Hello all,
Whilst piecing together data on the GP's Well Shaft, I happened on Piazzi Smyth's measurements of the Ascending Passage, the granite plugs blocking it, and the Grand Gallery.
What I noticed caused me to abandon the Well Shaft for a time and instead draw folks to attention to a rather intriguing problem...
It is widely believed that the three granite plugs blocking the lower end of the Ascending Passage were originally stored in the Grand Gallery and after Khufu’s funeral in the King’s Chamber were slid down the Ascending Passage to where we now see them.
The men who released the blocks are said to have then exited the Pyramid by the Well Shaft.
These granite blocks total just under 15 feet in length (there is a 4” gap between two of them).
The upper end of the uppermost block measures 41.6” in width and 47.3” in perpendicular height.
The lower end of the lowermost block measures 38.2” in width (and therefore tapers in 1.7” from each side) and 47.3” in perpendicular height.
At the upper end of the uppermost block:
the width of the Ascending Passage measures 41.6”
the perpendicular height of the Ascending Passage measures 47.2”
At the lower end of the lowermost block :
the width of the Ascending Passage measures 38.2”
the perpendicular height of the Ascending Passage measures 47.2”
This means that the upper and lower ends of this set of three granite blocks fit the lower end of the Ascending Passage perfectly.
However, taking the Ascending Passage as a whole, its width varies from 41.4” to 42.1”
This means that at one point in its length the Ascending Passage is 0.2” narrower than the maximum recorded width (41.6”) of the granite plugs.
From Petrie’s measurements of the altitude of the Ascending Passage it can be clearly seen that the floor fluctuates, so-much-so that at one point the floor is as much as approx 1.7” out of true; the roof also fluctuates and has a variance of about 0.8” (measurements only taken at three points)
I now move onto the Grand Gallery.
As I pointed out to Anthony earlier, these three granite blocks could not have been stored on the start of the Queen’s Chamber Passage floor because they would have blocked both the south (upper) end of the Ascending Passage and the start of the Queen’s Chamber Passage.
It then follows that they would have to have been stored on the Grand Gallery floor proper and between the ramps running down each side of it - and at least 22 feet from the north wall of the Gallery (unless there was something covering the opening to the Queen’s Chamber Passage).
The maximum recorded width of the granite plugs is 41.6”.
If these blocks had been stored between the Grand Gallery ramps at a minimum 22 feet from the Gallery’s north wall, then we are concerned here with the Grand Gallery floor from the north end of the Gallery to the uppermost end of the stored blocks, a total distance of 37 feet.
In this distance the width of the Gallery floor varies as follows (starting at the uppermost end of the stored plugs and moving down toward the north wall): 42.4”, 42.2”, 41.8”, 41.5”, 41.3”, 41”, 40.8”, 41”, 41.4”, 41.6”.
As you can see, there are six points where the floor is narrower than the maximum recorded width of the granite plugs – at one point (15.4 feet from the north wall) the floor is 0.8” too narrow!
So, here we have three granite blocks being stored between Grand Gallery ramps that in places is narrower than the blocks themselves.
Then we have them being slid down a 124 feet long passage that is not only in places too narrow for them to pass, but also has a floor that fluctuates up and down.
Even allowing for settlement over the millennia (which means allowing perfection in the original building work throughout the areas concerned) I think we are looking at these granite blocks not being stored in the Grand Gallery and subsequently slid down the Ascending Passage, but built in situ.
Any thoughts, comments, anybody?
MJ
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2007 02:22PM by MJ Thomas.