Why the Summit of the Great Pyramid is Missing

The top of the Great Pyramid is a flat and wide summit, and has received a greater share of destruction than other Egyptian pyramids. There are many accounts of visitors to the top of the Great Pyramid, but nobody has ever confessed to destroying the peak.

When did this damage occur and why? This video cross references testimonies and measurements of the pyramid for the past 2000 years to pinpoint exact moments in history when courses of the pyramid came off.

But was this destruction random violence from bored tourists? A logical motive provides a framework for understanding exactly why the pyramid is the way we see it today.

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Thanks to the Harvard Digital Giza Archive:

Thanks to Stephen Bergdoll for the suggestion to read Davison's notes, and many other great sources compiled in his book "Secrets of the Pyramid of Khufu"

Thanks to the Glen Dash Foundation for the summit climb of the Great Pyramid video

Thanks to Valery Senmuth for many images and sources, including the mast removal of the Great Pyramid

Quotations Sources:

Ogier d'Anglure "Le sainct voyaige de Jherusalem" Booardot and Longnon 1878 Pp. 65-68

Georges Goyon "Les Rangs d'Assises de la Grande Pyramide" Bulletin De L'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale (BIFAO) 1978 Pp. 405

Edme Jomard "Description De l’Egypte" Descriptions Vol II Book XVII 1809 Pp 68

Jacques Grobert "Description des Pyramides de Ghize de la Ville du Kaire et de ses Environs" Logerot-Petiet, Paris, 1801 Pp. 63

00:00 Introduction
2:36 Wooden Mast
3:47 Antiquity Testimony
6:24 Medieval Testimony
7:32 Counting Problems
9:32 Nathaniel Davison
11:25 Top Course 206
13:27 Casing Removal
14:47 Major Destruction
15:21 Napoleon in Egypt
17:15 Destruction Explanation
19:34 Individual Responsibility

[misterjaxon]

Some 50 years ago, I had a friend who climbed it late in the day and actually spent the night up there. He took an alarm clock with him. He knew this was the only opportunity he would ever have to watch the sunrise from atop the great pyramid and didn't want to miss it.

[Wirtual]

You always do such incredible research! Fascinating to be able to see how the pyramid has evolved over the years and these incredible pictures at the summit. Always looking forward to when you post

[Rawley]

The more I watch these videos, the more I think, 'Huh, this makes so much sense.' Hundreds of years of documentation, thousands of hours of research, millions spent, and then there’s this one guy on YouTube debunking so many wacky theories and providing logical conclusions to his analysis. Honestly, I’m very Graniteful.

[robertjones]

Something that stood out to me was the Edward Lane drawing of the top from the 1820's. We had to use a drone to capture the same angle that the drawing was done from... so this took some mad skills to draw from a perspective point that you could not see from

[Boyinabox]

As tragic as the deliberately inflected damage to the great pyramid is, the centuries of visitors taking great care in (if not always accurate) their measurements I think is a testament. It may take only one man to ruin a thing, but many thousands can walk that way with great appreciation and care.

[krumplethemal]

Hope this comment reaches the content creator.
Your time and effort isn't wasted. Great videos and content. That statement is getting rarer by the day as far as YouTube in general goes.
I hope you continue to make these great videos. I know it's a lot of work and you put in care to balance entertaining and informative without losing the viewer.
Great work regardless.

[JDale]

Has anyone documented medieval buildings in Cairo? I bet many of the casing stones still exist in their original pyramid form, hidden in plain sight.

[danielpaulson]

Thanks! I'll gladly pay for a proper education grounded in reality. I love your logical thinking process and research.

[timsolomon]

Excellent insights -- thank you!
One of the absolute high points of my mostly mundane life has been climbing to the top of the Great Pyramid not once but twice while a college student spending a semester of study in Egypt in the fall of 1978. The first time was mid-afternoon as scores of local folks were sitting around the lower blocks enjoying the day or having lunch. We had scampered about 1/3 of the way up by the time the guards noticed -- not caring to give chase, they ignored us after a few minutes of shouting at us. My teacher may have given them some baksheesh ($$) for their troubles once we returned to earth. The second time was at first light the next morning when no one was around -- the goal was to watch the sun come up over Cairo. It never did. In October of 1978, the unfiltered smog of that populous place overwhelmed even the rays of the sun, so "the break of dawn" became a soup of sunlight increasing in brightness until the disk rose above the smaze after an hour or two and, as from time immemorial, dominated the Egyptian day. Anticlimactic, but deeply dramatic nonetheless.
The top, as we've been told in the video, had wooden poles at the time, marking the presumed height of the original peak. More fascinating still (apart from the indescribable sensation of looking DOWN at the other pyramids and the Sphinx at our feet) was the endless graffiti covering those top blocks. And in many languages! Our professor pointed out some chiseled in the stone from 1798 and the Napoleonic expedition! Others were painted. We may have added our names in chalk, but nothing so durable (or disrespectful) as a chisel. Our mental memories were enough of a souvenir.
The ascent is challenging -- the blocks are so large, it's a climb, NOT like ascending stairs -- but the descent is terrifying! Especially given our professor's warning that we would bounce, not roll, down if we slipped on the way.
Again, with the giving of some baksheesh to the underpaid guards, we had two major life experiences and became intimately connected with Eternal Egypt.
Grateful to have the chance to share this here.

[p-raven]

Thank you so much for putting together a reasonable timeline. I hate that the pyramids are always spoken about in terms of modern or ancient. That’s 4000 years of time that people brush over as if nothing of note could happen besides visitors exploring. 14:11

[geologyjoerocks]

It’s so cool to think about people visiting the summit for thousands of years. There’s so much ancient cultural history in that part of the world. I would love to visit the pyramids. Great video, and I just subbed. Thanks!

[Vexcenot]

Devastator ripped it off we all literally saw it

[MichaelEllisYT]

Considering the age of the Pyramid, it's so sad how close the casing stones made it to our day.

[jumpingsloth]

Man. You provide some of the most sensible reasoning for pyramid cases. With the research, it just makes sense.

[jannovak]

Please I need help. How tall was the Great Pyramid pyramidion itself? If you scroll to 19:41 you can see the general apex of the pyramid but it's hard for me to determine sizes. How tall was the separate apex - pyramidion??? I don't need it on centimeters, just in general meters, like was it 1, 5m or 5, 5m or idk. I tried to rougly triangulate everything in photoshop and got to 3, 6m but my method was extremely crude. Thank you!

[Jonnygurudesigns]

This is one of my top five YouTube channels. Hands down. Every time I see a post, I know I'm in for great entertainment and fuel for my mind. Informative, entertaining, crystal clear conveyance of meaning, and all brought by a mind that has meticulously planned years of these videos and how to present the information so us viewers can follow along and understand the nuances of just how grandiose the ideas, theories/factual presentations of evidence are.. Along the way reminding us to keep an open mind. I love this channel😮

[kevinrdunnphs]

So refreshing seeing someone talk about this seriously with real research and not sensationalist speculative nonsense

[jdub]

Found this channel a few days ago. Can’t watch this video until I watch the older ones first. I’m addicted. Great vids, great info, well done!! Love the logic, detail and fairness in your presentations! Cheers

[Montana_horseman]

I'm no youngster and have heard about and have been naturally interested in the pyramids my whole life. I've learned more truths about them here on this channel than anywhere else. I'm always happy when I see a new video upload here, my brain knows it's in for a treat! Great work!

[Raz.C]

Additional:
THANK YOU for not following the infuriating trend of ONLY showing pictures that make it appear as though the pyramids of Giza are in the middle of an empty desert.
I suspect that there's an entire generation out there, who are utterly unaware that the pyramids are, in fact, in the middle of one of the most populous cities in the world!
Thank you for not shying away from the truth of their location.