The Secret of the Great Pyramid

THE SECRET OF THE GREAT PYRAMID: HOW ONE MAN’S OBSESSION LED TO THE SOLUTION OF ANCIENT EGYPT’S GREATEST MYSTERY: Bob Brier & Jean-Pierre Houdin: Collins: Nonfiction: 204 pages

Nine years ago, Houdin, a French architect, became obsessed with the mystery of how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built. For the first time, an architect, not an archaeologist, using a computer to create 3-D graphics of the interior of the pyramid, applied practical engineering concepts to imagine how it might have been built. The result was a stunning new idea about its construction. Houdin proposes that the Great Pyramid was built from the inside through the use of an interior ramp which corkscrewed up the pyramid. When the pyramid was finished the ramp was filled in.

This is a very fascinating book and is enhanced by photos and diagrams that help you understand the details of the construction of the pyramid. Some of the concepts are a little technical so I am looking forward to seeing the recent National Geographic special, Unlocking the Great Pyramid, which also presents Houdin’s theories.

SH