Roberts | 1 Seth Roberts April 11, 2014 Anth-1030-001 Alan Griffiths The Great Pyramid of Giza Revisited My first

presentation was on The Great Pyramid of Giza, since that time I have learned a lot about archaeology and would like to apply that knowledge as somewhat of a commentary to my first presentation. My first presentation did not contain a research goal so I will include one through this presentation. The research goal throughout this presentation will be to commentate on what I have learned and elaborate on techniques I personally would have exhibited had I been the archaeologist on site. Towering over the Egyptian horizon for around 4,500 years The Great Pyramid of Giza was the first pyramid built on the Giza plateau. The Great pyramid is the last remaining of the original Seven Wonders of the World. The pyramid was built as a burial monument to Khufu approximately 2589 - 2566 BC (Tour, Egypt). The Pyramid of Khufu is made of approximately 2.3 million blocks weighing about 2.5 tons each. The pyramid would have been around 6 million tons with a height of about 140 meters (Tour, Egypt). However, due to theft over the years most of the material within the pyramid as well as the polished limestone that sheathed its surface has been removed leaving the pyramid without artifacts. This theft of materials is a common practice of all cultures. When materials are scarce cultures tend to re-use those materials of older sites. This re-use of material creates a context change for the artifacts in use. It is in this way that I have been taught to not move an artifact

Roberts | 2 until all data of its context is properly collected. This practice preserves an artifacts context and allows for its data to be re-tested. This is an important step in archaeology. In 820 A.D. (about 1,194 years ago) Caliph Abdullah Al Mamum made an excavation of Khufus pyramid with a group of workers, who unable to find the northern entrance decided to burrow into the side of the northern portion of the pyramid. Using a technique by which they heated the rock and poured cold vinegar on it, followed by an applied force, Caliph and his team burrowed about 100 ft. finding a passage that led to the entrance they had previously missed. (Bayuk) In modern archaeology the technique Caliph and his team used was quite irresponsible. Caliph and his team did not know where they were burrowing and caused unnecessary architectural damage. They are lucky they did not cause the heavy stones to fall and crush them. In such a situation I would have had my team looking rigorously for the actual entrance. Caliph and his team entered the descending corridor (See Fig. 1) and eventually worked their way to the ascending corridor. Moving along the corridor they found a series of granite blocks that had been placed to intentionally prevent robbers from getting through. Caliphs team cut around the series of granite through the much softer limestone and eventually entered a room that has become known as the Queens Chamber/roomalthough there was no evidence of such features in this room. The team went back to the junction of the ascending and descending hallways and found an open space in the ceiling. Upon climbing into this passage they found a high roofed ascending hallway that has become known as the Grand Gallery. (Krystek) The Grand Gallery leads to The Kings Chamber, which contains the lidless sarcophagus of Khufu. Along with an inscription reading Khufus name, this was found around the weight relief portions of the Kings Chamber. Only a very small statue of 9 cm has been found depicting Khufu

Roberts | 3 (See Fig. 3) which was found to the south at the Temple of Osiris at Abydos, the ancient necropolis (Bayuk). The statue has the inscription of Khufus name which has been used to link Khufu to the pyramid (See Fig. 2). This dates the pyramid to around the time of Khufu. Comparing Egyptian texts is much like comparing artifacts; artifacts that seem to be of the same use coming from the same timeframe are called time markers. Likewise Egyptian symbols are used in specific places in the context of scripts and it is this use of symbols that allows for the development of a working understanding of the written text. Once the text can be understood the meanings can be conveyed and things are learned about a culture. Khufus inscription becomes somewhat of a time marker for the Pyramid of Giza. Khufus pyramid has been robbed of a great many artifacts that may have been of great historical significance. However, the pyramid itself represents the culture of ancient Egypta culture whose architecture amazes engineers even still today. The architecture of the pyramid is outstandingly accurate for its time. Historian Herodotus traveled to Egypt around 450 B.C and was told by Egyptian guides that it took twenty years for 100,000 slaves to build it. (Krystek) However, it is thought to be much more likely that the Egyptians living around the Giza Plateau during Khufus reign built the monument during the annual flood seasons, which would have allowed for construction with little effect on the economy. To the Egyptians the Pharaoh was more than a ruler but a godor at least a direct link to the gods. The construction of great monuments during the flood seasons seems quite reasonable as an explanation for the builders. This is supported by the cultures influence on the afterlife and the Pharaohs connections to it. The ancient Egyptians left monuments that have survived wars and raidingmonuments that have provided many sites for archaeological research that aid in the discovery of human antiquity. The great pyramid of Khufu is a place I would like to explore

Roberts | 4 in my lifetime, a place that has provided me with a great curiosity when it comes to the field of archaeology. If I was the archaeologist on site I would choose to excavate the area around the base of the pyramid in search of tools or fragments of tools that may have been deposited along the outer edges during construction. My goal as the archaeologist would be to find the specific ways in which the stones were shaped, transported and lifted into position. An interesting thought is that the great deserts of the world may be the graveyards of future exploration, possibly hiding under their sun baked sands an oasis of human antiquity.

Roberts | 5

Fig. 1 (Bayuk)

Fig. 2 (Khufu) (Bart)

Fig. 3

(image of Khufu from egyptarchive) (Bart)

Roberts | 6 Work Cited

Bart, Anneke. http://euler.slu.edu/~bart/egyptianhtml/kings%20and%20Queens/Khufu.html. Web. Feb 15. 2014. Bayuk, Andrew. Guardian.net: http://guardians.net/egypt/gp1.htm. 2005. Web. Feb 15. 2014. Krystek.,Lee. unmuseum.org: http://www.unmuseum.org/kpyramid.htm. 2010. Web. Feb 15. 2014 Tour, Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Cheops. 2011. Web. Feb 15. 2014