Hi Hans,

There is nothing, other than the cedar, that suggests how old the chamber or the location it was retrieved from. However the composition of the chamber stones and especially the horizontal passage wall stone compositions indicate 2 perhaps 3 separate epochs of construction, i.e. the Niche and the wall its within, as well the west wall should be considered the earliest parts... the ceiling stone rest against those walls not on top of them, and as well the north and south walls are not integrated with the east and west walls, they abut them- noting the passage from the chamber to the step uses the wall course levels for its wall composition. What ever the east and west walls belonged to (archaic mortuary temple?) it was adapted to a second phase which included the ceiling stones and the north and south walls which have the shafts, these elements of the chamber correspond to the so-called Grand Gallery since the northern shaft was built below and around the gallery. The reason both shafts end equal distances from the chamber is because thats where they exited the second phase construct that Khufu built over, more than likely, my opinion, the ascending passage plugging stones were already in place when Khufu built what we see today. This also explains why the upper chamber coffer doesn't fit any of the pyramids passages, it was placed from above into the chamber. These elements also give reason for the entrance not being centered because it relies on the previous constructs entrances which were incorporated and extended by Khufu's architect... thus the Niche is not centered nor is the entrance because they are remnants of an early construct.

Interesting are the compositions of the Westcar Papyrus, though myth or legend, the story of Hordedef bringing a sage to Khufu to perform magic for the king is asked by Khufu if he knows the secrets of the hidden Thoth chambers, because he would like to build his own horizon... (pyramid??) the fact that the shafts of the upper chamber mimic the same function of the shafts of the chamber below it isn't necessarily or at all because of the 19th century theory (he changed his mind and abandoned the chamber to build one higher up) but perhaps because he replicated them for his own horizon. Here then we must also consider why Sneferu was messing around at Meidum and Dashur, perhaps we should consider he was experimenting with how to build over a pre-existing structure at Meidum and with the Bent pyramid.

The comments by Edrisi - 1236 AD who explored and wrote about the pyramid (noted by Petrie as authentic in description of the interior) reveal two elements... there was a coffer or stone sarcophagus existing in the 'queens' chamber much like the coffer in the upper chamber and that the ceiling was also painted with images.

In 1904 G. Reisner on the Hearst Expedition cleared the north wadi adjacent to Lepsius 23 (largest mastaba western field) and discovered a debris layer from the tombs cleared and tossed over the escarpment in order to make room for Lepsius 23 to built atop the plateau, but also this debris layer lay atop (covered) not one but two earlier levels of mastabas each of a different type and period, hence the upper mastaba probably belonged to the debris layer era but the one below it much earlier.

Having read Jonny McA below regarding the cedar wood, C-14 analysis is not based on the age of the tree, its based on when the tree stopped living, it would be interesting to see the probability ranges of the study in the date ranges provided... given the dates the lower date correlates to Narmer-Menes-Aha... and then there is also Petrie's Dynasty 1 mastaba tomb V very near.

I don't find the cedar relic dates presented as out of place relative the points I've made here and actually quite a few other elements to deep and lengthy to post here.


Best,

BAHokom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2020 06:03PM by Pistol.