Chapter 33 Chapter 35 Pyramid Tombs says

Looking down from the heights of the Great Pyramid is more nerve-wracking than climbing up.There is no longer any need to fight gravity, so the physical effort is relatively small; but on the other hand, because all the attention is focused on the ground, not the sky, the crisis of slipping is always in sight.The few of us carefully chose the route, tossing and slipping among the huge stones, moving towards the huge base, and felt that we were as small as ants. Finally reached the ground.The dark night is over, the dawn is dawning, and the sky is gradually turning from dark to bright.According to the previous agreement, we paid the western guards 50 Egyptian pounds, and in the joy of extreme liberation and victory, we left the Great Pyramid in high spirits and moved to the Pyramid of King Khafre several hundred meters to the southwest.

Khufu, Khafre, Mancala, in Greek respectively Cheops, Chephren, Mycerinus, whether we use Egyptian or Greek names The pharaohs of the fourth dynasty (2575-2467 BC) are known to later generations for having built three pyramids in Gisha.At least, more than 2,000 years ago, the Greek historian Herodotus (Herodotus), in his famous book "History", identified the builder of the Great Pyramid as King Khufu. Since then, history has been so determined.After Herodotus traveled to Egypt, he wrote the information he gained during his travels into this oldest surviving document on the pyramids, stating:

Cheops, who is said to have died after reigning for 50 years.His brother Keflan became the new pharaoh, and built a pyramid likewise... except 40 feet shorter than his brother's pyramid, all the same scale. ...After 56 years of Kiephran's reign, the throne was succeeded by Messilinus, the son of Cheops...The pyramid left by Messilinus was much smaller in scale than his father's. Herodotus saw the pyramids in the 5th century BC, 2,000 years after the pyramids were built.However, the history of the pyramids in the future will be based on Herodotus' testimony, and his statement will be accepted in its entirety.To this day, all critics still follow the teachings of this great Greek historian and dare not go beyond.Although Herodotus's narration was obtained from hearsay, the statement that "the Great Pyramid was built by King Khufu, the second pyramid by King Khafre, and the third pyramid by King Mancala" has become impossible. Shaken history.

dwarfed mystery After breaking up with Ali, Sansa and I continued our walks in the desert.After rounding the southwest corner of the second pyramid, our eyes were attracted by its top, and we found that the stones on the 22nd floor from the top still retain the original cladding stones.At the same time, we also noticed that the upper floors from the base, each extending at least several acres, used limestone blocks, each about 20 feet wide and 6 feet high, so huge that they were almost impossible to climb. the point.I found out later that each piece of this huge stone weighs 200 tons and needs to be cut by a very unique stonework technique, and this kind of cutting can be seen everywhere in the ancient sites around Kesha.

The second pyramid was built on a platform cut from the rock bed, forming a trench-like groove on the west and north sides, some places more than 15 feet deep.Walk along the west side of the tower to the south of the ditch, and within a short distance, you can see the third pyramid standing in the desert 400 meters away. Khufu...Khafra...Mancala...According to all orthodox ancient Egypt scholars, the only purpose of building the pyramids was to serve as the tombs of these three generations of pharaohs respectively.But it is clear that this claim has many limitations.For example, in 1818, when the European explorer Giovanni Belzoni opened the vast coffin chamber in the Pyramid of Khafre, he found that there was nothing in the room, not only no coffin, but the room decoration was extremely simple, and there were no traces of it. For any ornaments, there is only a sarcophagus embedded in the floor. The exterior is polished very brightly, but the interior is also empty.The lid had been knocked in half and was discarded near the coffin.How should all this be explained?

To Egyptologists, this seems easy to explain.They believe that very early on, perhaps within a few hundred years of Khafre's death, tomb robbers entered the coffin chamber and swept away everything including the mummified pharaoh. Apparently the same thing happened with the smaller third pyramid.While Sansa and I were thinking about this question, we went to this small pyramid built to worship King Mancala.The first European to step into this pyramid was a British colonel named Howard Vyse.When he entered the coffin chamber in 1837, all he saw was the empty basalt sarcophagus, the wooden coffin lid with reliefs of human figures, and a few skeletons left beside the coffin.All took it for granted that the bones were Mancala's relics.However, we used the verification of modern science to find that the bones and wooden coffin lids were all products of 2,500 years after the age of the early pyramids in AD.That is, many years after the Pyramid Age, someone "broke into" the Pyramid and buried the dead in that cave (a fairly common practice in ancient Egyptian history).As for the basalt sarcophagus, it may have belonged to King Mancala.Whether this hypothesis is true can no longer be verified, because when Weiss transported the sarcophagus from Spain back to the UK, the ship capsized midway and the sarcophagus sank to the bottom of the sea.Since the sarcophagus was found empty according to Weiss' records, it is assumed again that the pharaoh's body had been removed by grave robbers.

The same assumption was applied to Khufu.Since Khufu's body was already gone when the pyramid was opened, the views of general ancient Egypt scholars can be represented by the views of George Hart of the British Museum.Hart believes that within 500 years of Khufu's burial, grave robbers opened the Great Pyramid and stole all the "burial treasures".According to this statement, the date of the tomb robbery should be around 2000 BC, because King Khufu died in 2528 BC.Moreover, the authoritative Professor Edwards further hypothesized that all the treasures buried with him may have been stolen from what we now call the "King SChamber" (King SChamber), and placed in the basalt rock on the west side of the "King SChamber". The sarcophagus, "is the coffin where the remains of the legal practitioners were placed in the past, and it is likely that there is another wooden inner coffin inside."

The above are all orthodox and mainstream scholars' opinions.These scholars apparently unquestioningly believed their opinions to be historical facts, and disseminated their doctrines in universities all over the world. But what if these opinions are not historical facts? empty inside The mystery of the loss of King Khufu's mummy has been recorded as early as the 9th century AD in the records of Caliph Al-Mamun, the Islamic governor of Cairo.At that time, he led a team of masons who dug a tunnel from the north of the pyramid to dig treasure. After a series of lucky coincidences, they found the passage of what modern archaeologists call "Mamuns Hole".The Mamen Cave can be directly connected to several passages inside the pyramid, one of which is the "downhill path" that goes down after entering the pyramid from the north entrance (although the location of the entrance was well known in ancient times, it was long forgotten by the Mamen period) .Fortunately, during the operation, due to the vibration of stone hammers and rock drilling machines, some rocks on the roof of the downhill fell, exposing the original "uphill" at the entrance of the pyramid.

However, although the access was found, the problem still existed.The entrance to the ramp, which is the narrowest part of the ramp, was blocked by several huge and hard basalt rocks, and the road was completely blocked.The plugging works were apparently done during the construction of the pyramids.After unsuccessfully trying to break the hard rock, the Arab workers set about digging tunnels out of the surrounding less hard limestone.After several weeks, the biggest obstacle to entering the pyramid was finally cleared away, and the road was paved for the advancement of the pyramid. The significance of the work of removing obstacles is very obvious. It means that no tomb robbers have successfully opened the entrance in the past, and the interior of the pyramid should still be a piece of virgin land.The masonry masters entered the pyramid full of expectations, ready to harvest a big harvest of gold and silver treasures.And maybe the motives are different, the Governor of Mamen must have also rushed in the moment the pyramid gate opened, so as to become the first person to enter the pyramid.According to the records, Mammon's purpose of stopping the pyramid expedition was not to increase his already considerable wealth, but to discover the unknown wisdom and technology in ancient civilizations.According to an ancient legend, the builder of the pyramid put a lot of "hard and rustless iron tools and weapons, glass vessels that can be bent but not broken, incredible spells..." in the tower.

However, when Mammon and his men entered the room, they found nothing: no so-called treasures in the world, no high-tech machines, plastic materials beyond the times, and iron that would not rust, and nothing unusual Weird spell. One, misnamed the Queens Chamber (at the end of a horizontal corridor branching off the uphill ramp), was even more empty, just a very plain, geometrically interesting Designed room only. What is even more disappointing is that in the palace of the king (Mamen and other Arabs obviously arrived at this room after passing through the magnificent Grand Gallery), they also failed to find anything that could arouse the interest of ordinary people.The only piece of furniture in the room is a marble coffin, which is exactly the size of a human body. Because of the coincidence of the size, this box-shaped stone box was later named "Sarcophagus".We can imagine how disappointed Mammon and his men were when they approached this undecorated stone box, because the stone box was as empty as the entire pyramid.

Why is there such a void in the Great Pyramid?If there was ever a treasure, when and how did it disappear?Is the ancient Egyptologist's claim that the treasure was stolen within 500 years of the pharaoh's death?Or, as more evidence now shows, in fact, the pyramid has never hidden any treasure since the day it was sealed?We already know that before Mammon and his men entered the pyramid, no one had ever known how to reach the upper part of the tower via the ascending ramp, and it is certain that no one had ever been able to enter the pyramid dignifiedly through the marble-sealed barrier. Therefore, it can be inferred from common sense that at least before Mammon, no one should have invaded the inside of the pyramid—of course, it would be another matter if someone had discovered other entrances and entered the pyramid. secret pothole There are indeed other entrances. There is another secret passage more than 200 feet below the blocked passage opening.This passage is buried deep beneath the foundations of the Gesha Heights.If Mammon had discovered this ready-made passage that could bypass the obstacles of the ramp, it would have saved a lot of time and trouble. Unfortunately, at that time, he only thought of how to break the obstacles and remove the stones blocking the ramp, instead of first Make an effort to investigate the terrain near the other downhill (not only did not investigate, but also used that area as a dump for the stones dug from the pyramids). In fact, in an earlier era, some people already knew about it and made a detailed investigation on this downhill road.The Greco-Roman geographer Strabo once left detailed records after entering the underground hall in the pyramid (about 600 feet deep from the apex of the pyramid).On the walls of the room, graffiti from the time the Romans occupied Egypt can also be seen. Obviously, people entered and exited the room quite frequently at that time.However, about 2/3 of the way down from the west, there is a secret entrance mechanism. Because the design is too delicate, it has not been discovered until the 19th century. Therefore, no one has ever entered through this mechanism. The other side of the pyramid③. Open the entrance of the mechanism, and immediately enter a narrow and deep passage like a well, with a total length of about 160 feet, almost vertically penetrates the foundation and the 20-story limestone blocks inside the Great Pyramid, all the way to the starting point of the Great Corridor, and the main interior. until the corridor system meets.Although some scholars have made various bold speculations, we still cannot see why the ancient Egyptians built such a peculiar vertical pit in the Great Pyramid. The only thing that is certain is that the pit is indeed an ancient Egyptian. People built the pyramids at the same time, rather than tomb robbers digging them out ④.If this is the case, is it possible that the tomb robbers discovered this secret passage and wiped out all the treasures in the palace of the king and the palace of the queen? This is certainly a possibility.But looking back at history, it is not difficult to find that this possibility is very small. For example, the upper exit of the well, which the Oxford astronomer John Greaves entered in 1638, fell only 60 feet and could not continue. In 1765, another Englishman, Nathaniel Davidson (Nathaniel Davidson), had to withdraw after walking down 150 feet because he encountered a large amount of sand and stones and could not move forward. In 1830, the Italian adventurer G.B. Cavghia also reached the same depth due to the same problem.But Cavilia, who was determined, did not give up. He hired Arab workers and began to clean up the gravel in the pothole, hoping to see what was below.After days of digging furiously in an almost stenophobic environment, he did find a downward longitudinal passage. Is it possible to remove all the treasures of the greatest pharaoh of the fourth dynasty from such a narrow passage full of waste? This well-like vertical hole, even if it is not buried by rubble, is very open from bottom to top, but with its width of only 3 feet and the almost vertical conditions in several places, it is possible to pass through it. What got out was at most a fraction of the treasures in the typical tombs of ancient emperors. At least, when the Governor of Mammon and his men opened the Great Pyramid in 820 AD, they apparently expected many heavy and large treasures inside.Because the tomb of King Tutankhamen (Tuankhamen) is not as numerous in appearance as the Pyramid of King Khufu. When it was opened, many statues, artifacts and other treasures were found. How could you think that there is nothing in the tomb of King Khufu?The same is true in Khafre's pyramid.If there were tomb robbers, the tomb robbers in these two graves must be the only ones in history who could clean up the tombs, even a piece of rag, a piece of pottery, an unwanted portrait sculpture, and a missing piece of jewelry No jewellery.All that was left were bare walls and floors, and a sarcophagus with the lid not even closed. different mausoleum It was past 6 o'clock in the morning.Sunlight poured down from the top of the pyramids of King Khufu and King Khafre, dyeing the pyramids a faint pink.The pyramid at Mancala was 200 feet shorter than the other two, and it remained in the shadows as Sansa and I walked through the northwest corner toward the dunes of the surrounding desert. The theory of grave robbers lingers in my mind.The only "evidence" I could come up with to support the claim that there were grave robbers was that the tomb was empty, not even the mummy.But the premise of this statement is that there must be something in the tomb before it can be stolen.Others, especially all the evidence at the scene inside the pyramid, clearly show that no tomb robbers have actually entered the pyramid, not only because the vertical tunnels are too narrow for real treasures to pass through, but also because King Khufu's pyramid has a Very great feature: on the walls of the cloisters or passages or chambers we do not see any inscriptions or decorations.The situation of the pyramids of King Khafre and King Mancala is not far off.In other words, in the three great and amazing pyramids, there is not a word praising the pharaoh who theoretically sleeps in them forever. This approach is too incredible.There is no other king's tomb in Egypt that is not magnificently decorated.Throughout the history of Egypt, there is no pharaoh whose tomb is not extensively and thoroughly decorated (for example, the Valley of the Kingsat Luxor [Valley of the Kingsat Luxor] is the case), and the walls are full of various ritual languages ​​and prayers. , in order to send the dead all the way to heaven and obtain eternal life (such as the pyramids of the Fifth Dynasty at Saqqara, 20 miles south of Kesha). Why should Khufu, Khafre, and Mancala be different?Could it be that those pyramids were not built to be tombs, but had a deeper and more inexplicable purpose?Could it be that the Giza Pyramid was built long before the start of the Fourth Dynasty in order to inherit some profound Arab tradition?Could it be that some architects who came from a higher civilization very early were responsible for the construction of the Giza pyramid? All the above assumptions are totally unacceptable to ancient Egypt scholars.Their reasoning is also simple.Although there are no written marks inside the second and third pyramids, including the names of pharaohs such as Khafre and Mankala, scholars have found some hieroglyphic "masonry marks" (also known as stonework marks) inside the Great Pyramid. It is the graffiti drawn by the workers before the stone came out of the cutting field), the interpretation of scholars, the meaning of those marks is "Khufu". suspicious evidence It was Colonel Hauer Weiss, a British explorer, who found the masonry mark. In 1837, he forcibly excavated in the pyramid of Giza. In order to expand the existing space, he dug four consecutive narrow cavities into tunnels.These rooms named "relieving Chambers" are located above the palace, and the masonry marks were found on the ceiling of the relief chambers connected by these four rooms.The notation is said to read as follows: Group of masonry, the white crown of Kumbhof has great power Hufu Kumhoof 17th year The above is the process of discovering the masonry mark.However, it was too much of a coincidence for all this to happen.Just when a large-scale archaeological activity was coming to an end, and everyone needed some evidence to prove that the large sum of money invested in the excavation operation was worthwhile, Weiss brought out the biggest discovery of his time, irrefutably proving that : Pharaoh Khufu built the Great Pyramid. Theoretically speaking, after such a great discovery, questions such as who built the Great Pyramid and why should finally have answers.However, the answer is revealed, and the mystery still exists.The main reason lies in Weiss' evidence, which has many doubts: ①The name of Khufu has never been seen anywhere in the Great Pyramid except the decompression chamber. ②The name of Khufu unexpectedly appeared in such a remote and unnoticed corner in such a huge building. ③In such a building without any inscriptions, such graffiti marks can be found. ④Only in the upper four of the five decompression chambers, the text mark is found.Therefore, those with a strong sense of problem can’t help but wonder, if Weiss also found the bottom decompression chamber, would he also find that there are text marks on it? discovered by Nathaniel Davison)? ⑤Among the pictographs of the masonry marks, several are written backwards, and some of them cannot be identified. In addition, there are also grammatical and spelling errors. Is it possible that the masonry marks are evidence fabricated by Weiss? While it is difficult to find conclusive evidence that Weiss was a forger, it is also disheartening that ancient Egyptologists have accepted Weiss' claims without question.Khufu could not have built the Great Pyramid, according to hieroglyphs on an apparently unlikely counterfeit oblong tablet in the Cairo Museum.But scholars not only eagerly accepted Weiss's claims, but also completely dismissed the evidence that contradicted Van and Weiss' claims. This stele made of limestone, commonly known as the "Inventory Stela", was discovered in Kisha by a French archaeologist, Auguste Mariette, in the 19th century.The text on the stele shocked scholars at the time, because according to the records on it, the Grand Sphinx and the Great Pyramid had existed before Khufu succeeded to the throne, and it was impossible for Khufu to build them.The inscription also mentions Isis, the goddess of magic, and calls her the "Queen of the Pyramids," suggesting that the pyramid was actually dedicated to her, not Khufu.In addition, the inscription also strongly implies that the pyramid of King Khufu is actually one of the three auxiliary buildings on the east side of the Great Pyramid⑥. The statement in the "Inventory Table Stele" is not only far from the chronological history of ancient Egypt compiled by orthodox scholars, but also directly challenges the orthodox theory in the past that "the pyramids are the tombs of the kings, and their only function is to be the tombs of the kings". , no wonder scholars are unwilling to believe it, and without in-depth investigation, they directly belittle the historical value of the "inventory table stele".James Henry Breasted, a very influential American scholar, said: "If this stele is a work of Khufu's time, there is no doubt that its significance must be very great. But from the inside It is not difficult to see from the text that its text was written by descendants..." The so-called "written by later generations" by Brest is because from the hieroglyphic writing system, he judged that the characters on the stele were not written in the fourth dynasty, but in a later era.All ancient Egypt scholars agree with Burest's analysis and conclusions.The consensus among scholars today is that the Inventory Table Stele should have been carved after 1500 of the Twenty-First Dynasty, that is, the Khufu Dynasty, and should therefore be treated as a piece of historical fantasy. In this way, the orthodox school turned a blind eye to the shocking characters recorded in the "inventory table stele" just because of the problem with the writing method of the hieroglyphs, completely ignoring the possibility that this stele was an authentic product of the Fourth Dynasty ( Just as the New English "Bible" is translated from the old "Bible" version).But it is incredible that this same group of scholars accepted the message of the dubious "masonry marks" and ignored many of the suspicious aspects of those marks. Why are academics so blatantly adopting double standards?It is because the message conveyed by the "masonry mark" is exactly the same as the orthodox school's view on the Great Pyramid. Both of them believe that the Great Pyramid is Khufu's tomb; and the message conveyed by the "inventory table stele" refute the theory of the orthodox school ? The Pyramid of Deception At 7 o'clock in the morning, Sansa and I walked into the depths of the desert from the southwest side of Kisha.Under the huge sand dunes, we sat on the ground, browsed the magnificent monuments, and enjoyed a moment of tranquility. This day is March 16, just a few days before the vernal equinox.There are only two days in a year, the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox. No matter where you are on the earth, the sun will rise from the due east.The sun in front of me, like a pointer on a huge metronome, correctly points out the position of time in the universe. It appears from a position slightly south of due east, divides the horizon into two, and climbs rapidly upwards. The mist of the Nile River that covers the city of Cairo is invisible. Khufu, Khafre, and Mancala with Egyptian names, or Cheops, Kevran, and Messilinus with Greek names, the three pharaohs of the fourth dynasty will not only be immortalized in history after their death, And their names will always be linked with these three most noble, gorgeous and breathtaking buildings in the world.They themselves are indeed closely related to the pyramids, not only because of their figures in the legend recorded by Herodotus (the legend itself is of course somewhat true), but also because in the area around the Kesha Heights, except for the three pyramids, The names of the three pharaohs can be seen everywhere, as well as the records and objects associated with their names. For example, in the six subsidiary pyramids including the three located on the east side of the Great Pyramid, there are all about the three pharaohs inside and out. Pharaoh's Chronicle. Due to the evidence seen from the appearance of several subsidiary pyramids, there are indeed many ambiguities, so that ancient Egyptian scholars can still insist on their own opinions, advocating that the pyramids are "mausoleums, and there is only one use for tombs".I am very puzzled by this. I think that the same evidence that Egyptologists use to prove that the pyramids are mausoleums can also be used to prove that it is not, and both pros and cons are valid.For example, the "close relationship" between the three great pyramids, and the frequent occurrence of the names of the three pharaohs of the fourth dynasty in various parts of Gisha, have been explained by scholars in the past that these three pharaohs successively broke ground for their own tombs. But it can also be explained that the pyramids existed in the Gisha Heights before the establishment of the Egyptian dynasty, and after the accession of the pharaohs such as Khufu, Kafre, and Mancala, they immediately imitated the three great pyramids that existed before and built some Comparing the subsidiary small pyramids, in order to swear the inheritance relationship between oneself and the builders of the Great Pyramids, so as to inherit the reputation of those unknown Great Pyramid builders. Of course there are other possibilities.But the crux of the problem is who built which pyramid, when, and for what purpose.We don't know much, and the historical facts we can grasp are too weak, so we cannot support the "pyramid tomb theory" of orthodox scholars.If we are willing to face the historical facts that we can grasp honestly, we must admit that we do not know who built the pyramids, nor when they were built, let alone their functions. Surrounded by an impenetrable enigma, the pyramids have mystified us for generations.I stared intently from the desert, and in a trance, I felt that the pyramids were crossing the dunes and striding towards me... note ①Herodotus's "History" translation (translated by David Green), pp. 187-189. Herodotus, History, Translated by Dvid Greene, University of Chicago Press, 1987, p. 187～89． ②The Egyptian Pyramids written by Professor Edwards is the standard textbook on pyramids. I． E． S． Edwards, The Pyramids of Egypt. ③ It is generally assumed that the corridor is used for the escape of workers trapped in the pyramid. (4) Since the two narrow passages joined each other after passing through hundreds of feet of large stone piles, it cannot be accidental. ⑤ "Egyptian Pyramids", page 96. ⑥ "Ancient Egyptian Records: Historical Documents from Early Times to the Period of Persian Occupation" by James Burest, pp. 83-85. James Henry Breasted, Ancient Record of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest, Histories and Mysteries of Man Ltd, London, 1988, p. 83~85．