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12,862~

The pyramid is built partly upon a solid, large, bedrock core and a platform
of limestone blocks which can be seen at the northern and eastern sides. The
builder of this pyramid was very wise to choose this site because most of
the stones, with the exception of the casing stones, some granite and basalt
stones, could be cut right on the spot and in the nearby quarry. This
practical choice made it possible to reduce considerably the time and
back-breaking labor needed to drag the stones from distant quarries across
the Nile.

The first Step of the pyramid rests on a platform of finely finished
limestone blocks. These blocks are approximately 2.5 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft..
They project beyond the outer edges of the first Step's Casing Stones an
average of 2 feet on all sides. This platform is so flat that the official
survey of the Egyptian Government found that it was less than ½ of an inch
from being level. The removal of several platform stones showed that the
bedrock had been cut and leveled to receive each individual stone, sometimes
as deep as 1 to 2 inches.
On the north side the platform stones have been laid at an irregular angle,
each socket being carefully cut to receive the next stone. One explanation
for this irregularity of stone placement is that these northern platform
stones will have greater resistance to sliding from the downward and
horizontal pressures of the pyramid's face.

The many surveys done on the pyramid proved that the Egyptians located the
sides of the pyramid along the four Cardinal Points with extreme accuracy.
Whether they used the stars, and/or the rising and setting sun, cannot be
determined. One this is certain, that whatever method they used was direct
and very simple.

Once the sand, gravel and loose rocks had been removed, down to the solid
bedrock of the plateau, the whole pyramid site was open-cast quarried into
blocks, leaving a square core for the center of the pyramid (the core is
approximately 412.7 ft square, and rises approx. 46.25 feet high). These
blocks were then stored outside a low wall; made of mortared stone that
surrounds the core (the outside dimensions of the wall are approx. 887.3
feet square). Today there still remains the foundation of this wall on the
north, south and west sides of the pyramid, at an average distance of 65
feet from the outer edge of the base casing stone.

This core gives the pyramid stability from the downward and horizontal
forces that will develop from the superimposed loads of blocks of stones
that are piled up, as the pyramid rises. Also, from the prevailing
north-west winds that exert enormous pressures on the huge areas of the
pyramid's faces, thus increasing these forces further.

Leveling of the entire pyramid site was accomplished by flooding the area
inside the wall with water, leaving just the high spots. These them were cut
down to the level of the surface of the water. Next, some of the water was
released and the high spots again were cut down to the water's surface. This
process was repeated until the entire pyramid site, between the core and the
four walls, was leveled down to the base of the pyramid's platform