The great pyramid passages and chambers

CXIX), it could have been lifted out of its position or broken up with comparative ease.

486 Ifthe Granite Leaf had originally been intended to act as a portcullis and had been lowered to the floor in the manner claimed for the missing three, it would have been quite useless as a protection against intruders; for its uneven upper surface would only have been six inches higher than the top of the doorway, and the space of 21 inches between it and the north wall, would have permitted workmen to enter the chamber in order to break and remove the other portcullises—Plate CXVIII.

487 The grooves which contain the Granite Leaf stop short at the level of the top of the passages, but the others, as is shown in Plate CXIX, sink a few inches below the level of the floor. This is a sure proof that the latter grooves were not chiselled out after the completion of the building, but that, on the contrary, the granite wainscots were previously cut and finished in this fashion, and then built in position at the sides of the chamber, before the granite floor-stones were laid down between them. (In the King’s Chamber the same method of construction was adopted, for the four granite walls of that chamber dip down five inches in an unbroken line below the level of the floor—Plate XV.) An additional proof is that the lower portions of the grooves do not present the rough appearance which must have resulted had they been cut in the manner suggested by Col. Howard Vyse.

488 A close examination of the Granite Leaf makes it quite certain that the architect did not design it as a fourth portcullis, not only because it never has been, nor could have been effectually so used, but also because it is firmly cemented into its present position (and, probably, also mortised into its place, although this is not so easy to determine).

489 We believe that the Granite Leaf was intended for a very different purpose ; and I should like to draw your attention to a peculiar feature in connection with it. The Granite Leaf appears to be an inch narrower than its corresponding grooves in the wainscots ; it is 16 inches thick, while the grooves are 17 inches wide. Close examination shows, however, that this difference is made up by narrow one-inch projections or rebates on the north face of the Leaf, which make it fit tightly into its grooves. With the exception of these rebates (which are an evidence of special design), the whole of the north face of the Leaf has been dressed or planed down one inch, in order that one little part near the centre might appear in relief. This little part is generally known as the Boss. It is in external shape like a horse-shoe, and is 5 inches wide by 5 inches high on its outer face, which is level with the side rebates. It is situated on the upper of the two blocks which form the Leaf, its lower edge being 5 inches up from the horizontal joint between the blocks, and its centre nearly midway between the east and west walls of the chamber, but one inch nearer the west. The horizontal joint between those blocks can be seen in the photograph of the south side of the LeafPlate CXIX.

490 The extra labour which was necessary to reduce so carefully and uniformly the whole north surface of both the blocks, with the exception of the Boss and the projecting side rebates, to the extent of one inch, shows that this little Boss is an intended feature in the Great Pyramid ; and Professor C. Piazzi Smyth saw much significance in it. He claimed that both in its size and in its position it forms a key to the length of the Pyramid unit of measure, called by him the ‘‘ Pyramid Inch,” and also to the length of the

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