The Pyramid Of Khafrae
The Pyramid Of Khafrae
The Pyramid Of Khafrae
The measurements of this pyramid are slightly inferior to those
of Khufu's built a little higher up the slight slope of the plateau
so as to give the impression that his mortuary monuments was
actually taller than that built by his father.
Originally 143.50m in height the pyramid now measures
136.40m, with 215m sides. Of the three pyramids of Giza, this is
the only one to have preserved some of its original Tura
limestone facing on its topmost part.
For a long time it was thought that Khafrae's construction was
solid, with no internal burial chambers, but in 1818 the Italian
archaeologists Givovanni Battista Belzoni noticed an unusual
accumulation of detritus on the north side of the pyramid, and
after thirty day's work, I had the satisfaction of entering the
interior of a pyramid that had always been believed
impenetrable.
In the central chamber he found no treasure, but only a pink
granite sarcophagus "buried almost level with the floor". Using
lampblack to write Belzoni's inscription "Discovered by G.
Belzoni, 2 March 1818" is still visible on the wall. But Belzoni
knew better than any other that he was not the first
"discovered" and that the pyramid had been opened and then
resealed long before his time, probably in about 1200. In fact he
found a number of phrases written in charcoal on the wall , in
Arabic script, one of these read, "Mohamed Ahmed, quarryman,
opened this with the assistance of Othman and the consent of
king Ali Mohamed, from the beginning to the end.
The Mortuary complex of Khafrae ..
In front of the east side of the pyramid was the mortuary temple
of Khafrae. Unfortunately, today there remain only a few traces
of the structure, among which a block of granite weighing more
than 400 tons.
The façade of the temple must have been about 110m. in
length, with a large vestibule with columns and a vast
rectangular hall "also surrounded with columns" opening onto a
board porticoed courtyard.
The pits containing the solar boats of the king were dug on the
north and south sides.
A causeway 494m long united this temple to valley temple
discovered by Mariette in 1852 which has survived in good
condition.
The valley temple is a solemn, austere edifice of large blocks of
pink Aswan granite, the broad great hall, in the form of an
inverted T, was supported by sixteen monolithic pillars each
4.15m high.
Along the walls there originally stood twenty three diorite and
alabaster statues of the king, which have all disappeared except
one found by Mariette and today on display at the Egyptian
Museum of Cairo.
