Despite being discussed in the Mysteries forum ad nauseum over the years, in a recent thread the question of whether the Merer Diary refers to stone being brought from the Tura quarries to be used as casing stones in completion of the Great Pyramid is raised once again.
Previous conversations, at the very least, have definitively answered the question of whether it is a "fact" Merer brought the stone to be used on G1 as a decisive no. Yet despite this some posters still persist on repeating this misrepresentation as if this were not the case.
Once again, we do not need to wonder about these things as we can read the Merer Diary for ourselves HERE. Again, nowhere does the Merer Diary, or the other related papyri found at the Wadi al-Jarf site, state or imply this stone is to be used as casing stones in the construction of G1 with this idea being nothing more than the initial opinion of one of the principle discoverers, Pierre Tallet, repeated so often to some it has become "fact".
As I have said many times, there are numerous other structures at Akhet Khufu, which again in context refers to the necropolis of G1 and not necessarily G1 itself, that required Tura limestone namely the surrounding mastabas, satellite pyramids, temples and the G1 causeway (which we can add the cover blocks of the boat pits to the list) which given the date of the Merer Diary to the 27th and probably last year of Khufu's reign makes these other structures almost certainly the most likely destinations of the stone.
While these same posters ballyhooed the recent book by Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner, The Red Sea Scrolls, unfortunately they apparently did not bother to actually read it despite being hailed as "Required reading for all interested in the ancient world."
I quote p277/278 (emphasis mine):
Tallet and Lehner continue pondering other possibilities where the limestone was used since "It is therefore unlikely that any of this stone was raised onto the pyramid itself for the casing." including asking the question "Could some of the Tura limestone Merer delivered have been used for the mastabas?" Or perhaps they were used for the "massive beams for roofing and sealing the rectangular pits on the south side of his pyramid for the cedar barques that would be used for Khufu's funeral".
And yet in this recent thread we have comments from these very same posters such as:
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"* The explanation that the GP is a pharaoh's tomb built in 2500BC has been promulgated ever since.”
▲ Evidence from Merer’s logbook, discovered at Wadi el-Jarf on the Red Sea, and the cartouches in the Boat Pits and Relieving Chambers suggest otherwise."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"It was limestone from Turah: the limestone used in the GP casing. It was taken to Akhet Giza (as Merer mentions several times), i.e., the Great Pyramid."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"This proposal therefore contradicts the widely accepted explanation - backed up by archaeological and textual evidence - that the GP was built for King Khufu in ca. 2500 BC.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We note that, though this poster was taken to task already for using this widely unaccepted date, including being told the latter before, Pierre and Lehner now place the date of Khufu's reign and construction of G1 between 2633-2605BC.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"As pointed out by Dr. Troglodyte, however, archaeological evidence found in the relieving chambers and Merer's logbook shows that work crews (some bearing the cartouche name of Khufu) were engaged in building those chambers, and transporting limestone from Turah to Akhet Khufu to be used as casing for the GP."
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> How do you know that the limestone was intended
> for the great pyramid itself and not for another
> construction project or renovation project??
"Because - as already pointed out - Merer tells us that he was taking it to Akhet Khufu."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> How do you know that Akhet Giza is the name for
> the great pyramid itself and not the location
> name, or both??
"This has previously been explained."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Which ironically, though not unexpected from this poster, when we follow the link to her post it quotes Stadelmann as a reference which directly contradicts her assertion that Akhet Khufu refers specifically to the pyramid and not the complex as a whole:
"The pyramid complex, with the city and royal residences, was named after the "horizon of the Cheops", probably the western horizon, the place where the sun was dying, with which the king was still directly identified."
You almost can't make this stuff up.
It continues:
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"Akhet Khufu was the name given to Khufu's pyramid tomb. See here, p. 3."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yet curiously, when we go to pg 3, or anywhere else in the paper-there is no mention of Khufu or his pyramid.
Weird, right?
Good grief.
In conclusion, even Tallet and Lehner do not think Merer was transporting limestone from Tura for casing and instead have acquiesced to what I have been saying all along that the context and logistics more than likely instead support the stone being used for ancillary structures after G1 was already completed. If you see these posters stating as fact again that Merer transported the stone from Tura to be used as casing stones, just refer back here and call them out for what in no uncertain terms they would be- liars.
Previous conversations, at the very least, have definitively answered the question of whether it is a "fact" Merer brought the stone to be used on G1 as a decisive no. Yet despite this some posters still persist on repeating this misrepresentation as if this were not the case.
Once again, we do not need to wonder about these things as we can read the Merer Diary for ourselves HERE. Again, nowhere does the Merer Diary, or the other related papyri found at the Wadi al-Jarf site, state or imply this stone is to be used as casing stones in the construction of G1 with this idea being nothing more than the initial opinion of one of the principle discoverers, Pierre Tallet, repeated so often to some it has become "fact".
As I have said many times, there are numerous other structures at Akhet Khufu, which again in context refers to the necropolis of G1 and not necessarily G1 itself, that required Tura limestone namely the surrounding mastabas, satellite pyramids, temples and the G1 causeway (which we can add the cover blocks of the boat pits to the list) which given the date of the Merer Diary to the 27th and probably last year of Khufu's reign makes these other structures almost certainly the most likely destinations of the stone.
While these same posters ballyhooed the recent book by Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner, The Red Sea Scrolls, unfortunately they apparently did not bother to actually read it despite being hailed as "Required reading for all interested in the ancient world."
I quote p277/278 (emphasis mine):
Quote
The year of Merer and the Stones he brought
Merer and his men delivered the fine Tura limestone to the Great Pyramid in the penultimate year (26-27) of Khufu's reign. It is therefore unlikely that any of this stone was raised onto the pyramid itself for the casing. Although the pyramid builders set in place the casing stone from the bottom up as the pyramid rose, they trimmed it from the top down, as they removed ramps and embankments that may have cloaked the face of the pyramid. Judging from the elements Khafre and Menkuare left incomplete in their pyramid complexes, the valley temple and lower causeway were among the last major part of the pyrmaid complex to be built. Entrance to the pyramid itself was only accessed through the valley temple and up the long causeway. Finishing work could very well have been in progress on these lower features of Khufu's pyramid complex at the time Merer was eyewitness to its construction.
Tallet and Lehner continue pondering other possibilities where the limestone was used since "It is therefore unlikely that any of this stone was raised onto the pyramid itself for the casing." including asking the question "Could some of the Tura limestone Merer delivered have been used for the mastabas?" Or perhaps they were used for the "massive beams for roofing and sealing the rectangular pits on the south side of his pyramid for the cedar barques that would be used for Khufu's funeral".
And yet in this recent thread we have comments from these very same posters such as:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"* The explanation that the GP is a pharaoh's tomb built in 2500BC has been promulgated ever since.”
▲ Evidence from Merer’s logbook, discovered at Wadi el-Jarf on the Red Sea, and the cartouches in the Boat Pits and Relieving Chambers suggest otherwise."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"It was limestone from Turah: the limestone used in the GP casing. It was taken to Akhet Giza (as Merer mentions several times), i.e., the Great Pyramid."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"This proposal therefore contradicts the widely accepted explanation - backed up by archaeological and textual evidence - that the GP was built for King Khufu in ca. 2500 BC.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We note that, though this poster was taken to task already for using this widely unaccepted date, including being told the latter before, Pierre and Lehner now place the date of Khufu's reign and construction of G1 between 2633-2605BC.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"As pointed out by Dr. Troglodyte, however, archaeological evidence found in the relieving chambers and Merer's logbook shows that work crews (some bearing the cartouche name of Khufu) were engaged in building those chambers, and transporting limestone from Turah to Akhet Khufu to be used as casing for the GP."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> How do you know that the limestone was intended
> for the great pyramid itself and not for another
> construction project or renovation project??
"Because - as already pointed out - Merer tells us that he was taking it to Akhet Khufu."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> How do you know that Akhet Giza is the name for
> the great pyramid itself and not the location
> name, or both??
"This has previously been explained."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Which ironically, though not unexpected from this poster, when we follow the link to her post it quotes Stadelmann as a reference which directly contradicts her assertion that Akhet Khufu refers specifically to the pyramid and not the complex as a whole:
"The pyramid complex, with the city and royal residences, was named after the "horizon of the Cheops", probably the western horizon, the place where the sun was dying, with which the king was still directly identified."
You almost can't make this stuff up.
It continues:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Akhet Khufu was the name given to Khufu's pyramid tomb. See here, p. 3."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yet curiously, when we go to pg 3, or anywhere else in the paper-there is no mention of Khufu or his pyramid.
Weird, right?
Good grief.
In conclusion, even Tallet and Lehner do not think Merer was transporting limestone from Tura for casing and instead have acquiesced to what I have been saying all along that the context and logistics more than likely instead support the stone being used for ancillary structures after G1 was already completed. If you see these posters stating as fact again that Merer transported the stone from Tura to be used as casing stones, just refer back here and call them out for what in no uncertain terms they would be- liars.