MJ Thomas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------


> Hello Anthony,
>
> I wrote, ‘With respect, Anthony, why do you not
> write: "allegedly found in the pyramid"?
>
> You reply, ‘Because I did not mean "allegedly". I
> meant the reports of what he found, based on eye
> witnesses to the events that followed.’
>
> Okay, please will you post details of which
> account out of the four or five accounts is the
> true one?
> And do you, perchance, have details of the
> eyewitnesses?


The reports are out there. I lost my references when my harddrive died a few months ago. However, the basic gist is that he found grave goods in abundance, and "just enough treasure to pay off his workers". The fact that he found "just enough treasure" has led to the modern speculation that he planted that in order to keep his men from mutinying.

The sarcophagus he found inside the burial chamber and removed (avec mummy) sat in front of his house in Cairo, on display for many years.



>
>
> Regarding the King’s Chamber sarcophagus, I wrote,
> ‘Overall it is poorly finished and it has suffered
> a lot of damage since the 1800s (photographic
> evidence available for this).
>
> You reply, ‘Would you mind providing it, then?
> I'll be happy to post it for you on my webspace.’
>
> If I had the means to provide it to this Forum,
> Anthony, believe me I would.

I'm still happy to help in any way, shape or form. If you can give me any kind of specifics, perhaps I can find the image on my own.





>
> If you refer to the various reports by Howard
> Vyse, Dixon, and Smyth (who took the photo) you
> will find the evidence of how much the sarcophagus
> suffered at the hands of Victorian souvenir
> hunters.


Is it in one of his books?

I've been scanning the internet and I see nothing. I've seen so many books and photos over the years, but nothing that ever indicated the sarcophagus was in substantially different condition than it is now, or was when Petrie examined it...

or frankly, as it appears in Smyth's book on the subject:

[www.egyptarchive.co.uk]

This is how Smyth drew it.

This is how it looks today:

[www.egyptarchive.co.uk]



What is the grand and glorious difference?



> I must confess to being a little surprised that
> you don’t already have this evidence as part of
> your Pyramid theory.


I have a sarcophagus made of red granite as part of my Egyptological theory. I don't have a "pyramid theory", per se.


> The condition of the sarcophagus is an integral
> part of any hypothesis on the Pyramid, is it not?
>
>

No, not really.





> If the fragments of granite block found at the
> bottom of the Descending Passage and inside the
> Subterranean Passage are indeed from the
> Antechamber, then we need to explain how they got
> there (this applies also to the same type of
> fragment found in the Grotto).
> The evidence (the size of the fragments and the
> dimensions of the Well Shaft) suggests that they
> arrived at their final destination via the
> Descending Passage.

Ah, but you said you didn't have the measurements and you were just guessing from the photos.

I'm going to go with the common sense answer here.




> However, as discovered by Caviglia, Howard Vyse,
> Smyth, the Edgar brothers, Petrie et al, there is
> a rather large obstruction sitting on the
> Descending Passage floor not far south of the
> opening to the Ascending Passage, and this
> obstruction is – judging from its overall
> appearance - the block of limestone that once
> covered the opening to the Ascending Passage in
> the Descending Passage roof.
> See the problem?


Yes. The block fell down and was sitting in the passage. Gravity worked.



> How did the granite fragments get past this
> obstruction.

As I have said in the past, it is probable that the cover stone for the passage was not discovered prior to the creation of Mamun's tunnel. It may have been pried out afterwards, or fallen when they were excavating the tunnel itself. In fact, you may have just provided the proof for that scenario.




> The implication is that they were there or
> thereabouts before Al Mamun started his tunnel.
> If they are fragments of the Antechamber
> portcullis blocks, then perhaps you can explain
> how they managed to get from the Antechamber to
> the bottom of the Descending Passage.
>
>
> I wrote, ‘It is not known where these fragments of
> granite came from.’
>
> You reply, ‘They match the portcullis quite
> nicely.’
>
> Please see above.
>


Please see above.


>
> I wrote, ‘One popular idea is that the blocks are
> fragments of the portcullis blocks believed by
> some to have been used in the Antechamber to seal
> off the King's Chamber, but, again, there is
> evidence against this.’
>
> You reply, ‘No, just the existence of an empty
> portcullis in the building where the portcullis
> stones were found.’
>
> Which requires explanation of how some of these
> fragments found there way into the Well
> Shaft/Grotto and the Descending Passage before Al
> Mamun’s time.
>
>

Again, see above.





> You ask, ‘Pop quiz: who's buried in Grant's
> Tomb?’
>
> Ummm, Mr and Mrs Grant’s son, Robert Edward?
>


Just FYI: [www.grantstomb.org]



>
> I wrote, ‘This is not "mystery-mongering",
> Anthony.
> There are several good, sound reasons to question
> the standard version of events.’
>
> You reply, ‘Only if one is unfamiliar with the
> actual facts of the case.’
>
> I would venture, Anthony, that quite a few MaaT
> posters and lurkers are very familiar with ‘the
> actual facts of the case’, but hold views and
> opinions that are not in agreement with yours.
>

Egyptology is a huge field of study. I dare say, in all humility, not many people know as much as you or I know about this monument.




>
> I wrote, ‘I would suggest that here we are in fact
> dealing with the unfinished floors of the Queen's
> Chamber and its Passage.
> The general view of this is that originally these
> floors were finished or intended to be finished
> with a layer of fine stone.’
>



> Well, Petrie, amongst several others.
> Most if not all the authors I have read seem to be
> of a like mind.
> When you examine the floors of the Queen’s Chamber
> and its Passage and compare it to the flooring
> from the face of the Great Step through the
> Antechamber and into the King’s Chamber, it
> becomes highly suggestive that a similar
> arrangement, i.e. a raised floor between the
> walls, was intended for the Queen’s Chamber.


And I agree with that, too... but only if Khufu died prematurely.


> As the Queen’s Chamber and Passage are built
> entirely of fine limestone, then I would suggest
> that it is quite plausible any flooring introduced
> would have been of the same or similar material.
>

You are incorrect.






Anthony

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2007 03:40PM by Anthony.