh.’

I tend to see it as more an inevitable culmination of things starting with the religious beliefs and the mastaba tombs of an earlier time.

MJ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2007 08:28AM by MJ Thomas.