The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh

Published in 1883, this landmark survey included the first accurate measurements taken of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

William Matthew Flinders Petrie (Author)

9781108065726, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 5 September 2013

288 pages, 16 b/w illus.
24.4 x 17 x 1.5 cm, 0.46 kg

A pioneering Egyptologist, Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) excavated over fifty sites and trained a generation of archaeologists. In 1880 he began the first ever systematic survey of the Giza Plateau, with perhaps his most important work being on the Great Pyramid. Theories abounded as to how the Great Pyramid had been constructed, yet few were based on close examination of the structure itself. Petrie's findings, still used as a reference today, enabled him to disprove prominent theories, such as the belief of Charles Piazzi Smyth that the Great Pyramid was a product of divine revelation and therefore flawless. This first edition of 1883 was not reprinted, and subsequent editions summarised some of the material. Petrie wrote prolifically throughout his long career, and many of his other publications are also reissued in this series.

Introduction
1. Objects and means
2. Instruments
3. Methods of measurement
4. Excavations
5. Co-ordinates
6. Outside of Great Pyramid
7. Inside of Great Pyramid
8. Outside of Second Pyramid
9. Inside of Second Pyramid
10. Outside of Third Pyramid
11. Inside of Third Pyramid
12. Lesser pyramids of Gizeh
13. Position and orientation of the pyramids
14. The granite temple, etc.
15. Tombs of Gizeh
16. Notes on other pyramids
17. Historical notes
18. Architectural ideas of the pyramid builders
19. Mechanical methods of the pyramid builders
20. Values of the cubit and digit
21. Theories compared with facts
22. History of the Great Pyramid, and its design
23. Appendices
Index.

Subject Areas: Egyptian archaeology / Egyptology [HDDG]