[207] The presence of this lining in the "Queen's Chamber" also led to its being dubbed a funerary chamber, for no trace of a sarcophagus was found in it. If we had any reason to believe that the pyramid was built in successive wedges, we should look upon this as a provisional chamber, made before it was certain that the pyramid would attain its present dimensions. As the work went on, it would be decided that another, larger, and better defended chamber should be built. In this case the first may never have been used, and may always have been as empty as it is now.
[208] These observations are to be found in one of the early works of Letronne. Their presence is in no way hinted at by the title, which is: Recherches Géographiques et Critiques sur le Livre 'De mensura orbis terræ' (8vo. 1844). The treatise, Περὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ θεαμάτων, may have been written either by Philo of Heraclea or Philo of Byzantium. They both belonged to the third century before our era, but the bombastic style and numerous errors incline us to believe that the little work must have been from the pen of some unknown rhetorician of a later date.
[209] These are the words of Philo, which we have translated rather freely:— Ποικίλαι δὲ καὶ πορφυραὶ λίθων φύσεις ἀλλήλαις ἐπιδεδόμεναι, καὶ τὰ μέν ἐστιν ἡ πέτρα λευκὴ καὶ μαρμαρίτης· τῇ δὲ Αἰθιοπικὴ καὶ μέλαινα καὶ μετὰ ταύτην ὁ καλούμενος αἱματίτης λιθος· εἶτα ποικίλος καὶ διάχλωρος ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀραβίας κεκομισμένος, p. 2,259, A.
[210] According to the calculations of Letronne, the Great Pyramid must have been 482 feet high when it was complete. In the time of Diodorus it was slightly over 480 feet; in that of Abd-ul-Latif it measured 477 feet 3 inches. In 1795 it was only 456 feet and a few inches, so that it lost about 24 feet in the course of eighteen centuries. This lowering of the summit was mainly caused by the destruction and removal of the outer casing. Since it disappeared the Arabs have been in the habit of loosening the stones on the top and launching them down the sides for the amusement of travellers; the smooth casing alone could prevent such outrage as this. The common idea that the Pyramid of Cheops is the highest building in the world is erroneous. Even if we take its height when complete, it is surpassed by at least two modern buildings, as may be seen by the following table of the most lofty buildings now existing:—
| Feet. | |
| Spires of Cologne Cathedral | 533 |
| Flèche of the Cathedral at Rouen | 500 |
| Spire of St. Nicholas, Hamburg | 480 |
| Dome of St. Peter's, Rome | 476 |
| Spire of Strasbourg Cathedral | 473 |
| Pyramid of Cheops | 456 |
| Spire of St. Stephen's, Vienna | 450 |
| Spire of St. Martin's, Landshut | 443 |
| Spire of the Cathedral of Freiburg, Breisgau | 417 |
| Spire of Antwerp Cathedral, not including the cross | 411 |
| Spire of Salisbury Cathedral | 404 |
| Dome of Cathedral at Florence | 396 |
| Dome of St. Paul's, London | 371 |
| Flèche of Milan Cathedral | 363 |
| Tower of Magdeburg Cathedral | 344 |
| Victoria Tower, Westminster | 336 |
| Rathhaus Tower, Berlin | 293 |
| Spire of Trinity Church, New York | 287 |
| Pantheon, Paris | 266 |
| Towers of Nôtre Dame, Paris | 226 |
[211] Diodorus, i. 63, 64.
[212] Herodotus, ii. 49.
[213] M. Maspero has given in the Annuaire de l'Association pour l'Encouragement des Études Grecques and elsewhere, several extracts from a commentary upon the second book of Herodotus, which we should like to see published in its entirety. We may point out more particularly his remarks upon the text of the Greek historian in the matter of the 1,600 talents of silver which, he says, was the value of the onions, radishes, and garlic consumed by the workmen employed upon the Great Pyramid (ii. 125). He has no difficulty in showing that Herodotus made a mistake, for which he gives an ingenious and probable explanation. (Annuaire de 1875, p. 16.)
[214] Herodotus, ii. 148. Diodorus (l. 89) speaks of the same and Strabo, who also appears to have seen it, asserts its funerary character (p. 1165, C). He says it was four plethra (393 feet) both in width and height. This last dimension is obviously exaggerated, because in all the Egyptian pyramids that are known to us the shortest diameter of the base is far in excess of the height.
[215] If the passage in which Herodotus makes the statement here referred to be taken in connection with the remarks of Diodorus, a probable explanation of the old historian's assertion may be arrived at. Diodorus says that the king ὀρύττων τάυτην (λίμνην sub.) κατέλιπεν ἐν μἑσῃ τόπον, ἐν ᾧ τάφον ᾠκοδόμησε καὶ δύο πυραμίδας, τὴν μὲν ἑαυτοῦ, τὴν δὲ τῆς γυναικός, σταδιαίας τὸ ὕψος. By this it would appear that, in excavating the bed, or a part of the bed, of the famous lake, a mass of earth was left in order to bear future witness to the depth of the excavation and the general magnitude of the work. This mass would probably be reveted with stone, and, in order that even when surrounded and almost hidden by water, its significance should not be lost, the pyramids raised upon it were made exactly equal to it in height.—Ed.