November 2008 Archives

"Whatever your quest, it has remained undiscovered for perhaps centuries ... Be sure what you are doing is correct by today's and future standards."

Nat Geo: What are you passionate about regarding your career? What keeps you going?

Charles: Beyond the exploration and logistical challenges, learning and teaching others about our past, and how it can impact our future, drives me to continue when others might have quit.

Nat Geo: Describe the expedition for Shipwreck! Captain Kidd. How did it come about?

Charles: I have directed Taino and Columbus-era research in the Dominican Republic for nearly 15 years, and have built a strong relationship with various government agencies and individuals. When asked to investigate a shipwreck adjacent to Catalina Island, I responded to the request when weather conditions were not good on my primary mission. Little did I know it would result in the discovery of the 1699 Quedagh Merchant.

Nat Geo: Tell me about your "AHA" or "EUREKA" moment during this project. How did you feel?

Charles: As soon as I encountered the cannon ballast pile on the shipwreck, I knew it was the site the treasure hunters were looking for. Cannons stacked in opposite directions, with numerous anchors beneath them, and no deployment cannons were the initial keys to the site. Also, the ship's hull could only end up resting upright in the shallow water due to the lightened burned upper decks.

Dr. Bob Brier
Egyptologist, Long Island University
Jean-Pierre is an architect, not an Egyptologist, and when I first met him he had no idea of how difficult it was to work in Egypt. What he needed was evidence for his theory, but he didn't know that obtaining permissions and then carrying out the work isn't easy. The Great Pyramid is a tourist attraction. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year tourists trek through the pyramid and if we were going to do our research we would have to do it when they weren't there -- at night. To complicate matters, when National Geographic heard of our search for a mile-long ramp hidden inside the pyramid, they wanted to film it and that complicated things as we would work with an entourage of producers, cameramen, and others, but there were advantages also. They would pay for the permissions to open the pyramid at night, fly us over, and supply support systems. We formed a team.

There are chambers inside the Great Pyramid that tourists never see, and some that few even know about. Cut into the bedrock beneath the pyramid is a burial chamber that was abandoned, unfinished, when it was decided to bury the pharaoh high up inside the Pyramid. To reach it you go down a narrow passageway cut through the masonry of the pyramid and into the bedrock. It is not for the claustrophobic. For more that 100 feet you are hunched over, walking like a duck down a dark tunnel; it was never intended for human traffic and was cut just large enough for the pharaoh's sarcophagus to be slid down. But studying the underground burial chamber is a piece of cake compared to what lies above.

About half way up the pyramid is King Khufu's final resting place, The Burial Chamber. This is the final destination of tourists visiting the interior of the pyramid. Few of them realize that hidden directly above the Burial Chamber are five tiny rooms called Relieving Chambers. These rooms and the rafters above them were intended to take the weight of the pyramid above off the ceiling of the burial chamber and distribute it into the body of the pyramid. (See field drawing.) Even with this precaution, the 50-ton ceiling beams cracked while the pyramid was being built. For Jean-Pierre and me to inspect the relieving chambers, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities provided us with a 30-foot ladder so we could climb to the very top of the wall just outside the Burial Chamber.

Dr. Bob Brier
Egyptologist, Long Island University

Before climbing I met Jean-Pierre at the base of the pyramid to go over what I hoped to accomplish. I am not an architect and wanted to know what to look for. He told me to measure the notch, examine the join where the lateral walls met the pavement, and look for any cracks that might allow me to peer in for evidence of the ramp. We said our goodbyes and with a tape measure and small digital camera stuffed into my pocket I began my ascent.

I was happy to have Nicolas, our cameraman with me. As an experienced climber, he was better at picking the safest route so I followed his lead. On the NE corner, the blocks are about four and a half feet high for the first twenty or so courses, a bit high to hoist oneself up, so we decided to begin not at the corner but in the center of the north face of the pyramid, where the blocks were about a foot smaller. Then it became a bit tricky because the stones are crumbly. Each ledge was only about nine inches deep and covered with limestone flakes. Careful not to rely on our footing, we hung on to the block above us, using the ledge for as little support as possible. When we finally reached the corner, life got considerably better. The stones were smaller and of better quality and soon we were moving quickly up the giant's staircase. After about five minutes we came to a very small notch. Nicolas asked if this was it and I explained we still had a couple of hundred feet to go and we set off.

Jean-Pierre and I had speculated for years what the notch would look like up close, and it wasn't what I expected: the area was irregular not what I expected for a notch crafted to turn blocks. Perhaps it was just a result of medieval stone robbing. As I took measurements I could see a crevice at the back of the notch. Finally it was time to look through the crevice, and this is where the big surprise came.

I realize this is a bit coincidental with yesterday's post, but this is fascinating news coming out of Cairo. From National Geographic News article this morning...

"A new pyramid has been discovered deep beneath Egyptian sands, archaeologists announced today. The 4,300-year-old monument is believed to be the tomb of Queen Sesheshet, the mother of Pharaoh Teti, the founder ancient Egypt's 6th dynasty."

Countinues

"The researchers were somewhat surprised to find a pyramid here, since they thought the area had been exhausted. Archaeologists had already found subsidiary pyramids for Teti's two principal wives Iput I and Khuit, a hundred years ago and in 1994, respectively. Teams have been digging in the area for more than 20 years.

"One hundred years ago they used to take sand and put it in unexcavated areas," Hawass said. "The archaeologists in the past used this area as a location for the sand. No one could think there is anything here." Tomb robbers, however, knew the pyramid was there. Archaeologists found that a shaft had been created to allow access to Sesheshet's funerary chamber."

Dr. Bob Brier
Egyptologist, Long Island University

Dr. Bob Brier has spent more than twenty years studying ancient Egypt and is an international authority on mummies.

It always surprises my students when I tell them we don't know how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built. Dancing in their heads are Hollywood's images of lots of guys hauling blocks up a huge ramp. The truth is, that simply won't work. In order for the workers to pull the blocks, the ramp would have to have a gentle slope, but the pyramid is 480 feet high and that would mean that Hollywood's ramp stretches for more than a mile. The ramp would be greater in volume than the pyramid! Also, archaeologists have never found the remains of such a ramp, and something that big doesn't just disappear in the dry desert. So how the Great Pyramid was built is still one of the greatest archaeological mysteries of our time.

French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin may have the solution to that puzzle. He is convinced that the 2 ½-ton blocks were brought to the top via a mile-long ramp corkscrewing upwards inside the pyramid -- like a ramp in a parking garage -- and the ramp is still inside the pyramid waiting to be discovered.

According to Jean-Pierre's theory, the internal ramp corkscrews up the pyramid in twenty-two straight flights. At the end of each flight the workers hauling the blocks had to make a left turn into the next flight of the ramp, but that created a problem. You need space to turn the massive blocks and the tunnel-like ramp would have been constricting. Jean-Pierre's idea is that at the end of each flight, the corners of the Pyramid were left open to let in light and air and provide space for the turn, but this is just theory. Is there any evidence for this? My job was to see if there was.

Here's my recommendation of the week...

Some may have seen it, some of you haven't, but one my favorite shows on the channel right now has to be Locked Up Abroad. Its a fascinating show about the experiences, (mostly terrifying), that some travelers have.

Some are simply asking for it, (NEVER BRING NARCOTICS THROUGH AIRPORTS! Duh.) and some are the victims of the countries that they are visiting. Regardless each one is a ride that I bet most of us don't want to go on, but sure as hell want to watch unfold.

Check out the clip below and let me know what you think. This is from an episode called Locked Up Abroad: Lima that is airing this Monday at 9p e/p.

I look forward to hear what you have to say...

Want more? Check out the Locked Up Abroad show page here.

"Everyone is an explorer. How could you possibly live your life looking at a door and not go open it?"

For an entire week, the National Geographic Channel will take you from the sands of Egypt, to the depths of the oceans, to the craters of the Moon and back. Seven nights of expeditons led by today's Intrepid Explorers will highlight discoveries, theories and amazing historical artifacts that will reveal a world that is unknown to many of us. Throughout each expedition, witness the dauntless passion of today's top adventurers, scientists and real-life treasure seekers.

First, we tackle a millenniums-old mystery using nothing but blueprints of the Great Pyramid at Giza and a computer -- finding that the answer to Unlocking the Great Pyramid might be inside. Then marvel at high-definition video of the moon's surface beamed directly back from just above the moon by the Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya in Direct From the Moon. Then, back on earth, the discovery of an untouched shipwreck laden with artifacts could validate the legend in Shipwreck! Captain Kidd.

Then ride along as a team of archaeologists uncover the forgotten remains of our first president's childhood home, offering new insight into The Real George Washington.
Journey up the Amazon with scientists who believe they have found evidence of an immense civilization rivaling any other ancient metropolis in Lost Cities of the Amazon. Head from the Amazon to the Nile -- gear up to solve some of the most enduring, centuries-old enigmas in the lives of ancient Egyptian rulers and artifacts with three episodes of Egypt Unwrapped.

Concluding our weeklong event, explore a lost burial site that could be one of the most important archaeological discoveries since the Dead Sea Scrolls in this added eighth-night bonus premiere of Herod's Lost Tomb.

For more information, videos, photos and airings, go to the official Expedition Week site by clicking here.

The election season has come to a close. And as we continue to watch who President-Elect Barack Obama chooses for his cabinet, we do know one important addition that will be made to the West Wing. A new puppy.

Barack Obama noted in his acceptance speech Tuesday night that his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, have earned a new puppy when they move to the nation's capitol in January.

Cesar Milan is, of course, ready and willing to help give his advice. The Dog Whisperer will be on Entertainment Tonight giving advice to Obama family's on a potential dog adoption.

Tune in tonight to Entertainment Tonight to see Cesar discuss this important addition to the White House.

Check your local listings for time and channel.

Dog Whisperer Airs every Friday night at 8p e/p.