Conflicting accounts of pit depth from Piazzi Smyth, Edgar Brothers, and Lepre

September 19, 2026EgyptGeneralShare

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Key facts

• Charles Piazzi Smyth's 1867 book Life and Work at the Great Pyramid included diagrams confirming the excavation depth matched Perring's at about 4.2 m
• In 1865, Smyth noted dust, dirt, and a large limestone lump inside the sarcophagus, reportedly used by tourists to make the coffer 'sound like a bell'
• The 1901 Edgar Brothers' Great Pyramid Passages described the excavation as a large hollow in soft limestone below the granite, with no notable finds, and noted granite chamber walls rest on limestone exactly 5 inches below the upper floor surface
• JP Lepre's 1990 book Egyptian Pyramids gave the excavation depth as 30 ft (9.1 m), more than double Perring and Smyth's measurements
• The presenter considers Perring's measurements more reliable as he documented Vyse's work in 1837, and no further excavation is recorded after that date

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