MARGINALIA
The Near-Destruction of Giza
Jean-Daniel Stanley
Few visitors to the Giza plateau are aware that the pyramids,
Egypt's Old Kingdom treasures and testaments to early pharaonic
history, were almost dismantled about 170 years ago. It is hard to
imagine that these ancient structures, the most popular tourist
sights in Egypt, were nearly sacrificed as part of the plan to
modernize that country. Yet, shocking as the idea now seems, Egypt's
absolute ruler at the time seriously envisioned and nearly executed
the project. To understand what transpired, and to place this story
in historic context, one must return to early 19th-century Egypt. In
1805, an Ottoman commander of Albanian descent seized power and,
with his Ottoman mandate, became the viceroy of Egypt with the rank
of pasha. Muhammad 'Ali Pasha controlled the country until his death
in 1849, and the dynasty he founded held power for more than a
century. Muhammad 'Ali's reign was particularly energetic and
presaged the development of Egypt into a modern state. The many
"wishes" he expressed during his 44 years at the helm were
clearly understood as commands, and many pertained to large-scale
public projects throughout the country.
Enter the Frenchman
To execute his civil improvements, Muhammad 'Ali depended on
Egyptian as well as foreign specialists, particularly French and
English engineers. He eventually sought the counsel of French-born
Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds, who at the age of 18
first visited Egypt in 1817. Linant had no formal training, but he
was placed in charge of public works in Upper Egypt in 1831. Only a
few years later, in 1837, he became chief engineer of all such
projects in the country. The key to his success was reliable and
speedy execution of diverse assignments. During the course of many
years of service in Egypt, Linant gained the trust of Muhammad 'Ali
and eventually became a member of the viceroy's privileged advisory
council. He was appointed Minister of Public Works in 1869, retired
shortly after, received the grand title of pasha in 1873 and died in
Cairo in 1883. The engineer described the projects and personalities
of his professional tenure in a hefty memoir published during
1872-1873. In this summary volume, he described how the viceroy
commissioned many kinds of construction projects, including Nile
waterways, irrigation canals, port and coastal structures, bridges
and roads, railroads, wells and changes to Cairo's city plan. Not
the least of Linant's great accomplishments during nearly 40 years
of service was his role in building the Suez Canal.
If ever there was a time and place for one engineer to help
modernize a nation, it was mid-19th-century Egypt. Linant's position
of key responsibility enabled him to compile a particularly valuable
account of the major engineering tasks with which he was involved,
including the construction of barrages (dams) that regulated the
flow of the Nile River for irrigation. Had the friendship between
Linant and Muhammad 'Ali not been so close and long-lived,
historians might be skeptical of the engineer's account of the
viceroy's wish to have the pyramids dismantled. Although Linant does
not provide the exact date of the pyramid saga in his
Mémoires, he notes that Muhammad 'Ali had already
decided to build barrages on the Lower Nile. This time probably
corresponds to late 1833, when laborers began working at a barrage
site in the delta north of Cairo. The viceroy expressed his desire
to speed barrage construction by dismantling the pyramids to provide
a large supply of pre-cut blocks. Linant tells us that the autocrat
and his advisors considered the three largest structures for
demolition, and they discussed various schemes for stone-by-stone
removal or destruction by explosives. To highlight the seriousness
of the plan and the narrowness of its defeat, Linant described
Muhammed 'Ali and his normal way of proceeding with a plan. The
headstrong ruler used a "full speed ahead" approach that
demanded the complete dedication of his councilors and engineers.
Linant wrote: "En Égypte on veut que les choses une
fois decidées se fassent comme par enchantement;...et
tout doit être sacrifié à cela."
In other words, once in motion, all means should be undertaken and
no obstacle should interfere with, or delay, a project.
A Subtle Plan
Although he was personally opposed to the demolition plan, Linant
knew that if he declined or failed to move expeditiously on this
task, the viceroy would select another engineer in his place. Facing
what he termed Muhammad 'Ali's "deplorable proposition,"
Linant recounts that he did not object or directly counter the
viceroy. Rather, he wisely used less conspicuous means. First, he
requested permission to study the Giza site to assess the demolition
task and provide a logistical plan. He also organized a preliminary
visit with the Egyptian ministers of foreign affairs, public works
and education. Linant compiled a careful report, which compared the
cost of using material scavenged from pyramids versus newly cut
stone from quarries, surmising that the quarry material would be
cheaper. He judged that the majority of available blocks in the
largest of the three pyramids, Khufu or Cheops, was of good quality.
However, the report pointed out that Khufu contained four times more
rock than was needed for the barrage works. Thus, demolition would
require the selective removal of many blocks—at considerable
cost. Blocks in the other two pyramids (Menkaure and Khafre) were of
mixed quality, especially in the smallest, Menkaure, which did not
contain enough suitable rock to meet the total needs for barrage
construction. Linant also noted that even if the project used blocks
from Menkaure, the cost of additional stone from quarries would
excessively raise the overall price. Finally, Linant estimated that,
regardless of the specific pyramid source, the project would incur
further expenses to recut those blocks too large for barrage construction.
The skillfully crafted report provided specific time constraints and
cost estimates for the viceroy's consideration. For example, it
detailed the best method for disassembling a pyramid, including a
series of cranes positioned to displace and lower the blocks. The
facile transfer of material from pyramid base to the Nile plain
below would require a 1,000-meter-long ramp of sand faced with rock.
Of course, engineers would have to modify the canals so that these
waterways could transport blocks from below the Giza plateau to the
barrage sites. Thus, Linant itemized the costs of terrain
preparation, taking into account the movement of large volumes of
soil. The proposed work schedule incorporated the need for terracing
at pyramid sites and the time allotted for rock removal. Among other
details in Linant's proposal was a projected work rate for an early
phase of upper pyramid removal: 480 blocks moved per day. The report
recognized that the rate of block removal would increase as
disassembly advanced, consequently lowering the cost per volume of
rock. The total cost was 15,401,280 Egyptian piasters, a sizable
amount at the time.
Linant anticipated that the estimated costs in his report might
dissuade Muhammad 'Ali from his straightforward plan to obtain
pre-cut stone. With so many projects already under way and a growing
shortage of funds, would the viceroy really want to pay for the
first-phase removal of 28,800 pyramid blocks—an amount six
times greater than that needed for an equivalent volume of rock from
quarries? Linant calculated the total volume of rock required to
construct the barrages at 1,288,551 cubic meters. The average cost
of one cubic meter of rock transported from Giza: 10.20 piasters.
The cost of commercially quarried stone was only 8.35 piasters per
cubic meter. Financially overextended, Mohammad 'Ali was convinced
by the bottom line. The ruler told Linant that the quarry solution
would be the better one in any case, because it would enable him to
shift more workers to still other projects, rather than waste time
on pyramids.
Word of this matter spread, and some officials expressed gentle
dismay about the engineer's poor form in countering the viceroy. The
French General Consul in Egypt, having caught wind of plans to
demolish the pyramids, published in newspapers a diplomatic letter
that opposed "vandalism" but refrained from mentioning the
ruler. Most people would agree with Linant that at least this
potentially terrible state of affairs ended well. If Egypt places
any more monuments on the Giza plateau in the future, they might
think to add one to Linant de Bellefonds for his work and honorable
defense of history.