In Hemienu to Houdin:  Phase One, Part A, we looked at how Jean-Pierre Houdin proposes Hemienu could have built two thirds of the Great Pyramid with a straight, external ramp that only reached one third of the total height of the pyramid.  We also outlined how the ramp would have been three ramps in one, or rather, a ramp of three lanes, two of which alternated from level to level. 

In Phase One, Part B, we will be taking a detailed look at how the alternating lanes functioned, and how Jean-Pierre thinks Hemienu would have changed his strategy once the ramp became too narrow to accommodate two lanes, while still maintaining uninterrupted work from level to level.  We will examine what “building from the inside out” means and why it is the only way Jean-Pierre believes the Great Pyramid could have been constructed.  Again, our goal is a clear and visual understanding of Jean-Pierre’s theory in preparation for the coming update and expansion based on his more recent work.

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Tags: Dassault Systemes, External Ramp, Facing Blocks, Giza Plateau, Hemienu, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Khufu's Pyramid, The Great Pyramid, Tura

Most theories of how the Great Pyramid of Khufu was built agree that some sort of external ramp was required, even if an external ramp alone would not have been sufficient.  But what kind of ramp?  What would it have looked like and been made of?  Where would it have been built? 

Architect Jean-Pierre Houdin has put forth a comprehensive theory of how Khufu’s architect, Hemienu, could have built the pyramid using only the tools, methods, and materials that we know would have been available at the time.  Now, just weeks before M. Houdin is to release an avalanche of new work and material that will greatly update and solidify his theory, Em Hotep has endeavored to get a detailed and thorough description of his work to-date online and available for reference. 

Picking up where I left off over a year ago with the Hemienu to Houdin series, I admittedly have my work for the coming month cut out for me.  Wish me luck!  But with the generous oversight of the theory’s author himself, I can promise that the forthcoming will be the best precursor you can find on-line for what Jean-Pierre mysteriously refers to as “Episode 2.”  

In this current article we will examine how Jean-Pierre’s theory describes the external ramp that was used to build the bottom third of the Great Pyramid.  In particular we will see how Hemienu could have built two thirds of the pyramid with a ramp that only reached one third of its final height; we will see how the Great Builder overcame the limits imposed by the terrain and turned many of them to his advantage; and we will begin looking at how this deceptively simple structure solved some rather complex issues confronting Khufu’s Chief Architect. 

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Tags: Dassault Systemes, External Ramp, Facing Blocks, Giza Plateau, Hemienu, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Khufu's Pyramid, King's Chamber, The Great Pyramid

If the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, what were the first steps Hemienu took when starting the construction of the Great Pyramid?  Six letters from Hemienu is a work of epistolary historical fiction, with a very heavy emphasis on historical, which explores the sort of details that would have required his attention immediately after choosing a building site for Khufu’s Pyramid. 

The purpose of these imaginary missives from the desk of the Overseer of All the King’s Works is to give the reader an idea of the amount of planning, materials, and manpower involved not only in building the Great Pyramid, but in preparation for the work itself.  There were mines and quarries to be opened, a fully functional workers’ city to be constructed, and an entire nation to be mobilized.

In many ways this is a re-introduction to the Hemienu to Houdin series, but it is also intended to be a stand-alone monologic narrative (fancy-speak for letters from just one person that tell a story) of how Hemienu initiated the project that would occupy all of Egypt for more than two decades.  Methods and materials, labor and logistics, tools and tasks, they are all here for your evaluation, along with a short annotated bibliography at the end.

Note:  The names used, with the exception of the Grand Vizier himself, are invented but not without some forethought (the Overseer of the Expedition to the Sinai to open the copper mines, for instance, is named Biah-Ahky, which translates to copper miner), and the titles and positions they hold do have their historical counterparts. 

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Tags: Aswan, Bak, Corvee, Egyptian Measurements, External Ramp, Facing Blocks, Giza Plateau, Hemienu, Internal Ramp, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Khufu's Pyramid, King's Chamber, Lebannon, Logistics, Pyramid City, Quarries, Sinai, Tools, Tura

French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin, whose work is the subject of the Em Hotep series Hemienu to Houdin, and whose pioneering collaboration with Dassault Systèmes introduced industrial 3D architectural and engineering simulation to the field of archaeology, will be recognized for his work at a week-long archaeological film festival in Cairo next week.

An architect among archaeologists, Jean-Pierre will be addressing the French Institute of Eastern Archaeology, and his documentary film, Kheops Révélé, will kick off the festival.

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Tags: Center for Alexandrian Studies, Dassault Systemes, French Institute of Eastern Archaeology, Giza Archives Project, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Mehdi Tayoubi, Peter Der Manuelian

Can’t make it to Egypt this summer?  Never fear, Peter Der Manuelian and Mehdi Tayoubi are combining Fourth Dynasty architecture, Twentieth (and 21st) Century archaeology, and Generation Wow technology to take you places that would be off limits even if you were in Egypt. 

From scanning the landscape to crawling down into ancient tombs, you are there, dude.

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Tags: Dassault Systemes, Giza 3D, Giza Archives Project, Giza Plateau, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Mehdi Tayoubi, Peter Der Manuelian, Project Khufu, Richard Breitner

Mark Rose, the Archaeological Institute of America’s online editor, has written a well-timed editorial in Beyond Stone & Bone, Archaeology Magazine’s blog, regarding Jean-Pierre Houdin’s work with Khufu’s Pyramid.

If we can take physical samples from some of the most important and fragile “artifacts” in all of Egypt—royal mummies—then why can’t we allow Jean Pierre to conduct completely non-invasive work which may unravel one of humankind’s most abiding riddles:  How was the Great Pyramid built?

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Tags: Archaeological Institute of America, Bob Brier, Dieter Arnold, Infrared Thermography, Internal Ramp, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid, Mark Rose, Rainer Stadelmann, The Secret of the Great Pyramid

If you are curious about how the Great Pyramid was built, and want to have the best theory to come along explained by one of its earliest advocates, then you are in luck. 

Dr. Bob Brier, co-author with Jean-Pierre Houdin of “The Secret of the Great Pyramid”, will be delivering a free lecture, open to the public, at Poughkeepsie, NY, on January 27, 2010.

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Tags: Bob Brier, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid

The Great Pyramid of Khufu has baffled professional Egyptologists and everyday people for millennia, but architect Jean-Pierre Houdin has proposed what many feel is the most likely, and certainly the most sensible, theory about the construction of Khufu’s Pyramid to date.  This week France-5 of France Télévision aired a new documentary on Jean-Pierre Houdin’s work called Khéops Révélé.

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Tags: Bob Brier, Dassault Systemes, Infrared Thermography, Internal Ramp, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass

A série ”De Hemienu a Houdin”, de Em Hotep!, que explora a obra e as teorias do arquiteto francês Jean-Pierre Houdin sobre como a Grande Pirâmide de Khufu foi construída, estará agora disponível em Português. 

Isso foi possível através de uma parceria exclusiva com o escritor brasileiro José de Anchieta, que estará publicando os artigos em seu Web site O Antigo Egito para Leigos. Para sua facilidade, foram traduzidos os seguintes artigos:

• De Hemienu a Houdin: Construindo Uma Grande Pirâmide – Introdução
• De Hemienu a Houdin Parte 1: Como Você Prefere a Sua Rampa, Reta ou Com uma Virada?

Verifique regularmente em O Antigo Egito para Leigos e em Em Hotep! o próximo capítulo dessa saga histórica!

For my english readers, this is an announcement that the Hemienu to Houdin series is available in Portugues via special arangement with José de Anchieta of O Antigo Egito para Leigos.

Tags: Hemienu, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Khufu's Pyramid

There is no shortage of theories about how the Great Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu was constructed, but so far they have all failed in various respects.  From ramps that are as large and difficult to construct as the pyramid itself, to ramps that by their nature would make its construction even more difficult, we can’t even really explain how the blocks were moved into place. 

But a French architect by the name of Jean-Pierre Houdin may be changing that.  He has put forth the first comprehensive explanation of how the Great Pyramid was built that stands the tests of physics and common sense, and his work continues to gain support from prominent architects, engineers, and Egyptologists.  

Jean-Pierre has kindly agreed to work with Em Hotep! to put his theory into terms that are accessible to those of us who may not be professional architects or engineers, but who may be amateur and professional Egyptologists of varying degrees.  In Part One we take a close look at the evolution of ramp theories, how they work and fail to work, and what was involved with building the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World. 

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Tags: Bob Brier, Dassault Systemes, External Ramp, Hemienu, Henri Houdin, Internal Ramp, Jean-Philippe Lauer, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid, Ludwig Borchardt, The Great Pyramid, The Secret of the Great Pyramid

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to check out the Tut exhibition at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum along with my wife, Anne Snyder Payne, and local Louisville artist, Meredith Hayden.

The last time I had a chance to see so many priceless artifacts I was at the Cairo Museum in Egypt.

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Tags: Indianapolis Children's Museum, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Mansoor Amarna Collection, Sandro Vannini, Tutankhamun Exhibition

This is the story of two architects, separated by 4,500 years, both trying to solve the same problem—how to build a pyramid measuring 756 feet on each side of the base, 480 feet high, and consisting of 5.5 million tons of stone.   

Our master builders have different goals, however.  The first, Hemienu, was determined to build the greatest pyramid ever, and the second, Jean-Pierre Houdin, was equally determined to figure out how he did it.

Jean-Pierre Houdin and Bob Brier wrote a book—The Secret of the Great Pyramid—about this very subject in 2008 and the paperback edition is due to hit bookstores October 6, 2009.  Ahead of the paperback, Em Hotep!  is providing you with a multi-part primer to Houdin’s work, to be followed with an interview with the man himself.

But first, who are these two architects?

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Tags: Bob Brier, Dassault Systemes, Grand Gallery, Hemienu, Henri Houdin, Imhotep, Internal Ramp, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu, Khufu's Pyramid, King's Chamber, Nefermaat, Snefru, The Great Pyramid, The Secret of the Great Pyramid, William M. Flinders Petrie

It has been nearly a month now since Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced that in one month he would reveal “the exact reason why King Tut died.” 

The title of the lecture was Mysteries of Tutankhamun Revealed.  I was in attendance, and among the most exciting revelations were promises to reveal more revelations in the very near future.

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Tags: Forensic Mummy Studies, Genetic Mapping, Howard Carter, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid, Supreme Council of Antiquities, The Great Pyramid, Tutankhamun, Tutankhamun Exhibition, Zahi Hawass

If I were a stockbroker and Nefertiti was a commodity, I would be advising my clients to buy.  Dr. Zahi Hawass’ last year with the Supreme Council of Antiquities promises to be an interesting one, with robots crawling the Great Pyramid, mummies in CT scanners, and rumors of KV64.

But somehow Nefertiti seems to keep slipping back into the story.

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Tags: Altes Museum, Ankhesenamun, Bust of Nefertiti, Eighteenth Dynasty, Forensic Mummy Studies, Internal Ramp, Jean-Pierre Houdin, Khufu's Pyramid, KV64, Mummies, Mutnodjmet, Nefertiti, New Kingdom, Repatriation, Secret Doors, Supreme Council of Antiquities, The Great Pyramid, Tutankhamun, Zahi Hawass