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The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man's Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt's Greatest Mystery

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Anybody visiting the Great Pyramid in Giza has been in awe at the architectural genius that its construction exhibits - four and a half thousand years ago. The mystery of its structure has been occupying Egyptologists, architects and engineers for a long time. How was it possible to build the pyramid as high as it was and as precise? Could an outer ramp have been used to move the huge stone blocks into position or was there a hidden inner ramp? And what was the real purpose of some of chambers, in particular the commonly named "Great Hall"? Despite many theories, expertly summarized by Bob Brier, nobody has been able to prove any of them. Brier, a renowned Egyptologist himself, follows Jean-Pierre Houdin, an architect, on his nine-year absorbing quest to establish proof of his father's ground-breaking theory of the building's construction and the indisputable brilliance of the pyramid's architect, Hemienu.

Brier takes the reader through the history of pyramid building, interleafing it with the story of the Houdins' intricate search to find the evidence that was needed to convince the expert community of the validity of their theory. The author applies a fluid and conversational tone to the narrative making it easy for the reader to follow his information-rich and well-sourced account, without overloading us with too many technicalities and details. The reader is literally taken by the hand and walked through the building process of the Great Pyramid, one layer at a time, from the planning, design, and quarrying the stones, to the administrative challenges the search for the right locality and positioning and finally the actual construction. The illustrations further facilitate understanding and appreciation. [Friederike Knabe]

People have puzzled about how Kheops's Pyramid was built for centuries. The long ramp theory seems intuitively correct but no remains of the ramp have been found. Herodotus wrote that a complex series of wooden machines lifted blocks up the sides of the pyramid; archeologists doubt that there was enough wood in ancient Egypt to do so. The spiral ramp theory posited a ramp built along the outer faces of the pyramid; again, there is no evidence of such a ramp and it would have blocked lines of sight for the builders to insure accurate measurements.

But perhaps the pyramid was built "inside out"?

-- An outside ramp made from smaller blocks was used to build the first 43 meters of the pyramid.

-- An internal spiral ramp made from those blocks ran behind the faces of the pyramid to complete the construction; and

-- The Great Gallery contained an ingenious system of counterweights to lift the heavy granite ceiling rafters in the King's Funeral Chamber.

This fascinating book tells the story of how this "out of the box" theory was developed:

"On January 2, 1999, while I was once again away in New York, my father, a retired engineer, saw a television programme about the construction of the pyramids presented by François de Closets. With his civil engineer's eye he took a critical look at theories in vogue at that time. He thought they just didn't stand to logic. And then suddenly an idea dawned: what if the pyramids had been built from within - from the inside out as it were? This was a revolutionary concept that swept away all the other hypotheses that had been put forward until then. As an architect with experience in three-dimensional graphics, I was called in to assist him in his research."

I remember a TV special several years ago in which a robot climbed up a shaft within the pyramid, only to discover a door blocking the ramp. Archaeologists have been puzzled by the shafts since they were discovered in 1872. Some believed they were built as vents, others that they were passages for the dead king's soul to ascend to the afterlife. In this theory, they provided space to turn the small blocks around 90 degree corners on the edges of the pyramid.

This book spells out the various efforts to prove the thesis in informal and warm prose, but with excellent technical support. The photographs and drawings help the general reader understand how it may have been done. The first Comment describes some of the online sources which support and challenge the theory. Altogether, this book is a great introduction to ongoing research on this incredible structure.

Robert C. Ross 2008

PS: National Geographic is going to release a television show it carried recently on its channel on this subject; details of the DVD are at Unlocking the Great Pyramid. B.

As an amateur Egyptologist I highly recommend this volume. It is easy ready, as Bob Brier is not only a knowledgeable Egyptologist and excellent teacher but a writer who with an easy, almost conversational style. Jean-pierre Houdin, co-writer and the architect/engineer whose tenacity and great ability to "problem solve" all the data, past and current, provides at the very least the most probable explanation as to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Other explanations for the construction of the pyramid are legion, from the reasonable supposition that ramps were used and lengthened as the pyramid rose (but would end up requiring ramps miles long), all the way to the ridiculous (space aliens, again.) Brier first gives the history of the pyramids (function, theories of construction, interesting anecdotes) and then leads us step by step down the path to understanding the logic behind Houdin's reasoning, using modern technology, of the use of "inner" ramps to move blocks as the pyramid got higher. The reader will love the explanation of "cornering". Photos, excellent diagrams, and pictures are presented in an orderly fashion that explains this "theory" (no longer a theory to this writer). Especially fascinating is Houdin's explanation of the function of the Grand Gallery leading to Khufu's burial chamber. Those interested in this subject are in for a treat.

On June 16, 2003, Egyptologist Bob Brier received an e-mail from French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin. It seems that Monsieur Houdin had a new theory on how the Great Pyramid at Giza was built. That in and of itself was nothing new, Egyptologists are always being presented with new theories. But, this theory was different, and the more Professor Brier looked at it, the more convinced he got!

This book is the story of Mr. Houdin's discovery of his theory of the building of the Great Pyramid, interwoven with the story of how Hemienu (architect of the Great Pyramid) might have built it. It is a very interesting read, and I must say that the authors make an excellent case for Mr. Houdin's theory. Also, the book is written in a very accessible manner, which makes it entertaining at the same time that it informs.

I must say that I really liked this book, and though I am not entirely sold on the new theory, I am very glad that I read this book. I look forward to watching the news in the future and seeing what progress the authors make!

First of all, I am a big fan of Bob Brier and a person that reads about ancient Egypt constantly. To someone that wants to round out their education of the Great Pyramid, this is the book you must read. It gives you yet another side to how it was built. If you exclude aliens (I hope), and a giant ramp, this book makes the most sense of anything I have read in the past. What is truly remarkable is the dedication of Houdin in studying this creative explanation for the construction. To model this theory without ever seeing the Pyramid is amazing. Having been in the Great Pyramid, I now want to return and pay attention to some of the details pointed out in this wonderful little book.

How did the ancient Egyptians build the Great Pyramid? This is one of the great mysteries of ancient Egypt. Several theories have been proposed, some of them have even been somewhat rational. But they all have suffered from one or more flaws.

One of the old theories is that the Egyptians built a ramp that snaked around the exterior of the pyramid. Workers would haul multi-ton stones up these ramps so that they could be fit into place. But this theory suffers from two problems: how do you line up the sides of the pyramid when it is buried under a huge ramp and where did the material used to build the ramp go after the pyramid go? Surely the Egyptians did not cart hundreds of tons of materials away in a massive clean up project once the pyramid was completed.

The authors of this book have turned this theory inside out, literally! They believe that the Egyptians did build a ramp and that it is still there. They built it inside the pyramid, not outside it!

This book explains the theory in detail and provides a lot of evidence to support it. One of the most interesting parts of the book is a description of the computer simulations that were created to see if the theory actually works. The simulations were able to explain cracks in the ceiling of the king's chamber that Egyptologists have not been able to explain. The simulations also provide a time plan for when each part of the pyramid were completed and several of the illustrations show the pyramid at various stages of completion.

This book is concise, well written and explains the theory clearly. It is a very enjoyable read. Is the theory right? I cannot judge that since I am not an engineer. One of the authors is an engineer and that does lend credibility to the ideas presented in this book.

I got into this book and could not put it down! The theory makes perfect sense to me, and I think the author has figured out how the pyramids were built. A great read for anyone that ever had any interest in the pramids in Egypt.

Dr. Brier has done it again. To me (and many others), he is the expert in anything Ancient Egypt. He never allows his ego (if he has one) to get in the way of the facts. This book read as easy as a novel for me. I just can't stop reading everything of Dr. Brier's that I can find.

Saw the program on tv that was derived from the book. Had to have the book.

It was difficult to stop reading this book - I really wanted to know every detail of the building process, so masterfully described in this account of the only Great Pyramid theory that works. With just enough background to bring any pyramid novice up to speed, it keeps the story interesting and informative. After reading the book, check out the 3D movies posted at http://khufu.3ds.com/introduction/ to bring the written pages to life!