the Sphmx and the Great Pyramid. 9S 
the level of its external base. The chamber itself is 60 feet long, 
broad, ^vith a high but flat roof ; and, when first discovered, 
was nearly filled with loose stones and rubbish. The platform 
of the floor is irregular, nearly one-half of its length from the 
entrance being quite level, and about 15 feet from the ceiling ; 
while, in the middle space, it descends 5 feet lower, where there 
is an opening or hollow, resembling the commencement of ano- 
ther shaft or well; and thence, to the western end, it rises 
so much, that there is scarcely room, at the extremity, to stand 
upright between the floor and the ceiling. Some Roman cha- 
racters, rudely formed, and marked by the flame of a candle, 
were observed on the walls ; but the mouldering of the rock had 
rendered them illegible. There was no vestige of any sarcopha^ 
gus ; and it is supposed that this receptacle of the dead had 
been spoiled of its contents by the early Arabs, under A1 Ma- 
moun, the son of Haroun al Raschid. On the south side of this 
chamber is an excavated passage, just sufficient to admit a per- 
son creeping along on his hands and knees, and continuing ho- 
rizontally for the space of 55 feet, when it seems to terminate 
abruptly. Another passage, at the east end of the chamber, 
commencing with a kind of arch, runs about 40 feet into the 
solid body of the pyramid. 
Mr Caviglia next proceeded to examine the chamber E, dis- 
covered by Mr Davison, immediately above the King’s cham- 
ber, and found the dust and bats dung with which the floor 
was covered, increased to the depth of 18 inches. He describes 
the sides and the roof of this upper apartment as coated with 
red granite of the finest polish, but its floor as very uneven, in 
consequence of its being formed by the individual blocks of 
granite which compose the roof of the chamber below. It is 
only four feet high; and it is not easy to conjecture for what 
purpose it could have been intended. Nothing was discovered 
by Mr Caviglia that could lead to a solution of the long-contest- 
ed question respecting the original design of these recesses ; but it 
is still considered as the most probable opinion, that they were 
principally intended, to secure the remains of the founders, or of 
the priests ; and it is also conjectured that, among the contents 
of the sarcophagus, discovered in the pyramid of Cephrenes, 
some human bones may have been mixed with those of the cow. 
0 
