Great Pyramids of Giza. Pyramids of Cheops, Khafre, Mykerin, Sphinx Pyramid of Khafre description

Pyramid of Khafre (Egypt) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The Pyramid of Khafre is the second largest pyramid on the Giza Plateau. The largest, of course, is the pyramid of Cheops, and the pyramid of Mikerin closes the famous Egyptian trio.

Next to the Pyramid of Khafre is located an equally famous “neighbor” - the Great, or, as it is also called, the Great Sphinx. The stone lion with the face of a man surpasses, perhaps, even the great pyramids in the number of secrets.

Pyramid of Khafre

And although the pyramid of Khafre is smaller than its brother Cheops (the height of the first is 136 m, the second is 140 m), visually it seems higher. The secret is in its “sole”: the pyramid stands on a ten-meter plateau and is well preserved to this day.

The Pyramid of Khafre has two entrances. One is at a height of 15 m, the other is on the same side, but at the level of the base. Tourists enter through the upper entrance and then walk along the passage-corridor to the burial chamber.

In general, the Pyramid of Khafre is quite modest inside. Two rooms and a couple of corridors. But the real sarcophagus of the pharaoh is kept here to this day, made with such skill that it does not leave any tourists indifferent. The tomb itself is empty.

The Pyramid of Khafre presented a grandiose find to archaeologists in the 19th century: scientists found here a perfectly preserved sculpture of a pharaoh made of mountain diorite.

Price issue

An excursion to the Pyramid of Khafre costs tourists an average of 600 EGP. A child's ticket costs twice as much. The cost of the trip usually includes visits to museums and other attractions in Cairo.

All this is included in the price of the excursion.

Prices on the page are as of November 2018.

The Pyramid of Khafre (Greek transcription of the Egyptian name Khafre) is the second tallest pyramid in Egypt. It is located on the territory of the royal necropolis of Memphis on the Giza plateau, actually within Greater Cairo. Together with the pyramids of Cheops (Khufu), Mikerin (Menkaure) and the Great Sphinx, the Pyramid of Khafre constitutes the most visited complex of historical monuments of Ancient Egypt by tourists.

Who built the pyramid and when?

The pyramid was built in the middle of the 26th century BC. by decree of Pharaoh Khafre, son (according to other sources, brother) and successor of Khufu. Until recently, the construction of the Great Sphinx was attributed to him, but now many scientists refute this point of view.

The most reliable sources date the reign of Khafre to 2558-2532. BC. The ancient authors do not provide specific historical facts about the reign of Khafre, but unanimously call him a cruel despot (like his father Khufu). The people's hatred of Khafre was so great that he had to be buried not in a pyramid, but in a secret tomb.

However, this statement is controversial, since there is evidence of the veneration of Khafre as a god until the conquest of the country by the Persians.

Dimensions and internal structure

The height of the structure was initially 143.5 m, but now, due to erosion of the stone, it has decreased to 136.4 m. The base is an almost perfect square with a side of 210.5 m, with an error of no more than 8 cm.

The angle of inclination of the edges is 53°10’, which is slightly larger than traditional. The Pyramid of Khafre stands on a hill, elevated 10 m above the surrounding area. This circumstance, together with the steepness of the slope, some concavity of the edges and part of the cladding preserved at the top, make Urt-Khafra (“Khafra is great”, the proper name of the pyramid) visually higher than the Great Pyramid.

The entire structure was faced with polished white limestone slabs, but under the influence of natural factors and centuries-old efforts of local residents, the cladding was preserved only on the upper 45 meters. The condition of the cladding is quite dilapidated, so climbing to the top is prohibited, although previously scientists climbed here regularly.

The pyramid was crowned with a granite stone - the pyramidion. It itself has not survived to this day, but on the top there is a perfectly preserved platform with stones for fastening it and a square recess in the middle. This is the only place in Egypt where you can get acquainted with the method of fastening the pyramidion.

The entrance to the pyramid is at a height of about 12 m. There are only two chambers inside. A 100-meter corridor leads to a burial chamber measuring 10 x 4 m, located exactly in the center of the base. There is a perfectly preserved granite sarcophagus with a lid. In the wall next to which the sarcophagus stands, niches were made for canopic jars - vessels designed to store the embalmed internal organs of the pharaoh.

As has been the custom since the times of Sneferu, the pyramid was the main part of a whole complex of structures. Directly adjacent to the large one was a small pyramid, of which practically nothing remained. Nearby there is a significant mortuary temple (113 x 45 m), made of limestone and granite blocks weighing up to 42 tons.

The Pyramid of Khafre with its accompanying buildings was enclosed by a stone wall with a gate, from which there was a road to the valley, where another lower temple is located. Then the road went to the Nile, where a pier was built.

The lower temple (the Egyptians called it “The Greeter”) measures 50 x 45 m. The first ceremonies were held here for funeral processions. According to ancient historians, it was in the lower temple that the body of the pharaoh was embalmed.

The most interesting finds of Khafre's funerary complex were made in "The Greeter". Many fragments of statues of different sizes were discovered here. Judging by the nature of the fragments, there were more than 200 sculptures here. Some of them have been recreated. But the main sensation was the discovery of a perfectly preserved statue of Khafre himself made of dark green diorite. This is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art, accurately conveying the appearance of the ruler who died thousands of years ago.

Pyramid of Khafre

The Pyramid of Khafre (more precisely, Khafre) is the second largest ancient Egyptian pyramid. Located next to the Great Sphinx, as well as the pyramids of Cheops (Khufu) and Mikerin (Menkaure) on the Giza Plateau. Built presumably in the middle of the 26th century BC. e. the 143.9 m high structure was named Urt-Khafra (“Khafra is great”, or “Revered Khafra”).

Although Khafre's pyramid is smaller in size than that of his father Khufu, its position on a higher hill and its steeper slope make it a worthy rival to the Great Pyramid. Two rather large chambers and two intersecting passages that lead to a horizontal corridor represent a rather modest space in relation to the Khufu pyramid. The burial chamber located under the pyramid is no longer lined with granite, although this protective material was used in abundance inside the pyramid (the high passage itself, enclosures and sarcophagus), as well as outside (lining the foundations of the pyramid and temples). The roof of the chamber was provided by a vault on the rafters, regarded as stronger than the horizontal crossbars of the Khufu pyramid. Khafre's classically rectangular sarcophagus made of superbly polished granite was placed in the lining of the burial chamber. The canopic niche placed near Khafre's sarcophagus was an innovation that would become common in later times. Nowadays this pyramid is in good condition, although its dimensions have decreased somewhat, and today they are 210.5 m × 210.5 m at the base and 136.4 m in height.

In pharaonic times, Khafre's pyramid was merely part of a mortuary complex that included a small satellite pyramid, probably built for Khafre's wife, an enclosure wall, a mortuary temple, a road, a valley temple, and a port that also needed to be built. The current state of the complex allows us to say that all its elements have been completed. The temples of Khafre, which became models for the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, were built from multi-ton blocks of granite and limestone. The stone blocks at the entrance to his mortuary temple reach a length of 5.45 m and weigh up to 42 tons. These were extensive buildings: 113 m by 49 m - a mortuary temple, and 45 m by 50 m - a valley temple, the surviving height of which is currently 13 m. Taking into account the found fragments, the total number of sculptural works of the lower temple of Khafre is more than 200 statues . Among them is the famous, remarkably preserved statue of the king, made of dark green diorite. The ruler sits proudly on the throne with an elegant scarf on his head and a uraeus on his forehead, and behind him the falcon-like god Horus soars.

The base of the pyramid is a square with sides of 210.5 meters (originally 215.3 meters or 410 royal cubits). The error from a perfect square is no more than 8 cm. The parallel approach is almost ideal and is equal to 1'15". The side faces are oriented along the four cardinal directions with an error of no more than 5'26". The curvature of the sides due to deformation leads to an error from the correct one at the top of the pyramid by 3'46". The angle of inclination of the faces is 53°10' and 52°02', which is very close to the theoretical value corresponding to a slope of 4/3. This slope Egyptian triangle (a right triangle with sides 3,4,5, with a theoretical angle of inclination 53°07'48"), was mentioned in four sections of the Ahmes Papyrus (see Mathematics in Ancient Egypt). The pyramid was originally 143.9 meters high (275 royal cubits). It was covered with limestone, which is still visible today at 45 meters at the very top.

The pyramid was decorated with a pink granite pyramidion, which is now lost. We have no information as to whether the granite was decorated with limestone, plaster or gold.

Despite the fact that none of the ancient Egyptian pyramids preserved the pyramidion at its top, the pyramid of Khafre preserved almost all the stones of its fastening, forming a small square platform with a square recess in plan: this feature makes this pyramid unique and allows us to know the method fastening pyramidions on the tops of the pyramids.

The granite sarcophagus along with the lid is also perfectly preserved; its design is identical to the worse preserved sarcophagus of Cheops, just as the sarcophagus of Cheops has several drilled holes along the shoulder and in the lid, which apparently locked the sarcophagus with copper cylinders.

The “cap” of the cladding that has been preserved at the top of the pyramid is in an extremely dilapidated condition, and forms “cornices”, which makes climbing to its top extremely difficult even for experienced climbers. If permission for scientists to climb to the top of the Cheops pyramid is given from time to time, issuing permission for the same for the Khafre pyramid is not practiced by anyone.

Pyramid of Khafre slightly smaller than the Great Pyramid (), but at first glance an inexperienced tourist will consider it more significant. But it is simply placed on the highest place of the necropolis. And the same one also silently and reliably guards this witness of antiquity. The Pyramid of Khafre is the second largest Egyptian pyramid. Khafre (or Khafre) himself is the son of Cheops, so their pyramids are located nearby. Researchers tend to consider the two largest pyramids and the Sphinx to be a single burial complex.

A little history

Pyramid of Khafre found during excavations in 1860. It was built approximately 2,600 BC. Scientists have reason to believe that its age is not much less than that of the Cheops pyramid, because it is supposedly the tomb of his son. It is also believed that the face of the Sphinx was given the facial features of Khafre himself. They say that slaves never worked on the construction of the pyramid, but workers were hired. It took a lot of time to build such a structure, and the pharaohs began to build it as soon as they ascended the throne. Most often, they did not have time to complete the pyramid during the life of the pharaoh, so they completed it after his death, and at that time they began to build a new one for the new pharaoh. This is what happened with this pyramid.

Pyramid of Khafre - photo

How it works

Among all the pyramids of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre is the steepest and most impregnable. Even professional climbers took more than an hour to walk 136 meters to its top. But recently, permits for climbing to the top of the pyramid have not been issued. After all, it is the only one of all that has preserved the remains of ancient cladding. Like everyone else, it is strictly oriented to the cardinal points. Its base is an almost perfect square, with a side of over 200 meters. When conducting a computer check, it turned out that the deviation from the right angle by such a distance is only a decimeter. It is built more modestly than the Great Pyramid. From its corridor you can get into two rooms. The rectangular granite sarcophagus of the pharaoh is located at the base of the pyramid. It is very well lined, but there is no more granite in the decoration.

This is interesting

Once upon a time, the pyramid of Khafre had a companion pyramid, much smaller in size. But only small fragments of it have survived. It was needed “just in case,” so that there would be somewhere to put the pharaoh if he died prematurely. But the fears turned out to be in vain, Khafre lived a long life and they managed to build a tomb worthy of him. The complex of this pyramid also included a mortuary temple and a lower temple. There were several hundred figures in the lower temple, but only a few of them survive. It is known that the dead pharaoh was mummified in the lower temple.

The Pyramid of Khafre itself is in excellent condition. It has only slightly decreased in size over time. Its edges are concave, like a lens. During the summer solstice they became very hot. Thanks to this, the pyramid made a roar that could be heard at a great distance. Each of the blocks of Khafre's pyramid weighs about 2 tons. They are made of limestone and it is impossible to put even a hair between them.

Pyramid of Khafre - video

Pyramid of Khafre - how to get there

It is better not to make an independent trip to the Pyramid of Khafre, as you can get lost in the desert. The best option would be to visit the pyramid as part of an excursion group.

Pyramid of Khafre on the map, panorama

Pyramid of Khafre

The second pyramid on the Giza plateau (Pyramid of Khafre) is somewhat more modest than the Great. The side length of its base is 215 meters and the height is 143.5 meters. Moreover, the base of the Khafre pyramid is located just above the base of the Great. As a result, the tops of both pyramids are approximately at the same level.

Most often, the Khafre pyramid finds itself in the shadow of its majestic neighbor, and the authors neglect it. But in vain!.. After all, it is on the Khafre pyramid that the construction methods and approaches that its creators used are most clearly presented.

In particular, the Khafre pyramid is located in that part of the Giza plateau, which has a rather strong slope. The builders decided not to fight this unevenness of the plateau, but to use it. In order not to level the entire site, they simply cut a trench into the rocky limestone foundation, leaving a protrusion in its center, the outer edge of which was leveled, giving it a stepped appearance. And since the slope of the plateau itself and the rocky outcrop has not gone away, the outcropping closer to the eastern side is not visible at all; on the western side, its height reaches at least 5-6 steps of the pyramid. This is not always noticeable to the eye, since part of this rocky outcrop is still covered with placed blocks. But in some places, for example, on the northwestern or southwestern corner of the pyramid, this can be seen quite clearly.

Rice. 16. Rock base of the Khafre pyramid (southwest corner)

At one time, there was even a theory that the pyramids were almost entirely a high rock, which was only lined with blocks on the outside. But the entire relief of the Giza plateau suggests that it was unlikely to have such high hillocks comparable to the height of the pyramids now standing.

Let us note that the use of a rocky ledge not only (and not so much) as a kind of “support-base” of the pyramid is a rather successful technique, indicating not only the reasonableness of the decisions of the pyramid builders, but also their desire to save effort, resources and materials. After all, at least by the volume of the used residue from the stone ledge, you can “cut” (or rather, mine), transport and lift blocks from the side.

And whoever the pyramid builders were, in this they are very similar to us (or we are like them): they were driven by the desire to achieve maximum results while minimizing labor costs...

On the northern side of the Khafre pyramid, a very interesting part of the facing of the lower row has been preserved, which is very informative.

If you look closely, you will notice that the inner side of the cladding was not aligned with the inner row!.. Moreover, on the contrary, it was the blocks of the second row from the outside that were selected so as to fill the empty space between the cladding and the inner masonry of the pyramid!.. It turns out that The cladding was first placed as if separately from the main body of the pyramid, and only then (with the help of blocks of the intermediate - second - row) connected to it.

Rice. 17. Cladding on the north side of the 2nd Pyramid of Giza

Several conclusions immediately follow from this.

Firstly, this is very rational if the task is to minimize the unevenness of the installation of cladding blocks on the outside before its final leveling (see below). You don’t have to bother yourself with processing the inner surface of the granite block - anyway, the result is ensured by the intermediate row of limestone, which is more pliable for processing.

Secondly, with such a design it is obviously impossible to cover the pyramid “from top to bottom”, as it is written by the “founding father of history” Herodotus. But in this case, the cladding can be installed after the entire internal body of the pyramid has been assembled. Although nothing prevents you from assembling both the body of the pyramid and the cladding in parallel - in horizontal rows.

Thirdly, this design ensures that the cladding does not serve a decorative function. It also plays the role of a power element that maintains the integrity of the entire structure!.. And this is a fundamental difference between these pyramids both from others and in general from the buildings we are accustomed to. We usually build a power frame around which the entire structure is built. And here we are talking about a shell that carries strength functions. A fundamentally different technological solution!..

A comparison with nature can be made. We, like many other animals, have a skeleton, that is, a power frame around which our entire body is built. Another solution is insects. For example, beetles that do not have a skeleton, but have a durable chitinous outer “casing” that acts as a strength element...

Another structural feature can be seen in this same area of ​​Khafre's pyramid. The cladding blocks of the pyramid with some periodicity have a length greater than the statistical average. They are, as it were, recessed into the internal masonry, forming connecting bridges. This significantly increases the strength of the entire structure. And, by the way, it speaks of the good knowledge of construction methods and experience of the creators of the pyramids.

The same picture, however, can be seen on other sides of this pyramid.

There is a very revealing block in the internal masonry of the Khafre pyramid on its eastern side. Not only does it have colossal dimensions and demonstrates in all its glory that the builders had no particular problem playing around with such a weight. It is also laid on an unleveled surface! More precisely: the upper surface of the previous row was not cut or trimmed, but simply “leveled” with the help of smaller stones and simple backfilling.

The builders were confident that even with such an unreliable-looking support, this block would not crack under the pressure of all the overlying layers. And their hopes were completely justified!.. It is unlikely that this happened by accident. Most likely, we are again dealing with considerable engineering experience.

Rice. 18. Block laid on an unleveled surface

Near the western side of the Khafre pyramid, among the collapse of blocks, you can see such blocks of granite facing that have a small protrusion running along the border of the two surfaces (see. Rice. 9-ts). This indicates that the block was leveled after it was installed in the masonry. Apparently, the tool with which they “shaved” (or rather, cut off) the outer surface of the block did not reach (or was not brought) to the very end of the block, so this tiny protrusion remained.

Aligning granite facing along an inclined plane with observable accuracy is generally unthinkable for us!.. But for the builders of the pyramid, apparently, this did not pose any particular problems, which again indicates highly developed technological capabilities (in this case, even exceeding modern ones).

Nearby there are blocks of limestone cladding of Khafre's pyramid, which fell from somewhere above. They point to one detail that can hardly be attributed specifically to the peculiarities of construction techniques, but which is also very curious. The fact is that these blocks have a rather thick layer of some kind of paint (see photo). Rice. 10 cents)!..

Now it is difficult to say unambiguously what color this paint was. Now it has a yellowish-brown tint. But initially it could have been, for example, red. Then, in combination with the cladding of pink (but in fact more dirty red) granite of the lower rows, the pyramid - especially in the red rays of the setting Sun - should have had a crimson-red color and made a rather eerie impression.

The paint is applied only to the outside - there are only small streaks on the side (possibly due to the capillary properties of the very thin cracks between the cladding blocks). This suggests that it was applied to the blocks, most likely when they were already in place. If we take into account that the outer side of the cladding was leveled after the completion of the masonry, then the paint was applied after completion of not only the assembly of the masonry, but also the leveling of the blocks.

This impressive layer of paint, which even forms smudges in places as it hardens, suggests an ancient renovation. Although it is absolutely possible that the builders themselves applied the paint. Moreover, they could do this not so much for aesthetic as for practical purposes. For example, if we rely on the fact that they made the Sphinx during a much more humid climate in Egypt, then this paint could have served to protect the soft (relative to granite, of course) limestone cladding of the upper rows of the pyramid from the effects of rain.

Rice. 19. Internal structure of the pyramid of Khafre

The internal structure of Khafre's pyramid is much simpler than that of the Great Pyramid. There is no upper tier completely. Cells and corridors are located near ground level.

At the end of the twentieth century, an attempt was made to find unknown rooms that, according to some researchers, could be located in the body of the pyramid. For this purpose, equipment was installed in the central chamber to record cosmic rays. But long-term registration did not yield anything - no unknown voids were found in Khafre’s pyramid...

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