Talking Pyramids: Ancient Egyptian Pyramids

It is widely believed that the pharaohs Khufu, his son Khafre and grandson Menkaure built their pyramids on the edge of a desert plateau at Giza between 2600 and 2450 BC.

The study, which has been published on the Cornell University physics Web site arXiv, suggests that Khufu planned the construction of two pyramids, exactly as his father, Snefru, did in Dahshur. Only later did Khafre claim for himself the slightly smaller pyramid.

Little is known about the 4th dynasty pharaoh Khufu (2589-2566 BC), whose only portrait is a tiny three-inch high statue.

Greek historian Herodotus depicted him as a cruel despot who enslaved his people to build his huge pyramid complex. But archaeologists dispute that account.

“The name of Khufu and his pyramid is always attached to a popular notion that the pyramid was built by slaves. But that was not the case, because the workers built their own tombs near the pyramid of Khufu, and prepared their tombs for eternity like nobles and officials. They were also paid by the king, or worked instead of paying tax,” Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, wrote on his Web site.

According to Magli, Khufu imagined himself as the “son of the sun god,” who was thus destined for eternal life.

“What better way to prove this relationship than making the sun, himself, talk about it?” said Magli.

Indeed, during the summer solstice, a spectacular show appears to observers standing by the Sphinx.

“The sun setting between the two pyramids forms an ideal, giant replica of the hieroglyph Akhet,” Magli said.

Meaning “horizon,” the hieroglyph Akhet held deep symbolic meaning for the ancient Egyptians. It was composed by the hieroglyph djew, meaning “primeval mountain,” (a two peak mountain supporting the heaven) and the sun setting or rising in between.

The symbol was linked to the afterlife, since the solar cycle was associated with life and rebirth.

“The name of the great pyramid is Akhet Khufu, meaning ‘the horizon of Khufu,’” Magli said.

According to inscriptions found in tombs dated some two hundreds years later, the name of the great pyramid was a precise description of the hieroglyph at the site. And, as Magli points out, that hieroglyph “could occur only if the second pyramid existed as well.”

The theory is supported by topographical and astronomical references in the pyramid complex, according to Magli.

A line, known as the “Giza diagonal,” connects the southeast corners of the three pyramids and points to Heliopolis, an important religious center sacred to the sun god.

As a consequence of the alignment, the second smaller pyramid becomes invisible from Heliopolis, its mass being covered by the larger pyramid.

“Why would Khafre voluntarily choose the position of his pyramid in such a way that it becomes invisible from the city sacred to the sun god? It makes sense to think that this illusion was created by Khufu as a sign of respect for the city of the sun god. It is only approaching Heliopolis that the double-peaked horizon of the great king slowly and modestly reduces to a single pyramid,” Magli said.

Juan Antonio Belmonte, a scientist at the Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands and the author of a study on the orientation of ancient Egyptian temples, agrees with Magli.