|
|
Neferchichi's
Tomb
Pharaohs
Khufu
Birth name: Khufu ("Protected by
Khnum"), called "Cheops" by the Greeks
Rule: 2589 - 2566 BC (2nd king of the 4th
dynasty, Old Kingdom)
Noteworthy relatives: Snefru (father),
Hetepheres (mother), Djedefre (son), Khafre (son),
Menkaure (grandson)
|
|
|
Like his father before him, Khufu continued Egypt's
prosperity by sending military expeditions out for natural
resources: to the Sinai peninsula for turquoise, and to
Aswan for red granite.
However, Khufu is better known as the owner of the Great
Pyramid at Giza-- a structure so huge that it held the
record for the world's tallest man-made building until the
1880's (that's four and a half thousand years!). It was
constructed on the Giza plateau, a site that is southwest to
the modern city of Cairo. You'd think that Khufu would've
built his pyramid on the highest spot on the plateau to make
it more prominent, but for some reason he didn't. However,
his son Khafre did choose the highest spot to build a
pyramid of his own, casting an optical illusion where
Khafre's pyramid seemed taller than Khufu's (though it was
actually 33 1/2 feet shorter!).
Some other facts about the Great Pyramid:
- It took about 20 years to build and cost about $7.5
million by today's standards.
- It is made from about 2,300,000 blocks with an
average weight of 5000 pounds each.
- The Great Pyramid was 481 feet high when finished,
but it is now 451 feet (30 feet have been lost off the
top). Even so, it is still taller than Khafre's pyramid
by 3 1/2 feet. The area of the base is 13 acres and each
side is 755 feet. The sides slope up at an angle of
51°52'.
- The exterior of the pyramid was originally covered
with a smooth white limestone casing, but it was stripped
off during the middle ages and the stone was used to
construct other buildings in Cairo.
- The intended location of Khufu's burial chamber
changed a couple times while the pyramid was being built.
The first plan was to place it underground, below the
bottom of the pyramid. Then a small chamber was built
into the pyramid, about 50 feet above ground level. Some
people call this the "Queen's Chamber" although it was
never intended to be used by a queen. Finally, Khufu's
"King's Chamber" was constructed about half way up the
middle of the pyramid. This is where his empty
sarcophagus was found.
- Each side of the pyramid faces one of the cardinal
directions (north, south, east, west) nearly
exactly.
- In 1954, a funeral boat was found buried in a pit
outside the pyramid on the side facing south. It is
believed that this was the barge that brought Khufu's
body across the Nile to the pyramid during his funeral.
The boat is now on display in a specially-built museum at
Giza.
- On the east side of the pyramid are three smaller
pyramids that belonged to three of Khufu's queens. Also
on the east side, but farther away, is the tomb of
Khufu's mother Hetepheres. Her underground tomb was
discovered in 1925 at the bottom of a 99-foot deep shaft.
Inside was some furniture, an empty sarcophagus, and a
canopic chest that still contained her organs! Hetepheres
is the oldest example of the removal of the organs during
mummification.
- On the west side of the pyramid is a necropolis of
tombs of Khufu's servants.
Khufu's
pyramid is the one on the far right.
|
|
Khufu's
cartouche
|
|