Hi Thanos5150,

THE TWO CARTOUCHES

The following diagram from "A Monumental History of Egypt 1854" by William Osburn is for ease of reference only.





Osburn spent many months at Giza and wrote two comprehensive volumes about his work there, and, to me, had no hidden agenda. So, I don't doubt his word although he may have been mistaken on some technical matters of hieroglyphics.

He stated that the cartouche of Noh Suphis "repeatedly occurred" in the Great Pyramid and, that, "it is on the stones which form the arches of the incline leading down to the inner chambers." By this, I am assuming that he meant the original, gabled entrance.

Apparently, Osburn was unaware at the time that two different cartouches could represent the same pharaoh. The yellow one on the left being the name of Suphis (Khufu), and the red one on the right being his God-protected title Noh Suphis (Khnum Suphis, Khnum Khufu).

Therefore, he mistakenly arrived at the conclusion that, because the name Suphis was in both cartouches, then each cartouche must represent a different pharaoh, and therefore, there must have been two brothers who ruled contemporaneously.

Now, if Osburn was unaware of the distinction when he wrote his book in 1854 and repeatedly referenced Vyse, how could Vyse have known of this difference when he claimed to have discovered the Suphis cartouche in 1837?

If there were a number of Khnum Khufu cartouches quite visible at the entrance (and Vyse knew the difference), wouldn't this fact alone, be sufficient to award provenance of the Great Pyramid to Khufu? A simple faked Khufu cartouche in Campbell's Chamber would have been superfluous.

WHO DREW THE CARTOUCHES?

If, as Osburn claims, there were a number of the Khnum Khufu cartouches drawn in the Great Pyramid, who drew them, and, where are they now?

In drawing a connection between the pharaoh designated in the cartouche (Suphis, Khufu) and the Great Pyramid, it seems likely that some nexus existed. How else could the Khnum Khufu cartouches have been present? If these KK cartouches were, in fact, drawn on the "arches of the incline leading down to the inner chambers," then, it stands to reason, that they were drawn there prior to the sealing of the door and the placement of the casing stones.

Unfortunately, this premise cannot be proven as, for some reason, between 1854, or thereabouts, and today, they have somehow been removed.

However, there is a simple Khufu cartouche in Campbell's Chamber which is currently under scrutiny as to its veracity. If it is a fake, then, Suphis (Khufu), whoever he was, must have lived from the time of Senefru onwards, as you have correctly pointed out. Hardly a deal breaker with regard to the dating of, at least the upper portion of the Great Pyramid, to Dynasty 4.

If the cartouche is genuine, and is contemporaneous with other cartouches which wrap around existing masonry, Khufu was most likely involved in the construction of the Great Pyramid. At least from the relieving chambers upwards, and quite possibly from the entrance.

One other possibility is that someone, after the pyramid was breached, decided to graffiti the entrance, chambers etc with the two different cartouches. Possible, but not probable.

STANDARDS OF PROOF

As far as accepted standards of proof are concerned, on the balance of probabilities, the simple Khufu cartouche in Campbell's Chamber appears to be genuine.

Is this premise proven beyond a reasonable doubt? Ask the jury.

lover

PS. This post in no way endorses any tomb theory, building methods, construction timeline or function.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03-Jun-16 08:16 by loveritas.