Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/315

 The Tomb under the Ancient Empire. 225 when Philo lived, but we know that the casino- of the pyramid was still in place, at least in part, during the ^liddle Ages, because in the time of Abd-ul-Latif it had almost its original height, and its ascent was still ver}' difficult.^ On the other hand we have proofs that, although the author of the Seven Wonders of the World may have written more in the tone of a rhetorician than of an eye- witness of the wonders which he describes, he took some of his information from excellent sources. In fact with the exception of Pliny, he is the only ancient writer who gives us an approxi- mately true statement of the length of the base line of Cheops' Pyramid. While the measurements of other writers are very far from accurate, the figure given by Philo is only 16 feet 6 inches in excess of the truth. The idea of decorating such an expanse of ^ According to the calculations of Letronne. the Great Pyramid must have been 482 feet high when it was complete. In the time of Diodorus it was slightly over 480 feet; in that of Abd-ul-Latif it measured 477 feet 3 inches. In 1795 it ^^'^^ only 456 feet and a few inches, so that it lost about 24 feet in the course of eighteen centuries. This lowering of the summit was mainly caused by the destruction and removal of the outer casing. Since it disappeared the Arabs have been in the habit of loosening the stones on the top and launching them down the sides for the amusement of travellers ; the smooth casing alone could prevent such outrage as this. The common idea that the PvTamid of Cheops is the highest building in the world is erroneous. Even if we take its height when complete, it is surpassed by at least two modern buildings, as may be seen by the following table of the most lofty buildings now existing : — Feet. Spires of Cologne Cathedral 533 Fleche of the Cathedral at Rouen 500 Spire of St. Nicholas, Hamburg 480 Dome of St. Peter's, Rome 476 Spire of Strasbourg Cathedral 473 Pyramid of Cheops 456 Spire of St. Stephen's, Vienna 450 Spire of St. Martin's, Land shut 443 Spire of the Cathedral of Freiburg, Breisgau 417 Spire of Antwerp Cathedral, not including the cross 411 Spire of Salisbury Cathedral 404 Dome of Cathedral at Florence 396 Dome of St Paul's, London 371 Fleche of Milan Cathedral 363 Tower of Magdeburg Cathedral 344 Victoria Tower, Westminster 336 Rathhaus Tower, Berlin 293 Spire of Trinity Church, New York 287 Pantheon, Paris 266 Towers of Notre Dame, Paris 226. VOL. I. G G