The Great Pyramid of Khafre at Giza

Given the peak in a better position, and at an altitude (of about 10 meters), Khafre, and it sometimes seems that the biggest of the three large pyramids of the Giza Plateau. However, in the original was about three feet less than the pyramid of Khafre belonging to neighbors, and father of King Cheops. In fact, on the walls of the pyramid of Khafre higher than the Great Pyramid of Khufu (53rd 10 'instead of Cheops 51st 40'), so that it contains much less dough. His name is "Khafre is Great".
Khafre may be, before succeeding to the throne of Egypt in Dynasty 4, he was appointed Khafkhufu, according to Stadelmann, may have been built on the terrace double (p 7130-40) in the eastern section of the Giza Governorate. However, his older brothers, and it seems that he died in the early Kauab Djedefre After assuming the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt, its name was changed to Khafre.
As one of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, and construction has been studied widely, and has a history of the modern research does not differ from Khufu's monument. In 1818, the strong man of Egyptology, Giovanni Belzoni, and was able to penetrate inside the pyramid, after a failed attempt by Giovanni Caviglia only in the previous year. Belzoni discovered the pyramid, the summit "has not been achieved and departments under the ground. However, it was the first major exploration of the building in 1837 by PERRING.
Mariette directed excavations of the pyramid temple of the valley, which is also related to the Sphinx in 1853. A year later, he was responsible for detecting one of the most beautiful and famous statues in ancient Egypt, which Khafre on his throne with winds extended protection of Horus, the falcon, which took place in the back of his head. Petrie, while he also worked in the pyramids, while the first fossils of modern methodology did not occur until the German Ernst von Sieglin speed 1909-1910 under the supervision of Uvo Holscher. Later in the 1930s, discovered a good boat wells associated with the pyramid and, more recently, Lehner and Hawass made the Pyramids complex, under the auspices of the U.S. on the Giza Plateau Mapping Project. His work has focused mainly on modern techniques of geodetic measurement, which has a great knowledge in each of the pyramid, and architectural monuments.
The Valley Temple
Valley Temple of Khafre, Giza complex, which is one of the best preserved ancient temples in Egypt. As a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian monumental architecture, has been cleared of sand and this temple in 1869, along with other monuments at Giza, became the scene of the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal.
The temple was heading to the east with a large terrace paved with slabs of limestone, from which the two bridges west of the Nile Valley Canal. Almost in the center of the deck, and fragments of what could be small, simple wood, and structure discovered mats which may be located statue of Khafre. However, others believe that this is a tent used for debugging purposes, although the best known examples of this structure exists only in special cemeteries few.
In 1995, Zahi Hawass, re-cleared area in front of the valley temple, and thus discovered that the road passed through the tunnels, which was framed walls of adobe, limestone, and paved. These tunnels have a slightly convex profile similar to that vessel. It is a narrow passageway or canal, which stretches from north to south. Sphnix to the temple, and the channel leading to the drain leading to the north east of the country, probably, to the dock buried beneath the modern tourist scene.
Methods of delivery of the canal from the Nile River, with two separate entrances on the front of the valley temple, which was sealed by the Chief, one rice plant  may be hanging from the door hinges and copper. Each of these gates are guarded by the Sphinx lies. Most of these north gates dedicated to the goddess Bastet, while one the southern entrance to Hathor.
Temple was established in the plan almost square. Located close to the Sphinx and the Temple of its members. No wonder, since the valley temple was an entrance or gateway to the entire complex is very similar to the front of the mortuary temple Khafre. The central wall built with huge blocks sometimes weighing up to one hundred and fifty tons. This is the essence covered by slabs of pink granite, a substance used widely throughout the complex that is extracted near Aswan in the south. This wall was leaning a little close to the top, which makes the whole structure looks something like the tomb of the bench.
Between the two entrances to the valley temple of the walls in the hall of pink granite was originally a simple polished to a shine. It was paved with white marble floors. The door then led to the T-shaped room that is made up most of the temples. This area was also covered with pink granite polished white marble paving, although it was decorated with a single block of sixteen columns of pink granite, and many of them are still in effect today, the pieces that supported the architrave of the same material, together with the Copper rings in the form of a swallowtail. These in turn support the roof.
Here in the dim light provided through the holes in the top of the wall, it was up to twenty four statues of the king (although the base of the statue in the center than the others, had been counted twice) of diorite, slate and marble. This is still a line along the statues from crossing to the one room on the form which ends in a door that leads to the hallway stairs and ramp wind in a clockwise direction in the upper part of the corridor before the end of the roof of the temple in the Valley.
On the south side of the roof was a small yard, located in six rooms of storage pink granite, as well as arranged on two floors of three units each. This included in the main plant to the one room in the form of symbolic behavior in the marble-lined, specifically the articles with the patch, run from the roof of the temple courtyard, a deep, dark rooms below. This symbolic run circles around the temple, with both solar and chthonic aspects of afterlife beliefs and rituals of mummification to the valley temple at the scene, according to some Egyptologists.
Therefore, the researcher proposed Bernhardt Grdseloff Polish purification ritual carried out on the balcony in a tent erected specifically for this purpose. After that, in theory that the body was stuffed in the waiting room of the temple. The French Egyptologist, suggested Etienne Drioton a similar view, but to change the location to press for the purification and mummification on the surface. However, Rick rightly noted that these rituals required a large amount of water that was available only in the vicinity of the channel, even in the best priests in the valley temple rituals can only be symbolic.
On the other side of the Cross in the T-shaped room (north), at the opening paves the way for the passage, also paved with marble, which led to the northwest corner of the temple, where he joined the road.

Bridge
The reduction in the ramp and separated from the road in the ruins of the Temple of the Great Sphinx and the Temple of the valley. The road extends for about forty-six meters connecting these structures to the mortuary temple before the main pyramid. Do not run exactly along the axis of the east and west of the mortuary temple and pyramid, but in the south-east a few of them due to the fact that the valley temple built entirely agree with the Sphinx and the mortuary temple. Archaeologists believe that the road may have been covered walkway built of limestone and outer surface is wearing pink granite block. In the meantime, may have been decorated with carvings.
The Mortuary Temple
The road enters the funerary temple near the southern tip of the interface.
And the mortuary temple, contrary to the hierarchy at a later time, the separation is directly against the limits of the pyramid, but of the east wall of the courtyard of the pyramid. Rectangular at its plant, which runs from east to west, and the walls built of local limestone, which is wrapped in the finest of limestone, a technique introduced in this structure. Inside, the building was covered almost entirely from granite. And the mortuary temple and, in the basic design, the basics of adult funerary temples in the end by perfect Sahure in the attack, including the pressure, and an open courtyard, five churches and the statue, and several stores and the Chamber of subtraction. This structure represents real progress in architecture, and much larger than the previous examples for the first time, including the five elements that would become the norm.
Entrance of the mortuary temple in the east of the country led by a small waiting room is decorated with a pair of pink granite columns compact. At the entrance to an area that was some small rooms (two of the granite is located to the left of the entrance and on the other side of the corridor, which runs the short in front of the temple, and four rooms lined with marble), which was believed to be storage or attachments serdabs. Rick, in his investigations of the mortuary temple, I found this area very similar to the valley temple, and considers that this type of repetition. He named this area as in the Temple "" (Vortempel) and the remaining area of the mortuary temple, as in the "Temple" cult "(Verehrungstempel).
This in turn led to the waiting room at the entrance hall itself, where there were twelve pairs of columns similar to those in the waiting room. This room was the original plan the one that inverts the ground, therefore, the first part of the entrance hall was through the rest bays. This in turn led to a rectangular section. Out a broad sector of the hall, two long narrow rooms separated from the extremes, and it has been suggested that the huge statues of the king, decorated these sections bleak.
 
AfterAfter the lobby features a large, open courtyard and is located in nearly half of the temple. Paving slabs of marble, and directed towards the north and south along the two sides, which runs a clinic covered with a flat roof made of limestone slaps with the support of large columns of pink granite. The lower part of this clinic was formed by a base of red granite and limestone. Was covered with brightly colored patterns, which only fragments remain. Rick believes that the ambulance that headed statues of 3.75 meters from Khafre sitting on his throne overlooking the courtyard, but Weiner is believed that these statues were the rule. Weiner, a belief in the discovery of a small statue in the west of the workshops of the pyramid. This tool shows the rule, with a crown of Upper Egypt, and stand in front of what looks like the column. The remainder of the small channel indicates that the exchange of the altar, which was at the center of the courtyard.
There is a section on the west side of the corridor was reported with five churches long time (in fact, niches), which was also home to statues of the king. Another opens the narrow corridor of south-western corner of the yard, and led to the room availability is located on the western side of the temple. The room was narrow, long room with the north and south (in contrast to the funerary temples at a later time) with a false door on the west of the barrier position exactly on the long axis of the pyramid. Among the five churches for worship, and the exhibition hall, and a group of five storage rooms and provide offerings of worship and ships used during the various celebrations.
There are stairs in the northeast corner of the temple, which led to the balcony, while in the northwest corner of the courtyard, another runner led the enclosure of the pyramid are paved.
Although each of them on what seems to have been looted in ancient times, there were five ships bit funerary temples discovered so far. Two of them in the north of the temple, while three were in the south. There is a gap had been planned. All these were carved in the rock in the form of a boat. Two of mine still have the roof panels, in spite of all the wells that had been looted, probably during the ancient times.
Pyramid itself
Kafre pyramid surrounded by a large internal perimeter stone wall, an open courtyard barely ten feet wide, which limits the four sides of the pyramid of your own. Courtyard paved with slabs of limestone irregularly.
Because two different approaches to this structure, and some Egyptologists believe that the pyramid of Khafre main was originally will be higher, and there will be more to the north a little, then his membership. However, modern scholars with considerable experience in this pyramid, and Weiner, no doubt this assumption. Such as the pyramid of Cheops, and also in Egypt, Khafre structure of rock jutting benefit to both increase their capacity to maintain the basic stability and quantity of building materials needed for construction. In fact, the lowest levels of the south-western corner are actually pieces of rock under the ground. The surface of the foundation stone in the north-west, must be reduced to about 10 meters by the builders of old, and south-east corner while it was not necessary to build with large lumps of concrete. However, by far the main content of the pyramid consists of blocks of limestone from local quarries height almost equal. Near the north of the pyramid, one can clearly see the implications of what is still extracted from these blocks. Blocks did not originate with the care given to the base of the pyramid of Cheops, the layers does not always work precisely and horizontal joints in some cases very large. In many cases, there is no mortar between the blocks. In fact, since the four corners of a corner were not aligned properly to a large extent on compliance with the apex of the pyramid, there is a very light touch in the upper part.
Baseline levels for housing and it was pink granite, while the upper classes, which are much smaller toward the top (about one arm thick) limestone is a fine Torah. And outside surfaces of residential buildings will be phased by a few millimeters instead of the discharge, which may mean that they faced by their status. While the summit pyrami and lost, and on top of the pyramid, a small portion of the cover remains in situ, which helps us to see how the completion of the blocks and finishing at the base of the pyramid. However, it is clear that what remains is the erosion of the deck, recent studies by Italian experts have shown that the edges of the remaining corner of the mantle is not completely straight. Individual blocks are rotated slightly in different directions. It is characteristic of this analysis indicates that this was the result of seismic activity. Small earthquakes are not uncommon in ancient Egypt, where it is known to occur in the modern era.

The oldest of the two entran The older two entries in the depths of groundwater Khafre's pyramid is now in the ground about thirty yards to the north of the pyramid. Carved entirely from rocks beneath Earth's surface, are sometimes called "bottom entry. This relates to the entrance with the passage at the outset to come down before you run horizontally. In this horizontal section of the corridor, corridor leading to the Western Wall for a reduction in a small room made of rock and with a roof of repentance, that part of the funerary furniture may have been stored. After the horizontal section of the entrance corridor, which in the end to a horizontal corridor, shared by the entrance of "superior."
Second gateway, known as the entrance to the "high" and is located in the northern wall of the face of the pyramid of twelve feet above ground level. It communicates with the corridor lined with pink granite, which first down before running horizontally at the base of the pyramid. In the transitional phase between his descendants and horizontal sections, there is a pink granite barrier, which enables thieves to dig up ancient graves around. Horizontal corridor continues south after the barrier, eventually reach the burial chamber, located on the vertical axis in the pyramid. Due to the relatively simple construction of a walkway for access, and the burial chamber, it is likely that the architects of this pyramid was to avoid complications that the builders of the pyramid of Khufu was found on your system, technically difficult passages, and barriers and cameras.
The pyramids above, and the burial chamber of a rectangle, between East and West, the dirt that puts you in a corner of the right of access to ticketing. With the exception of one roof, is completely carved in the rock. Located on the bottom of the pyramid, erected the roof of the shrine room is based, a huge regret, and blocks of limestone. Originally, the intention was to cover the walls of the burial chamber of this camera in pink granite. There are entries in the north-south axis from the walls of the burial chamber, which appear at first glance similar to that of the Queen and King camber of the Great Pyramid, it is a relatively short time, and horizontal slots that could be used to enhance the wooden structures inside the cemetery.
Near the western wall of the burial chamber, almost directly on the vertical axis in the hierarchy, and put them in place is made of black granite of the King, who was originally crowned by a sliding cover. Cover was found on two pieces nearby. Near the coffin, a small tree in the floor probably held royal canopic vessel, which would be the first case of its funeral equipment and placed in the pyramid .. Any identification of the mummy is still the king or other funerary equipment was found inside the pyramid.
Pyramid of worship
A small cult pyramid was almost entirely destroyed (x. 2a) and located in the heart of the southern part of the main pyramid of Khafre. Worship, or satellite pyramids also sometimes called, is believed to stem from the tomb complex south of King Djoser at Saqqara, and perhaps for the burial of statues dedicated to the minutes, or spiritual double, of the king. Originally, it was surrounded by a wall of enclosure. Infrastructure consists of a simple descending corridor leads to an underground room with T-plan form. Because this room contained the pieces of wood, beads of carnelian and parts of the animal bones and covers the ship, and Rinaldi Maragioglio concluded that it should serve as a tomb for one peer Khafre. However, Stadelmann opposed to this view, saying that it was the pyramid of worship. View is supported by the accompanying cult of the complexity of the pyramid of Cheops at its south-eastern corner.
More to the point, Weiner believes that consists of a wooden frame in the form of rice Netjer true sleep, or the divine booth, which was used to transport the statue to be buried in the subdivision of the pyramid is small.
Other structures
In the 1880s, Petrie also discovered west of the pyramid of Khafre, behind the outer wall of the ocean called the ruins of the temple which contains a long time, and rooms are geared mainly between East and West. It was supposed, according to some researchers in the later and Holscher, she was an employee in the town who had the highest number of four to five thousand men in 111 oversized rooms. However, work at a later time by Lehner and Hawass suggests that this mechanism is that instead of reaching an agreement, and the warehouse, as well as workshops for the hierarchy. Interestingly, a large number of mollusc shells found here also indicate that the region surrounding it, it was just a barren desert it is today, and savannah species of plants and animals involved.
Violation of the pyramid
Perhaps in the early period of the first argument, as in the case of other pyramids, the thieves entered the tomb may Khafra. Registration supervisor "to indicate that the temple has already descended from 19th, considerable damage had already occurred. In fact, indicate that the written sources, in order to Ramses II, and the casing of the pyramid of Khafre is used to construct a temple at Heliopolis. Other sources indicate that a large proportion of the casing of the pyramid was withdrawn between 1356 and 1362 for use in Hassan.
In any case, the Arab historian Ibn Abd al-Salam records that were opened in the pyramid, 774 AH (1372 AD), in the era of Grand Jalburgh - Khassaki Prince. It is possible that the tunnels are on the granite barriers at the entrance of the corridor had been dug at the time.
Sphinx
Outside the perimeter fences may have spread throughout the entire complex pyramid of Khafre, including the Great Sphinx. A detailed study by geologist Aigner Thmas geological layers show that the Sphinx is closely linked to quarrying, and construction of a complex of Khafre.
Therefore, there is some evidence that this was part of a complex pyramid of Khafre. However, the latter is not true at all, so we have to avoid this subject at the present time, and choose to separate search of a statue of the Sphinx.
Technique:
Main pyramid
Original name: Khafre is a great
Date of construction: 4th Dynasty
Original length: 1473.5 meters
Inclination: 53rd 10 '
The lengths of the sides of the base: 215.25 meters
For Street: 494.6 meters
Of the pyramid of worship
Inclination: 53rd 54 '
Along both sides of base: 20.9 m