Fig. 6: Position and evidence for vertical shafts and pulley-like systems.

a The major vertical shaft (red) of the pyramid core construction should be in the vertical axis of the current Antechamber. It was established when the Grand Gallery sliding-ramp construction reached its top. The recently discovered ScanPyramids’ big void²⁶, consistent with an upper sliding-ramp pulley-like system, is proposed to give into the same shaft. b At an intermediate stage of pyramid construction, a shaft (red) should have existed at the north face of the Queen’s Chamber, today manifested by a low-plateau between Queen’s Chamber and Horizontal Passage and a ~0.5 m step at ~5.5 m from the Queen’s Chamber. In this region, between Queen’s Chamber and the step, Vyse discovered sand and rubble below the floor slabs¹¹. Microgravimetry reported low-density anomalies at the position of the proposed Queen’s Chamber shaft³⁹, and in the North-East corner of the King’s Chamber, thus in proximity to the proposed King’s Chamber shaft³⁹. c Masonry of the Ascending Passage (drawing based on: Tavola 5 in Vito Maragioglio, L’Architettura delle Piramidi Menfite, Part IV, Roma 1965⁹). Ceiling, East (E-) and West (W-) walls, and floor are shaded in colors and labeled, and the girdle masonry is highlighted. d Illustration of the girdle block positions in the Ascending Passage. The shaded wheels represent the pulley-like system intermittently positioned at each girdle position during the growth of the Ascending Passage in pyramid core construction. e Masonry of the Horizontal Passage to the Queen’s Chamber (drawing based on: Tavola 6 in Vito Maragioglio, L’Architettura delle Piramidi Menfite, Part IV, Roma 1965⁹). Masonry blocks are shown in alternating shading to highlight the horizontal and vertical alignment of the masonry with cross-shaped joints. Red arrows: The position of the vertical grooves in the Grand Gallery matches the position of the blocks in the Horizontal Passage. The blocks in the Horizontal Passage have 2 cubits length/periodicity, while the grooves in the Grand Gallery have 3 cubits lateral periodicity, i.e., \(\sqrt{1.25}\)·3 cubit periodicity along the Grand Gallery axis.