Apap Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks Doc. In looking this up I found a curious
> passage from John Greaves' Pyramidographia
> (1646) in which he states
>
> [i["This made me take notice of two inlets or
> spaces in the south and north sides of this
> chamber, just opposite to one another... evenly
> cut, and running in a strait line six feet and
> farther, into the thickness of the wall... that on
> the south is larger, and somewhat round, not so
> long as the former, and, by the blackness within
> it, seems to have been a receptacle for the
> burning of lamps."[/i]

Which of course makes sense if one is trying to view the internals of the shaft, but not for providing lighting for the room itself.

My take on Greaves' observation is that if there was that much soot in the shaft, the "blackness within it" either was caused by a short term insertion of a candle, torch, or lamp to briefly inspect the structure of the visible length of the shaft, or is an indication that the shaft originally was related to a combustion function.

Also, be aware that Greaves came from a time when the standards of scientific investigation were far lower than they are today. Greaves' powers of observations leave much to be desired in his descriptions. One look at his illustrations shows the limits of his standards of precision, accuracy, and thoroughness. As I recall, he makes no mention of the portal at the top of the GG leading to Davison's chamber which presumably was there when he visited in the 17th century. But Greaves' volume was an important early contribution beginning to what has turned into an enormous field of study.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 19-Aug-17 15:55 by Origyptian.