Pistol Wrote:
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> 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

Howdy Pistol

Question, how does the AE incorporation of a hill into the structure effect this 'adding on' idea. They did it with Djoser and of course with the collapsed one a Meidum. I mean we can see the where the hill is so they didn't expand in that direction.