THE PYRAMIDS of the COLD • Chapter 10 Why hippopotamus Taweret 'Lady of the Well' was the huge granite plug of the Great Pyramid's inclined well and why was she protecting pregnant women and their babies

Photograph of John Edgar looking directly at the upper block of the granite plug of the 'ascending passage'. This block only moved a few meters down after its release when it was time to drain the inclined well from its waters. That block has been glorified into Taweret: a big and heavy grey hippopotamus that is spending almost its entire time under water. Photograph of John, taken by his brother Morton Edgar: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:49_edgar.jpg

THE PYRAMIDS of the COLD • Study written by Bruno COURSOL (January 2021 to September 2025)

Section B • The inclined well of the Great Pyramid and the so-called ascending passage

It was because of the pressurization of the waters of the inclined well that the fog of microdroplets could be produced

Chapter 10 • Why hippopotamus Taweret 'Lady of the Well' was the huge granite plug of the Great Pyramid's inclined well and why was she protecting pregnant women and their babies

In summary: in this chapter of The Pyramids of the Cold, we’re gonna see how ancient Egyptians have glorified the big and heavy granite block that was during the entire time of operation of the Great Pyramid, the plug that sealed the inclined well. Because that plug was a very heavy and grayish mass that spent all its time under water, it has been deified into the hippopotamus, and that is Taweret: the goddess known as ‘the Large One’ and ‘the Lady of the Well’. For once, Egyptians were really straightforward in giving the epithet of the Lady of the Well to Taweret, indeed She was. We’ll also see why Egyptians gave to the hippopotamus representations of Taweret, the four paws of a lion: because the plug of the well was positioned inside the central wooden Djed caisson that was seen as some kind of tree, the Taweret plug would have looked like she was grasping to that tree, so Egyptians used the lion that can be seen as the Great Master of climbing into trees because of its huge claws. But Taweret also has most of the time a crocodile resting on her back, and that is because the Taweret plug had to resist to tremendous pressure due to the water height in the well: Egyptians simply used the animal that was associated with the ability to generate the strongest pressure, and that is the Nile crocodile, the living animal with the strongest bite; and they've placed the crocodile on Taweret's back, to illustrate that she really was not carrying but sustaining that pressure.

Operating diagram of the Great Pyramid of Khufu for flash-evaporative cooling of a Solvay or Solvay-like chemical manufacturing of 100% pure natron, the salt used for the mummification of pharaohs.

10.01  The weird looking upper granite block that really was the sealing plug of the inclined well of the Great Pyramid when in operation

During the entire operation of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the block known today as the upper block of the granite plug that is still today at the entry of the ascending passage was positioned only a few meters ahead, and it was anchored in this position by a very small block of granite that was set into the floor of the passage that really was the inclined well of the Pyramid. The anchoring part of this granite wedging block is also still present in the passage today, hidden underneath a modern wooden ramp.

The massive granite sealing plug of the inclined well itself, has been glorified into goddess Taweret, known as 'the Lady of the well' and represented in a hippopotamus, because the plug of the well was a big and heavy grey mass that was spending all its time under water, just like a hippopotamus.

10.02  Just compare this upper block with the lower one and you'll understand they really didn't have the same life

Probably John Edgar is pretty much asking himself the same question: what the hell happened to this weird looking bock, completely worn out on every side and every edge, when the block just below looks like new? This lower end of the ascending passage is certainly one of the most intriguing structural enigma in the Great Pyramid, with the endless question of why are these three granite blocks at the very bottom of the passage, and how did they get there in the first place.

Operating diagram of the inclined well of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, showing the huge granite sealing plug of the inclined well that was anchored into its temporary operating position by the small Bes and Beset granite anchor block. Hippopotamus goddess Taweret is nothing but the deification of that huge granite plug of the well.

10.03  Taweret is about both the operation of the Great Pyramid for creating cold and its shutdown

For some reason, hippopotamus goddess Taweret is probably my favorite of all Egyptian deities. I don’t know why, it’s just the way it is. Maybe it is because there couldn’t be a better illustration of how ancient Egyptians have used specific animal characteristics, whether it is about their anatomy or their behavior, as simple tools to glorify what they’ve done in the Great Pyramid, and how they’ve make it work, like an artist would use many different paints and colors. The association of the way that the hippopotamus is behaving regarding to water, and the fact it spends most of its time literally under water with the huge and grey massive granite block that was the plug of the inclined well of the Great Pyramid, really has something brilliant and breathtaking. Or maybe, if I love so much Taweret, it is because her understanding implies not only you have figured out correctly how the Great Pyramid was operated to create the cold from pressurized water and pressurized air, but it also implies that you have understood how Egyptians have realized the draining of the inclined well: the deciphering of Taweret and Bes is one of the major breakthrough of this study, because not only we know now how the damn thing worked, but we also know how it had been shutdown (next chapters).

10.04  The Taweret granite plug of the inclined well was indeed containing water, but she also gave it away

It certainly isn’t an accident if Taweret is often represented as a container or a jar: the role of the granite plug of the inclined well of the Great Pyramid was to contain water, and when it had been time to shutdown the operations and proceed to the draining of the well, she was the One who released the water when she ‘decided’ to move.

[Taweret figure] "Moulded faience vase in the form of the goddess Taweret." The Ashmolean museum, University of Oxford: https://www.ashmolean.org/collections-online#/item/ash-object-746487

10.05  Taweret was known as 'the Lady of the well' and 'the Large One'

The most important epithet of Taweret is without any doubt ‘The Lady of the Well’, and it is very rare that ancient Egyptians were so straightforward in their glorification process; even if they could have been even more straightforward with the epithet of ‘Lady of the inclined Well’. But the granite plug of the well was also a massive and huge block, so Taweret also comes with other epithets like ‘the Great One’, or ‘the Large One’; and of course the goddess was entirely about water, as clearly said by Anneke Stracke in her thesis "The Hippopotamus of Deir el-Medina". This is a excerpt from page 30 of her thesis: "Of the twelve objects within this catalogue that include hieroglyphic epithets of Taweret… three of them make clear mention of her role as a goddess of water. While it is not unthinkable that a hippopotamus goddess should be associated with water, it is still quite unusual that a quarter of all epithets of the goddess which survive from Deir el-Medina feature this role so heavily. The epithets preserved in Deir el-Medina refer to “the pure water”, “lady of the well” and “Taweret, who is in the midst of the purification waters of Nun”. https://studenttheses.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2624829/view

“The name Taweret, which means 'the large one', may date back to the early New Kingdom and probably comes from association with mother goddesses such as Hathor and Isis. The link with Hathor is a common one; Taweret often wears the cow's horns and sun disk that are characteristic of Hathor.” https://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/glossary.aspx?id=368

10.06  It only is when Taweret had move that the inclined well could have been drained

Of course, the epithet ‘She Who Removes Water’ is most certainly only about the shutdown procedure and the draining of the waters of the well: it only is because Taweret moved that the waters could have been drained through the cavity of Al-Ma’mun.

"In Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret is the protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility. The deity is typically depicted as a bipedal female hippopotamus with feline attributes, pendulous female human breasts, the limbs and paws of a lion, and the back and tail of a Nile crocodile.[...] She commonly bears the epithets "Lady of Heaven", "Mistress of the Horizon", "She Who Removes Water", "Mistress of Pure Water", and "Lady of the Birth House" [...] The name "Taweret" (Tȝ-wrt) means "she who is great" or simply "great one"." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taweret

Hippopotamus immersed in water in San Diego Zoo, by cloudzilla: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cloudzilla/275203431/  and by Brian Snelson: https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippopotamus_amphibius_-San_Diego_Zoo,_California,_USA_-under_water-8a.jpg

10.07  Why goddess Taweret is represented as a hippopotamus: both the granite sealing plug of the inclined well and the hippopotamus were two big and heavy masses spending all their time under water

When the Great Pyramid was operational and the ascending passage flooded to form the inclined well in the continuation of the Grand Gallery's central gutter, the upper block of the granite plug was sealing the well. Consequently, this sealing block would have been permanently underwater and it explains why ancient Egyptians chose to glorify this block into the hippopotamus: a huge semiaquatic animal that loves to stay, walk and even sleep completely submerged underwater.

"Mucus plug and water breaking": https://www.invitra.com/en/amniotic-fluid-leakage/mucus-plug-and-water-breaking/

10.08  It only is because Taweret is all about a plug that she has become the Egyptian goddess of pregnant women and childbirth: what is really protecting the baby is a plug, the mucus plug

“When acting as a protective force Taweret is described as a goddess. She was thought to help women in labor and to ward off evil spirits and demons who intended harm to mother or baby. She was also thought to help with matters of female sexuality and pregnancy, and so she was often associated with the goddess Hathor. As a fertility goddess Taweret was also associated with the inundation, particularly at Gebel el-Silsila. According to “The Book of the Dead”, Taweret guarded the paths to the mountains of the west which led to the underworld and could also use magic to help the deceased pass safely through that dangerous and frightening land. Expectant mothers often carried amulets depicting Taweret to invoke her protection.” https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/taweret/

“As labor approaches, you may hear about the mucus plug, but don't worry—it's a completely normal part of pregnancy. The mucus plug forms early in pregnancy to protect your baby from infections, acting as a barrier in your cervix. Some parents might not even notice when they lose their mucus plug, while others may experience changes in discharge. Understanding what a mucus plug is, what it looks like, and how long after losing the mucus plug labor might start may help you feel more prepared as your due date approaches.” What Is a Mucus Plug? https://www.pampers.com/en-us/pregnancy/giving-birth/article/mucus-plug

And just like the mucus plug releases water just before labor can start, the release of the Taweret plug also induced the draining of the inclined well. [illustration] https://www.invitra.com/en/amniotic-fluid/amniotic-fluid-sac/

“The Edwin Smith Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian medical text, named after Edwin Smith who bought it in 1862, and the oldest known surgical treatise on trauma. This document, which may have been a manual of military surgery, describes 48 cases of injuries, fractures, wounds, dislocations and tumors. It dates to Dynasties 16–17 of the Second Intermediate Period in ancient Egypt, c. 1600 BCE.  The papyrus is unique among the four principal medical papyri that survive today. While other papyri, such as the Ebers Papyrus and London Medical Papyrus, are medical texts based in magic, the Edwin Smith Papyrus presents a rational and scientific approach to medicine in ancient Egypt,  in which medicine and magic do not conflict. […] It is believed that the papyrus is an incomplete copy of an older reference manuscript from the Old Kingdom, evidenced by archaic grammar, terminology, form and commentary. James Henry Breasted speculates - but emphasises that this is pure conjecture based on no evidence - that the original author might be Imhotep, an architect, high priest, and physician of the Old Kingdom, 3000–2500 BCE.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Smith_Papyrus

10.09  The deconstruction of the ancient Egyptian world by egyptologists

This metaphor of the mucus plug may seem farfetched for many people, but this is only because of the way egyptologists have depicted ancient Egyptians fore more that 200 years now. It really looks like some kind of deconstruction. I know I’ll be seen as phenomenally presumptuous to criticize egyptologists so strongly, but what they’ve done comes pretty close to some kind of ‘sabotage’. Ancient Egyptians weren’t simple people living in caverns, but they were an extremely sophisticated civilization; everybody can see that in their so-called ‘art’: every single painting or figure is perspiring extreme sophistication. But egyptologists don’t care. Because they didn’t understand anything about this civilization, because they didn’t understand anything about the purpose of the Great Pyramid or anything about the real meaning of what they’ve called ‘religion’, they preferred to depict ancient Egyptians as simple fools, so to speak.

But the fact is that every single egyptologist perfectly knows that even at the time of the beginning of the pharaonic era, Egyptians were already accomplished scientists and physicians, writing medical treaties, performing surgeries and having specialists in gynecology as well as is clearly demonstrating the Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus.

“Warren R. Dawson, a noted medical historian, emphasized that Egypt possesses the earliest known medical texts, experimental surgeries, and medical terminology. According to Dawson, Egyptians were the first to make substantial contributions to the advancement of medicine, with medical practices dating back over five thousand years. This timeline is unsurprising, given the Egyptians' advanced knowledge in mathematics, engineering, and architecture, evidenced by their monumental structures such as the pyramids. Moreover, the ancient historian Herodotus wrote that influential rulers like Cyrus and Darius employed Egyptian physicians, indicating the high esteem in which Egyptian medical practitioners were held. These physicians documented their treatments, allowing their knowledge to be passed down through generations, and it has been found that many of their ancient methods align with practices in modern medicine.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_medicine

“The Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus (also Petrie Medical Papyrus, Kahun Medical Papyrus, Lahun Medical Papyrus, or UC32057) is the oldest known medical text in Egyptian history, dated to c. 1825 BCE, during the Twelfth Dynasty. The Papyrus addresses gynecological health concerns, pregnancy, fertility, and various treatments.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahun_Gynaecological_Papyrus

[Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card and Lose], written by Larry Elder, Macmillan Publishers: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781429929059/stupidblackmen

Taweret in full hippopotamus form with the crocodile resting on her back: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1779077764/ancient-egyptian-goddess-taweret-goddess

10.10  The other animal metaphors about Taweret: the pressure of the crocodile's bite and the lion climbing into trees

1 • the Crocodile on Taweret's back is about the force and the pressure of the animal's bite: the plug of the inclined well was indeed under tremendous pressure because of the water height

The hippopotamus doesn’t actually go very deep under water, and stays most of the time close to the surface; the granite plug of the Pyramid was on the contrary pretty deep into the structure of what is called today the ascending passage and had about 15 metres of water height above its head. I may be wrong here, about the two other animal uses made by Egyptians, but in my opinion, the crocodile that is represented on the back of Taweret is about the enormous pressure that the granite plug had to sustain. They wanted to represent the enormous pressure that reigned at the bottom of the inclined well, and they wanted to show that the Taweret plug could resist that pressure; so they’ve used the animal known to generate the highest pressure with its bite: the crocodile.

If the part of the inclined well that really was flooded was about 33 meters long (38 metres of the ascending passage, less the 5 metres at the very bottom of the passage), at a 26.5 degrees angle, then the height of water that generated pressure on the granite plug was about 14.725 metres.

“Depending on the size of the shark, the team, led by Prof Steve Wroe, estimated a bite force of nearly 4,000psi, putting the Great White firmly in second position for the strongest bite force. However, as this has not yet been directly measured from a living specimen, we’ve not included it in our round-up of the animals with the strongest bite. So, who has the most powerful jaws? Of all animals alive on Earth today, the Nile crocodile has the strongest bite, at 5,000psi (or 3,4473,787 newtons per square meter).” By Holly Spanner: https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/top-10-which-animals-have-the-strongest-bite

“Greg Erickson gauges the bite of an American alligator during tests of all living crocodilian species”. Photograph courtesy Gregory M. Erickson, from Florida State University: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/120315-crocodiles-bite-force-erickson-science-plos-one-strongest  

Operating diagram of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, showing the central wooden Djed caisson running in both the Grand Gallery and the inclined well, and in which the Taweret block was positioned into.

2 • the four paws of a Lion: the Taweret plug was inside the central wooden Djed caisson and she was firmly grasping that 'Tree'

It took me some time to find a possible explanation of why is Taweret associated with the lion, and the fact is that most of the time hippopotamus goddess Taweret has the four paws of a lion; but it is only recently that I realized the central wooden Djed caisson wasn’t restricted to the Grand Gallery like I’ve imagined at first, and that may be the solution of the lion paws of the goddess.

Because once you’ve understood the Djed caisson extended inside the inclined well, comes the question of where did it stop? And Taweret may give us either the answer, or most of the answer; because I think the paws of the lion are about the way the animal is grasping to the trunk of  a tree it is climbing. What it means is that the granite of the well, was also positioned inside the Djed caisson. In other words, Egyptians used the fact that one of the glorifications of the central wooden Djed caisson was ‘the Tree of Life’, and the Tree that is growing around the coffin where Osiris had been trapped (see the Osiris myth), to see the granite plug just like it was grasping, or climbing into that tree.

Of course, it doesn't answer the question of where the Djed caisson really stoped: did it go farther down Taweret or not?

Hatshepsut’s birth scene, from Édouard Naville "The Temple of Deir el Bahari" (London, 1896), vol. 2, pl. 50. Image courtesy of the University Library Heidelberg: The Ebony shrine, northern half of the middle platform. https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/naville1896bd2/0050

10.11  The true relationship between Taweret and Bes in the Hatshepsut’s birth scene

In next chapter, we’ll see that the real original link there is between hippopotamus goddess Taweret and the dwarf god Bes, is all about the little anchoring block of granite that is still today embedded in the floor of the so-called ascending passage. Bes and Taweret are certainly the most fascinating ‘couple’ I had the chance to decipher to this day, and their relationship is actually perfectly depicted in the above papyrus known as the Hatshepsut's birth scene…

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Operating diagrams of the Great Pyramid

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