Knowing that we can design an object to respond sympathetically with
the earth’s vibration, how do we utilize that energy? How can we
turn it into usable electricity?
We must, first of all, understand what a transducer is. Early on we
discussed the piezoelectric effect vibration has on quartz crystal.
Alternately compressing and releasing the quartz produces
electricity. Microphones and other modern electronic devices work on
this principle. Speak into a microphone and the sound of your voice
(mechanical vibration) is converted into electrical impulses. The
reverse happens with a speaker where electrical impulses are
converted into mechanical vibrations. It has also been speculated
that quartz-bearing rock creates the phenomenon known as ball
lightning. The quartz crystal is the transducer. It transforms one
form of energy into another. Understanding the source of the energy
and having the means to tap into it, all we need to do is convert
the unlimited mechanical stresses therein into usable electricity
utilizing quartz crystals!
The Great Pyramid was a geomechanical power plant that responded
sympathetically with the earth’s vibrations and converted that
energy into electricity! They used the electricity to power their
civilization, which included machine tools with which they shaped
hard igneous rock.
Ok, you may say, how does this power plant work? It’s all very well
to throw out a broad statement like that which rationalizes your own
theory on machining, but we need more facts and proof that what has
been stated is more than an interesting and radical theory. It has
to have more proof based on truth and fact!
Well let’s start with the power crystal, or transducers. It so
happens that the transducers for this power plant are an integral
part of the construction that is designed to resonate in harmony
with the pyramid itself, and also the earth. The King’s Chamber, in
which a procession of visitors have noted unusual effects, and in
which Tom Danley detected the infrasonic vibrations of the earth,
is, in itself, a mighty transducer.
In any machine there are devices that function to make the machine
work. This machine was no different. Though the inner chambers and
passages of the Great Pyramid seem to be devoid of what we would
consider to be mechanical or electrical devices, there are devices
still housed there that are similar in nature to mechanical devices
created today.
These devices could also be considered to be electrical devices in
that they have the ability to convert or transduce mechanical energy
into electrical energy. You might think of other examples, as the
evidence becomes more apparent. The devices, which have resided
inside the Great Pyramid since it was built, have not been
recognized for what they truly were. Nevertheless, they were an
integral part of this machine’s function.
The granite out of which this chamber is constructed is an igneous
rock containing silicon quartz crystals. This particular granite,
which was brought from the Aswan Quarries, contains 55% or more
quartz crystal.
Dee Jay Nelson and David H. Coville see special significance in the
stone the builders chose in building the King’s Chamber. They write:
“This means that lining the King’s Chamber, for instance, are
literally hundreds of tons of microscopic quartz particles. The
particles are hexagonal, by-pyramidal or rhombohedral in shape.
Rhomboid crystals are six-sided prisms with quadrangle sides that
present a parallelogram on any of the six facets. This guarantees
that embedded within the granite rock is a high percentage of quartz
fragments whose surfaces, by the law of natural averages, are
parallel on the upper and lower sides. Additionally, any slight
plasticity of the granite aggregate would allow a ‘piezotension’
upon these parallel surfaces and cause an electromotive flow. The
great mass of stone above the pyramid chambers presses downward by
gravitational force upon the granite walls thereby converting them
into perpetual electric generators.
“...The inner chambers of the Great Pyramid have been generating
electrical energy since their construction 46 centuries ago. A man
within the King’s Chamber would thus come within a weak but definite
induction field.”
While Nelson and Coville have made an interesting observation and
speculation regarding the granite inside the pyramid, I am not sure
that they are correct in stating that the pressure of thousands of
tons of masonry would create an electromotive flow in the granite.
The pressure on the quartz would need to be alternatively pressed
and released in order for electricity to flow. The pressure they are
describing would be static and, while it would undoubtedly squeeze
the quartz to some degree, the electron flow would cease after the
pressure came to rest. Quartz crystal does not create energy; it
just converts one kind of energy into another. Needless to say, this
point in itself leads to some interesting observations regarding the
characteristics of the granite complex.
Above the King’s Chamber are five rows of granite beams, making a
total of 43 beams weighing up to 70 tons each. Each layer is
separated by a space large enough to crawl into. The red granite
beams are cut square and parallel on three sides but were left
seemingly untouched on the top surface, which was rough and uneven.
Some of them even had holes gouged into the top of them.
In cutting these giant monoliths, the builders evidently found it
necessary to treat the beams destined for the uppermost chamber with
the same respect as those intended for the ceiling directly above
the King’s Chamber. Each beam was cut flat and square on three
sides, with the topside seemingly untouched. This is interesting,
considering that the ones directly above the King’s Chamber would be
the only ones visible to those entering the pyramid. Even so, the
attention these granite-ceiling beams received was nonetheless
inferior to the attention commanded by the granite out of which the
walls were constructed.
William Flinders Petrie writes:
“The roofing beams are not of ‘polished granite,’ as they have been
described; on the contrary, they have rough-dressed surfaces, very
fair and true so far as they go, but without any pretense to
polish.”
From his observations of the granite inside the King’s Chamber,
Petrie continues with those of upper chambers:
“All the chambers over the King’s Chamber are floored with
horizontal beams of granite, rough dressed on the under sides which
form the ceilings, but wholly unwrought above.”
It is remarkable that the builders would exert the same amount of
effort in finishing the 34 beams, which would not be seen once the
pyramid was built, as they did nine beams forming the ceiling of the
King’s Chamber which would be seen. Even if these beams were
imperative to the strength of the complex, deviations in accuracy
would surely be allowed, making the cutting of the blocks less time
consuming. Unless, of course, they were either using these upper
beams for a specific purpose, and/or were using standardized
machinery methods that produced parts with little variation.
Traditional theory has it that the granite beams served to relieve
pressure on the chamber and allow this chamber to be built with a
flat ceiling. I disagree. The pyramid builders knew about and were
already utilizing a design feature that was structurally sound on a
lower level inside the pyramid. If we look at the cantilevered
arched ceiling of the Queen’s Chamber, we can see that it has more
masonry piled on top of it than the King’s Chamber. The question
could be asked, therefore, that if the builders had wanted to put a
flat ceiling in this chamber, wouldn’t they have only needed to add
one layer of beams? For the distance between the walls, a single
layer of beams in the Queen’s Chamber, like the 43 granite beams
above the King’s Chamber, would be supporting no more than their own
weight.
Redundant Granite
This leads me to ask, “Why five layers of these beams?” To include
so many monolithic blocks of granite in the structure is redundant.
Especially when we consider the amount of incredibly difficult work
that must have been invested in quarrying, cutting, transporting
them 500 miles from the Aswan quarries, and then raising them to the
175 foot level of the pyramid. There is surely another reason for
such an enormous effort and investment of time.
And look at the characteristics of these beams. Why cut them square
and flat on three sides and leave them rough on the top? If no one
is going to look at them, why not make them rough on all sides?
Better still, why not make all sides flat! It would certainly make
it easier to assemble them!
The 43 giant beams above the King’s Chamber were not included in the
structure to relieve the King’s Chamber from excessive pressure from
above, but were included to fulfill a more advanced purpose. A
simple yet refined technology can be discerned in the granite
complex at the heart of the Great Pyramid, and with this technology
the ancient power plant operated.
The giant granite beams above the King’s Chamber could be considered
to be 43 individual bridges. Like the Tacoma Narrows bridge, each
one is capable of vibrating if a suitable type and amount of energy
is introduced. If we were to concentrate on forcing just one of the
beams to oscillate, with each of the other beams tuned to that
frequency or a harmonic of that frequency, the other beams would be
forced to vibrate at the same frequency or a harmonic. If the energy
contained within the forcing frequency was great enough, this
transfer of energy from one beam to the next could affect the entire
series of beams. A situation could exist, therefore, in which one
individual beam in the ceiling directly above the King’s Chamber
could indirectly influence another beam in the uppermost chamber by
forcing it to vibrate at the same frequency as the original forcing
frequency or one of its harmonic frequencies. The amount of energy
absorbed by these beams from the source, would depend on the natural
resonant frequency of the beam.
The ability of the beams to dissipate the energy they are subject to
would have to be considered, as well as the natural resonating
frequency of the granite beam. If the forcing frequency (sound
input) coincided with the natural frequency of the beam, and there
was little damping (the beams were not restrained from vibrating),
then the transfer of energy would be maximized. Consequently, so
would the vibration of the beams.
It is quite clear that the giant granite beams above the King’s
Chamber have a length of 17 feet (the width of the Chamber) in which
they can react to induced motion and vibrate without restraint. Some
damping may occur if the beams adjacent faces are so close that they
rub together. However, if the beams vibrate in unison, it is
possible that such damping would not happen. To perfect the ability
of the 43 granite beams to resonate with the forcing frequency, the
natural frequency of each beam would have to be of the same
frequency as the forcing frequency, or be in harmony with it.
It would be possible to tune a length of granite, such as those
found in the Great Pyramid, by altering its physical dimensions. A
precise frequency could be attained by either altering the length of
the beam, which is allowed to vibrate (as in the playing of stringed
instruments), or by removing material from the beam’s mass, as in
the tuning of bells. (A bell is tuned to a fundamental hum and its
harmonics by removing metal from critical areas.) Striking it while
it was being held in a position similar to that of the beams above
the King’s Chamber, as one would strike a tuning fork, could induce
oscillation of the beam. The frequency of the vibration would be
sampled and more material removed until the correct frequency had
been reached.
Rather than a lack of attention, therefore, the top surfaces of
these granite beams may have arrived at their present shape through
the application of more careful attention and work than the sides or
the bottom. Before being placed inside the Great Pyramid, each beam
may have been suspended on each end in the same position that it
would hold once placed inside the Great Pyramid, and a considerable
amount of attention paid to the upper surface. Each granite beam was
shaped and gouged on the topside as it was tuned! Thousands of tons
of granite were actually tuned to resonate in harmony with the
fundamental frequency of the earth and the pyramid!
Beam Tuning
The granite beams above the King’s Chamber resemble what a granite
beam might look like after it has been tuned in such a manner. After
cutting three sides square and true to each other, the remaining
side could have been cut and shaped until it reached a specific
resonating frequency. The removal of material on the upper side of
the beam would take into consideration the elasticity of the beam,
as a variation of elasticity in the beam might result in more
material being removed at one point along the beam’s length than
another. The fact that the beams above the King’s Chamber are all
shapes and sizes would support this speculation. In some of the
granite beams, it wouldn’t be surprising to find holes gouged out of
the granite as the tuners worked on trouble spots.
Piazzi Smyth writes:
“These markings, moreover, have only been discovered in those dark
holes or hollows, the so-called ‘chambers,’ but much rather ‘hollows
of construction,’ broken into by Colonel Howard Vyse above the
‘King’s Chamber’ of the Great Pyramid. There, also, you see other
traces of the steps of mere practical work, such as the ‘Bat-holes’
in the stones, by which the heavy blocks were doubtless lifted to
their places, and everything is left perfectly rough.”
Rather than holes used for lifting the blocks into place,
William
Flinders Petrie speculates on another reason for Smyth’s so-called
“bat-holes:”
“The flooring of the top chamber has large holes in it, evidently to
hold the butt ends of beams which supported the sloping roof-blocks
during the building.”
Another reason for the holes gouged in the beams near the end of the
beams may have been to provide feedback into the center of the beam,
instead of transferring vibration into the core masonry. Although we
must consider that both reasons given for the “bat-holes” may be
possible explanations for their existence, it does not preclude
other possibilities, which have yet to be considered.
According to Boris Said, who was with Tom Danley when he conducted
his tests, the King’s Chamber’s resonated at a fundamental frequency
and the entire structure of the King’s Chamber reinforced this
frequency by producing dominant frequencies that created an F sharp
chord. Using large amplifiers F sharpis the frequency that is in
harmony with the earth. Said claimed that the Indian Shamans tuned
their ceremonial flutes to F sharp because it is a frequency that is
sacred to mother earth.
Testing for frequency, Tom Danley placed accelerometers in the
spaces above the King’s Chamber, but I don’t know whether he went as
far as checking the frequency of each beam. Boris Said stated in his
interview with Art Bell that may be some indication of where
Danley
was heading with his research, he said that the beams above the
King’s Chamber were, “like baffles in a speaker.” Further research
would need to be conducted before any assertion could be made as to
the relationship these holes may have with tuning these beams to a
specific frequency. However, when we consider the characteristics of
the entire granite complex, along with other features found in the
Great Pyramid, it seems clear that the results of this research will
be along the lines of what I am theorizing.
Without confirmation that the granite beams were carefully tuned to
respond to a precise frequency, I will infer that such a condition
exists in light of what is found in the area. While I have not found
any specific record of anyone striking the beams above the King’s
Chamber and measuring their resonant frequencies, there has been
quite a lot written about the resonating qualities of the coffer
inside the chamber itself. The coffer is said to resonate at 438
hertz and is at resonance with the resonant frequency of the
chamber.
This is easily tested and has been noted by numerous
visitors to the Great Pyramid, including myself. Another interesting
discovery was made by the Schor expedition. This is a preliminary
report, told to Art Bell by Boris Said, but it was noted that the
floor of the King’s Chamber does not sit on solid rock. Not only is
the entire granite complex surrounded by massive limestone walls
with a space between the granite and the limestone, the floor itself
sits on what is characterized as “corrugated” shaped rock. It’s no
wonder the entire chamber “rings” while walking around inside! Note,
also, that walls of the chamber do not sit on the granite floor, but
are support outside and 5-inches below the floor level.
The Floor of the King’s chamber
The granite complex inside the Great Pyramid, therefore, is poised
ready to convert vibrations from the earth into electricity. What is
lacking is a sufficient amount of energy to drive the beams and
activate the piezoelectric properties within. The ancients, though,
had anticipated the need for more energy than what would be
collected only within the King’s Chamber. They had determined that
they needed to tap into the vibrations of the earth over a larger
area inside the pyramid and deliver that energy to the power center
- the King’s Chamber - thereby substantially increasing the
amplitude of the oscillations of the granite.
While modern research into architectural acoustics might
predominantly focus upon minimizing the reverberation effects of
sound in enclosed spaces, there is reason to believe that the
ancient pyramid builders were attempting to achieve the opposite.
The Grand Gallery, which is considered to be an architectural
masterpiece, is an enclosed space in which resonators were installed
in the slots along the ledge that runs the length of the Gallery. As
the earth’s vibration flowed through the Great Pyramid, the
resonators converted the energy to airborne sound. By design, the
angles and surfaces of the walls and ceiling of the Grand Gallery,
caused reflection of the sound and its focus into the King’s
Chamber.
Although the King’s Chamber was also responding to the
energy flowing through the pyramid, much of the energy would flow
past it. The design and utility of the Grand Gallery was to transfer
the energy flowing through a large area of the pyramid into the
resonant King’s Chamber. This sound was then focused into the
granite resonating cavity at sufficient amplitude to drive the
granite ceiling beams to oscillation. These beams, in turn,
compelled the beams above them to resonate in harmonic sympathy.
Thus, the input of sound and the maximization of resonance, the
entire granite complex, in effect, became a vibrating mass of
energy.
The acoustic qualities of the design of the upper chambers of the
Great Pyramid have been referenced and confirmed by numerous
visitors since the time of Napoleon, whose men discharged their
pistols at the top of the Grand Gallery and noted that the explosion
reverberated into the distance like rolling thunder.
Striking the coffer inside the King’s Chamber results in a deep
bell-like sound of incredible and eerie beauty, and it has been a
practice over the years for the Arab guides to demonstrate this
resonating sound to the tourists they guide through the pyramid.
This sound was included on Paul Horn’s album, (Inside The Great
Pyramid, Mushroom Record, Inc., L.A., CA) After being advised of the
significant pitch produced by the coffer when it has been struck,
and the response of the chamber to this pitch, Horn brought along a
device which would give him the exact pitch and frequency. Horn
tuned his flute to this tone, which was emitted, which turned out to
be ‘A’ 438 cycles per second. In a fascinating booklet about his
experiences at the Great Pyramid, Horn describes phenomena
concerning the acoustic qualities of the inner chambers.
“The moment had arrived. It was time to play my flute. I thought of
Ben Pietsch from Santa Rose, California (a man who had told Mr. Horn
about the pitch of the coffer) and his suggestions to strike the
coffer. I leaned over and hit the inside with the fleshy part of the
side of my fist. A beautiful round tone was immediately produced.
What a resonance! I remember him also saying when you hear that tone
you will be ‘poised in history that is ever present.’ I took the
electronic tuning device I had brought along in one hand and struck
the coffer again with the other and there is was - ‘A’ 438, just as
Ben predicted. I tuned up to this pitch and was ready to begin. (The
album opens with these events so that you can hear all of these
things for yourselves.)”
And, indeed, the sound, which Paul Horn brought to my living room,
was most fascinating.
One can understand why many people develop
feelings of reverence when exposed to this sound, for it has a most
soothing effect on the nerves.
For this alone, the record was worth
the price.
“Sitting on the floor in front of the coffer with the stereo mike in
the centre of the room, I began to plan, choosing the alto flute to
begin with. The echo was wonderful, about eight seconds. The chamber
responded to every note equally. I waited for the echo to decay and
then played again. Groups of notes would suspend and all come back
as a chord. Sometimes certain notes would stick out more than
others.
It was always changing. I just listened and responded as if I were
playing with another musician. I hadn’t prepared anything specific
to play. I was just opening myself to the moment and improvising.
All of the music that evening was this way - totally improvised.
Therefore, it is a true expression of the feelings that transpired.”
After noting the eerie qualities of the King’s and Queen’s Chambers,
Paul Horn went out onto the Great Step at the top of the Grand
Gallery to continue his sound test. The Grand Gallery, he reported,
sounded rather flat compared with the other Chambers. He heard
something remarkable at this time. He heard the music he was playing
coming back to him clearly and distinctly from the King’s Chamber.
The sound was going out into the Grand Gallery and was being
reflected through the passageway and reverberating inside the King’s
Chamber!
It would appear that the coffer inside the King’s Chamber was
specifically tuned to a precise frequency, and that the room itself
was scientifically engineered to be a resonator of that frequency.
Perhaps these observations will finally provide an answer to a
mystery that William Flinders Petrie had puzzled over at great
length. His discovery of a flint pebble under the coffer, after he
raised it, did not strike him as being unimportant for reasons he
describes in The Pyramids And Temples Of Gizeh:
“The flint pebble that had been put under the coffer is important.
If any person wished at present to prop the coffer up, there are
multitudes of stone chips in the pyramid ready to hand. Therefore,
fetching a pebble from the outside seems to show that the coffer was
first lifted at a time when no breakages had been made in the
pyramid, and there were no chips lying about. This suggests that
there was some means of access to the upper chambers, which are
always available by removing loose blocks without any forcing. If
the stones at the top of the shaft leading from the subterranean
part to the gallery had been cemented in place, they must have been
smashed to break through them, or if there were granite portcullises
in the Antechamber, they must also have been destroyed; and it is
not likely that any person would take the trouble to fetch a large
flint pebble into the innermost part of the Pyramid, if there were
stone chips lying in his path.”
Is it possible that the flint pebble was placed underneath the
coffer at the time of the building? And that the pebble served a
purpose for those whom placed it there? The alternative answer -
that there was free access to the upper chambers - cannot be
supported by fact, and even if it was, we are still faced with the
question of why someone found it necessary to prop up the coffer.
However, if we had just manufactured an object like the coffer and
had it tuned to vibrate at a precise frequency, we would know that
to sit flat on the floor would dampen the vibrations somewhat. So,
by raising one end of the coffer onto the pebble, it could vibrate
at peak efficiency.
Another unique feature, which needs to be confirmed by on-site
inspection, is the ratchet style roof-line. The problem with coming
up with an accurate calculation of the true angle of the overlapping
stones is that there is conflicting data from the only two
researchers that I have found paying these overlaps any close
attention. However, preliminary calculations are interesting to say
the least. The angle of the Grand Gallery is 26.3 degrees. Smyth
measured the height of the Grand Gallery and found that it varied
between 333.9 inches and 346.0 inches. The overlaps are estimated to
have approximately a 12-inch tilt. Smyth counted 36 overlaps in the
1844.5 inches length of the roof. The surface of the overlapping
stones in the roof line is close to a 45 degree angle from a
vertical plane (135 degrees polar coordinates, given that the ends
of the gallery are 90 degrees). With this tilt of the roof tiles, a
sound wave traveling vertically to the roof would be reflected off
the tiles at a 90 degree angle and travel in the direction of the
King’s Chamber.
This gives another report, which didn’t receive much attention, more
pertinence. It has been reported that Al Mamun’s men had to break a
false floor out of the gallery, and as they broke one stone out,
another slid down in its place. It’s a sketchy bit of information
that would require further research. Al Mamun’s men were tearing out
so much limestone that little attention was given to this. However,
it should be kept in mind that there may have been a ratchet-style
tiled floor in this gallery that matched the roof. Much of the stone
that Al Mamun cut out of the Ascending Passage was dropped down the
Descending Passage. Later explorers, such as Caviglia, Davison and
Petrie, eventually cleared this passage of all debris, and most of
this debris was dumped on the traditional rubbish pit on the North
and East side of the Great Pyramid.
Petrie reports finding inside
the Great Pyramid a prism shaped stone that had a half round groove
running its length. He also found in the Descending Passage a block
of granite that was
20.6 inches thick with a section of tubular drilled hole cut through
the thickness on one edge. Where this granite came from, and for
what purpose it was used in the Great Pyramid, was a mystery to
Petrie. With more significant findings to attract attention, though,
its not surprising these details weren’t given much consideration.
It would be possible to confirm that the Grand Gallery indeed
reflected the work of an acoustical engineer using only its
dimensions. Hopefully, this book will encourage an engineer to
create a computer model of the Grand Gallery and perform an analysis
by simulating the movement of sound within the cavity. Though I have
attempted to find some means to accomplish this, I haven’t been able
to find anybody with access to a supercomputer that is willing to do
the work, and the software needed to perform the analysis hasn’t, to
my knowledge, been published for a micro-computer yet.
Other devices, which are obviously not there any more, can be
extrapolated. The disappearance of the gallery resonators is easily
explained, even though this structure was only accessible through a
tortuously constricted shaft. The original design of the resonators
will always be open to question; however, there is one device that
performs in a manner that is necessary to respond sympathetically
with vibrations. There is no reason that similar devices cannot be
created today. There are many individuals who possess the necessary
skills to recreate this equipment.
An Helmholtzresonator would respond to vibrations coming from
within the earth, and actually maximize the transfer of energy! The
Helmholtz resonator is made of a round hollow sphere with a round
opening that is 1/10 - 1/5 the diameter of the sphere. The size of
the sphere determines the frequency it will resonate at. If the
resonant frequency of the resonator is in harmony with a vibrating
source, such as a tuning fork, it will draw energy from the fork and
resonate at greater amplitude than the fork will without its
presence.
It forces the fork to greater energy output than what is
normal. Unless the energy of in the fork is replenished, the fork
will lose its energy quicker than it normally would without the Helmholtz resonator. But as long as the source continues to vibrate,
the resonator will continue to draw energy from it at a greater
rate.
Helmholtz Resonator
The Helmholtz resonator is normally made out of metal, but can be
made out of other materials. Holding these resonators in place
inside the Gallery, are members that are “keyed” into the structure
by first being installed into the slots, and then held in the
vertical position with “shot” pins that locate in the groove that
runs the length of the Gallery. The material for these members could
have been wood, as trees are probably the most efficient responders
to natural Earth sounds. There are trees that, by virtue of their
internal structure, such as cavities, are known to emit sounds or
hum.
Modern concert halls are designed and built to interact with
the instruments performing within. They are huge musical instruments
in themselves. The Great Pyramid can be seen as a huge musical
instrument with each element designed to enhance the performance of
the other. To choose natural materials, especially in the function
of resonating devices, would be a natural and logical decision to
make. The qualities of wood cannot be synthesized.
Prior to my visit to Egypt in 1986, I had speculated that the slots
along the Gallery floor anchored wooden resonators, but that these
devices were balanced in a vertical orientation reaching almost to
the full height of the gallery. I speculated that the resonators
were anchored in the slots at the bottom and held in place by
utilizing dowels that fitted into the groove located in the second
corbelling and running the full length of the gallery. If this
speculation is true, it would logically follow that the geometry of
the 27 pair of slots would be unlike the drawings I have studied.
The bottom of the slot may be parallel to the horizontal plane,
rather than parallel with the angle of the gallery, and the side
walls of the slot would be vertical to a horizontal plane, rather
than perpendicular to the angle of the gallery. This was a
significant detail and a simple one to check out.
My first trek inside the Great Pyramid in 1986 didn’t
reveal anything about the geometry of these slots as they were
filled with dirt and debris. The following day I set out to the
Great Pyramid with a soupspoon that I had ‘borrowed’ from the hotel
restaurant. Digging out the dirt and debris, with tourists and
guides looking at me like I was crazy (actually, it was probably
illegal to do this as you need special permission and to carry out
excavations in Egypt), I finally came to the bottom of the slot. It
was as I predicted it would be: parallel to the horizontal.
Also, the sides of the slots
were perpendicular to the horizontal. Other slots were perpendicular
to the horizontal as well, though some of them had bottoms that were
parallel to the gallery floor. In either scenario, it appears that
the slots were prepared to accommodate a vertical structure, rather
than restrain weight that would exert shear pressure from the side.
Design and Installation of the Resonators
One of the most remarkable feats of machining can be found inside
the Cairo Museum. I have stood in awe before the stone jars and
bowls that are finely machined and perfectly balanced.
The schist
bowl with three lobes folded toward the center hub is an incredible
piece of work.
Schist Bowl in Cairo Museum
With the application of ultrasonics and
sophisticated
machinery, I can understand how they could be made, but the purpose
for doing so has long escaped me.
It seems like a tremendous amount
of work to go to just to create a domestic vessel! Perhaps these
stone artifacts, of which there were over a thousand found at Saqqarra, were used in some way to
convert vibration into airborne
sound. Are these vessels the Helmholtz resonators we are looking
for?
The enigmatic Ante Chamber has been the subject of much
consternation and discussion. Ludwig Borchardt, Director of the
German Institute in Cairo, forwarded one proposal for its use (circa
1925). Borchardt’s theory proposed that a series of stone slabs were
slid into place after Khufu had been entombed. He theorized that the
half-round grooves in the granite wainscoting supported wooden beams
that served as windlasses to lower the blocks.
Borchardt’s Theory
Borchardt may not have been far off with his analysis of the
mechanism that was contained with the antechamber. After building
the resonators and installing them inside the Grand Gallery, we
would want to focus into the King’s Chamber sound of a specific
frequency,
i.e. a pure tone or harmonic chord. We would be assured of doing so
if we installed an acoustic filter between the Grand Gallery and the
King’s Chamber. By installing baffles inside the antechamber, sound
waves traveling from the Grand Gallery through the passageway into
the King’s Chamber would be filtered as they passed through,
allowing only a single frequency or harmonic of that frequency to
enter the resonant King’s Chamber.
Sound wave lengths not coinciding
with the dimensions between the baffles are filtered out, thereby
ensuring that only no interference sound waves enter the resonant
King’s Chamber, a condition that would reduce the output of the
system.
To explain the half-round grooves on one side of the chamber, and
the flat surface on the other, we could speculate that when the
installation of these baffles took place, they received a final
tuning or “tweaking.”
This may have been accomplished by using cams. By rotating these
cams, the off-centered shaft would raise or lower the baffles until
the throughput of sound was maximized. A slight movement may have
been all that was necessary. Maximum throughput is accomplished when
the ceiling of the first part of the passage way (from the Grand
Gallery), the ceiling of the passageway leading from the acoustic
filter to the resonant King’s Chamber and the bottom surface of each
baffle are in alignment. The shaft suspending the baffles would have
then been locked into place in a pillar block located on the flat
surface of the wainscoting on the opposite wall.
Acoustic Filter
During my conversation with Stephen Mehler and Robert Vawter in
June, I discussed my theory on the antechamber. Vawter confirmed my
analysis that it was used as an acoustic filter and agreed that
further studies were needed to quantify the exact physics employed
via “back engineering” the dimensions of the King’s Chamber complex.
Knowing that a vibrating system can eventually destroy itself if
there is no means to draw off or dampen the energy, there would have
to be some way to control the level of energy at which the system
operates. As the output of the resonant cavity would only draw off
the energy up to a certain level, that being the maximum amount the
granite complex could process, there would have to be some means of
controlling the energy as it built up inside the Grand Gallery.
Normally there would be two ways to prevent a vibrating system from
running out of control:
Shut off the source of the vibration (can’t do that)
Reverse the process that was used to couple the vibration of the
pyramid with the Earth
Contrive a means to keep the vibration at a safe level
With the source of vibration being the earth, obviously, numbers 2
and 3 are our best options. There are two ways to eliminate constant
vibration, one is to dampen it and the other is to counteract the
vibration with an interference wave that cancels it out. Physically
dampening the vibration would be impractical, considering the
function of the machine. The dampening wouldn’t always be necessary,
unlike the dampening needs of a bridge, and indeed would have an
adverse effect on the efficiency of the machine. Consequently it
would involve moving parts - like those in a piano. Faced with this
consideration I immediately started to look closer at the Ascending
Passage.
It is the only feature inside the Great Pyramid that
contains ‘devices’ that are directly accessible from the outside. I
call the granite plugs inside this passage ‘devices’ in the same
context that I called the granite beams above the King’s Chamber
devices because it wasn’t necessary to use granite to block this
passage and limestone would have been sufficient. It is obvious that
their effectiveness at securing the inner chambers from robbers had
the reverse effect. They drew attention to the existence of the
Ascending Passage and subsequently the entire internal arrangement
of passages and chambers. The granite plugs had to have another
reason for being there!
Possibly, they were built into the structure to allow or facilitate
interference sound waves being introduced into the Grand Gallery and
prevent the build-up of vibration within from reaching destructive
levels. It may be the reason that the builders selected granite
instead of limestone to plug the Ascending Passage.
Granite Plugs
The 3 plugs and their spacing within the passage may have, in fact,
provided feedback to signal when the energy was reaching a dangerous
level. By directing in or out of phase sound waves up the Ascending
Passage, they may have been able to control the energy level of the
system. By directing a signal of the correct frequency, they may
have also been able to prime the system in this manner also. In
other words, the entire system would be forced to vibrate, and once
in motion, it would draw energy from the earth with no further
input.
Sir William Flinders Petrie examined these blocks and described them
in Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh. He remarked that the adjoining
faces of the block were not flat but had a wavy finish plus or minus
.3 inches. I was unable to confirm this when I was in Egypt, because
the blocks, exposed by Al Mamun’s tunnel, had slipped since Petrie’s
day and are now resting against each other. However, it does make
for interesting speculation. Were the faces of the blocks cut
specifically to modify sound waves? Could the Ascending Passage
serve to direct an interference out-of-phase sound wave into the
Grand Gallery, thereby controlling the level of energy in the
system? There are mysteries still yet to be answered. But, we are
not finished yet!
