Chapter 5.
Amon entered the pharaoh’s palace through one of two entrances hidden from public view. The main entrance was for formal occasions the public was meant to see. But when Khufu wanted private meetings out of public view, he and members of his inner circle used the hidden ones.
Political intrigue had always abounded within the palace walls where no one but a select few could observe. It just wouldn’t do for the public to see their supposedly omniscient king as he really was. Just another politician struggling to maintain his power.
As he walked past the guards, Amon (Yunu) focused all his attention on getting back into character. This newest charade was more difficult than the others he had initiated. In the past, he had been able to blend in with the crowd by acting and dressing like one of them. By doing so, he was able to move about among the population freely.
Using a made-up name (Yunu), he got a job as a hod carrier and went to work on the job site that would eventually become the Great Pyramid.
But now, as the high priest to the new god Amon-Ra, he could not blend in. Nor did he want to. His purpose was to stand out . . . to be noticed. And by doing so, to gain influence in the court of the Pharaoh, all without revealing his true identity and purpose.
As he neared the kings chambers, he could hear that an argument was in full swing.
“How dare you question the wisdom of your Pharaoh?” Queen mother Hetepheres lashed out at the hapless chief engineer, Kanufer.
“My lady,” he pleaded. “I would never question my king. I only wish to express my concern regarding this new concept which he. . . .”
“Silence!” She yelled as she slammed the tip of her staff down onto the marble floor.
“My lady, please,” Shehat, the Chief Priest gestured toward the engineer. “I am sure he only wishes to point out that this concept is new and untried. His many years of experience and study surely must be taken into consideration here.”
“Both of you, please!” Khufu motioned toward a steward standing off to the side. The steward rushed forward to refill the kings wine goblet, then backed away discretely.
“Mother,” Khufu shifted his weight on the divan, gesturing toward the engineer with the goblet. Wine sloshed over the edge and fell to the floor. The steward rushed forward to wipe up the spill.
“Kanufer speaks from years of experience. I take no offence to his remarks.”
“Thank you, my king.” The engineer was noticeably relieved.
“Never the less . . . such remarks border on impudence.” Hetepheres thrust a bony finger toward the engineer.
“Watch that you do not overstep your bounds.” She sneered over her shoulder. The engineer nodded and lowered his eyes.
“My Pharaoh,” Amon stopped at the edge of the room and bowed deeply.
“Ah! Here is our new high priest! Come in! Come in!” The Pharaoh turned toward him and smiled. Two more stewards rushed forward carrying another divan. Amon nodded to the stewards, then sat down, folding his hands in his lap. “Thank you, my king. I’m grateful to have received your invitation.”
“Your chief priest and my engineer were just discussing the merits of my design for my tomb. Perhaps you might have something to contribute to the conversation.”
“My king; no. I am but a lowly priest. I have no knowledge of such things.” Amon was careful not to provide even a hint that he knew anything about the subject.
Seshat glanced warily toward him. Then in a condescending voice; “It is so, my king. We priests possess no knowledge of such matters.”
“Why are the two of you here then?” Hetepheres glared at the two men.
“They are here at my invitation, mother. I value their perspective . . . also, their presence soothes me.” Khufu knew there was friction between the two priests. Seshat guarded his position and standing jealously and had voiced his suspicion and dislike of the new priest from the day of his arrival. The king knew that if he did not smooth the way between them, Seshat would manage to discredit the new priest . . . or worse. His mother, on the other hand, was easier to deal with. She had been rude, terse and demanding even from his childhood. He knew that she was being protective, of him of course, but also of herself. He could handle her.
“But to continue,” said Khufu. “The construction of my father’s tomb was fraught with difficulties from the very beginning.”
“My king, you were but a child when the foundation blocks were first put into place. How is it possible that you would remember such things?” Kanufer, now feeling renewed confidence, continued his argument.
“You are right, my friend. I don’t have memories of those early days. It was many years later, as I approached manhood, that I noticed how the sands around the perimeter began to bulge outward and upward.”
“That is so, my king. But it is only natural that such would be the case as the height of the tomb increased. It was our belief, based on much experience, that the sands would eventually settle.”
“Ah, but that never happened, did it? And what experiences do you site?”
“We built many models, and each of them performed as we had anticipated.”
“Models? How big were these models? How much did they weigh?” Khufu saw the engineer waiver and hesitate before responding.
“My king, our models were precise in every detail. Every stone was hewn precisely and was placed exactly as if it were the actual block to be used in the tomb.”
“And was every block in the model tilted slightly so as to concentrated the total weight toward the center?”
“Yes, my king. As every model was completed, we saw that the sands around the perimeter stabilized.”
“Why then do you suppose that when you were building the actual tomb that each successive layer began to shift from its designated position?”
“We were never able to understand that issue entirely. It was therefore decided to change the slope of the sides of the pyramid so that less weight would be carried by the blocks beneath. Once that was done, the lower courses of blocks settled into position and we were able to complete construction.”
“Yes!” Khufu jumped to his feet, casting a quick sideways glance toward Amon, the high priest. Then, pointing an accusing finger toward the engineer. “And what was the result? The tomb you built was less a monument to my father and more a monument to your flawed design.”
“My pharaoh, it was not my . . .” The engineer shifted uneasily in his seat, looking around the room for some indication of support. Seshat, the chief priest would not make eye contact. The queen mother, by contrast, glared at him so intently that he was instantly filled with dread. Lowering his eyes, Kanufer sat motionless and mortified before the truth of what the Pharaoh had said. Of all the royals, he feared the pharaoh’s mother most. He had seen how she dealt with others who fell into her dis-favor in the past. He now feared less for his position and title and more for his life.
Khufu saw the opportunity he had been waiting for. He walked over and placed a hand on the engineers shoulder.
“Be not concerned, my friend. We all know that you were not always free to do as you pleased in service to Snefru my father.” He glared at his mother and the chief priest. Many a time the two of them had connived and colluded to subvert the will of the former pharaoh. He was convinced it was through their collusion that the former chief engineer had been removed, only to be replaced by the pawn now sitting here under such severe scrutiny.
“What has happened in the past cannot be changed. All that can be done now is to ensure such mistakes do not happen again.” He gave the engineers shoulder a gentle squeeze, then walked slowly toward the center of the room. He glared accusingly at his mother and the chief priest. Both looked toward the floor uneasily. Then, seeing an almost imperceptible nod from the high priest, he began.
“It is my belief that the design of my father’s tomb was flawed from the beginning. First of all, the structure lacked a solid foundation.”
Seshat raise
d his head in response. “My pharaoh, there was ample bedrock beneath the center of the structure where the most weight was concentrated.”
“Undoubtedly this is true,” Khufu responded. “But such support was lacking along the perimeter. This allowed the blocks of the outer structure to shift, thus rendering the whole structure unstable. Engineers attempted to compensate for this by tilting the blocks toward the center where there was more stability. This only made the problem worse. Now as each successive layer was added, more weight was concentrated on the inner edges of the blocks below. When the sand along the perimeter shifted under the increased weight, the pressure on the inner edges of the blocks forced them outward even further. Eventually the only recourse was to decrease the slope of succeeding courses. It compromised the overall height of the structure and ruined the symmetry and beauty of the structure. The resulting decrease in weight helped to stabilize the structure, but the aesthetics were beyond repair. Perhaps an illustration will help explain.” The pharaoh motioned to two servants standing at each end of a low stone table covered with food items and cutlery.
“Clear that table and bring it here to the center of the room.” Then he turned to his new high priest.
“Now that we are all together in this room, we will dispense with formality. I will call you by your name rather than your title.”
“As you wish, my Pharaoh.” the high priest bowed as he spoke.
“Yunu . . . that vessel there in the corner,” he pointed toward a tall decorative urn. “Bring it here and place it in the center of this table.”
“As you wish, my king.” Yunu retrieved the urn, placed it on the table and then stepped back.
“You two,” he pointed to the servants still standing at each end of the table. “Pick the table up. Be careful not to let the vessel fall.” They did as they were told. It was obvious that they were struggling with the added weight.
“Now, Yunu, slide the vessel toward one end of the table.”
“But my pharaoh, the servants already struggle. . . .” Amon feigned alarm.
“Do as you are told!” Khufu was enjoying playing out the act he and the high priest had rehearsed the night before.
As Yunu (Amon) slid the urn toward the end of the table, everyone could see the servant struggling to maintain balance under the increasing weight. Finally the servant’s grip failed, sending the table crashing to the floor. The servant holding the other end was forced backward and fell under the added weight.The urn shattered on the marble floor. Hetepheres jumped to her feet and was about to rebuke the servants when Khufu intervened, motioning her away.
“See then how, when the weight of the vessel is moved to one end, how it is impossible to hold it stable. But when it was placed in the center it did not fall.” Khufu glanced first to the high priest and then turned toward the others. He could see how this dramatic act had had its desired effect.
“And thus it was with the stones of my father’s tomb. The weight was not distributed evenly, which forced the sand underneath to be squeezed outward.”
“What does this have to do with anything?” Hetepheres returned to her seat.
“I think I understand, my pharaoh.” Yunu stepped back as the servants rushed to clean up the mess.
“The stone blocks of your father’s tomb were stacked steeply so the structure could be taller. The increased weight forced the outer blocks to shift.”
Khufu nodded with a smile.
“That is correct, high priest Yunu.” He stepped around the laboring servants and returned to his divan.
“What can we do then, my pharaoh?” asked the engineer.
“My father was a great leader, well respected by all. It was fitting that he should have a magnificent memorial to his greatness. He wanted this memorial to reach high into the heavens as a reminder to all of his greatness. But he did have one failing. He did not understand the limitations of the materials used for his pyramid’s construction.”
Hetepheres and Seshat were taken aback that Khufu would speak so candidly. Such conversations were common among the inner circles of power. Khufu’s brothers and sisters as well as Snefru’s wives and concubines had all talked about him behind his back. But for such conversations to be held in front of lessers like these servants and Kanufer the engineer was unheard of.
“What you say borders on blasphemy, my son!” Only his mother would have the audacity to confront the pharaoh in such a manner.
“Mother, try to understand . . . this is not a political issue. This is about engineering. My father’s perception of himself clouded his judgement. He was not skilled in the engineering arts. No one here should be surprised by that. All we have to do is look at the results of his interference in the construction of his tomb. We all know that a pharaoh’s word is taken to be almost divine. To speak against royalty is to risk everything, including ones’ own life. Those few who found the courage to speak candidly suffered the consequences.”
Hetepheres knew exactly what her son was referring to. Snefru had gone against the advise of his chief engineer in the design of his tomb. The design had failed. No one but the chief engineer himself had dared to confront the pharaoh, and for that he had lost his life. The records of his birth and life were erased. His family members (those who failed to escape) died when their homes mysteriously caught fire. The few who survived disappeared and were never heard from again.
Khufu looked toward the engineer, then cast a fleeting glance at the high priest.
“I will not make the same mistake. My power is absolute, but my knowledge is not. Many things I can learn from those close to me. Much I can learn through introspection. And much I can pass on to others.”
“My pharaoh, your wisdom surpasses us all. . . .” said Seshat, hoping once again to ingratiate himself with the pharaoh.
“Your patronage is duly noted, chief priest. But in this matter it is misplaced.” Rising from his seat, he continued. “In the few short years I have been pharaoh I have accomplished much. Gods willing, I will do much more. The tomb which is to be erected in my honor will reflect those accomplishments. If it is flawed, it will not be due to my self-aggrandizement.” Motioning toward Yunu, he added:
“Come high priest. Let us now return to the temple, that we may supplicate ourselves before our god and seek his will.”
The Pharaoh walked toward the door, leaving the others sitting. The high priest fell into step behind Khufu as he walked out of the room.