The Great Pyramids of Eqypt were ram water pumps.

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Cross sectional drawing of the inner passages and
chambers of the Pyramid as known to date.

The Grand Gallery End of Ascending Passage, beginning of the Grand Gallery

Following the ascending passage, up at its 26-degree angle, after 124 feet, we finally arrive at a large open space. This is known as the 'Grand Gallery', unique to the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one to have a magnificent grand gallery in its ascending system. It is a hall 153 feet long and 7 feet wide at the floor level, and about 28 feet high, angling upward at the same slope. The walls rise in seven courses of polished limestone. On both sides of the central 2 foot passage are two narrow ramps 18 inches wide and slotted at regular intervals. The purpose of these ramps is unknown, and the purpose of this gallery still remains a mystery. Logic would assume the slope was right for construction and later maintenence, such as cleaning out accumulated silt and mud (after stopping and draining the pump, of course). The steps would tend to catch swirling bits of sediment from the gentle flow of water. The Grand Gallery ends at the passage to the 'Kings Chamber'.

The Kings Passage and Chamber
Passage to the Kings Chamber

Kings Chamber, water inlet-far right, outlet-middle

At the top of the Grand Gallery lies a huge stone step which measures 6 feet wide by 3 feet high. It forms a platform 8 feet deep. It is very worn and chipped. Past the Great Step is another low, horizontal passage 41 inches square which leads to the King's chamber. A third of a way along this passage, it rises and widens into a sort of antechamber, the south, east and west walls of which are no longer limestone but red granite. The King’s chamber, made out of granite, measures about 34 feet by 17 feet and is about 19 feet high. The picture on the right shows where the passage enters the chamber (right hand opening) and the air shaft (or water outlet), 42" above the floor level.

Coffer in the Kings Chamber

The only thing found in this chamber ia a large lidless coffin or coffer, of highly polished granite This beautiful granite box was made from a solid block of chocolate-colored granite and is even harder than the granite walls of the King's Chamber. It is 89.8 inches long, 38.7 inches wide and 41.2 inches high, really too large to have been brought in through the passages; it is assumed it was put there by the original builders. There is evidence it once had a sliding lid, but this box has suffered a lot from 'tourist' and 'researcher' pressure. The box is not part of the floor. It is quite probable that there was a lid, slotted to allow water to flow through the contents of the box. The contents would have been a clarifying agent, a precipitant, which would help precipitate out particles suspended in the water, similar to modern water treatment plants. The material would have been replaced or renewed during regular maintenence routines. A simple example of this is the use of crushed eggshells to clarify boiled coffee grounds ('camp coffee')

The Kings Chamber--Slabs and Roof
Cutaway of the Kings Chamber

The King’s chamber, made out of granite, has a flat 'roof' of granite. Above the roof of the King's Chamber are found a series of 5 cavities or chambers. It has been found that the granite slabs separating these cavities can move a little up and down freely. This forms a series of air 'cushions' between the slabs. When the pyramid pump is operating, a huge pulse of water surges into the ascending system of passages. The air, trapped in the upper part of the chamber, acts as a cushion, compressing with the incoming pulse of high water pressure. The granite slabs can lift a bit, absorbing some of the shock. As the lowest slab rises, it compresses the air in the cavity above it, which will lift the slab above, and so on for 5 cavities. This can absorb a LOT of shock. For this reason, we call this chamber the Primary Pressure Relieving Chamber. These pulses of water would rush over and through the lid of the coffer, which could have contained water clarifying materials.This would help precipitate or settle out small particles of silt, which would settle on the stepped 'floor' of the Grand Gallery.
The air shafts were plugged from the outside during pump operation, and were opened when the chambers were drained for cleaning, and for fresh air during inside work. These air shafts could have been other water outlets as well. The most logical setup was an outlet and an air shaft at both the King & Queens Chambers. The outlets may have been on opposite sides of the pyramid. They all come out at the same level. The air shaft allows the chamber to be drained, and provides fresh air when there are (maintenence) workers inside. Each would need a plug.

Intro Descending Passage Ascending Passage Grand Gallery & Kings Chamber NEXT PAGE

This site is a collaboative effort by:
Edward Weaver , amateur Egyptologist and avid Pyramidologist. Ed has studied these ancient civilizations for many years, as well as the idea of a hydraulic structure within the Giza Pyramid. Any comments or questions in these areas are welcomed.

Don Wilson., author of All About Hydraulic Ram Pumps has been building, installing and consulting on ram pumps for almost 2 decades. His experiences revealed the functions of the inner chambers and passages of the Great Pyramid as a possible working Hydraulic Ram Water Pump. Any comments or questions in these areas. or on this web site, are welcomed.

Most of the photos in this site were taken from the out of print PYRAMIDOLOGY by Adam Rutherford, and SECRETS OF THE GREAT PYRAMID by Peter Tompkins; also some material from the Giza Pyramid Research site as well as other public domain sources. Much thanks and appreciation to these.