Hello all,

Reference the thread “AP plugs - food for thought” ( [www.hallofmaat.com] ).
In response to the large amount of feedback from a number of posters (my sincere thanks to you all ) I have put aside my initial conclusions and started again.

From just above the granite blocks to within a short distance of the Grand Gallery’s north wall the Ascending Passage is in such poor condition that it is very difficult to get accurate measurements of its original width and height (after Smyth, Petrie, and J & M Edgar).
To quote Smyth (1865), “… excessive breadths and heights are caused by the extraordinary cavernous exfoliations; which have enlarged all the lower end and much of the middle of the passage, above its original size.

Now then.
If the granite blocks were slid down the Ascending Passage after Khufu’s funeral, then there are at least two things we can all agree on (I hope):
1) The granite plugs can only have entered the Ascending Passage by the doorway in the north wall of the Grand Gallery.
2) The granite plugs could only have been stored in the Grand Gallery on the floor and between the faces of the ramps at the base of its side walls.

So, what we need to know is:
1) Would the blocks have fitted through the doorway and into the Passage immediately beyond?
2) Would the granite blocks have fitted between the faces of the ramps at the base of the Grand Gallery’s walls?

The minimum width of the doorway in the north wall of the Grand Gallery is 42” (Smyth), and the maximum known width of the granite blocks is 41.6” (Smyth and Petrie).
Therefore, the granite blocks would have passed between the sides of this doorway (with a clearance of 0.2” on each side).

The maximum recorded height of the face of the uppermost block is 47.3” (Smyth and Petrie).
At the doorway and for a distance of 17 feet from it the perpendicular height of the Ascending Passage is a minimum 47.5” (Smyth).
So, the blocks would have passed under the top of the doorway and the roof of the Passage for at least 17 feet (with a clearance of 0.2”)
I think it reasonable to extend this at least down to the lowermost face of the upper granite block (see footnote).

So far, so good.

Now, what about the storing of the blocks in the Grand Gallery?
The blocks are a maximum 41.6” wide (Smyth and Petrie), but from 6.3 feet to 18.3 feet from the north wall of the Gallery (a stretch of 12 feet) the distances between the faces of the ramps at 6 points are: 41.6”, 41.4”, 41”, 40.8”, 41”, 41.3”.

Does this mean that the granite blocks could not have fitted between the faces of the ramps in this section of the Grand Gallery?
At first I thought this was the case, but I had not taken into consideration the fact that this section of the Grand Gallery is sans sloping floor, and therefore there is scope for the ramps to have shifted very slightly inwards, thereby fractionally reducing the distance between their faces.

That this is what has happened is suggested by Smyth’s published figures for the distance between the faces of the ramps from the start of the actual Gallery floor southward to the Great Step.
Smyth’s measurements read: 41.8”, 42.2”, 42.4”, 42.5”, 42.4”, 42.4”, 42.3”, 42.6”, and 42.5”.

I suggest that the evidence is that the granite blocks could have fitted between the faces of the ramps at the base of the Grand Gallery’s side walls and in the Ascending Passage, and both with a maximum clearance of 02” at the sides and top.

Where do I go from here?

That the granite plugs could have been stored in the Grand Gallery and slid down the Ascending Passage after Khufu’s burial, I now have no doubt.
But it is strictly theoretical.
There remains the question: is a minimum clearance of one-quarter of an inch at the sides and top enough for the blocks to have slid down the Grand Gallery floor and the Ascending Passage to where they now are?

As Anthony pointed out, the visible edges of the blocks are rounded and this would have been conducive to the blocks’ journey downward.
But, as explained by Lobo, we have to take into account that lubricant would have been necessary to facilitate the blocks travel, and without sufficient clearance around the blocks this lubricant (which would have been animal fat or thinned mortar) would have impeded the movement of the blocks, possibly to the extent that they would jam tight before they reached their intended destination.

Then there is the following by RLH to consider: “I did some simple experiments to see at what angle a block would slid by gravity. I tried with and without a lubricant in all attempts it required an angle of over 30 degrees, so that does raise the question could two men force the plug stones to the bottom? I feel confident that gravity did not do it.”
In support of RLH’s conclusion we have Keith Hamilton’s: “the subsidiary pyramid of the Bent Pyramid is often quoted as containing the prototype for the GG … despite the greater angle of 32.5 degrees and greater clearance - for example a height clearance of 1.2". Only one or two plugs appear to have moved, with two plugs remaining unmoved in the upper passage.
However, it should be noted that Keith goes on to write: “… it is of course unlikely that the builders were aware of this failing, so we cannot take this as a sign that they would not have attempted the same sliding design in the GP."

In conclusion, though the granite blocks could have been stored in the Grand Gallery and slid down the Ascending Passage after Khufu’s burial, it is doubtful that the system would have worked.
Therefore, in all probability the granite blocks were built in place, and Khufu’s funeral entourage did not reach the Pyramid’s upper chambers via the Ascending Passage.

Once again, feedback on this would be most welcome.

Regards to all,

MJ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2007 05:33AM by MJ Thomas.