The Origin and Significance of the Great Pyramid

By C. Staniland Wake

A Facsimile Reprint of the 1882 Edition

Published by Wizards Bookshelf, 1979

Secret Doctrine Reference Series

Paperback

Near Fine, Like New Vintage Condition. The book is clean, covers attached, uncreased spine, secure binding, crisp inner pages, unmarked, no writing, no highlighting, no stains, no fading, no ripped pages, no edge chipping, no corner folds, no crease marks, no remainder marks, not ex-library. Very faint to indiscernible signs of wear from use, storage and handling. Previous owner embossed stamp on several pages throughout. 

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In this classic of Pyramidology, C. Staniland Wake attempts to answer the questions: who actually built the pyramids, and why? He rejects the conventional theory that they were tombs, and explores astronomical and religious motivations for their construction instead.

Title Page
Preface
Table of Contents
Chapter I. The Astronomical Theory
Chapter II. Early Egyptian Civilization
Chapter III. The Tomb Theory
Chapter IV. The Religious Theory
Chapter V. Seth And Serpent Worship
Note
Appendix I
Appendix II

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The  Great Pyramid of Giza  is the largest  Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of  pharaoh  Khufu, who ruled during the  Fourth Dynasty  of the  Old Kingdom. Built   2600 BC, over a period of about 27 years,  the pyramid is the oldest of the  Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only wonder that has remained largely intact. It is the most famous monument of the  Giza pyramid complex, which is part of the  UNESCO World Heritage Site  "Memphis  and its  Necropolis".  It is situated at the northeastern end of the line of the three main pyramids at  Giza. Initially standing at 146.6 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the world's  tallest human-made structure  for more than 3,800 years. Over time, most of the smooth white  limestone  casing was removed, which lowered the pyramid's height to the current 138.5 metres (454.4  ft); what is seen today is the underlying core structure. The base was measured to be about 230.3 metres (755.6  ft) square, giving a volume of roughly 2.6  million cubic metres (92  million cubic feet), which includes an internal hillock.  The dimensions of the pyramid were 280  royal cubits  (146.7  m; 481.4  ft) high, a base length of 440  cubits (230.6  m; 756.4  ft), with a  seked  of  512  palms (a slope of 51°50'40"). The Great Pyramid was built by quarrying an estimated 2.3 million large blocks, weighing 6 million tonnes in total. The majority of the stones are not uniform in size or shape, and are only roughly dressed.  The outside layers were bound together by  mortar. Primarily local limestone from the  Giza Plateau  was used for its construction. Other blocks were imported by boat on the  Nile: white limestone from  Tura  for the casing, and blocks of  granite  from  Aswan, weighing up to 80 tonnes, for the "King's Chamber" structure. There are three known chambers inside of the Great Pyramid. The lowest was cut into the  bedrock, upon which the pyramid was built, but remained unfinished. The so-called  Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber, which contain a granite sarcophagus, are above ground, within the pyramid structure.  Hemiunu, Khufu's  vizier, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid. Many varying scientific and alternative hypotheses attempt to explain the exact  construction techniques, but, as is the case for other such structures, there is no definite consensus. The  funerary complex  around the pyramid consisted of two  mortuary temples  connected by a causeway (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile); tombs for the immediate family and court of Khufu, including three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives; an even smaller "satellite pyramid"; and five buried  solar barges.