Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

SYRIA, EGYPT, GERMANY, &C. 2^3
surement, taken with the utmost precision, both of the great cham-
ber and of the sarcophagus.
It is as follows ;
Feet. Inches.
Length
3
of the chamber -
Breadth of the same -
Length
34 4
- 17
of the sarcophagus - -66
Width of its interior
Depth
- - 2 2-i
of the same Height
- 2 S
withoutside - -3 5—
Thickness of the stone - 6
The great pyramid
does not appear, any more than the others,
to have been finished according to the original design. The lower
parts or foundations, interiorly, seem to have been formed of the
incrustations of the rocky surface, which, in passing through the
narrow passages, is perceptible in several places.
At the time of our visit the heat was extremely oppressive. I
collected several fragments of the calcareous stone employed in the
construction of the pyramids, together
with several detached pieces
of granite. At the distance of about two hundred yards
to the
east of the great pyramid is the Sphynx, a sculptured head of an
enormous size hewn out of the solid rock, though it seems by the
veins in the stones to be composed of several stones laid upon one
another, and supported by several large blocks of stone which form
the lower part of the bust, and which have been somewhat decay-
ed by time. The features of this stupendous figure (about twentyfive
feet in height, and fifteen from the ear to the chin) are tole-
rably preserved, with the exception of the nose, which has been
wantonly mutilated. It was formerly conjectured that the head of
the Sphynx was connected with a body of proportionate dimensi-
the sand round its founda-
ons; but the French, by digging away
tions, have demonstrated the erroneousness of this opinion. The
features of this enormous bust are feminine, and in some degree re-
semble the Ethiopian or Nubian race.
In the vicinity of the pyramids we met with the vestiges of sc
veral antique buildings, the stones employed in the construction of
which were of an enormous size. In one of these ruins we found
a capacious and deep well, whicn was entirely dry.
It was with
some difficulty
that we traced the site of the buildings,
in conse-
quence of the drifting of the sands, and the fragments of the py-
ramids, which lay in great heaps on the surface of the ground.
(JO)