A sketch shown describes the Osiris Shaft on the Giza causeway between the Sphinx and the middle pyramid: an entry room, a chamber with seven sub-chambers holding six sarcophagi of different shapes and stones, then a third shaft to a final chamber with a massive box. A 1930s report from a Mr. Hassan lists six; Zahi Hawass's later report lists three; the presenters say two remain today. A small oddly shaped sarcophagus recorded in the first antechamber could be found in neither the Louvre nor the Cairo Museum. Zahi's report notes a boy explored ~5 m in 1999 and an endoscope reached ~10 m before mud blocked it in 2008. How the boxes were lowered is still unresolved 🔍
Osiris Shaft sarcophagus count falls from six in the 1930s to two, with one odd-shaped box missing
EgyptGeneral
Site mentioned
Key facts
- A sketch presented describes the Osiris Shaft as descending three ladder levels on the causeway between the Sphinx and the middle pyramid: an entry room, a chamber with seven sub-chambers holding six differently shaped and differently stoned sarcophagi, and a third shaft down to a final chamber with a massive sarcophagus
- A 1930s report by a man addressed as Mr. Hassan recorded six sarcophagi; Zahi's later report listed three; the presenters say two remain today, meaning four have gone missing
- A small, oddly shaped sarcophagus recorded in the first antechamber in the 1930s could not be located in either the Louvre or the Cairo Museum
- Zahi's report states that in 1999 a boy explored about 5 meters before the tunnel became too narrow, and that in November 2008 an endoscopic camera reached about 10 meters before mud blocked further progress
- How the heavy sarcophagi were lowered is unresolved; a suggestion that the shaft was filled with sand, the boxes lowered and the sand dug out was disputed as excessive for 70-80 feet of depth
- Serapeum sarcophagi, compared to the Osiris Shaft boxes, were lowered only about 10 feet below ground and one lid had to be dynamited off in the 1800s because it could not be lifted in situ
Sources
The Osiris Shaft and the Khafre Causeway (Giza Plateau)academia.edu
Archaeological literature consistently reports two distinct chambers at the second level containing sarcophagi, establishing a fixed reference point for any ...
The Osiris Shaftguardians.net
Inside them was part of a large, granite sarcophagus with the lid thrown off. This discovery reflected the words of Herodotus when he said that Cheops was ...
What Is The "Osiris Shaft" In Giza Egypt, Who Made It, And ...hiddenincatours.com
... Osiris Shaft at Giza. ... Additionally, basalt “sarcophagi” were found in Chambers C, D, and G; badly decomposed skeletal remains were found in the sarcophagi in ...
Uncover the Golden Osiris Tomb in Gizaegypttoursportal.com
At 18 meters below the surface, the second chamber is divided into eight niches, two of which contain massive granite sarcophagi. The lack of ...
The Osiris Shaft | Uncovering Egypt's Historybritannica.com
Osiris Shaft, a symbolic tomb of the god Osiris that is near the pyramid of Khafre, near Giza, Egypt. In two of these chambers are solid granite sarcophagi ...
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