The times., 1898-02-20

thus making the faces smooth. The door
was walled up, after the body of the
builder had been laid TO rest and thus
the pyramid became a finished tomb.
The ancient Egyptians believed that
their prospects of Immortality depended
upon the preservation of their bodies.
and hence the enormous pains which
they took in the way of mummy-mak-
ing and tomb building. But the rest
of the dead in their graves is always
mere figure of speech. Modern ceme-
terfes are invariably dug up, and either
wiped out or tranSplanted rudely, after d
very moderate length of time. The skele-
tons of vanished peoples are regarded
by the archaeologists as his legitimate
spoil. and the non-Scientific randal res
poets nothing. The three pyramids Of
Ghizeh were opened by the Persians in
the fifth century B. c.; also. proba bly,,
by the Romans, later. The Calfph
Mamun "a. D.. $3.50, broke into the
kings chamber already described, hop
ing to find treasure, but it is under
stood that he had his labor for his pains
Maybe somebody had been before him.
For 100 years after the conquest OF
Egypt by the Arabs, the group of pyra-
mids at Ghizeh was laid under contribu-
tion for stone to build mosques,
etc. across the river in Cairo. At
the end of the twelfth century Melik-el-
Kanil tried to destroy the Pyramid of
Mycerium, which is the largest of the
famous trio, being only about half the
height of the great pyramid but, after
months of toll, he succeeded only in
stripping off the casing from one side.
The great pyramid has been an inn
mense inspiration for cranks. Some of
these gentry earnestly contend that the
building was actually erected under di-
vine inSpiration-that it is a veritable
revelation in stone. They find that 1t
exhibits knowledge which could not pos
sibly have been possessed by mere NOR
tai men at so early an epoch, and that
it must have been built to serve as a
divine standard of measurement. The
length Of each of its sides has special
relation to the earths circumference.
The lidless stone Golfer found in the
kings chamber is a divine unit Of
measure; it holds exactly four of the
quarters in which the modern British
farmer measures his grain. Attention Is
called to the fact that, In pulling to
pieces an ancient temple at Karnae,
mason's wooden rule was found, meas
uring 41.46 inches, which, cubed, gives
the exact number of cubic inches con-
tanned in the Golfer. What could be
more convincing?
The rawlings of these lunatics may be
dismissed with smile, but one is oblig-
ed to give more serious consideration to
the views of certain scientists who are
disposed to find mathematical and even
astronomical significance in the meas
urements of the great pyramid. 1t Is
readily demonstrable that taking the
structure as 1t originally stood COM
plete, the total length of the four sides
bore exactly the same relation to its
height as the circumference Of a circle
to its radius. The learned men--i g., the
priests-of ancient Egypt-undoubtedl
knew good deal about mathematics.
The main passage of the pyramid is 50
straight that, though more than 800 feet
long, one can see the sky when looking
from its bottom. And astronomers say
that 1t is pointed exactly at the star
Alpha In the constellation of Draoo.
which was the North Star 1000 years
ago. On this basis 1t is imagined that the
Pyramid of Cheops was an observatory,
and that the passage referred to was q
primitive telescope, but this remains to
be proved.