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The pyramid of Khafre was built by the
King Khafra (also called the king Khafre). This was the second
pyramid built on the Giza plateau, made from blocks of limestone
that it seems to be smaller and of lower quality. It is not as
larger as the Great Pyramid of Khufu but it looks larger because
the elevation on which the pyramid was built is around 10 meters
higher than the elevation of the King Khufu's pyramid. Although
the pyramid's height is about 136.5 meters now, the original
height of this pyramid was of 143.5 meters. The square basis
have 215.25 meters each. The pyramid of Khafre was planned to
build the pyramid over the burial chamber but in the end, the
burial chamber was made underneath the pyramid` South. On the
pyramid's North side are two passages and also two entrances.
One descending passage leads to the burial chamber right from
the ground. The later passage opens 16 meters. The pyramid’s
capstone doesn’t exist anymore, but the pyramid apex still has
the casing which is polished and made from limestone of white
color. The casings of some lower parts from the exterior, made
from granite still exist, too. The granite of grey color is the
material from which the sarcophagus of the king Khafre is made
from; half of it is placed in a paving that is very thick. This
paving used to cover a bigger part of the burial chamber
floor. The mortuary temple has an antechamber that is adorned
with two monolithic pillars made from granite of pink color.
Another 12 pairs of these monolith pillars are situated in the
entrance hall. In the temple's middle is a courtyard, large and
open, and along the courtyard sites is an ambulatory covered
by a roof made from limestone. |
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