Great Pyramid To Get Golden Apex To Mark Millennium

Great Pyramid To Get Golden Apex To Mark Millennium

CAIRO, Egypt (November 13, 1998 3:45 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) -- For ages, the Great Pyramid has been without its peak, the pointy stone top that completes its triangular shape.

Now Egypt plans to make the Pharaonic structure whole again by affixing a gold-encased capstone -- if only for one night -- to celebrate the advent of the third millennium on Dec. 31, 1999, the pyramid's custodian, Zahi Hawass, said Thursday night.

At the same time, he proposed closing entry into the Great Pyramid forever to prevent it from being damaged beyond repair by the salty breath and curious fingers of 4,000 visitors a day.

"Why do you want to visit a tomb?" he asked. "The magic is from the outside. Not from the inside."

Hawass said the millennium ceremony, to be telecast live to a world audience, will mirror the pomp and revelry that must have accompanied the installation of the capstone by the pyramid's builder, Pharaoh Cheops, in a national celebration about 4,600 years ago.

"You know it was built in the third millennium B.C. We are celebrating the third millennium A.D. Therefore, we should have something important to mark the occasion," Hawass said.

The pyramid has lost 30 feet of height, and the missing stones at the top give it a craggy flattened appearance like the opening of a small volcano. This is not evident from the ground because of the pyramid's size -- it is 452 feet high, as tall as a 13-story building.

The stones are believed to have fallen off many centuries ago, and there is no record of how it happened. It could have been due to erosion, vandals or grave robbers.

Hawass said engineers do not intend to fill in the entire missing portion with stone. A steel frame will cover most of the empty area and a small capstone wrapped in thin gold foil will complete the top, he said.

The stone will be lowered by a helicopter and removed after the ceremony, he said without elaborating.

Hawass said he got the idea from a relief carving from another pyramid near Cairo, which showed workers dragging a capstone shining like gold.

Another relief showed people dancing and singing following the setting of the capstone, indicating the king installed the last piece of masonry on the pyramid to mark the end of a national project, he said.

Hawass said the Great Pyramid will be reopened to public on Feb. 15, 1999, after being closed nearly a year for restoration work.

During this time, a new ventilation and lighting system has been installed inside the sepulchral chambers, deep inside the pyramid. Graffiti has been erased from the tomb's walls, and workers are removing a layer of salt left by the breath of daily visitors, he said.

But Hawass said the best way to preserve the pyramid's interior, which includes Cheops' tomb, would be to close it forever.

If the flood of visitors continues, "in 10 years you will not find the tomb exists," Hawass warned.

However, the decision to close the pyramid can be made only by a 25-member committee, which fears the loss of tourism revenue.

The Great Pyramid and two other pyramids on the Giza Plateau are among the world's most recognizable and most visited monuments. The second pyramid, that of Chephren, will be closed for restoration on Feb. 15, Hawass said.

Cheops' pyramid is estimated to contain 2.3 million stone blocks each weighing an average 2.5 tons. Some weigh as much as 15 tons.

By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer