Was the Great Pyramid of Khufu built from inside out? Nevine El-Aref examines the theory The mystery as to how the Great Pyramid of Khufu was built has always been fascinating. Numerous theories have been put forward but none has yet stood up to the acid test. This week, after eight years of research, French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin developed what has been called a new revolutionary hypothesis that rubbishes all previous theories, suggesting in the latest version that the pyramid was built using either a vast frontal ramp or one with a corkscrew shape around the exterior to haul up the stonework. In a gala ceremony in Paris, Houdin said the ancient Egyptian builders constructed the Great Pyramid from inside out by erecting an outer ramp to build the pyramid's first 40 metres, then constructed an inner ramp in a corkscrew shape to complete the 137-metre-tall structure. During the 3D computer simulation, Houdin showed drawings from a 1986 survey of the pyramid of a "spiral anomaly" inside that conforms exactly to this theory. "What characterised the Egyptians was their sense of perfection and economy. We talk of durable development now but it was the Egyptians who invented it. They didn't waste a single stone. They relied purely on intelligence," Houdin said. Houdin said he thought no more than 4,000 workers could have built the pyramid using these techniques rather than the 100,000 or so assigned by past historians to the task of burying the Pharaoh. "This goes against both main existing theories. I've been teaching them myself for 20 years," Egyptologist Rainer Schudlemen told Al-Ahram Weekly, adding, "Houdin's vision is credible but right now this is just a theory. Everybody thinks it has got to be taken seriously." To prove Houdin's theory, an international team is now being assembled to probe the pyramid using radar and heat-detecting cameras supplied by a French defence firm. However, Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has turned down Houdin's request to have his theory proved. Hawass said Houdin had issued his request using an Egyptian "cover institution" that did not have the proper expertise to examine the Great Pyramid. "If we open the pyramid to everyone with a theory to prove, we would ruin such a great monument and the only surviving wonder of the ancient world," Hawass told the Weekly. The architect, Hawass continued, has done his best to produce a theory that is logical but he has no proof. "And we do have evidence" to support other theories. Houdin also claimed to have shed light on the purpose of a grand gallery inside the pyramid. He believes that its tall, narrow shape suggests it accommodated a giant counterweight to help haul five 60-tonne granite beams to their position above the king's chamber.
