The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-08-11

in the heart of the pyramid, is the
queens chamber Mr.. Covington is
now at work trying to find the interior
ends of the 300-foot air channels. The
inner extremities of these were dis
covered by an Englishman, Weyman
Dixon, in 1872.
Masons today build no more beau.
tifully than did those ancient men
who toiled $500 years ago. They
have left their own monument in the
queens chamber. which, apparently,
was never used 1t is superbly I'm
ished and jointed; yet, oddly enough,
the entrance to this superb tomb was
covered and concealed. Possibly It
was intended for Martitefe, Khufu's
queen, but she survived him and mar
ried his brother Chephren, who built
the second pyramid in the great group
which stands today as perpetual
monument just outside Cairo.
The great kings chamber, 35 feet by
II by 10, is wrought in polished gran.
lite. Just one hundred perfect blocks
in five courses compose it's walls. Nine
granite slabs form it's ceiling and the
floor of the low granite chamber
above. The second chambers ceiling
forms the floor of third chamber,
and so on up to the fifth, which is the
topmost, each one rising over the
great one intended for the dead
king. Like the queens chamber, this
top one is rooted with an arch OF
heavy limestone slabs. On one OF
those slabs there still stays in living
paint Khufu's quarry mark, or official
seal-two birds and snake. sur
mounted by round dot
OF the mysteries he has found Mr..
Covingston has just spoken, and espe-
sially above the grand gallery, 155 feet
long and % feet high, by which the
kings chamber was reached.
81 consider this the most mysterious
part of this mighty miracle in stone"
said he, because If the pyramid were
intended only as q tomb there was
practically no use for this elaborate
grand gallery, with its strange and re-
markable features. except perhaps to
temporarily accommodate the granite
| plugs which still clbse the lower end
of the ascending passage, but which
find fit too tightly to have been slid
into position. At an angle of about
| twenty-six degrees eight minutes it
slopes up for 155 feet, it's height %
feet, and its width above the ramps
nearly seven feet It's great sides are
clearly marked by seven overlapping
| layers of stone, while it is rooted by
thirty-six slabs. Bordering the third
overlapping layer Is finely finished
narrow groove extending right round
the gallery; it is but one of several
remarkable and inexplicable features
which distinguish this part of the
| structure.
"a twenty-inch ramp borders each
side of the gallery, extending right up
to the great step, which is just one
yard high. Each ramp contains TWEEN
ty-eight rampholes, orer nearly all OF
which, for some strange and as yet
unknown reason, shallow holes have
been chiseled out, and a neat close
| fitting stone let in.
"As most pyramidists are much per.
picked by this feature and have ad.
vanced theories must venture mine.
1t is just possible that the places CHS
eled out originally contained fnscrip.
tons, which the king Tor some reason
desired to obliterate. 1t became nee.
essary then to remove-to chisel out
| the disfigured parts caused by the OBJ
| liberation and replace them by a close
fitting let-in stone.
I'm 1905 discovered on the twenty
sixth course of the sotth flank SINH
lar let-in stone, to the reverse side OF
which still adhered buff-colored &C.
ment. 1t had doubtless become de-
tached from the face Of falling cas-
ing stone. Clearly incised in the
dressed surface was the full tenth
part of an 18-incl diameter circle. 1t
was the only Known inscribed stone
ever found on tie great pyramid.
would judge it had been let into a
south flank casing stone at a place
from which another inscription had
been for some reason ehiseled out"
Such is the newest story of the pyr.
amids which have been standing amid
the sands of Gi9h these thousands of
years told by al American.
|