Talking Pyramids

Here is a bit of a wrap up of the past week’s main pyramid news stories, starting with the blog of Zahi Hawass.

‘Black’ pyramid remains closed

Hawass wrote about the pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dahshur. This is also sometimes called the ‘Black’ pyramid due to its colour and has a rather odd appearance having partially collapsed.

Readers might recall the announcement made earlier by Hawass on the preservation of Dahshur and how it was expected that this pyramid, as well as the internal chambers of the Bent pyramid, would be opened to the public by June.

This week Hawass informed us that this is unlikely to happen soon. In his words:

“I would like to open the Black Pyramid to the public, but much conservation and restoration work needs to be done, as it is still problematic to enter.”

No mention of the Bent pyramid which was scheduled to open this month. Perhaps the lack of any mention means that the chambers won’t be opened any time soon.

Source: The Pyramids of Dashur 3: The Black Pyramid

Hawass on Preserving Giza
Back to the Giza plateau, Zahi Hawass wrote about the work that the Giza Archives Project at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is doing to digitally restore Giza.

He explained how the Giza Archives Project is working with other museums around the world that hold collections from Giza to put them all online enabling the visitor to view them all at the Giza Archives website.

Hawass writes:

Future plans include experiments with 3D real-time models of the entire Giza plateau, with links to the archaeological data; geophysical surveys of the site in collaboration with the SCA; and even “augmented reality” computer applications that will bring all the Giza data right to your Smartphone or other handheld device. Visitors to museums, or tourists at Giza will one day have access to all the information that was once accessible only to scholars in libraries. I believe the Giza Archives Project provides a unique model for archaeological site management, preservation, and access, and I hope that similar projects and Web sites will follow this example for other sites, in Egypt and elsewhere.”

Source: Preserving Giza’s Archaeological Heritage

Giza Caves
Still at Giza, there was more mention of the Giza Archives project at the EEF mail list by Nigel Skinner-Simpson. He wrote:

Drawings of sections and plans for all three rock-cut tombs in the
north cliff at Giza, NC 1 –  NC 3 have been located in the diary
volumes at The Giza Archives as follows:

Vol.33.p.794 Thursday, April 27, 1939

“In the afternoon we working in cleaning the rock cut tombs north of
the camp: 1) cleared the north cliff 1) to be ready for workers around
the house to stay in case of war. Drawing.”

section and plan drawings of NC 1.

Vol.33.p.795 Friday, April 28, 1939

“(1) In north cliff 2) In cleaning that rock cut tomb to be ready for
the men in case of war. That  one is a big one opened to north.
Contains of a street in the middle and two rooms on east opened
into the street and two rooms on west opened into the street
also. Drawing.”

section and plan drawings of NC 2.

Vol.33.p.795 Saturday, April 29, 1939

“(1) North cliff 3): In cleaning that rock cut tomb. It is cut
in rock, drift sand. Door opened to north. Cleaned. Drawing.”

section and plan drawings of NC 3.

I believe the two following references also refer to the rock-cut tombs:

Vol.34.p.830 Sunday, August 27, 1939

“The carpenter is working in the rock cut tombs. North of the camp,
in case of war or gas.”

Vol.36.p.989 Friday, May 10, 1940

“(2) In the rock cut tomb in the north cliff, north of the camp: in building
the stairs in the eastern rock cut tomb and in changing the sand of the
second tomb of the men. (because of the bad smell).”

Rock-cut tomb NC 2 is the tomb associated with the “Collins Cave
Controversy”. The diary drawing shows more detail than the
unpublished plan recently made available on the Giza Archives
Director’s Blog in that it shows the room to the east of the main N-S
corridor and also the opening in the west wall of the corridor. No
detail is shown beyond the opening.

I would be most grateful if anyone having references to NC 2 other
than in Vyse, Perring, Salt, Boston MFA already referred to, or
the official report mentioned by Dr. Hawass in his recent blog article
could please post them or send them to me.

Regards,
Nigel Skinner-Simpson.

Source: EEF

Jean-Pierre Houdin
Spurred by my posting of an old photo of the original Great Pyramid entrance, there has been some discussion between Jean-Pierre Houdin & I over the possibility of finding a burial chamber at the end of the Queen’s chamber southern shaft. We also discussed the chamber that Bob Brier entered that appears to be strong evidence of one of the pivot chambers in Houdin’s Internal Spiral ramp theory.

In part of the discussion he directed me to his wife’s video that she made in a street in Cairo of Egyptian workman creating a pyramid “inside out”:

This document appears as an illustration strangely significant and unexpected – with an interval of about 45 centuries – the process of building the Great Pyramid (at least in outline), as Jean-Pierre Houdin developed in his theory about Khufu.

Source: Pyramidales

Egypt Unwrapped: The Pyramid Code
More pyramid video came this week from National Geographic with thier premier called Egypt Unwrapped: The Pyramid Code. I posted a few videos from the National Geographic website for anyone who may have missed it.

Source: Egypt Unwrapped

Related posts:

1. Update on the ‘Giza Caves’ from P Manuelian Entrance to the 'Giza Caves' Director of the Giza Archives...
2. Hawass Confirms Existence of Cave System Beneath the Pyramids In what appears to be a backflip on his earlier...
3. Pyramids Built on Natural Mounds Giza Plateau Some discussion has taken place recently over the...
4. Exploring Talking Pyramids I thought it’s about time I gave readers a bit...
5. Talking Pyramids Welcome to the Talking Pyramids blog! Stay tuned in to...

Tags: Amenemhet III, Giza