At the entrance of the ascending passage are three granite flagstones estimated to weigh up to 25 tons each. They were used to protect the Great Pyramid from thieves. Undaunted by the granite blocks, the thieves simply dug into the softer limestone around them, thus creating the Robbers' Entrance.
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Tours: The Great Pyramid: Subterranean Chamber
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(Behind the Scenes) While in reality the Robbers' Entrance is one single cavity which leads to both passages, in the game, the team created individual accesses to either passage. As such, in the game, one entrance leads to the ascending passage, while another leads to the descending passage.
The ascending passageway of the Great Pyramid provides a direct path into the Grand Gallery, and is accessed 30 meters from the entrance along the descending corridor. Both corridors have similar dimensions and are designed with the same 26-degree incline.
The ascending corridor has smooth masonry on its walls, and the layout includes many trapezoidal stones. Bath the ftoor and ceiling of the passageway indicate that the passage was enlarged, possibly during or after the funeral, to allow workers room to move granite blocks meant to plug the corridor.
The Grand Gallery's purpose is still debated among experts. It may have been intended to align with the stars, act as a buffer to protect the King's Chamber or simply to facilitate the transport of the granite blocks used inside the pyramid. Access to the Queen's Chamber was at the beginning of the Grand Gallery.
Though this room is referred to as the Queen's Chamber, it is believed that there was no queen buried here. Based on their knowledge of earlier pyramids, Egyptologists believe it was more likely intended as the king's serdab, a chamber meant to contain the ka statue, which would in turn house the king's spirit.
Situated exactly within the pyramid's center, on the east-west axis of the pyramid, the chamber has a vaulted ceiling and measures 5.7 by 5.2 meters. In the eastern wall there is a niche, tucked away in a small corbelled archway, which may have originally held the ka statue. Behind this niche is another smaller hole, possibly dug out by thieves in search of further treasure.
In the 19th century, two shafts were found running through the north and south walls. They each run in a horizontal line for 2 meters before sloping upward, and both are closed off with limestone blocks fitted with copper handles. Whether they were intended as ventilation shafts for workers or a celestial connection for the pharaoh's spirit is unconfirmed.
A recent scan of the room indicated the presence of an unknown cavity hidden behind the north face of the walls over the descending corridor. Further investigation is still ongoing, to ascertain the nature of the anomaly so as to avoid risking damage to the monument.
Khufu's architects were possibly influenced by earlier rhomboidal pyramids when designing the Gallery. Itis the longest corbelled vault ever built, measuring 47 meters Long and 8.60 meters high. The walls were made to taper inward, allowing for better distribution of weight. As a result, the ceiling measures just over a meter wide at its highest point. Though this construction technique is present in other pyramids, few have the same precision and stability.
While the space is visually dramatic, the Gallery seemed to serve a practical function, though what exactly remains uncertain. Stilt, the wall design was undoubtedly meant to contribute to the stability of the structure, and its floor may have helped workers move the materials. A channel runs along the middle of the room. A movable floor originally rested in this central recess. The raised benches on either side are equipped with slots that may have been used to help position the granite blocking stones.
Atthe end of the Grand Gallery is the entrance to the antechamber leading to the King's Chamber. Directly above, there is another narrower horizontal passage that connects to the top of the King's Chamber, and allowed the workers access to the weight relief rooms.
The far end of the Grand Gallery leads to a small antechamber, with a portcullis preventing access to the King's Chamber. The portcullis was composed of three separate granite slabs. They were designed to be lowered into place, and seal the chamber after the burial of the king. The grooves dug out to hold the slabs in place are still clearly visible to this day. The elaborate locking system was composed of a series of grooves for the ropes and pulleys that dropped the stones into place, like the notches on a key.
(Behind the Scenes)
For the purposes of the game, the team elected to remove the portcullis slabs in order to grant the player access to the King's Chamber.
In reality, workers would've backed out of the room after the funeral, Lowering each slab into place behind them one at a time.
Each of the three stones were smashed by looters centuries later, and evidence of their break-in is still evident.
The King's Chamber is built entirely out of red granite. The King's Chamber measures 5.8 meters in height. It has an imposing cover of five stacked levels above, with granite beams weighing 25 to 40 tons each. The uppermost Level is surmounted by a vault of stones, arranged in chevrons to bear the enormous structural load.
As in the Queen's Chamber, two shafts extend out from the room towards the north and south faces of the pyramid. They measure nearly 64 meters until they are blocked by copper-handled granite plugs. Some experts in the culture of the Old Kingdom believe that the shafts were thought to lead the king's soul to the stars, with the incarnation of the pharaoh as the god Ra represented by the northern well, and the god Horus by the southern well.
There is a granite sarcophagus at the west end of the room, but it is the concealed construction inscriptions left by workmen on the roof's stones which verify this as the resting place of Khufu. The sarcophagus was recorded as being empty when it was discovered, and its design indicates that there was once a lid in place. It's possible that this sarcophagus is only a cenotaph in memory of the Pharaoh, but was never actually meant to recieve the body.
Khufu's mummy was never found. It is hoped that as of yet undiscovered hidden rooms and shafts of the pyramid may provide an answer as to its location.