Hypothesis about the great pyramid
Archaeologists must (or at least should) rely on factual and scientific aspects when formulating theories, at least not to lose credibility in a world where one is always exposed to fierce criticism as soon as one departs, even slightly, from what classical archaeology asserts. However, since I am just an enthusiast and not an archaeologist and have nothing to defend, I may as well indulge in coming up with alternative theories. So, I take the liberty of putting forward these hypotheses about the Great Pyramid, known as the Pyramid of Cheops.
I am personally convinced that it is an architectural work that was built in several successive stages.
In fact, looking at the cutaway drawing I note:
- There is an underground chamber, unfinished, in which there is a well. It is located about 30m below ground level and is accessed through a long oblique corridor, which is also unfinished. The presence of the well makes me think of a completely different ritual from that followed by the Egyptians in historical times, more similar to that found in the so-called "tomb of Osiris" and to that of the Osireion at Abydos. Consequently, presumably, this chamber was made long before 2550 BCE. Therefore, I hypothesize an early structure, perhaps covered by a mound, into which, perhaps, it is also possible profaners penetrated, digging, from above, the first section of the vertical conduit that emerges into the descending corridor.
- The queen's chamber, which has no overlying drainage structures, is located at the end of a horizontal passage that opens onto the ascending corridor, but neither of these passages is particularly monumental. Then there are the narrow shafts, called ventilation shafts, that point outward, but do not reach the outside. And this makes me think of a second structure, built later onto the previous one.
- The great gallery, of impressive monumentality, which leads to the king's chamber (which is offset from the perpendicular of the pyramid), starts only from the level of the queen's chamber, and it is not understood, therefore, why there is this obvious dystonia with the preceding section. If it had been built at the same time as the queen's chamber, the monumentality, according to logic, should have started from the lowest section. The only explanation, in my opinion, is that it is a third construction phase, with its own particular design, as is also evident from the presence of the drainage chambers. At this stage, probably, the bend of the so-called "aeration" shaft, which starts from the queen's chamber and would otherwise have flowed out into the same large tunnel, was also made. The pyramid, at this stage, could also have taken its final shape externally, which includes the slight indentation of the outer faces, along the apothem of the four triangles, to ensure greater compactness and strength of the structure as a whole. Finally, the inscriptions found by Vyse and bearing Khufu's name are found only in the upper relief chambers. Therefore, they can be considered for dating the pyramid, but only of this part of the Great Pyramid!
- The vertical corridor from the passage to the queen's chamber to the descending corridor, and which is erroneously referred to as the "thieves' conduit" (which is impossible, given the lack of passages with the outside), was also created at different times. In fact, it has an oblique section in the middle of its course that would otherwise have no reason to exist. Given its nonexistent degree of finish, it must have served only practical purposes. I would suppose that it served for the removal of debris during work. The adjoining ascending passageway, was still open, so not only would it have been a laborious and unnecessary excavation that would then have forced the weight of debris up the hypogean corridor, but, given its oblique section, there was also a strong possibility of clogging it. Ultimately, I believe it was completed only for the evacuation of the workers who provided, from the inside, the blockage of the ascending corridor.
- The top of the pyramid has an empty space several meters across. There are scholars who say that the structure remained unfinished and that it was the space provided for the "well-well" stone. Aside from the fact that a stone of that size would have posed transportation and placement problems that I believe were insurmountable, there should still have been ramps or whatever to place it in situ. Instead, the walls of the pyramid are already completely finished. So, in my opinion, something else must have been planned to be placed there during construction (the "ged" structure mentioned by Pincherle, a statue of Pharaoh, an obelisk?) of which no trace remains to this day, perhaps because it was never erected.
Ultimately, when considering such ancient works that clearly were not made in a short time, one tends to consider them as a whole, whereas the realities may be many and may even have interacted with each other. Rebuilds, design alternations, contingencies, restorations, changes of purpose, mistakes and whatever else may happen over time. To reconstruct step-by-step what actually occurred in an attempt to give a logical and homogeneous progression to the unfolding of a work of such proportions, I think, is virtually impossible. Therefore, there is only to take note of the possible inconsistencies that can be encountered here and there and be happy, in the absence of new evidence, to formulate the most logical and credible hypotheses based only on what we have before our eyes.
