The pyramid of Cheops is one of the seven wonders of the world. This magnificent structure was erected, as is commonly believed, during the reign of the Pharaoh of the IV dynasty of Cheops in about 2650 BC.
The Great Pyramid is located at Giza, on the west bank of the Nile. There are two more pyramids in the Giza necropolis, but they are smaller. The height of the Great Pyramid is now 449.5 feet and an area of 750 sq. meters. Originally, the 478-foot structure was clad in snow-white limestone and gilded on top. But this beauty has not survived to this day.
A pyramid was built of huge stone blocks, each weighing more than 2 tons. There are about 2 million such blocks in the pyramid.
The entrance to the pyramid is on the north side. Inside the structure, three chambers were found, as well as corridors that lead to the base of the pyramid and to its surface. The lower chamber is located at the base of the pyramid, 98.5 feet underground. For some reason, it was left unfinished by the builders. The central chamber is located in the center, between the north and south faces of the pyramid. It is called the Queen's Chamber, although this small room (18.3 by 17.1 feet) is completely empty.
Finally, in the heart of the great pyramid is the king's chamber, where the royal sarcophagus was found, carved from a single block of red granite. The chamber itself is also made of granite. The mummy of the pharaoh was not found in the sarcophagus, so there are still doubts as to whether the pharaoh was buried here or elsewhere.
The interior layout of the Great Pyramid is complemented by the Great Gallery, which stretches 152.8 feet. The gallery is 27.8 feet high.
Two shafts lead from the chambers of the king and queen to the surface of the pyramid. Their purpose remains unclear. Some researchers suggest that these may be ventilation shafts, while others are sure that these passages have religious significance. It was possible to establish only that the mines were built taking into account the location of some astronomical bodies.
The mysteries of the Great Pyramid remain unsolved to this day. How did the builders manage to move the huge boulders? Why is there not a single inscription in the pyramid about who it was actually erected for?
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Many scholars reject the idea that the pyramid served only as a tomb for the deceased king. A number of hypotheses have been put forward regarding its true purpose. The most famous of them belongs to the writer R. Bauvel. He suggested that the three pyramids of Giza and the Nile River constitute a kind of projection of the three stars of Orion's belt and the Milky Way.
Some researchers see in the pyramid a giant observatory, a structure for generating an unknown type of energy, a Temple of an unknown race, and even a repository for knowledge left to us by higher beings. The medium E. Keyes predicted that the archives of the dead Atlantean civilization would be found in the Great Pyramid or under the Sphinx statue located nearby.
The study of the pyramid is still underway, and each time researchers find something new. So, in 1993, a robot was launched into the southern mine, leaving the queen's chamber, which discovered a limestone door in it. In 2003, another robot discovered a second one next to this door. Examination of the northern shaft revealed that it also has two small doors. What a mystery behind them.
In 2004, with the help of radar, it was possible to find an unknown camera located under the queen's camera. But the excavations were opposed by the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Antiquities Service. The Great Pyramid continues to keep its secrets.