that if any entrance into the pyramid were found, I would give great
bakshis, in addition to the advantage they would derive from other
strangers. But after many vain expectations, and much hard labour in
removing huge masses of stone, and cutting the mortar, which was so hard
that their hatchets were nearly all broken, they began to flag in their
prospect of finding any thing, and I was about to become an object of
ridicule for making the attempt to penetrate a place, which appeared to
them, as well as to more civilized people, a mass of solid stone.
However, as long as I paid them they continued their work, though with
much less zeal. My hopes did not forsake me, in spite of all the
difficulties I saw, and the little appearance of making the discovery of
an entrance into the pyramid. Still I observed, as we went on with our
work, that the stones on that spot were not so consolidated as those on
the sides of them, and this circumstance made me determine to proceed,
till I should be persuaded that I was wrong in my conjecture. At last,
on the 18th of February, after sixteen days of fruitless labour, one of
the Arabian workmen perceived a small chink between two stones of the
pyramid. At this he was greatly rejoiced, thinking he had found the
entrance so eagerly sought for. I perceived the aperture was small, but
I thrust a long palm-stick into it upwards of two yards. Encouraged by
this circumstance, the Arabs resumed their vigour on the work, and great
hopes were entertained among them. Thus it served my purpose, as the
work now went on briskly. I was aware, that the entrance to the pyramid
could not be between two stones in this manner; but I was in hopes, that
the aperture would furnish some clew by which the right entrance would
be discovered. Proceeding farther, I perceived, that one of the stones,
apparently fixed in the pyramid, was in fact loose. I had it removed the
same day, and found an opening leading to the interior. This sort of
rough entrance was not more than three feet wide, and was choked up with
smaller stones and sand, which being removed, it proved to be much wider
within. A second and third day were employed in clearing this place; but
the farther we advanced, the more materials we found. On the fourth day
I observed, that sand and stones were falling from the upper part of
this cavity, which surprised me not a little. At last I found, that
there was a passage from the outside of the pyramid by a higher
aperture, which apparently was thought to have had no communication with
any cavity. When all the rubbish was taken out, and the place cleared, I
continued the work in the lower part beneath our feet; and in two days
more we came to an opening inward. Having made it wide enough, I took a
candle in my hand, and, looking in, perceived a spacious cavity, of
which I could not form any conjecture. Having caused the entrance to be
cleared of the sand and stones, I found a tolerably spacious place,
bending its course towards the centre. It is evidently a forced passage,
executed by some powerful hand, and appears intended to find a way to
the centre of the pyramid. Some of the stones, which are of an enormous
size, are cut through, some have been taken out by small pieces, and
others are on the point of falling from their old places for want of
support. Incredible must have been the labour in making such a cavity,
and it is evident, that it was continued farther on towards the centre;
but the upper part had fallen in, and filled up the cavity to such a
degree, that it was impossible for us to proceed any farther than a
hundred feet. At half this distance from the entrance is another cavity,
which descends forty feet (See Plate 11), in an irregular manner, but
still turns towards the centre, which no doubt was the point intended by
the persons who made the excavation. To introduce many men to work in
this place was dangerous, for several of the stones above our heads were
on the point of falling; some were suspended only by their corners,
which stuck between other stones, and with the least touch would have
fallen, and crushed any one that happened to be under them. I set a few
men to work, but was soon convinced of the impossibility of advancing
any farther in that excavation. In the passage below, one of the men
narrowly escaped being crushed to pieces. A large block of stone, no
less than six feet long and four wide, fell from the top, while the man
was digging under it; but fortunately it rested on two other stones, one
on each side of him, higher than himself, as he was sitting at his work.
The man was so incarcerated, that we had some difficulty in getting him
out; yet, happily, he received no other injury than a slight bruise on
his back. The falling of this stone moved many others in this passage:
indeed, they were so situated, that I thought it prudent to retreat out
of the pyramid, or we might have reason to repent when too late; for the
danger was not only from what might fall upon us, but also from what
might fall in our way, close up the passage, and thus bury us alive. My
expectation in this passage was not great, as I perceived from the
beginning it could not be the true entrance into the pyramid, though I
had strong hopes that it would lead to some clew for the discovery of
the real entrance; but, alas! it gave me none, and I remained as
ignorant of it as I was before I began.
Having spent so many days at the pyramids without being discovered by
any of the people at Cairo, I did not expect that my retreat could be
concealed much longer, as there were constantly Franks from Cairo making
a Sunday’s excursion to the pyramids, or travellers, who, of course,
made it a point to see these wonders on their first arrival at the
metropolis. In fact, the very day I was to have quitted this work, I
perceived, in the afternoon, some people on the top of the first
pyramid. I had no doubt they were Europeans, as the Arabs or Turks never
go up, unless to accompany somebody, to gain money. They saw part of my
men at work at the second pyramid, and concluded that none but Europeans
could be conducting such an operation. They fired a pistol as a signal,
and I returned another. They then descended the angle which led towards
us; and on their arrival proved to be Monsieur L’Abbé de Forbin, who had
accompanied his cousin, the celebrated Count, into Egypt, but did not
proceed higher. With him were the father superior of the convent of
Terra Santa, Mr. Costa, an engineer, and Mr. Gaspard, vice-consul of
France, by whom I was introduced to the Abbé. They all entered into the
newly discovered passage; but it gave the Abbé less pleasure than a cup
of coffee, which he honoured me by accepting in my humble tent.
Naturally, after such a visit, all the Franks in Cairo knew what I was
doing; and not a day passed without my having some visitors.
I was determined to proceed still farther with my researches, the recent
disappointment making me rather more obstinate than I was before. I had
given a day’s rest to the Arabs, which I dedicated to a closer
inspection of the pyramid. It often happens, that a man is so much
ingulfed in the pursuit of his views, as to be in danger of losing
himself, if he do not quickly find the means either of an honourable
retreat, or of attaining the accomplishment of his intended purpose.
Such was my case. The success of my discovery of the false passage was
considered as a failure. I cared little what was thought of it, but I
was provoked at having been deceived by those marks, which led me to the
forced passage, with the loss of so much time and labour. However, I did
not despair. I strictly noticed the situation of the entrance into the
first pyramid, and plainly saw, that it was not in the centre of the
pyramid. I observed that the passage ran in a straight line from the
outside of the pyramid to the east side of the king’s chamber; and this
chamber being nearly in the centre of the pyramid, the entrance
consequently must be as far from the middle of the face as the distance
from the centre of the chamber to the east side of it.
Having made this clear and simple observation, I found, that, if there
were any chamber at all in the second pyramid, the entrance or passage
could not be on the spot where I had excavated, which was in the centre,
but calculating by the passage in the first pyramid, the entrance into
the second would be near thirty feet to the east.
Satisfied with this calculation, I repaired to the second pyramid to
examine the mass of rubbish. There I was not a little astonished when I
perceived the same marks, which I had seen on the other spot in the
centre, about thirty feet distant from where I stood. This gave me no
little delight, and hope returned to cherish my pyramidical brains. I
observed in this spot also, that the stones and mortar were not so
compact as on the east side, which mark had given me so much
encouragement to proceed in the first attempt; but what increased my
hopes was an observation I made on the exterior of the front where the
forced passage is. I observed the stones had been removed several feet
from the surface of the pyramid, which I ascertained by drawing a line
with the coating above to the basis below, and found the concavity was
inclined to be deeper towards the spot where I intended to make my new
attempt. Any traveller, who shall hereafter visit the pyramids, may
plainly perceive this concavity above the true entrance. Such has been
the effect of two different hints; first my old guide from Thebes, I
mean the spots where the stony matter is not so compact as the
surrounding mass; and, secondly, the concavity of the pyramid over the
place where the entrance might have been expected to be found, according
to the distance of the entrance into the first pyramid from its centre.
I immediately summoned the Arabs to work the next day. They were pleased
at my recommencing the task, not in hopes of finding the entrance into
the pyramid, but for the continuation of the pay they of course were to
receive. As to expectation that the entrance might be found, they had
none; and I often heard them utter, in a low voice, the word
“_magnoon_,” in plain English, madman. I pointed out to the Arabs the
spot where they had to dig, and such was my measurement, that I was
right within two feet, in a straight direction, as to the entrance into
the first passage, as will be seen from Plates 9 and 10; and I have the
pleasure of reckoning this day as fortunate, as that on which I
discovered the entrance into the great tomb of Psammuthis at Thebes. The
Arabs began their work, and the rubbish proved to be as hard as that of
the first excavation, with this addition, that we found larger blocks of
stone in our way, which had belonged to the pyramid, besides the falling
of the coating. The stones increased in size as we went on.
A few days after the visit of the Abbé de Forbin I was surprised by the
appearance of another European traveller. It was the Chevalier Frediani,
who, on his return from the second cataract of the Nile, came to visit
the great pyramids. I had known him at Thebes on his ascending the Nile,
and was much pleased to see him, as I thought he might be an impartial
spectator of the event of my operations, which in fact he was. He
greatly approved of my undertaking, but after being two days with me was
ready to take his departure. I suppose he had as much expectation, that
I should open the pyramid, as the Arabs who named me the _magnoon_. It
happened, that on the very day he was to set off for Cairo, I perceived
in the excavation a large block of granite, inclining downward at the
same angle as the passage into the first pyramid, and pointing towards
the centre. I requested the Chevalier to stay till the morrow, thinking
perhaps he might have the pleasure of being one of the first who saw the
entrance into the pyramid. He agreed, and I was pleased to have a
countryman of my own to be a witness of what passed on this important
occasion. The discovery of the first granite stone occurred on the 28th
of February, and on the 1st of March we uncovered three large blocks of
granite, two on each side, and one on the top, all in an inclined
direction towards the centre. My expectation and hope increased, as to
all appearance, this must prove to be the object of my search. I was not
mistaken, for on the next day, the 2d of March, at noon, we came at last
to the right entrance into the pyramid. (See Plate 9). The Arabs, whose
expectation had also increased at the appearance of the three stones,
were delighted at having found something new to show to the visitors,
and get bakshis from them. Having cleared the front of the three stones,
the entrance proved to be a passage four feet high, three feet six
inches wide, formed of large blocks of granite, which descended towards
the centre for a hundred and four feet five inches at an angle of
twenty-six degrees. Nearly all this passage was filled up with large
stones, which had fallen from the upper part, and as the passage is
inclined downwards, they slid on till some larger than the rest stopped
the way.
I had much ado to have all the stones drawn out of the passage, which
was filled up to the entrance of the chamber. It took the remainder of
this day and part of the next to clear it, and at last we reached a
portcullis. At first sight it appeared to be a fixed block of stone,
which stared me in the face, and said _ne plus ultra_, putting an end to
all my projects as I thought; for it made a close joint with the groove
at each side, and on the top it seemed as firm as those which formed the
passage itself. On a close inspection however I perceived, that, at the
bottom, it was raised about eight inches from the lower part of the
groove, which is cut beneath to receive it; and I found, by this
circumstance, that the large block before me was no more than a
portcullis of granite, one foot three inches thick.
Having observed a small aperture at the upper part of the portcullis, I
thrust a long piece of barley straw into it, and it entered upwards of
three feet, which convinced me, that there was a vacuum ready to receive
the portcullis. The raising of it was a work of no small consideration.
The passage is only four feet high, and three feet six inches wide. When
two men are in it abreast of each other they cannot move, and it
required several men to raise a piece of granite not less than six feet
high, five feet wide, and one foot three inches thick. The levers could
not be very long, otherwise there was not space in the four feet height
to work with them; and if they were short, I could not employ men enough
to raise the portcullis. The only method to be taken was, to raise it a
little at a time; and by putting some stones in the grooves on each
side, to support the portcullis while changing the fulcrum of the
levers, it was raised high enough for a man to pass. An Arab then
entered with a candle, and returned saying, that the place within was
very fine. I continued to raise the portcullis, and at last made the
entrance large enough to squeeze myself in; and after thirty days
exertion I had the pleasure of finding myself in the way to the central
chamber of one of the two great pyramids of Egypt, which have long been
the admiration of beholders. The Chevalier Frediani followed me, and
after passing under the portcullis we entered a passage not higher or
wider than the first. It is twenty-two feet seven inches long, and the
works including the portcullis occupy six feet eleven inches in all.
Where the granite work finishes at the end of this passage, there is a
perpendicular shaft of fifteen feet, and at each side of the passage, an
excavation in the solid rock, one of which, on the right as you enter,
runs thirty feet in an upward direction, approaching the end of the
lower part of the forced passage, as will be seen in Plates 9 and 10.
Before us we had a long passage running in an horizontal direction
toward the centre. We descended the shaft by means of a rope. At the
bottom of it I perceived another passage running downward at the same
angle of 26° as that above, and toward the north. As my first object was
the centre of the pyramid, I advanced that way, and ascended an inclined
passage which brought me to an horizontal one, that led toward the
centre, I observed, that after we entered within the portcullis, the
passages were all cut out of the solid rock. The passage leading toward
the centre is five feet eleven inches high, and three feet six inches
wide.
As we advanced farther on we found the sides of this passage covered
with arborizations of nitre; some projecting in ropes, some not unlike
the skin of a white lamb, and others so long as to resemble an
endive-leaf. I reached the door at the centre of a large chamber. (See
Plate 12). I walked slowly two or three paces, and then stood still to
contemplate the place where I was. Whatever it might be, I certainly
considered myself in the centre of that pyramid, which from time
immemorial had been the subject of the obscure conjectures of many
hundred travellers, both ancient and modern. My torch, formed of a few
wax candles, gave but a faint light; I could, however, clearly
distinguish the principal objects. I naturally turned my eyes to the
west end of the chamber, looking for the sarcophagus, which I strongly
expected to see in the same situation as that in the first pyramid; but
I was disappointed when I saw nothing there. The chamber has a pointed
or sloping ceiling; and many of the stones had been removed from their
places, evidently by some one in search of treasure. On my advancing
toward the west end, I was agreeably surprised to find, that there was a
sarcophagus buried on a level with the floor.
By this time the Chevalier Frediani had entered also; and we took a
general survey of the chamber, which I found to be forty-six feet three
inches long, sixteen feet three inches wide, and twenty-three feet six
inches high. It is cut out of the solid rock from the floor to the roof,
which is composed of large blocks of calcareous stone, meeting in the
centre, and forming a roof of the same slope as the pyramid itself. The
sarcophagus is eight feet long, three feet six inches wide, and two feet
three inches deep in the inside. It is surrounded by large blocks of
granite, apparently to prevent its removal, which could not be effected
without great labour. The lid had been removed at the side, so that the
sarcophagus was half open. It is of the finest granite; but, like the
other in the first pyramid, there is not one hieroglyphic on it.
Looking at the inside, I perceived a great quantity of earth and stones,
but did not observe the bones among the rubbish till the next day, as my
attention was principally bent in search of some inscription that would
throw light on the subject of this pyramid. We examined every part of
the walls, and observed many scrawls executed with charcoal, but in
unknown characters, and nearly imperceptible. They rubbed off into dust
at the slightest touch; and on the wall at the west end of the chamber I
perceived the annexed inscription in Arabic.
و فتحم المعلم محمد احمد احجار و ذلك المعلم عثمان حض والملك علي محمد
اولا ولعلاك
The various interpretations given of it compel me to explain some
points, which will perhaps lead to a satisfactory explanation. It
appears to me, that all the difficulty lies in the last letters of the
inscription, which are supposed to be obscure. This indeed is the fact;
but I must say, that these letters were so blotted on the wall, that
they were scarcely visible. The transcriber was a Copt, whom I had
brought from Cairo for the purpose, as I would not trust to my own pen;
and not being satisfied of his protestations of accuracy, though it was
copied under my own eyes, I invited many other persons, who were
considered as the best skilled in the Arabic language of any in Cairo,
and requested them to compare the copy with the original on the wall.
They found it perfectly correct, except the concluding word, which
indeed appeared obscure; but if it be considered how much that word
resembles the right one, we shall find a correct sense, and the whole
inscription made out.
_Translation of the Inscription by Mr. Salame._
“The Master Mohammed Ahmed, lapicide, has opened them; and the Master
Othman attended this (_opening_); and the King Alij Mohammed at first
(_from the beginning_) to the closing up.”[7]
Footnote 7:
The Arabic to which I gave the meaning of these last words, “_to the
closing up_,” is not spelled correctly in the paper I saw, a fault
which I attribute to the transcriber from the stone. It ought to be
ولَلعلاق instead of ؛ولعلاك the latter word not being found in the
Arabic language.
The words between the parentheses in the translation are not in the
original. A. S.
I must add, that the circumstance of the pyramid having been again
closed up agrees with what I have said of my finding it so.
On several parts of the wall the nitre had formed many beautiful
arborizations like those in the passage, but much larger and stronger.
Some were six inches long, resembling in shape a large endive-leaf, as I
mentioned before. Under one of the blocks that had been removed, I found
something like the thick part of a hatchet, but so rusty, that it had
lost its shape. At the north and south sides are two holes, which run in
an horizontal direction, like those that are seen in the first pyramid,
but higher up.
Returning out of this chamber we reached the passage below. At the
bottom of the perpendicular shaft were so many stones as nearly to choke
up its entrance, and after removing these we found the passage running
to the north, at the same inclination as above, an angle of 26°, as is
to be seen in Plate 10. This passage is forty-eight feet six inches in
length, when it joins an horizontal passage of fifty-five feet still
running north. Half-way up this passage on the right is a recess eleven
feet long and six feet deep. On the left, opposite to it, is another
passage, running twenty-two feet with a descent of 26° towards the west.
Before we proceeded any farther toward the north, we descended this
passage, and entered a chamber thirty-two feet long, nine feet nine
inches wide, and eight feet six inches high. This chamber contains many
small blocks of stone, some not more than two feet in length. It has a
pointed roof like that before mentioned, though it is cut out of the
solid rock; for it is to be understood, as I before observed, that,
after we entered through the portcullis, all the passages, and the large
chamber, as high as the roof, are cut out of the solid rock of
calcareous stone. On the wall and roofs of this chamber are several
unknown inscriptions, as there are in the upper chamber. They are
perhaps Coptic. Reascending into the horizontal passage, at the end of
it we found grooves for a portcullis like the former; but the stone of
granite which served for this purpose had been taken down, and is to be
seen under the rubbish and stones near the place. Passing the portcullis
we entered into a passage, which ascended in a direction parallel with
that above, as in Plate 10. This passage runs up forty-seven feet six
inches. Here we found a large block of stone, placed there from the
upper part; and by calculation I found, that this passage ran out of the
pyramid at its basis, as, from the upper part of this square block, I
could perceive other stones, which filled up the passage to the
entrance, so that this pyramid has two entrances to it. Half-way up the
horizontal passage, which leads into the large chamber, is some mason’s
work; but I believe it to be only the filling up of a natural cavity in
the rock.
Having made all my observations, we came out of the pyramid with no
small degree of satisfaction; and I was highly gratified with the result
of my labour, of very little more than a month, the expense of which did
not amount in all to 150_l._, though I had accomplished a task, which
was supposed would have required several thousands.
The Chevalier Frediani went to Cairo the same day, and the news of the
opening of the pyramid soon brought the Franks to visit its interior. As
I had no fear that the Arabian women would break the pyramid, I left the
entrance open (_pro bono publico_); and in that place where the
perpendicular descent, just inside the portcullis, is, I made a stone
step for the accommodation of visitors, leaving half of the passage to
enter into the lower chamber.