|
The Shaft, The Subway
& The Causeway
Part 6
You might think that having obtained an accurate up-to-date
description of the shaft under the causeway there is nothing more to
add, but this is not the case. My own interest in the location was
initially triggered by the 'mystery school' connection, an angle
from which there were still a number of discrepancies to be
resolved. The first part of this section gives an overview of the
appendix to the book "The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid" by
H. Spencer Lewis, Ph.D, F.R.C. which also contains a report of the
location, but with some striking differences. The next part
describes the hunt for an article allegedly written by Hamilton M.
Wright that would answer many questions if it could be found.
Contents
Return to Main Index
page 1│ page 2│ page 3│ page 4│ page 5│ page 6│
page 7│
page 8│ page 9
The "Symbolic Prophecy" Appendix - An
Overview...
 This
section gives an overview of the appendix to the book "The Symbolic
Prophecy of the Great Pyramid" by H. Spencer Lewis, Ph.D., F.R.C.,
first published in 1936. The intention is to provide enough
information to allow a critical assessment of the content to be made
against the other information at hand.
Lewis starts by mentioning drawings that allegedly show how the
pyramids of Giza are connected to the Sphinx by a network of
underground chambers and tunnels (The drawings are reproduced on
page 4). He says that the drawings form part of secret manuscripts
possessed by the mystery schools of Egypt and points out that the
existence of such subterranean features has always been denied by
the authorities. He quotes an unnamed scientist as saying "...the
more we deny the existence of these things, the more the public is
led to suspect that we are deliberately trying to hide...one of the
great secrets of Egypt. It is better for us to ignore all of these
claims than merely deny them." Some might say that this is still the
case today. Lewis goes on to give examples where claims that an area
has nothing to reveal were subsequently shown to be untrue. He cites
the discovery of the temple in front of the Sphinx as one example.
He also suggests that past excavations may have revealed things that
were quickly concealed again for unspecified reasons.
He next makes reference to "a magazine edited in Egypt, and more or
less privately published in London, dealing with Egypt and its
explorations." He identifies the January 1935 edition as containing
an article with photographs by Hamilton M. Wright which describes
recent discoveries at Giza. The article allegedly quotes Dr. Selim
Hassan as describing the discovery of the subway under Khafre's
causeway. This includes the statement, "We have unearthed a series
of shafts leading down more than 125 feet, with roomy courts and
side chambers." Interestingly, the article is also said to quote
Hassan as saying that the causeway was constructed at the same time
as Khafre's pyramid and before the building of the Sphinx.
Lewis next states that a subterranean temple and a previously
unknown passageway linking it to the Sphinx were found near the
pyramids in 1909. This presumably refers to the excavation of
Khafre's pyramid temple in 1909-10 by the Sieglin Expedition. He
attempts to connect this discovery with a mystical reawakening that
he says occurred around the world at that time. Hassan subsequently
excavated the "unknown passageway" and found it to be the causeway
linking the pyramid and valley temples.
Lewis returns to the article and quotes a "Mr Derwish" who gives a
description of the causeway, subway, shafts and chambers. The
description is essentially the same as that quoted on page 1 from
"Excavations At Giza" volume 5 by Dr Hassan. Derwish additionally
mentions finding a fine statue head with expressive features while
clearing the southern part of the subway. Lewis says he has seen a
photograph of the statue and attributes it to the time of Amenhotep
IV (Akhnaton) by reason of its artistic style. Akhnaton favoured an
artistic depiction of subjects, as can be clearly seen by his own
statues in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It is unclear whether the
photograph is part of the article or a separate item. Lewis seems to
be using "context" to associate the location with the time of
Akhnaton, one of the traditional leading lights of the Rosicrucian
Order, AMORC.
Lewis states that a description of the chambers is given in the
article. It is said to include references to inner courts, outer
courts, a Chapel of Offering and another chamber "much like a burial
chamber but undoubtedly a room of initiation and reception." This
initiation room is said to contain a large white sarcophagus of
Turah limestone at its centre. Walls are described as being
beautifully painted and magnificent carved figures are mentioned as
being present throughout the complex. The photographs accompanying
the article are said to clearly depict the style of art associated
with Akhnaton's reign.
Lewis tells us that Dr. Hassan's latest report contains many other
interesting facts. He also thinks that the existence of the
passageways and chambers helps to verify the existence at least in
part of a network of tunnels and chambers as depicted in the book.
In closing, Lewis states that Dr. Hassan has removed rare specimens
of art and relics from the chambers and that he (Lewis) hopes some
of the items will be exhibited in the Rosicrucian museum. It would
be interesting to know where they are now, and also what happened to
the fine statue head said to have been found in the subway.
Go Back
Matters Arising...
The location as described in the appendix seems at first glance to
follow the gist of the descriptions given by other reporters.
Differences start to appear with the reference to Mr Derwish
relating the discovery of a fine head of a statue in the southern
part of the subway. Dr. Lewis uses the style of this item and the
decorative features described in Wright's article to link the
location with the time of Akhnaton, a figure of major significance
to the Rosicrucian movement. The main questions to be answered to
resolve the differences between Dr. Lewis' account and the facts on
the ground were (i) what decorative features were visible at the
time of the discovery by Hassan, and (ii) what artifacts were
recovered from the chambers and where are they now? It would seem
that the man with the answers is Mr. Hamilton M. Wright.
Go Back
Looking For Mr. Wright...
 It
is unfortunate that the most elusive item to date has been "a
magazine edited in Egypt, and more or less privately published in
London, dealing with Egypt and its explorations." Hamilton M.
Wright's article and pictures, said to have been published in
January 1935, could answer many questions. For example, neither the
Daily Telegraph report of March 1935, nor Dr. Hassan in his brief
reference in "Excavations...", nor the recent accounts of Boris Said
or Dr. Zahi Hawass make any reference to decorative features in the
chambers, and there are certainly none to be seen in the slides Dr
Hawass uses when describing the location in his lectures.
On the other hand, Wright's article is
said to describe rich decorations and magnificent carved figures. At
the time back in 1998 when I first wrote this section, it seemed
that the only way to identify the locations referred to by Lewis was
to find the missing article. The accompanying photographs would
clearly indicate the state of the chambers at the time of their
discovery by Selim Hassan, show some of the items found, and
hopefully solve the puzzle.
A fellow researcher named Tim Zimmerman set to work in the
University of Chicago library, hunting through the records for
publications that might fit the bill. He came up with two possible
titles which he kindly passed on to me. The first title, "The
Sphere", was a weekly publication taking the form of an illustrated
newspaper. It was a simple matter to locate copies at the British
Library Newspaper Section in Colindale, London. Nothing relevant was
found in the period October 1934 to March 1935. The second title,
"The Sphinx - The English Illustrated Weekly" sounded like a far
better bet, being produced and distributed in Cairo and also having
a London address. It was targetted at British expatriates living in
Egypt and contained news from "back home" as well as current events
(including the latest discoveries) in Egypt. It was extremely
difficult to track down any copies from January 1935.
Enquiries were made and searches
conducted at many locations in the U.K. and U.S.A, not to mention in
Cairo itself. After five months, a librarian at the British Library
in London located a reference to copies being held in New York.
Transatlantic phonecalls were made to check that they were still
available and a researcher was engaged to go through the January,
1935 issues. Once again, nothing was found so a wider search was
conducted in the issues covering the period October 1934 to March
1935. No articles written by Hamilton M.Wright were found, nor were
there any articles regarding discoveries or excavations at Giza or
any other location in Egypt. I am indebted to Jesus B. Jimenez of
NYPL Express, New York Public Library, for carrying out the
searches.
It could be the case that no such publication actually exists,
however the January, 1935 date is in the right timeframe. There are
also records of other articles and publications written by Hamilton
M. Wright in the British Library and Library Of Congress catalogues
to name but two locations. On reflection, one might come to the
conclusion that Lewis didn't want his readers to find the article.
Why else would he identify everything about it except the actual
name of the publication? At least one photograph by Hamilton M.
Wright does exist. I have seen a signed copy of the first edition of
"The Symbolic Prophecy Of The Great Pyramid" at the British Library.
At the front of the book there is a photograph with the caption,
"Entrance to one of the newly
discovered tombs beneath the Pyramid of Chephren. The
distinguished Dr. Selim Hassan is director of excavation. The
Great Pyramid, unlike its neighbours was not a tomb. (Photo by
Hamilton Wright.)"
For some reason, the photograph does not
appear in later editions of the book. At the time of writing
(November 2003 revision), all attempts to track down the article
have failed.
On a trip to Cairo in April 1999 I finally found the solution to
Lewis's descriptions of fabulously decorated chambers (revealed on
page 8
of this series), however the search for Hamilton Wright's article
goes on. It is only when the article is reproduced on this website
one day that the "Symbolic Prophecy" puzzle will finally be
completed.
Go Back
|