Editing Great Pyramid of Giza (section)

=== Entrances ===
==== Original entrance ====
The original entrance is on the north side, {{convert|15|royal cubit|m+ft|1|lk=in}} east of the centreline of the pyramid. Before the removal of the casing in the Middle Ages, the pyramid was entered through a hole in the 19th layer of masonry, approximately {{convert|17|m|ft}} above the pyramid's base level. The height of that layer – {{convert|96|cm|ft}} – corresponds to the size of the entrance tunnel that is commonly called the Descending Passage.{{sfn|Maragioglio|Rinaldi|1965b}}{{sfn|Haase|2004b|p=15}} According to [[Strabo]] (64–24 BC) a movable stone could be raised to enter this sloping corridor; however, it is not known if it was a later addition or original.[[File:Cheops-Pyramid@Eingaenge.JPG|left|thumb|upright|The original entrance (top-left), Robbers' Tunnel (middle-right)]]

A row of double chevrons diverts weight away from the entrance. Several of these chevron blocks are now missing, as indicated by the slanted faces on which they once rested.

Numerous, mostly modern, graffiti is cut into the stones around the entrance. Most notable is a large, square text of hieroglyphs carved in honor of [[Frederick William IV of Prussia|Frederick William IV]], by [[Karl Richard Lepsius]]'s Prussian expedition to Egypt in 1842.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Hieroglyphic Inscription Above the Great Pyramid's Entrance|url=http://www.catchpenny.org/gpglyph.html|access-date=}}</ref>

===== North Face Corridor =====
In 2016 the [[Scanpyramids|ScanPyramids]] team detected a cavity behind the entrance chevrons using [[muography]], which was confirmed in 2019 to be a corridor at least {{Convert|5|m|ft}} long, and running horizontal or sloping upwards (thus not parallel to the Descending Passage).<ref>{{Cite news|title=#ScanPyramids – First conclusive findings with muography on Khufu Pyramid|url=http://www.hip.institute/press/HIP_INSTITUTE_CP9_EN.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019155509/http://www.hip.institute/press/HIP_INSTITUTE_CP9_EN.pdf |archive-date=2016-10-19|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=ScanPyramids 2019 English Video Report|date=16 November 2019|url=https://vimeo.com/373622564}}</ref>

In February 2023 the North Face Corridor was explored with an endoscopic camera, revealing a horizontal tunnel with a length of {{Convert|9|m|ft}} and a transverse section of about {{Convert|2 by 2|m|ft}}. Its ceiling is formed by large chevrons, like those visible above the original entrance and also similar to relieving chambers.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2 March 2023 |title=Precise characterization of a corridor-shaped structure in Khufu's Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=14|bibcode=2023NatCo..14.1144P |last1=Procureur |first1=Sébastien |last2=Morishima |first2=Kunihiro |last3=Kuno |first3=Mitsuaki |last4=Manabe |first4=Yuta |last5=Kitagawa |first5=Nobuko |last6=Nishio |first6=Akira |last7=Gomez |first7=Hector |last8=Attié |first8=David |last9=Sakakibara |first9=Ami |last10=Hikata |first10=Kotaro |last11=Moto |first11=Masaki |last12=Mandjavidze |first12=Irakli |last13=Magnier |first13=Patrick |last14=Lehuraux |first14=Marion |last15=Benoit |first15=Théophile |last16=Calvet |first16=Denis |last17=Coppolani |first17=Xavier |last18=Kebbiri |first18=Mariam |last19=Mas |first19=Philippe |last20=Helal |first20=Hany |last21=Tayoubi |first21=Mehdi |last22=Marini |first22=Benoit |last23=Serikoff |first23=Nicolas |last24=Anwar |first24=Hamada |last25=Steiger |first25=Vincent |last26=Takasaki |first26=Fumihiko |last27=Fujii |first27=Hirofumi |last28=Satoh |first28=Kotaro |last29=Kodama |first29=Hideyo |last30=Hayashi |first30=Kohei |issue=1 |page=1144 |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-36351-0 |pmid=36864018 |pmc=9981702 |s2cid=257259769 |display-authors=1 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ScanPyramids North Face Corridor 2023 Report |date=March 2023 |url=https://vimeo.com/803685954}}</ref>

====Robbers' Tunnel====
Today tourists enter the Great Pyramid via the Robbers' Tunnel, which was long ago cut straight through the masonry of the pyramid. The entrance was forced into the 6th and 7th layer of the casing, about {{Convert|7|m|ft}} above the base. After running more or less straight and horizontal for {{Convert|27|m|ft}} it turns sharply left to encounter the blocking stones in the Ascending Passage. It is possible to enter the Descending Passage from this point but access is usually forbidden.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2007|pp=38–40}}

The origin of this Robbers' Tunnel is the subject of much scholarly discussion. According to tradition the opening was made around 820&nbsp;AD by Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]]'s workmen with a battering ram. The digging dislodged the stone in the ceiling of the Descending Passage that hid the entrance to the Ascending Passage, and the noise of that stone falling, then sliding down the Descending Passage alerted them to the need to turn left. Unable to remove these stones, the workmen tunnelled upwards beside them through the softer limestone of the Pyramid until they reached the Ascending Passage.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2007|p=38}}{{sfn|Battutah|2002|p=18}}

Due to historical and archaeological discrepancies, many scholars (with [[Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy|Antoine de Sacy]] perhaps being the first) contend that this story is apocryphal. They argue that it is much more likely that the tunnel had been carved shortly after the pyramid was initially sealed. This tunnel, the scholars continue, was then resealed (likely during the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|Ramesside Restoration]]), and it was this plug that al-Ma'mun's ninth-century expedition cleared away. This theory is furthered by the report of patriarch [[Dionysius I Telmaharoyo]], who claimed that before al-Ma'mun's expedition, there already existed a breach in the pyramid's north face that extended into the structure {{Convert|33|m|ft}} before hitting a dead end. This suggests that some sort of robber's tunnel predated al-Ma'mun, and that the caliph enlarged it and cleared it of debris.{{sfn|Cooperson|2010|pp=170–175}}