In 1837, Howard Vyse documented that one pavement block near the northwestern corner had been removed, with an old excavation already filled with rubbish beneath the sarcophagus. On February 4, his team — including a Maltese man named Paulo — tried to bore through the floor but couldn't lift the tightly fitted granite slabs. John Perring's diagrams show they reached ~4.2 m deep.
Howard Vyse's 1837 excavation in the King's Chamber floor
EgyptGeneral
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Howard Vyse noted that one pavement block near the northwestern corner had been removed and an excavation carried beneath the sarcophagus, almost entirely filled with rubbish
- On February 4, 1837, a Maltese man named Paulo, Captain Cavilia, and worker Mr. Hill attempted to bore through the center of the King's Chamber floor but could not lift granite slabs due to tight joints
- Paulo was directed to clear the old excavation beginning 6 ft 4 in (about 2 m) below the granite surface, 3 ft from the northern wall and 10 ft 9 in from the western wall
- John Perring's diagrams show Vyse's team reached a depth of approximately 4.2 m below the sarcophagus
- Vyse believed the small floor slab in the corner had been removed in early times due to the belief that treasures were concealed beneath sarcophagi
Sources
Operations carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837 ...digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de
Operations carried on at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837: with an account of a voyage into upper Egypt, and Appendix (Band 3): Appendix. London, 1842.
Operations Carried On at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837 ...academia.edu
Howard Vyse - Volume I includes the narrative of Vyse's expedition, his observations on the condition and construction of the pyramids, The excavation under ...
Howard Vyseen.wikipedia.org
Vyse first visited Egypt in 1835 and in 1836 joined the excavations of Giovanni Battista Caviglia. Vyse found Caviglia "unproductive" and in 1837 teamed with ...
Operations Carried On at the Pyramids of Gizeh in 1837researchgate.net
Vyse gives observations of his travels, and of the landscape, people and architecture he encountered, as well as details of the important work he carried out.
The Strange Journey of Howard Vyse – Part V: Finally ...hallofmaat.com
But how did Vyse know, whether in February 1835, August 1835 or October 1836, that he would need this information in 1837? He tells his readers ...
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