The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man's Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt's Greatest Mystery

by Bob Brier, Jean-Pierre Houdin

The Secret of the Great Pyramid is a thrilling intellectual adventure story about the most exciting discovery in Egyptology in decades. Bob Brier, along with French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin, tells the remarkable true story of Houdin’s obsession with Egypt’s Great Pyramid, one of the Seven Wonders of the how, in an ancient agrarian society not long removed from the Stone Age, such a remarkable structure could have been envisioned and constructed. At once the story of Houdin’s determined search for answers to the puzzle that have eluded scientist and Egyptologists for centuries and a fascinating history of the planning and building of the magnificent edifice, The Secret of the Great Pyramid is an extraordinary work that puts the mystery to rest, once and for all.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Egypt, Archaeology, Science, Architecture, Ancient History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2008

About the author

Robert Brier (born December 13, 1943), also known as Mr. Mummy, is an American Egyptologist specializing in paleopathology. A Senior Research Fellow at Long Island University/LIU Post, he has researched and published on mummies and the mummification process and has appeared in many Discovery Civilization documentaries, primarily on ancient Egypt.
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Brier earned his bachelor's degree from Hunter College of the City University of New York. From 1966 to 1970, he was on the research staff of the Institute of Parapsychology (formerly the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man) in Durham, North Carolina, where he worked on such books as Parapsychology Today and Test Your ESP. He earned his PhD in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970 and began teaching at Long Island University in 1972. He served as chairman of the philosophy department from 1981 to 1996 and has also served as the director of the National Endowment for the Humanities' "Egyptology Today" program. He was appointed Senior Research Fellow at LIU Post in 2004. In addition to his career at Long Island University, Brier has taught ancient Egyptian at The New School and Egyptology at Webb Institute for many years.
Brier has conducted research in mummification practices worldwide. He has investigated well-known mummies such as Tutankhamen, Ramses the Great, Vladimir Lenin, Eva Perón (more commonly known as Evita), and the Medici family.

In 1994, Brier and a colleague, Ronald Wade, director of the State Anatomy Board of Maryland, claimed to be the first people in 2,000 years to mummify a human cadaver using ancient Egyptian techniques. This research earned Brier the affectionate nickname "Mr. Mummy" and was also the subject of the National Geographic television special of the same name, which made him a household name. He is also the host of several television programmes for the TLC Network including The Great Egyptians, Pyramids, Mummies and Tombs, and Mummy Detective. His research has been featured in Archaeology Magazine, The New York Times, CNN, 60 Minutes and 20/20.
In 1999, Brier gave a series of 48 specially-prepared lectures entitled "The History of Ancient Egypt" for The Teaching Company. He later did another series of 12 lectures for them, focusing on "Great Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt". Brier is a recipient of Long Island University's David Newton award for Teaching Excellence.
He leads tours to Egypt for Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural trips.

Reviews

[Kev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting. I have read many inferior books on the Great Pyramid of Khufu over the years. So many years in fact that I remember Khufu was known by his Greek name given by the Ptolemys: Cheops.

This book is a must read for anyone serious about Egyptology or just an amateur Egyptophile. It debunks the crazy UFOlogists and the magical fantasists. It's clever. It's a detective yarn and it jumps between now over the last 9 years and then more than 4,600 years ago over fifty years.

I won't give out any spoilers. Just read it. An architect's mind is uniquely trained to solve complex multidisciplinary problems because we have to learn how to actually build something from nothing but an idea. This book shows how powerful that talent is.

I will say this. Until I read the genesis and development of the internal ramp theory I knew nothing about it. I'm convinced it is right. The reconstruction of the sequence of events to complete the pyramid is the best part of the story. You'll be amazed at why the Grand Gallery was constructed and how it was used.

I ask you this. How was the 15-ton electrum-gilded limestone capstone -- called a "pyramidiod" -- transported and afixed to the apex??? It'll blow you away.

Here's another one.

What happened to the early construction ramp that was used extensively from year 0 thru year 14 and only erected to 1/3 of the finished height of the pyramid?

Read it to find out.

Oh, I will give you this. I finally learned where the title "architect" comes from. I knew what it meant -- I became one. But no one thought to tell me -- or more importantly -- I didn't have the initiative to find out how it come into being. It's latin for a person trained in designing, engineering and constructing arches. A useful enough profession in the Roman Empire: that's how the aquaducts, bridges and buildings were built. Well, duh, of course it was.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two authors too full of themselves offer an interesting and plausible theory on how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built. Although the book was published in 2008, unfortunately their theory has yet to be proven as of early 2014. I would have rated the book higher if there weren't several irrelevant biographical chapters covering the authors themselves. (Of course, if their theory is correct the book will become famous and we'll want to know the intimate details of the authors' childhood, education, and love lives—and I'll re-write this review.) As it is, it's too self-aggrandizing without justification.

[Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. I have watched so many documentaries on the building of the pyramids, read the major books, and toured the inside of the pyramid several times. It amazes me that we accepted the clearly infeasible construction plans for 200 years. The hypothesis proposed makes sense to me. And a great story of an amateur scientist upending the establishment. And yes, no archeology happens in Egypt without Ziwi Haweiss approval.

[Ryan Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Asif Azad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got to know intriguing facts and theories about the pyramids. Fascinated by the architectural ingenuity of the ancient Egyptian builders especially Imhotep and Hemeinu.

[John Min · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't read the whole book. When the author stated that there was nothing special about the layout and measurement of this great and lasting wonder of the ancient world, I was almost done. When he goes on to say that the great pyramid is only a tomb, nothing more, I was putting the book down. Having read "Serpents in the Sky", John Anthony West's breakdown of the studies of R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz Egyptian studies, I was hoping this book would continue with new cutting edge paradigm shifting study and theory and answer the question "Serpents in the Sky" does not address, ie, the "how" of building this extra-ordinary monument. Discoveries, such as found at Gobegli Tepi, clearly show the early history of man was much more advanced than we have previously understood (they were amazing engineers and stone masons, even by today's standards, and they knew about the precession of the equinoxes - very nuanced, complex and precise astronomy) and all that sense of curiosity and open mindedness is missing here, just a rehash of whatever Zahi Hawass is selling - ie, the old Kingdom popped into existence in full flower from 'stone age hunter-gathers' and then declined. I was thinking it was too bad Houdin didn't get together with John Anthony West, there you may have had a chance to break new ground and elucidate something worthy. That didn't happen here.

[Dennis D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always had an interest in Egypt and Egyptology, and I had a vague sense that there was some mystery over exactly how the Great Pyramid at Giza was built, even though I couldn’t have told you what the prevalent theories were. These authors can!

Most experts believed that the Great Pyramid was built using a single, straight exterior ramp or a cork-screwing ramp spiraling around the exterior. Both theories have serious flaws, not the least of which are that no remains of any kind of ramp have been found.

The mastermind behind this One New Theory to Rule Them All is French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin, and his research is fleshed out and brought to life by author and Egyptologist Bob Brier. The book captures all that led Houdin to come up with the core theory in the first place, but also brilliantly follows each step of the way as problems were encountered and obstacles overcome. A great read for anyone with an interest in Egyptology, architecture or engineering.

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't waste your time. The whole book feels like a Procrustean bed, where an author is trying to fit his theory into reality. Yet we still don't know how it was built, and whether it was actual tomb.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read on a theory that I found at least moderately compelling. I've never heard of the internal ramp theory before reading this. I particularly liked that this was a very short read. I'm not interested enough to want to slog through 600 pages of mundane details. The author did a great job giving you the bones of the theory without focusing on one thing too much. I think the author/publisher did a really good job with providing a ton of pictures. They really enhance the experience and many books on historical topics don't do this. Some of the reviews complained that the author spent too much time talking about themselves. I didn't see this at all. There is probably only 20-30 pages about the authors. That doesn't seem excessive.

Two problems I had:
1. I did not find it compelling at all how they discounted the typical ramp theory. Basically, they ruled it out because they can't find any of the remains of the ramp and it would've been a really big ramp so they would've had to have a lot of manpower to accomplish this. They couldn't have used it somewhere else in some other construction or just dispersed it? They act like the external ramp theory is completely debunked but lack of evidence is not proof. I still think this is the most compelling theory of how the pyramid was built.
2. There is a line on page 115 describing how a surveyor in 1880 said his measurements were accurate to one hundredth of an inch. I am a surveyor, and even with modern equipment which is far more precise than what was used back then, we cannot get even close to a hundredth of an inch. It is laughable. The fact that the author accepted this kind of declaration without an acknowledgement that this isn't possible reminded me to keep in mind that the author is talking about a wide range of professions that he probably doesn't know a lot about. I'm also a photogrammetrist and I am surprised that the authorities in Egypt didn't make him observe his the measurements of the notch using photogrammetric methods. They would've been able to accurately measure the dimensions without the need of climbing the pyramid. All they would've need is a pair of aerial photos with enough overlap.

While I am not completely convinced there is a tunnel inside the pyramid, I think it is definitely possible and hope that someday we know for sure. I am happy I read this book.

[Edward R. Waskawic · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in and study of Khufu's pyramid goes back decades, and I found this book a valuable and insightful addition to the discussion. Based on the title, I was expecting a complete and concrete explanation of how the structure was built. However, the story turns out to be unfinished as the key "proof" of the proposal — an internal ramp system — has yet to be verified (at least in the content of this book). I was also left with an unanswered question or two... the authors contend that an external ramp was used to raise blocks to a certain level, and then the blocks composing that ramp were used to complete the rest of the pyramid's height. Perhaps I'm dense, but how did they deconstruct the ramp in such manner that it allowed that process? I can imagine a method in theory, but I'm not in a position to say if any of those theories are reasonable.

[JLTobias · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Remarkable Adventure!

This riveting account blends architecture, engineering and state of the art Building Management Systems (BMS) software with archaeology and Egyptology in an effort to unravel the secret behind the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Anyone interested in one or more of the above disciplines will thrill to the story of how curiosity, dedication and technology can combine to solve historical mysteries.

Kudos to architect Jean-Pierre Houdin, engineer Henri Houdin, Egyptologist Bob Brier, engineering software creator Dessault Systemes and the many individuals and corporate sponsors who contributed to this remarkable research project revealing how the Great Pyramid was built.

[Jane Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pyramid Story

This book is a telling of how the great pyramid was built. This has long been a theory that was never before presented in a way that was workable. This new theory seems to the experts to be reasonable, though I am not enough of an engineer to explain it. It is interesting idea.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book bought to better inform myself about Egypt. But I wish I had read it before my trip to appreciate more fully the wonder of the pyramids. They are an unbelievable feat of engineering, considering the level of technology available at the time. The author writes in an accessible style and although a little technical (for me) toward the end, I'm so glad I read it.

[Rob Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve all heard wild tales about the Great Pyramid. Here is a very readable book that describes the architecture that leads up to the Great Pyramid, and its building. The book puts forth a new theory on how it was built based on the principles of construction and architecture. No, the theory is not space aliens, but rather clever Egyptian architects.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

這本書很好看, 但在閱讀的過程中, 我卻一直打瞌睡! 為什麼呢? 因為這段期間我感冒了, 就算手中捧著再好看的書, 也敵不過一波波前來攻擊的睡意...
這本書描述一位法國建築師多年來堅持的探究,終於尋找出大金字塔的建造工事,讓我們於4500年後的現代,有機會重現當時的建築工法,書中的描寫是給一般人看的懂的用語,像是discovery一樣親民的介紹,還穿插了很多埃及考古或歷史的描寫, 很好看的一本書!

[Emily Shapka · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read

I found the book very informative and captivating. It helped dig up and old interest for history and I love the way Bob Brier writes. If you enjoy Egyptian history and are intrigued by the pyramids, this is a must read.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, easy for the non-expert to read/understand. Spoiler: aliens from outer space are not involved. :D

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explains everything very clearly, I understand the structure of the pyramids in a way I never dis before reading this book, despite a lif long interest in ancient Egypt.

[Tencia Birkebæk · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few books my adhd ass couldn't put down.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book left me wanting more information. I think the internal ramp theory is the most compelling regarding the construction of the pyramids

[Kathy Paine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very readable and enlightening. Too bad they were never able to prove the theory. I always enjoy Bob Brier’s books/lectures.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Pyramid at Giza is 4,500 years old, and was for most of that time the most massive building in the world. It’s the only one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World still left, and by far the oldest. (The halfway point in its age, in fact, from the day it was completed until today, is around the time of Alexander the Great. Think about that.) It’s no surprise that it has fascinated people for its entire existence, especially those from the West. The Greeks and the Romans knew the Egyptians had built it but were unsure how. Later cultures looked at it and imagined genies. Nineteenth-century travelers talked about Atlantis. Or, at the least, assumed tens of thousands of slaves. In the 20th century, it was aliens. No one could accept that a Bronze Age culture could construct something like that. Of course, all of them were wrong. The Egyptians built the Great Pyramid -- all the hundred or so surviving pyramids, in fact, in a range of sizes -- and they did it with free labor, and the big one at Giza took about twenty years.

But there were still lots of unanswered questions. How did they cut granite with copper saws, and how were the huge blocks hauled to the upper levels? What in the world was the Grand Gallery for, below the middle of the three burial chambers? In the 1990s, Henri Houdin, a retired civil engineer with vast experience in building dams and other large structures all over Africa, saw a TV special on the Great Pyramid and it got him to thinking. He knew nothing about archaeology but he knew the solutions being proposed for constructing the Pyramid wouldn’t work in purely engineering terms. By the time the builders got to the upper courses, for instance, a single straight ramp for hauling up the stones would have to have been more than a mile long, with a bulk as great as the Pyramid itself -- and there was nowhere on the Giza plateau to put such a thing anyway. And where are the remains of it? Such problems had always simply been ignored.

Houdin became obsessed with the problems of the Pyramid’s design and construction and spent thousands of man-hours with newly available architectural and engineering computer software, developing a profile of the structure many times more elaborate than anything that had gone before. His son, Jean-Pierre, an architect, had knowledge and skills that complemented his father’s and he also became involved. They recruited Brier, a professional Egyptologist, who knew useful people and helped them find sponsorship and financial backing for the investigation.

The solutions the Houdins came up with -- a spiral ramp on the inside of the Pyramid (remains of which have now been discovered, and there are other examples in Egypt, too), the use of the Grand Gallery as an engineering system involving counterweights to bring the 600-plus-ton blocks that make up the King’s Chamber up to where they were needed, and the use of the earlier ramp from the lower courses to build the upper ones -- have all struck archaeologists as pretty obvious, once they were suggested or pointed out.

The author leads you through the exploration of and speculation over the Great Pyramid down the centuries, walks you through the problems in non-technical language (the technical stuff has been published elsewhere), and describes the process by which they were solved. The style is a little dramatic, but that’s partly the point of the book -- to engender interest and support for continued investigation. It’s a fascinating story for anyone with a interest in ancient “mysteries.”

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this directly after I read the Lincoln biography "Team of Rivals", and it was quite a different experience. This is a light, pretty easy read, though I still enjoyed it. And it seemed so short!

This is the story of how a French engineer and his architect son came up with a theory of how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built. They realized that the contemporary theories of exterior ramps were unfeasible, and by combining their knowledge of building, came up with the idea that an interior ramp was used instead. The son used all kinds of sophisticated computer modeling software to complete a step-by-step 3-D model to prove his point.

I thought the most revolutionary thing mentioned in the theory is what the grand gallery was used for. Its unusual height has apparently been somewhat of a mystery to archaeologists, who compared it to the rest of the passageways in the pyramid. It also contains what looks like benches along both walls, clearly not meant to be benches because no one could sit at this slope comfortably. In Houdin's theory, it was a track used for a huge counter weight system that lifted heavy stones to the middle level of the pyramid.

Kind of disappointingly, at the time the book was completed, they had not been able to do any real-world tests to positively prove this theory correct. As presented here, it seems a perfectly feasible idea, but I would have preferred to have the whole story.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how I haven't heard of this guy. Jean-Pierre Houdin is a French architect. His father had an epiphany while watching a documentary about the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It wasn't built with one long ramp or a ramp spiraling around the outside. It was built with a ramp hidden within the pyramid. Jean-Pierre spent the next 5-6 years working to prove that theory.
This book is not a detailed look at the theory, although it does present the major details. This book more of a story about Jean-Pierre and his obsession and how it came to be presented to the world. The author is an egyptologist who was one of the first to be presented with the theory and helped Jean-Pierre publish it. The writing style is very conversational. I assume that the author has a lot of experience explaing complicated things in very easy to understand language, he is a professor. A very simple and interesting read. I hope to read Houdin's book about the theory itself soon. This book already has me convinced, but I haven't heard any strong argument against yet.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Brier writes a very accessible book about the mystery surrounding the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza. An external ramp was used up until about 125 feet in the pyramid's construction and then Houdin's idea was that an internal ramp for moving stone blocks would come into play. (The internal ramp had been a part of the original construction plans and was built along with the rest of the structure). The external ramp would then be taken apart and its blocks would be used to finish off the pyramid. Very interesting concept overall.

Unfortunately, as of publication, no firm evidence of the internal ramp has been found at the main site. However, another ruin that dates about 100 years after the Great Pyramid was finished, has remains of an internal ramp and gives some credence to the theory presented.

[Laura C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

For every amateur archeologist out there, here is a grand book. I was hooked on Egypt when my Mom bought a fabulous book of colored photographs from National Geographic of Tutankhamen’s treasure. I’ve seen the documentaries, fallen for the charming Dr. Zahi Hawass, the secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, read the Book of the Dead, and now, here is the story of a fellow pilgrim, an architect fascinated with how the great pyramid was built. His labor of love became an obsession, and I think he may have cracked this mystery wide open. Easy to read, lots of great pictures, just enough technical stuff to be understandable, better than many novels. I loved it.

[WRH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several years ago, I had watched a TV special on a man who believed that the great pyramid was built using an internal ramp. Curious, I did some research, identified the man and bought this book about him. He was Jean-Pierre Houdin, a French architect. He was not an Egyptologist but was fascinated by how the Great Pyramid was built. He spent years inputting dimensions and known information about the pyramid into a 3D computer program. I believe he has solved the question of how the ancients built it. It can't be proved yet because to do so would require dismantling part of the pyramid but his theory hangs together for me.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Ancient Egypt and/or the Pyramids. Bob has written this book in a very entertaining and engaging way. This book does many things, it explains a new theory on how the Pyramids were built and how the theory evolved and some background on the history of the Pyramids. Bob brings his usual excitement to the subject which makes it a very quick and interesting read. I felt it would be a good idea to read Bob’s latest book before spending two weeks with him and I am very glad I did.

[Lianne Burwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book that proves that just because the pyramids are thousands of years old, there's very little we really know about them, which is probably why they still fascinate us. This book, written by the ever-entertaining Bob Brier, mixes the history of the pyramids and their evolution from early versions to the 'classic' pyramid, mixed with the story of the man who came up with a new theory of how they were built. They haven't been able to do the tests that would definitively confirm the theory, but known facts do support it.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be really intersting, and generally easy to understand. The book describes a system of stone building where an internal ramp is built along with the pyramid and a counter weight system is used so that very heavy stone blocks can be moved with few individuals pulling the weight. There are several pictures and diagrams that help somewhat in understanding the engineering descriptions of how this was done. Still not definative evidence has been found to prove that an internal ramp was used but a large amount of support for the theory is presented.