Inside the Great Pyramid of Giza (Khufu)

A scavenger hunt

Made by member-c57e80

1. The Sunlit Threshold

   Our expedition begins outside on the tiered limestone blocks where modern visitors line up to enter the pyramid. Before stepping into the dark cavern ahead, search the sunlit stone terrace behind you where the desert plateau stretches toward the city. A golden symbol of eternal life rests on the flat limestone blocks overlooking the wooden walkway.

2. The Caliph's Tunnel

   Turn back toward the dark opening cut straight into the rough masonry at the top of the stone stairs. Because the original pivoted stone door higher up on the north face was hidden for centuries, medieval workmen had to hack a new way inside. Look beside the mouth of this rough tunnel for a bronze blade resting on a square white stone block.

3. The Unfinished Depths

   Deep below the pyramid's base, the long descending corridor opens into a rough, shadowy cavern carved straight out of the living bedrock. Look up at the iron grating high above the pit, where ancient quarrymen left the stone floor uneven and raw. Somewhere in the dark bedrock shadows behind you hides a spiced offering bowl.

4. The Plugged Junction

   Climbing back up into the heart of the monument brings you to the narrow wooden ramp with twin handrails leading into the upper passages. Ancient builders sealed the lower end of the ascending corridor with massive granite plugs to deter tomb raiders. Search the wooden deck platform to your right beneath the carved wall for a clay storage jar.

5. The Corbelled Climb

   Halfway up the soaring Grand Gallery, the ceiling rises more than eight meters overhead as each layer of stone steps inward above the wooden walkway. Early travelers carved their initials into the soft limestone beside the ramp, visible right in front of you. Turn toward the opposite stone wall to spot an amulet resting near the low metal junction box.

6. The Gabled Vault

   Following the low horizontal passage brings you into a quiet limestone room topped by a pointed gable roof near the center of the pyramid. Early Arab explorers named this the Queen's Chamber because of its peaked ceiling, though it was built for Khufu himself. Look back toward the low doorway you crawled through to find a small guardian cat statue.

7. The Granite Sanctuary

   At the top of the climb lies the King's Chamber, lined floor to ceiling with monumental blocks of red granite brought hundreds of miles down the Nile from Aswan. Before you stands Khufu's lidless granite sarcophagus, battered at one corner by ancient treasure hunters. Turn toward the far side of the room to find the golden pharaoh mask waiting by the corner light.

Congratulations on completing the Great Pyramid expedition. From the forced medieval entry tunnel and deep bedrock pit to the corbelled Grand Gallery and red granite burial chamber, you have uncovered the engineering secrets that made Khufu's monument stand for more than four thousand five hundred years.

• Inside the Great Pyramid of Giza (Khufu)

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