MJ Thomas Wrote:
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>
> But what prompted Al Mamun to start his tunnel at
> the mid-length of the Pyramid’s north side?
> I think the most likely cause was the small groove
> cut into the pavement very close (i.e. 1.5”) to
> the actual mid-length of the north side; this
> groove runs underneath the Pyramid’s casing, so it
> was definitely cut by the Pyramid’s builders.
> IIRC, this marker was not known about in modern
> times until the area was cleared of debris by Cole
> in 1925.
> I tentatively propose that Al Mamun saw this
> marker and presumed it indicated the location
> (N-S) of another passage.
>
I disagree.
I don't know of any instance where a pyramid entrance was "marked" on the pavement so anybody could find it at a later date. The king, the builders and priests certainly knew where it was. Once it was sealed, nobody would ever need to know that again.
> I believe it to be generally accepted by those who
> know about these things that Al Mamun’s people
> would not have tunnelled through the limestone
> blocks along side the Ascending Passage’s granite
> blocks from the floor of the Descending Passage
> because it was potentially too dangerous.
I agree completely.
> Burrowing into the area from the side was, so I
> understand, a safer option.
>
Precisely.
> Hence we have Al Mamun not only knowing about the
> Descending Passage, but also the existence and
> whereabouts of the start to the Ascending Passage,
> and a reason for starting his tunnel at the
> mid-length of the Pyramid’s north side.
We've arrived at the same conclusion. It is an hypothesis that fits all the available evidence. I simply disagree with the idea that the pavement mark would have been the impetus for Al Mamun to start where he did. I think he probably picked the middle because it is a "significant" spot on the side, it was close enough to the plugs to be useful, but far enough away to be safe, and if indeed there was going to be "something else" hidden in the pyramid, the middle is probably a better spot than any, considering the "central" placement of so many chambers in other pyramids that had been explored before then.
On a final note, I think it is incumbent upon those who wish to maintain that Al Mamun found the DP and AP by accident to explain how the opening of the Descending Passage was "lost" somewhere after the time of Strabo. Who could have forgotten that? Who wouldn't have told later generations? Who wouldn't bring their children and grandchildren to the site to enter the giant pyramid at Giza? It just doesn't make sense.
Anthony
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2007 09:27AM by Anthony.