The great pyramid passages and chambers

463 For the purpose of reference we have numbered these Girdles, beginning from the upper or south end of the passage, and counting downward—See Plate IX. We find that the distance from the upper extremity of the passage to the first Girdle, is almost twice the distance between the first and second; while the distance between the first and second Girdles is nearly the same as that between the second and third.

464 Almost exactly in the centre of the double space between the upper end of the passage and the first Girdle, the joints in the floor and both walls are nearly continuous with each other, forming, therefore, what we might term a Girdle Joint. Let into the east wall immediately below this Girdle Joint, and as if to call attention to it, are two small inset stones, somewhat similar to the pointers immediately below the three important Girdles. The upper part of the passage from the top or south end down to the third Girdle is, therefore, divided into four parts of nearly equal length.

465 It is interesting to notice that the inset pointer-stones alternate, first on the east wall below the Girdle Joint, then on the west wall below the first Girdle, then on the east wall below the second Girdle, and finally on the west wall below the third Girdle.

466 These three upper Girdles are vertical, and square across from east to west, and are each composed of two stones, an upper and a lower, the upper forming the roof and part of both walls, and the lower the floor and the remainder of the walls, The joints on the walls of the passage between the upper and lower portions of each Girdle are horizontal, but are not opposite each other. In the first and third Girdles which, we have seen, are indicated by pointers on the west wall, the joint on the west is lower than its companion on the east wall; while in the second Girdle, which is indicated by a pointer on the east wall, the east joint is lower than the west. It would therefore appear that the two stones which form each Girdle are not set horizontally one upon the other from east to west, but at an angle.

467 Those Girdles which lie lower down the passage than the three just described, are all in contact with one another. Though, like the first three, they are vertical, they do not lie square across the passage; their joint-lines on the floor and roof incline upward diagonally from the east wall to the west wall. Some of these lower Girdles are formed out of a single stone. As will be seen in the drawing (Plate CX), the fourth Girdle is very irregular in shape, its south face being cut to form no less than six distinct joint-lines with the stones above it.

468 The whole of the passage from the fourth Girdle down to the upper end of the Granite Plug is much dilapidated, extensive exfoliation having taken place on walls, roof and floor. Accurate measuring at this part is therefore almost impossible. However, we tried our best to get the exact positions of all the joints by stretching lines tightly along the four angles formed by the walls with the roof and floor, and taking off-sets to these lines from the various joints. From peculiar indications in the root at this dilapidated part, it would seem that the stones which form the Girdles here were originally built in solid, end to end, after which the bore of the passage was cut through them. Above the fourth Girdle, however, there can be no doubt that the passage was constructed in the usual way, i.e., that the floor was first laid, the walls erected at the proper distance apart on the floor, and the roof-stones then placed on top of the wall-stones. Nevertheless, it is quite probable that the stones forming the three

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