N .11. 

 Fig. 13. 



P Y R 



"' others employed in constructing the decreasing rangM 



^y*p' / from the base upward-, are of snfl limeitont, a little 



harder and more compact than what in En^l.md is 



called clunch. It is of a gray!*h white colour, and c\- 



tit - a fetid odour when broken by a smart blow. 

 These stones are of the same nature as the calcareous 

 rock upon which the pyramids stand, and it is likely 

 that they were quarried out of this ruck, although He- 

 rodotus says that they were brought from the western 

 side of the Nile. The pyramids are built with com- 

 mon mortar externally, but no appearance of mortar 

 could he discerned in the more perfect masonry of the 

 interior. The faces of this pyramid are directed to the 

 four cardinal points. 



This pyramid was explored by our countryman, Mr. 

 Davidson, in 1763. His principal object was to deter- 

 mine the depth of the well C, Plate CCCCLXXI, No. 

 CCLXXI. II. Fig. 13. He descended from A to B, where there 

 is a grotto, fifteen feet by five feet wide, and less than 

 six feet high. At C, the passage was closed with sand 

 and rubbish, and he found here a rope ladder that had 

 been used by Mr. Wood sixteen years before, yet in 

 high preservation. The length of AB is twenty-two 

 feet, and of BC 128, which, with the addition of five 

 feet between the first and second shaft, gives 155 feet 

 for the whole. The openings from the entrance H, 

 along III AG and HID, had been long known; the 

 former leading to the Queen's chamber G, and the 

 latter to the King's chamber F. Mr. Davidson having 

 found a new passage at D, and having crawled through 

 it on his face along the ground, discovered a long, broad, 

 and low room E, immediately above F, but some feet 

 longer than it, though of the same breadth. The cover- 

 ing is composed of 8 stones of beautiful granite. 



In 1817 Captain Caviglia explored the pyramid with 

 still more success. With a lamp in his hand, and a ropt; 

 about his body, he entered the shaft A, and he found 

 that the interior of AC was lined with masonry, and 

 that there was a hollow sound below at C. On another 

 occasion he cleared the entrance at H, to admit more 

 air for his operations, and discovered that the passage 

 HI extended to L for 200 feet, and had the same in- 

 clination, the same finish of work, and the same dimen- 

 sions as HI. He found that the channel IL opened 

 directly on the well C, and was continued twenty-three 

 feet farther to M, where it took a horizontal direction 

 MN, twenty-eight feet long, and terminating in a spa- 

 cious chamber N, immediately under the centre of the 

 pyramid, and 100 feet below the base of S. This 

 chamber, which is sixty feet long, twenty-seven feet 

 broad, and fifteen high, is cut out of the solid rock 

 upon which the pyramid is built. In the centre of the 

 room the ground sinks five feet. Some rude and ille- 

 gible Roman characters had been marked on the wall 

 by the flame of a candle. From this chamber there 

 extends another low passage to the south for 55 feet, 

 and another to the east for about 40 feet. Captain Ca- 

 viglia found that the chamber E, which is only 4 feet 

 high, is coated with the finest polished red granite, and 

 that its rough floor is composed of the same granite 

 blocks which form the roof of the room F. In the 

 chamber F a sarcophagus had been found, 6 feet 11 

 inches long, 13 feet wide, 3 feet 1^ inch high. 



In all the pyramids the entrance is in the north front, 

 and the descending passages have an angle of 26 or 

 27. This line seems to be nearly directed to the pole 

 star, and the north face of the pyramid to be almost in 

 the plane of the earth's equator. This we believe has 

 never been remarked ; and we want only accurate mea- 



TOL. XVII. PART I. 



P Y R 



sures to put it beyond a doubt. But if they even deviate 

 two or three degrees, this only shows the rudeneca of 

 astronomical knowledge at the time when the pyramids 

 were built, or the rudeness of the methods by which 

 the angles were laid down. 



The second pyramid, that of Cephrenes, is aaid by Pyramid of 

 Denon to have a base of 655 feet, and to be 398 feet Ccphrenn. 

 high. The whole is thought to have been covered by 

 stucco of gypsum and flint. Belzoni discovered its en- 

 trance in the north front in 1818. Advancing along a 

 narrow passage, 100 feet long, he found the great 

 chamber 40' feet long by 16 wide, and 23 high, cut out 

 of the solid rock. It contained a granite sarcophagu-, 

 half sunk in the floor, with many bones, some of wnich 

 have proved to be those of the cow. An Arabic in- 

 scription on the wall proves that it had been opened 

 by the Sultan Ali Mahomet. 



The third pyramid of Mycerinus is 280 feet at the Of Myeeri- 

 base, and 162 high. nut. 



The pyramids of Saccara extend five miles to the north' Pyramid! 

 and south of the village of Saccara. Some of them are of Saccanu 

 rounded at the top, and are like hillocks cased with 

 stone, as shown in" Plate CCCCLXXI. No. II. Fig. 14. 

 taken from Dr. Clarke's Travels. 'One of them has 

 steps like that of Cheops. The ranges or steps are six 

 in number, each range being twenty-five feet high, and 

 eleven feet wide. The total height is one hundred and 

 fifty feet. There is another built also with steps, which 

 is supposed to be as high as that of Cheops. The 

 stones of these pyramids are much decayed, and they 

 are more crumbling than those of Djiza; and hence 

 they are supposed to be older. One of them is built of 

 unburnt bricks, containing shells, gravel and chopped 

 straw, and is in a very mouldering state. See Pococke's 

 Description of the Ea&t, vol. ii. Clarke's Travels, vol. 

 iii. chap. iv. and v. 



PYRENEES, a chain of mountains extending from 

 the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and forming the 

 boundary between France and Spain. They are 200 

 miles long, and 100 miles at the greatest width. Near 

 Mont Perdu, the hills are between 12,000 and 15,000 

 feet high. The height of the line of perpetual con- 

 gelation is about 10,000. The following are some of 

 the heights of the mountains and the passes. 



Mountains. Height in EnglUh Feet. 



The Pic D'Ossono, - . . 1 1 . ; 



The Pic de .Midi, ... 9,300 



Canigou, - . " ." 9,247 



The Pic de Los Reyes, - - 7,620 



Pass of Pineda, - - 8.'.M-> 



Pass of Gavarnie, . . 7,640 



Pass of Lavarcse, - 7,350 



Pass of Tourmalet, . 7,195 



See our article PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Vol. XV. p. 485, 

 SPAIN, and the three following articles. 



PYRENEES, EASTERN, a department in the south 

 of France, is bounded on the north by the department 

 of the Aude ; on the west by the departments of the 

 Arriege, and by the Pyrenees ; on the south by the 

 Pyrenees ; and on the east by the sea. It contains 4337 

 square kilometers, and 220 square leagues. The chief 

 productions are corn, wines, brandy, fruits, silk, aloes, 

 honey, soda, wool, millet, flax, and hemp. The several 

 productions are iron, some copper and lead, and a little 

 alum. There are few manufactures here. A great 

 many cattle are exported to Spain. The principal rivers 

 are the Tet, the Tech, and the Gly. The chief towns are 



Population. 



Perpignan, - - - l'l,100 



Ceret, ... 2.;^ 2 



Prades, - - 2,332 



