Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
in the Pyramids
The structure of the Second Pyramid of Giza
is determined by cosmic-ray absorption.
Luis W. Alvarez, Jared A. Anderson, F. El Bedwei,
James Burkhard, Ahmed Fakhry, Adib Girgis, Amr Goneid,
Fikhry Hassan, Dennis Iverson, Gerald Lynch, Zenab Miligy,
Ali Hilmy Moussa, Mohammed-Sharkawi, Lauren Yazolino
The three pyramids 6f Giza are situated a few miles southwest of Cairo,
Egypt. The two largest pyramids stand
within a few hundred meters of each
other. They were originally of almost
exactly the same height (145 meters),
but the Great Pyramid of Cheops has
a slightly larger square base (230 meters
on a side) than the Second Pyramid of
Chephren (215.5 meters on a side). A
photograph of the pyramids at Giza
is shown as Fig. 1. Figure 2 shows the
elevation cross sections of the two
pyramids and indicates the contrast in
architectural design. The simplicity of
Chephren's pyramid, compared with
the elaborate structure of his father's
Great Pyramid, is explained by archeologists in terms of a "period of experimentation," ending with the construction of Cheops's pyramid (1). (The
complexity of the internal architecture
of the pyramids increased during the
Fourth Dynasty until the time of
Cheops and then gave way to quite
simple designs after his time.)
An alternative explanation for the
sudden decrease in internal complexity
from the Great Pyramid to the Second
Pyramid suggested itself to us: perhaps
Chephren's architects had been more
successful in hiding their upper chambers than were Cheops's. The interior
of the Great Pyramid was reached by
the tunneling laborers of Caliph MaThe authors are affiliated with the Joint Pyramid Project of the United Arab Republic and the
United States of America. They reside either in
Cairo, United Arab Republic, or in Berkeley,
California. The article is adapted from an address presented by Luis W. Alvarez at the
Washington Meeting of the American Physical
Society, 30 April 1969.
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Distance from the corner (m)
135
180 225 270
360
Azimuthal angle 4 (deg)
Fig. 3 (left). The initial measurement (with zenith angle of counts from 20 to 40 degrees) of the variation of cosmic-ray intensity
Fig. 4 (light).
with azimuthal angle, as observed from the Belzoni Chamber underneath the Second Pyramid of Chephren.
Detection of the northeast and southwest corners of the pyramid obtained by plotting the second differences of the counting
rate on the planes tangent to the corners as a function of distance from the corners.
90
to determine the location of the detector with respect to the exterior features
of the pyramid.
1) The difference in the maximum
counting rate through the east and west
faces gives the displacement of the
detector toward the east, and similar
measurements in the north-south directions give the displacement to the
north.
2) The azimuthal angles of the dips
corresponding to the corners give a
second, quite independent, and more
sensitive measure of the displacements.
We can report that from cosmic-ray
observations alone, "looking through"
100 meters of limestone, we can locate
the position of our detectors to within
1 meter. To the best of our knowledge,
no such measurement has ever been
made before. Our cosmic-ray-derived
position agrees to within less than 1
meter in the north-south direction with
a recently surveyed position obtained
by the U.A.R. Surveying Department,
but it differs by 2 meters (that is, it
indicates 13.5 rather than 15.6 meters)
in the east-west direction.
Simulated X-ray Photographs
We have presented the cosmic-ray
data in two different ways, one photographic and the other numerical. Both
these methods involve the projection
of each recorded muon back along its
trajectory to its intersection with either
a horizontal plane or a sphere that
touches the peak of the pyramid. Figure
5a is a diagram representing the Second Pyramid with the horizontal "film
plane" touching the peak of the pyramid and with a dashed line (representing the path of a cosmic ray) passing
from the detector through a hypothetical chamber to the image of the chamber on the "film plane." (The mapping
of the pyramid structure by this technique is identical to what we would
obtain by x-raying a small model of
the pyramid, with an x-ray source in
the Belzoni Chamber and with an x-ray
film touching the peak of the model
pyramid.) Figure Sb represents the
spherical shell onto which cosmic rays
were projected for numerical analysis.
Figure 6 is a view of all the equipment, which occupied most of the
southeastern part of the Belzoni Chamber. Figure 7 is a closer view of the
detector. The two spark chambers,
each 6 feet (1.8 meters) square, are
separated vertically by a distance of
1 foot (0.3 meter). Above and below
the spark chambers and just above the
floor level were scintillation counters,
which triggered the spark chambers
when all three counters signaled the
passage of a penetrating muon. The
4 feet (1.2 meters) of iron between
the bottom two scintillators was installed to minimize the effects of muonscattering in the limestone.
The simulated x-ray photograph of
the pyramid shown in Fig. 13a is an
uncorrected (raw data) scatter plot of
700,000 recorded cosmic-ray muons as
they passed through the "film plane."
The four corners of the pyramid are
very clearly indicated. If a Grand Gallery and a King's Chamber were located
in the Second Pyramid as they are in
the Great Pyramid, the Grand Gallery
SCIENCE, VOL. 167
834
d
tensity in the direction of a new chamber is simply that the integral range
spectrum of the muons is represented
by a power law with an exponent equal
to -2. Therefore, if the rock thickness
is changed by an amount AX, out of
an original thickness X, the relative
change in intensity is Al/I = -2AX/X.
four known chambers in the two
The
a
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f
>
large pyramids have an average height
b
Fig. 5. (a) Geometry of the
of about 5 meters. Therefore AX/X
Second Pyramid, showing the
should be -5 percent, and the correprojection technique used to
sponding
value of AI/I should be +10
produLce a simulated x-ray photograph. The plane on the top of the pyramid can be
thought of as the "film plane." (b) The spherical surface on which the events were percent.)
projected for the ntumerical analysis of the data.
Since the counting equipment was
sensitive out to approximately +45 degrees from the vertical, our data were
would have shown up clearly but the ways of the pyramid, each square plotted in a matrix with 900 entries,
King's Chamber would probably have chamber comprised two chambers 3 30 X 30 bins, each 3 by 3 degrees.
requLired some computer assistance to by 6 feet (0.9 by 1.8 meters) in area. Figure 5b illustrates this system of
be made visible. There is one unex- Also, each of the large scintillation binning on a sphere that encircles
pected feature in Fig. 13a: on the north counters was divided into sections. The the pyramid. We wrote a computer
face, there appears to be a narrow inactive areas between the two pairs of program to simulate the counting rate
north-south-oriented region that has spark chambers and between the sec- expected in each of these bins. As the
a lower cosmic-ray intensity than is tions of the counters led in a predict- simulation program became more sofound in surrounding areas. We were able way to the unexpected signal phisticated with time, it took into account the most detailed features of the
at first hopeful that the north-south shown in Fig. 1 3a.
measured exterior surface of the pyrastreak indicated the presence of a
mid, including the "cap" of original
Grand Gallery above and north of the
limestone casing blocks near the top,
Belzoni Chamber, just as the Grand Numerical Analysis
the surveyed position of the detectors
Gallery is above and north of the
We concluded from our study of the in the Belzoni Chamber, the positions
Queen's Chamber in the Great Pyramid. But we later found a satisfactory simulated x-ray picture that no unex- of the walls and ceiling of the Belzoni
explanation of this feature in the pic- pected features were discernible. But Chamber, and the sizes and positions
tuLre that did not involve any interior since we had been looking for an in- of each of the four spark chambers
structure in the pyramid. The region of crease in intensity of approximately 10 and the fourteen scintillation counters.
lower cosmic-ray intensity resulted percent over a region larger than that
An important control on the quality
from the construction of the spark to which the eye responds easily, we of the experimental data being comchambers. Since we could not transport then turned to a more detailed numeri- pared with the simulated data came
square chambers 6 feet (1.8 meters) cal analysis of the data. (The reason for from scatter plots showing the exact
on a side through the small passage- expecting a 10 percent increase in in- x and y coordinates of each riecorded
Fig. 6 (left). The equipment in place in the Belzoni Chamber under the pyramid.
Fig. 7 (right). The detection apparatus containing the spark chambers.
6 FEBRUARY 19708
835
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I 35
and predicted expressed in integral numbers of standard deviations for the best
fit to the data for which the XI was 905.
(The bins for which the predicted number of events was less than 30 were not
used in calculating the XI.)
SCIENCE, VOL. 167
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1 10
652 010266
2-1 -1 1 -1 1 -1 -1-1 -1 0 0 0 2 -1
2 11
3010
1*1A1~.2~
0 0-1 -2 1 1-11-2
-1 0 1-
2
2
1
0 0
10 0 1
0 0 0
1 0 0
1-2 0
0
1-1 0
- 3 11 2 1
21 1 0 1 1
13 0 0 2 0 00
1 -1 02 2 203
3-1 1 11 - -21 - -2 - -1 1
12- 2-
450
45
0
0
2
0
1
1
1
1
0 0 0 0
-1 -1 0 0
-1 -1 -2 -3
-1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0 1 2
0 1 -2
0 -1 -1
-2 -2 -1 -1
0
0
2 0 0
1 -1 -1
-1 -1 -2
-1 1 -1 0 -1
1
0 0 -1 -2
0 1 0 0 2
0 -1 0 3 0
-1
2-1 -1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0 -2
1 1
0 -1
1
0
-1
0
0
1 0
0 0
1 0
0
1
-1
-1
-1: -1 -1
-1
-1
-2
-1- -1 -2
1 0
1 -1
1 2
2 1
2
1
0
1
-1 -1
1 -1
0 1 0 -1 0
0 0 1 0 -1
2 1 0 0 0
0 -1 -1 -2
-1 -1
1350
90
Fig. 11. The display of Fig. 10 as it would have appeared had there been a "King's
Chamber" in the pyramid 40 meters above the apparatus. The group of numbers
larger than 3 at the center-left (shaded area) indicates the chamber's position.
simulation, the actual counts in this region were no longer systematically lower
than predicted by the computer, and,
the value of x2 dropped accordingly.
Although the x2 of the fit between
the actual and simulated data was lowere-d when the features of the cap were
introduced into the simulation, this
drop does not constitute the strongest
proof that we were in fact detecting
the cap. Figure 12 compares the measured and cosmic-ray-determined variation in thickness of the limestone cap
in two 24-degree-wide strips that run
over the top of the pyramid in the
north-south and east-west directions.
In the absence of a cap both on the
real pyramid and in the simulation, we
showing +4.
T
~North
to South
2 ~t
T
-2
West to East
6 FEBRUARY 1970
.3
'3)
0 0
Chephren's Pyramid
Iof
is observed in this ex-
teds
onsrpeetteds
ponsrersn
Pyramid.
T2
-2
600
900
1200
24-degree-wide bands centered on the middle of the pyramid, one running north-south,
the other east-west.
837
(ftthe ceniter of
pvrI am id's
thc
baIse, the
A\s theIc
10 LIe
t
di
oIItent Iil
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at
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abhout
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S
Iim
a-11tl t-itherI Lunit otlminlcrease inl dlit
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a
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that the
cosmic.--rtav inltensits
dffata
In t\\0sctr.t
111.9- bx
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. .$
xx..c xr$$
4
't
plo
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dxsi
ltixx inclie 01luce stajCes in eeiibnda.xxie
d ThanItII erIV.
'iiit ul- ld snix hot
1
ant1d It plot, xx i
LI]smritC
oietd o simdsiieIoH
r
:0H
IIIILIr xx ittiiiat lchmbaII
.ipiao 1 I
Ilxl 'SateC
,Celf.i
12.
Ii
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to
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''p4 ix 1x
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it
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ross chain ces
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ill seC,1ivsitv
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1
II
t-1 'xii i
Conclusions
To be sure that we could have detected a chamber of "average size"
above the Belzoni Chamber, we programmed the computer to believe that
its simulated pyramid had such a chamber filled with material whose density
was twice that of limestone. The program then predicted that fewer muons
than usual would come from the direction of the "chamber," so that the
difference matrix showed positive numbers, as expected for a hollow chamber
in the real pyramid and a pyramid of
uniform density in the simulator. Figure
11 shows what we would have seen had
there been a King's Chamber 40 meters
above the Belzoni Chamber. (The scattering of muons in the rock is simulated by the computer.) If the King's
Chamber were moved farther away,
the angular width of the region having
an excess of counts would drop inversely with distance. We have no
doubt that we could detect a King's
Chamber anywhere above the Belzoni
Chamber within a cone of half-angle
35 degrees from the vertical. If the Second Pyramid architects had placed a
Grand Gallery, King's Chamber, and
Queen's Chamber in the same location
as they did in Cheops's Pyramid, the
signals from each of these three cavities
would have been enormous. We therefore conclude that no chambers of the
size seen in the four large pyramids of
the Fourth Dynasty are in our "field
of view" above the Belzoni Chamber.
We started by using two methods of
analysis, one photographic and the
other analytic. By itself the photographic method was unsatisfactory, because effects due to the apparatus itself
were so large that they obscured any
effects from the pyramid. Although the
analytic method could succeed because
it was able to take these instrumental
effects into account, it was necessary to
"invent" a north-south variation in
sensitivity to obtain success. By combining the two methods of analysis, it
is possible to obtain the sensitivity of
6 FEBRUARY 1970
Summary
Because there are two chambers in
the pyramid of Chephren's father
(Cheops) and the same number in the
pyramid of his grandfather (Sneferu),
the absence of any known chambers in
the stonework of Chephren's Second
Pyramid at Giza suggests that unknown
chambers might exist in this apparently
solid structure. Cosmic-ray detectors
with active areas of 4 square meters
and high angular resolution have been
installed in the Belzoni Chamber of the
Second Pyramid; the chamber is just
below the base of the pyramid, near its
center. Cosmic-ray measurements extending over several months of operation clearly show the four diagonal
839