Life can come at you fast - though sometimes not so fast.
Colonel Howard Vyse, the man who utilised gunpowder archaeology to break into the sealed 'Chambers of Construction' high above the so-called 'King's Chamber' of the Great Pyramid - the supposed tomb of Khufu.
The image below is of the Howard Vyse family burial vault in the small graveyard of St Nicholas Church in the village of Bookham, Surrey, England, UK. The coffin directly below the ladder is that of the (in)famous pyramid explorer. Vyse's burial vault had been lost for over 100 years - the site of Vyse's grave, strangely, without even a simple memorial plaque. There's nothing, even today, indicating the site of his grave.
The vault was (re)discovered by accident in 1990 when the chruch was changing its heating system from oil to natural gas. A new underground pipe had to be laid several feet underground. As the pipe was being laid, the workmen, quite literally, hit a brick wall several feet underground. When they smashed through the brickwork, they found Vyse's family tomb.
The contents of the tomb were recorded and it was quickly resealed. Once again, no memorial plaque of any kind was placed to mark the grave. No one at the church could explain why the grave is not marked.
Thus, the man who allegedly discovered the name of Khufu within the largest 'tomb' in the world, himself lies to rest in total obscurity. And just like Khufu, his sealed tomb was broken into.
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(Above) Vyse's family Vault. Notice the hole in the wall above the ladder
Vyse's coffin is directly below the ladder
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St. Nichloas Church, Bookham. The white arrow points to the location of the Vyse family grave.
There is no headstone or marker of any kind indicating the location of the grave.
A strange case, perhaps, of "What goes around, comes around".
SC
Colonel Howard Vyse, the man who utilised gunpowder archaeology to break into the sealed 'Chambers of Construction' high above the so-called 'King's Chamber' of the Great Pyramid - the supposed tomb of Khufu.
The image below is of the Howard Vyse family burial vault in the small graveyard of St Nicholas Church in the village of Bookham, Surrey, England, UK. The coffin directly below the ladder is that of the (in)famous pyramid explorer. Vyse's burial vault had been lost for over 100 years - the site of Vyse's grave, strangely, without even a simple memorial plaque. There's nothing, even today, indicating the site of his grave.
The vault was (re)discovered by accident in 1990 when the chruch was changing its heating system from oil to natural gas. A new underground pipe had to be laid several feet underground. As the pipe was being laid, the workmen, quite literally, hit a brick wall several feet underground. When they smashed through the brickwork, they found Vyse's family tomb.
The contents of the tomb were recorded and it was quickly resealed. Once again, no memorial plaque of any kind was placed to mark the grave. No one at the church could explain why the grave is not marked.
Thus, the man who allegedly discovered the name of Khufu within the largest 'tomb' in the world, himself lies to rest in total obscurity. And just like Khufu, his sealed tomb was broken into.
(Above) Vyse's family Vault. Notice the hole in the wall above the ladder
Vyse's coffin is directly below the ladder
St. Nichloas Church, Bookham. The white arrow points to the location of the Vyse family grave.
There is no headstone or marker of any kind indicating the location of the grave.
A strange case, perhaps, of "What goes around, comes around".
SC