Jon:

Yours: "...Maragioglio & Rinaldi Volume 4 p.16 "...some fragmentary blocks are still to be seen a little way down from the actual summit".

Rutherford "Pyramidology" Vol 4 p.1298 "...a most interesting find of some fragmentary blocks of casing stones just a little way down from the Pyramid's summit"..."

Who is quoting who?

If this were true then section 6 of the following has to be explained.
Also a golden oppertunity for a photo to prove it true...did either of them take one? I think cameras were in use back then...besides...it should still be there.

1) The small casing “stone” discovered by Vyse was not found in situ, I believe it was located between G1 and its small eastern pyramids.
The small eastern pyramids have the identical white angular limestone casing at their base. Most has been removed, but sufficient remains to prove that a single layer of white casing was set in place for each of the three.

2) There has never been a single angular limestone block found in situ above the first layer of G1.

3) When Howard-Vyse dug some 50-60 feet through rubble and uncovered the casing stones at the base of G1…not one casing stone was found above the first course.

4) Smyth could not measure the angle from the stone found by Vyse, it was badly damaged, but he was aware of tourists and Egyptians chipping at the base stones of G1 for souvenirs. He sifted through the debris at the base and discovered some angular fragments. There is no evidence or statement claiming them being fragments from angular casings from above.

5) The fragments were of no help...too small. Smyth resorted to using the silhouette of the “backing” stones against the sky to calculate the angle of the structure.

6) Petrie proclaimed that G1’s had “backing” stones set in place behind the angular casing and that is what we witness today. He compared other sites to support his hypothesis; unfortunately, he couldn’t use the other two pyramids on site as an example...because they do not have backing stones !
To augment this point, if backing stones were used then the casing had to be of a consistent depth from base to apex to maintain the “assumed” 4/pi angular ratio that Vyse and Petrie measured. That relates to casing stones being a consistent 80 inches deep from base to apex...nothing like the short stubby stone discovered by Vyse.
Therefore, for all to fit together, as Petrie and you assume, and using the sample discovered by Vyse, an “additional” one or two layers of backing stone had to be set in place to accommodate for the 80+ inches of depth that Petrie measured as missing. It also means that if removal did take place then these two or three complete inner layers were also removed...not just a single layer of angular Tura stone.

7) I will repeat as I have always stated:
The builders set only the first layer of base stones in place to provide us with two distinct sets of measures. One to calculate an “imaginary” base width/height; the other would be the actual dimension. This allowed the designers to double the information they wanted to place into the monument. With the casing absent, it guaranteed that future observers would instantly notice the oddity in course thickness at designated levels, a very important feature of G1.
Also, and most important, it saved having to haul 300,000 cubic cubits of material for no other reason than to reach a level of 280 Rc. They were not that foolish.

Note:
If angular casing had covered the exterior of G1 then the obvious differences in course thickness would have been overlooked. And to confirm how careless archeologists have been; for all the years of study there are no records of others attempting to match Petrie’s accuracy in measure for the number of courses and thickness for the balance of Giza’s three and those at Dashure.
If it’s not obvious then we overlook...!

As for Herodotus...I find Egyptologists pick and choose his work at random, but never is there any consistency...depends on the direction the wind is blowing.

BTW...when I first visited Giza those beauties shone like jewels reflecting the golden rays of the morning Sun..."eminently smooth and beautiful". But alas...two were void of casing from their apex down toward their base.

Just a few choice words to describe a spectacular view...and spectacular it is.

Also
Best.
Clive