PYRAMIDS PYRENEES, PEACE OF THE. 



761 



this was true in his time, the soil must have been 

 very much raised, since the entrance is not at pre- 

 sent more than 100 feet from the ground. Herodotus 

 says that the two largest pyramids are wholly 

 covered with white marble ; Diodorus and Pliny, 

 that they are built of this costly material. The 

 account of Herodotus is confirmed by present ap- 

 pearances. Denon, who accompanied the French 

 expedition to Egypt, makes the following observa- 

 tions on the present state of the pyramids : Bona- 

 parte had determined to examine the great pyramid 

 of Gize ; 300 persons were appointed to this duty, 

 among whom was Denon. They approached the 

 borders of the desert in boats to within half a league 

 of the pyramid, by means of the canals from the 

 Nile. The first impression made on Denon by the 

 sight of the pyramids did not equal his expectations, 

 for he had no objects with which to compare them; 

 but on approaching them, and seeing men at their 

 feet, their gigantic size became evident. The visitors 

 ascended' a small elevation of rubbish and sand, 

 which led to the entrance of the pyramid. This 

 opening, which, according to Denon's calculation, 

 is about 60 feet above the ground, is concealed by 

 a stone wall, which forms the third and innermost 

 of the walls surrounding the pyramid. Large stones 

 are placed horizontally at the side of the entrance, 

 and above these, others of enormous size are so 

 placed as to make their fall or displacement very 

 difficult. Here begins the first entrance, leading 

 towards the centre and the ground floor of the build- 

 ing. At the end of this passage, Denon says, two 

 large blocks of granite stopped the way. Finding 

 all endeavours to remove this obstacle useless, he. 

 went a little way back, passed round two other 

 blocks of stone, and succeeded in climbing over 

 them, when he discovered another passage, so steep 

 that it was necessary to cut steps in order to ascend 

 it. This led into a landing place, in which is a 

 deep hole, usually called the well. It is the en- 

 trance to a horizontal passage leading to an apart- 

 ment, known under the name of the queen's cham- 

 ber, which is without any inscription or ornament. 

 From the above landing place, an opening leads in 

 a perpendicular direction to the principal passage, 

 and this ends in a second room, where the third 

 and last partition is found. This is built with much 

 greater care. Finally comes the king's chamber, 

 which contained a sarcophagus. This pyramid has 

 been since more completely examined by Caviglia. 

 The other pyramid of Gize that of Cephrenes 

 was first opened and visited by Belzoni in 1818. 

 In the sarcophagus of this pyramid he found some 

 bones, which were sent to London, and, on examina- 

 tion, proved to be those of an animal of the bovine 

 species. The chambers, passages, shafts, &c. re- 

 semble those of the pyramid of Cheops above de- 

 scribed. (See Belzoni's Researches and Operations 

 in Egypt and Nubia.) Beside this group, there are 

 others, but of less magnitude, at Abousir, Sakhara, 

 and Dashour. An account of Belzoni's and Cavi- 

 glia's examinations may be found in Russell's An- 

 cient and Modern Egypt. The singular monuments 

 of the ancient inhabitants, found in Mexico, are 

 also called pyramids. They are built of brick, dis- 

 posed in layers alternating with clay, and the sides 

 are constructed in terraces, as in that of Cholula, 

 or of a mixture of clay and pebbles, with a coating 

 of stone, overlaid with a plastering of lime. Those 

 of Teocihualcan are considered to be of the eighth 

 century. Another remarkable monument of this 

 kind is the pyramid of Papantla, near Vera Cruz, 

 which had been carefully concealed by the supersti- 

 tious veneration of the Indians, until accidentally 

 discovered about sixty years ago. It is constnicU-d 



of large blocks of hewn porphyry, cemented with 

 mortar, and sculptured in relief with innumerable 

 figures, principally of serpents and alligators. Like 

 the others before mentioned, its sides are formed 

 into terraces, the wall above each of which contains 

 a number of square niches, in the whole 378, being, 

 as is supposed, intended to represent the common 

 year, and the intercalary days at the termination of 

 each cycle. It is about sixty feet high, and has a 

 base eighty feet broad. See Mexico, Antiquities of. 



PYRAMIDS, BATTLE OF THE. See Egypt, 

 Campaign in. 



PYRAMUS. See Thisbe. 



PYRENEES ; a range of mountains dividing 

 France from Spain, extending, almost in a straight 

 line, from St Sebastian on the bay of Biscay, to 

 Port Vendres on the Mediterranean, a distance 

 of about 250 miles. From the principal chain 

 proceed various inferior ridges. The acclivity of 

 the Pyrenees, on the side of Spain, is often extremely 

 steep, presenting a succession of rugged chasms, 

 abrupt precipices, and huge masses of naked rock ; 

 on the side of France, the ascent is more gradual. 

 Like the Alps, they present a great variety of cli- 

 mate and production, and the same rapid transitions 

 from sterility to luxuriant vegetation. They yield 

 great quantities of timber. The mineral productions 

 are iron, copper, lead, zinc, cobalt, and the precious 

 metals. Some of the highest summits are Maladetta, 

 10,722 feet, Mont Perdu, 10,578, Vignemale, 10,332, 

 Marbore, Pic Blanc, and Pic Long. On the Spanish 

 side, the highest summit is the Mousset, differently 

 estimated at from 6646 to 8461 feet high. Mont- 

 serrat (q. v.) is celebrated for its monastery and 

 hermitages. The valley of Campan is the most 

 beautiful part of the Pyrenees. (See Cagots.) 

 There are upwards of one hundred passages for 

 pedestrians, and seven for carriages, over the moun- 

 tains from one country to another. The most fre- 

 quented carriage roads are from Junqueira to Per- 

 pignan, on the east ; from St Sebastian to St Jean 

 de Luz, on the west; and from Pamplona to St Jean 

 de Pied de Port, at some distance inland. The 

 passes in the interior are over very high ground ; 

 that at Pineda being 8248 feet above the sea. For 

 further information, consult Ramon's Observations 

 sur les Pyrtntes; Voyage au Mont Perdu (1801); 

 Melling's Voyage pittoresque (1825); and Labouli- 

 niere's Voyage descriptif et pittoresque. ' Charpen- 

 tier's work, Sur la Constitution geognostique des 

 Pyrenees (Paris, 1823) obtained the prize offered by 

 the Paris academy of science. 



PYRENEES, LOWER ; UPPER PYRENEES ; 

 EASTERN PYRENEES. See Department. 



PYRENEES, PEACE OF THE; concluded be- 

 ween France and Spain by Mazarin and De Haro, 

 on the isle of Pheasants, in the river Bidassoa, on 

 the borders of the two countries, 7th November, 

 1659. After the peace of Westphalia, 1648, the 

 war between France and Spain, which had begun 

 1635, still continued. France formed an alliance 

 with England in 1657, after Cromwell had (1655) 

 declared war against Spain, and taken several 

 strong places in the Spanish Netherlands; Spain 

 also suffered by sea and in America ; Portugal had 

 revolted in 1640, Catalonia was in rebellion, and 

 Andalusia disposed to insurrection ; and in Italy, 

 Savoy had seized Spanish Lombardy. Philip IV., 

 king of Spain, consented therefore to that peace, 

 which confirmed the ascendency of Louis XIV. 

 Spain ceded to France Roussillon, with the fortress 

 of Perpignan, Conflans, and a part of the Cerdagne, 

 so that the Pyrenees have since formed the bound- 

 ary of the two kingdoms ; and in the Netherlands, 

 Artois, and part of Flaiiders,Hainault,and Luxem- 



