Volume 1 — SECOND JOURNEY. (continued 4)

So much has been already said about the pyramids, that very little is left to observe respecting them. Their great appearance of antiquity certainly leads us to suppose, that they must have been constructed at an earlier period than any other edifices to be seen in Egypt. It is somewhat singular, that Homer does not mention them; but this is no proof, that they did not exist in his time; on the contrary, it may be supposed they were so generally known, that he thought it useless to speak of them. It appears, that in the time of Herodotus as little 429was known of the second pyramid as before the late opening, with this exception, that in his time the second pyramid was nearly in the state in which it was left when closed by the builders, who must have covered the entrance with the coating so that it might not be perceived. But at the time I was fortunate enough to find my way into it, the entrance was concealed by the rubbish of the coating, which must have been nearly perfect at the time of Herodotus: notwithstanding this we were as much in the dark in this present age, as he was in his. We know, however, now, that it has been opened by some of the rulers or chiefs of Egypt; a fact that affords no small satisfaction to the inquirer on the subject of these monuments. Some persons, who would rather let this circumstance remain in obscurity, regretted, that I should have found the inscription on the wall, which proved it to have been opened at so late a period, as very little more than a thousand years ago; but I beg them to recollect, that the present opening has not only made known this very interesting circumstance, but has thrown much light on the manner in which these enormous masses were erected, as well as explained the purposes for which they were made.

430The circumstance of having chambers and a sarcophagus (which undoubtedly contained the remains of some great personage), so uniform with those in the other pyramid, I think leaves very little question, but that they were erected as sepulchres; and I really wonder, that any doubt has ever existed, considering what could be learned from the first pyramid, which has been so long open. This contains a spacious chamber with a sarcophagus; the passages are of such dimensions as to admit nothing larger than the sarcophagus; they had been closely shut up by large blocks of granite from within, evidently to prevent the removal of that relic. Ancient authors are pretty well agreed in asserting, that these monuments were erected to contain the remains of two brothers, Cheops and Cephren, kings of Egypt. They are surrounded by other smaller pyramids intermixed with mausoleums on burial-grounds. Many mummy pits have been continually found there; yet with all these proofs, it has been asserted, that they were erected for many other purposes than the true one, and nearly as absurd as that they served for granaries.

Some consider them as built for astronomical purposes, but there is nothing in their construction 431to favour this supposition. Others maintain, that they were meant for the performance of holy ceremonies by the Egyptian priests. Any thing, in short, for the sake of contradiction, or to have something new to say, finds its advocate. If the ancient authors had advanced, that they were erected for treasuries, the moderns would have agreed perhaps more in conformity with the truth, that they were made for sepulchres; and they would not have failed to see plainly those circumstances, which clearly prove the facts, and which are not noticed as they ought to be. I will agree with others thus far, that the Egyptians, in erecting these enormous masses, did not fail to make their sides due north and south, and consequently, as they are square, due east and west. Their inclination too is such as to give light to the north side at the time of the solstice. But even all this does not prove in the least, that they were erected for astronomical purposes; though it is to be observed, that the Egyptians connected astronomy with their religious ceremonies, as we found various zodiacs, not only among the temples, but in their tombs also.

By the measurement I took of the second pyramid I found it to be as follows:

432

Feet.

The basis 684

Apotome or central line down the front, from the top to the basis 568

Perpendicular 456

Coating from the top to the place where it ends 140

The circumstance of not finding hieroglyphics in or out of it makes it appear, that they were erected before this mode of writing was invented; for, strange as it may seem, not a single hieroglyphic is found in all these enormous masses. Yet I must beg leave to remark a circumstance, which perhaps will lead to the conjecture, that it might not have been the custom of the Egyptians in that part of the country, who might perhaps be even of a different religion from their countrymen, to put hieroglyphics on their monuments; for there are many mausoleums round the pyramids, and some of them very extensive, without an hieroglyphic to be seen within or without them; and I observed, that those which contain chambers with hieroglyphics are evidently of a later date than the former. All this would seem to prove, that till a certain period subsequent to the building of 433the pyramids hieroglyphics were not known. But what can be said when I assure the reader, that in one of these mausoleums, which stands on the west of the first pyramid, and which is so decayed that it has fallen in, and is in a very ruinous state, I saw and made others observe some hieroglyphics and figures reversed in one of the blocks, which formed that mausoleum; and the hieroglyphics so preserved within, as if they were to be hidden from the view? It certainly must be concluded, that this stone had been employed in a building, which was adorned with hieroglyphics, and consequently proves that they were known previous to the erection of these mausoleums, though they were without any of these ornaments or inscriptions. This being the case, it may be supposed, that the people, who built the pyramids, were of the same way of thinking as those, who built the mausoleums; consequently nothing can be inferred respecting the age of the pyramids from the circumstance of their not having any hieroglyphics.

It has been supposed, that the first pyramid, or that of Cheops, was not coated. I must agree in this opinion, for there is not the slightest mark remaining of any coating. As to the 434coating of the second pyramid, I had an opportunity of investigating this subject in the excavation I made on the east side of it, where I found the lower part as rough as any of the upper, below the remaining coating, which confirms the account of Herodotus in this respect, who says, that the coating was begun from above; and I believe myself that it never was quite finished to the basis, for if it had, I should have met with some below, as the accumulation of rubbish over the basis would have kept the stones in their places, or at least enough of them to show there was a coating, as was the case in the third pyramid, of which I shall have to speak presently.

It is supposed, that the inundation of the Nile surrounded the pyramids, so that they remained like islands. I cannot say that it was not so, for the situation of the pyramids is like an island of rocks, separated from those on the west only by a valley of sand, which might naturally have been accumulated by the wind in the course of so many centuries. I think we cannot have a stronger proof of this than the sphinx itself, the basis of which is so much below the present surface, that if all the sand around the pyramids were removed on a level 435with it, I have no doubt the Nile must run round them, which probably was the case in the early ages.

Having thus finished my operation on the second pyramid, I felt a great inclination to have a cursory view of the third. I observed, that some one had made an attempt to penetrate it by excavations on the east side. I commenced my labours on the north side, and, after removing a great quantity of materials, found a considerable accumulation of enormous blocks of granite, which had evidently formed the coating.—Proceeding yet lower, as I cleared away the rubbish I found that part of the coating still remained in its place down to the bases. The removal of these blocks would evidently have brought me to the entrance into the pyramid, but it required more money and time than I could spare.

By this time the consul, who was at Thebes, hearing of the opening of the pyramid, wrote to me, that he was coming down the Nile; and at the same time Lord Belmore and family arrived at Cairo. It is somewhat singular, and I mention it with much satisfaction, that his Lordship arrived at Thebes one month after my discovery of the celebrated tomb of Psammuthis, and was the first British traveller who entered it. On 436his return from Nubia, he arrived at Cairo a little more than a month after my opening the second pyramid, and was the first British traveller who entered this also. His Lordship and family had been at Thebes for some time, and had accumulated no small collection of antiquities; indeed, I esteem it the largest ever made by any occasional traveller. Dr. Richardson had taken the opportunity of observing the ruins of ancient Thebes at leisure; and I believe, by his minute remarks, he must have made himself well acquainted with many interesting points not yet explained, and I have no doubt his account will be highly interesting.

The Earl and family set off for Jerusalem by way of the Desert; and I prepared for my departure for Thebes, my old residence, which I knew better than any other place in Egypt. A few days after, the consul arrived, and, in half an hour after him, Colonel Fitzclarence, with despatches from India for England. The consul, Mr. Salt, would have been kind enough to have paid all the expenses I had incurred in opening the pyramid; but this I positively refused, as I thought it would not be fair and right that he should pay for what he had nothing to do with.

I had the pleasure of accompanying the Colonel in a visit to the pyramid, as described 437by himself in his account of his journey from India to England through Egypt. He had suffered many hardships on his journey, but did not appear fatigued in the least. His short stay in Cairo did not permit me to write a full account of my labours; but at night I made a hasty sketch as well as I could, and addressed it to the Antiquarian Society of London, which he was kind enough to take to England for me. Mr. Salt, the consul, took the same opportunity of sending an official account of my operations in Egypt and Nubia to the ministers in England, I suppose because he had no opportunity of sending any correct account before that time.

My next and principal object was to make a small collection on my own account, and to take drawings of the tomb of Psammuthis, with impressions in wax of all the figures, emblems, and hieroglyphics, the whole of which are in basso relievo; taking the colours exactly as in the originals, so as to enable me to erect a facsimile in any part of Europe. This project deserved my serious consideration, not only in calculating the time that it would require to complete it, but the expense I must incur. However, though I was only in Cairo, I did not 438want means of finding supplies for what I intended to execute, and in a few days all was ready for my departure on my third voyage up the Nile; when, having arranged my affairs with the consul, I set off for my old habitation among the tombs of Thebes.

END OF VOL. I.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISON, WHITEFRIARS.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.