any1know pyramids of Egypt; esp. in reference to the huge thick, perfectly flat slabs of rock found in the tip

Question

i'm refering to and asking about the flat, perfectly smooth slabs of rock found just inside the tips of (some, only, or all pyramids??? not sure...) Egyptian Pyramids....as a student of electronics, I believe they can be used as Radio recievers tuned to a specific Frequency....

Answer 1

I'm not entirely sure to what it is you're referring. Most Egyptian pyramids are built of stone blocks or slabs - roughly dressed on the interior and smoothed on the exterior. Typically the stone is limestone for the exterior, with the occasional use of granite on lower courses. Interior chambers in the pyramid itself or subterranean chambers were frequently lined with a different type of stone - granite was a popular choice.

The peaks of the larger (ie. royal) pyramids are now large flat spaces now that stone has been robbed out and the pyramidia (capstones) have been removed. The capstones, from what we know from contemporary inscriptions and a few examples that have actually been found were essentially little pyramids in miniature, each face was inscribed with the name of the pyramid - each royal pyramid was named, usually a name including the nomen and/or prenomen of the king for whom it was built. Additional inscriptions usually concerned the sun god and/or were specific to the cardinal direction that face of the pyramid faced.

It is extraordinarily unlikely that Egyptian pyramids serve as radio receivers and even more unlikely that they were designed to do so. They were tombs.

Answer 2

The gilded capstone of the pyramid, which would sit at the apex, or the tip of an obelisk was known as a ben-benet. During the "Old Kingdom", they were usually made of diorite, granite or a very fine limestone which was then covered in gold or electrum. By the Middle Kingdom" and the end of the Pyramid Age, they were usually made of granite and inscribed with texts and symbols.

Few, if any pyramidions have actually been found sitting atop a pyramid, though a number of them have been unearthed over the years. The oldest pyramidion to date ever discovered was found by Rainer Stadelmann in 1982 in the area of the Red Pyramid of Sneferu at Dahshur. The Red Pyramid is actually the oldest example of a successful, true pyramid. Its pyramidion was made of fine, white Tura limestone and is uninscribed and undecorated, as were the pyramids of that time. It was discovered in fragments and has now been reconstructed. It stood about three quarters of a meter high and is now on a stand located on the east side of the Red Pyramid at Dahshur.

The second oldest pyramidion was only recently (in 1991) discovered by Dr. Zahi Hawass east of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, near the also recently discovered satellite pyramid of Khufu which it once surmounted. It was actually found to the south of the satellite pyramid, and though its top and base had been destroyed, it has also been reconstructed and is now set up just to the north of the satellite pyramid of Khufu.

The only other 4th Dynasty pyramidion was discovered near one of the subsidiary pyramids of Menkaure, but only the square base of it was preserved. The lower surface of it is smooth but pierced with holes that could have been used to secure it to the pyramid. While the base of this pyramidion is made of limestone, some scholars believe that the upper part was made of a different type of stone, since it was apparently originally made in two pieces.


For loads more info on the pyramidions found, check out the second of the two websites I've listed below.

Hope that helps!