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THE
GREAT PYRAMID -
THE QUEEN'S CHAMBER
Orthodox
Theory
Egyptologists
used to think that the Queen’s Chamber was
an abandoned tomb chamber (the king having changed his mind
as to his place of burial). But most experts now believe that
the
room was designed from the outset as a serdab, its corbelled
niche containing a ka-statue of the king.
The
Queen’s
Chamber shafts are a real puzzle on account of the fact that
they were sealed at their lower ends and blocked
at their upper ends. It is generally believed that they are
abandoned features – prototypes perhaps of the shafts
in the King’s
Chamber. Accordingly, it is suggested that they are unfinished
ventilation shafts or unfinished soul-shafts. However, some
Egyptologists claim that they are completed features (ka-shafts),
and a minority
even support the view that the southern shaft leads up to
a small chamber, or serdab. All of these theories run into
serious
difficulties
in explaining the fact that the shafts were sealed.
As
regards the Queen’s Chamber Passage, it is recognised
that this was sealed off by the bridging slab in the Grand
Gallery. However, it is widely presumed that the chamber
could be accessed
at the time of the funeral.
Alford
Theory
 The
Queen’s Chamber was a secret chamber in a sealed
repository. As such, it was sealed at the time of construction,
and could
not be accessed except by breaking the bridging slab
(there is strong evidence that this slab was slotted into the
floor
of
the Gallery at the time of construction).
The
corbelled niche contained a statue of the Great Goddess in geometric
form,
symbolising the mystery
of creation.
The
Queen’s Chamber shafts were
secret passages to secret chambers, differing from
the Pyramid’s other passages only
in their miniature size. The idea was that the
explorer use the shafts as guides to dig tunnels
to the chambers
above. The distance
(213 feet in each case) made this the ultimate
challenge, and tends to suggest that the chambers
(which would
still be intact)
contain the ultimate prize (the identity of which
is discussed in my book). The metal-handled ‘doors’ at
the top of the shafts are probably the original
aperture covers that
were used during construction to prevent ingress
of tools, detritus, and living organisms. The plugs
beyond these ‘doors’ suggest
a ritual sealing and future unsealing, reminiscent
of the granite plugs in the Ascending Passage.
Anomalous
joints and stones in the Queen’s Chamber
Passage may indicate the presence of an undiscovered
secret passage
(J.P. Lepre, 1990). |
