THE PYRAMIDS of the COLD • Chapter 33 The central Djed caisson of the Great Pyramid was made of wooden frame girdles sewn with linen ropes, as for sewn boats

“Carpenter Murat Tosun, one of Osman Erkurt trusted assistants, tighten the ligatures of a "sewn" planking of a conjectural reconstruction of Cycladic boats, in Osman Erkurt's workshop”. Photograph by Piero Castellano: https://www.lightrocket.com/galleries/30976/experimental-archaeologist-rebuilds-ancient-ships

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

Section F • The central wooden Djed caisson of the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid of Khufu

In between each operating cycle, fresh new and dry air had to be injected to replace moist air generated by the evaporative cooling process and for that the impactor had to be confined into a close and airtight caisson: that is the central wooden Djed caisson, glorified into the trunk of the Djed pillar and Ptah.

Chapter 33 • The central Djed caisson was made of wooden frame girdles sewn with linen ropes, as for sewn boats

In summary: obviously, the glorification work that have been made by ancient Egyptians into the Osiris myth is already the key point allowing us not only to be certain of the composite nature of the impactor of the Great Pyramid, but also the reality of the central wooden Djed caisson, presented as "the tree trunk that grew around the wooden coffin were Osiris was trapped", but the thing is that the Osiris myth doesn't stop here, and we may even be able to reconstruct it, almost completely.

We'll see that the central caisson was most probably made of the assembly of many wooden girdles, all sewn together with the same techniques that the Egyptians already used to build sewn boats. That common technology used on both the central wooden Djed caisson and sewn boats probably explains the presence of the Khufu boat in the Great Pyramid complex: the Khufu boat is a sewn boat. Of course, what comes in mind right away, is that Egyptians reused some parts of the Djed caisson to construct the boat, but it may also be a pure tribute to the Great Pyramid's biggest wooden structure.

The Khufu ship, a full-size solar barque, here at the Giza Solar boat museum, was a sewn boat. Photograph by Olaf Tausch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khufu_ship#/media/File:Giseh_Sonnenbarke_07.jpg

Operating diagram of the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, showing the upper part of the central wooden Djed caisson: the Djed caisson wasn't limited to the Gallery, but instead ran all the way down into the inclined well, probably to its very end with the Taweret block, so that the impactor could be guided by the hollow rails at all times.

33.01  Egyptians have encoded all the basic operation of the Gallery into the Osiris myth

"Seth, who had secretly taken the measurements of Osiris' body, constructed a fine chest to fit those measurements exactly. This richly decorated wooden box was a prize worthy of any man or god. At a feast at Seth's banquet hall, the guests drank wine and sang songs while slaves scattered flowers about the room. At the height of the entertainment, the chest was carried in while the guests cried out in appreciation of its beauty. With words sweet as honey, Seth told those gathered there: 'He who lies down in this coffin and whom it fits, to that man I will give it.' The guests eagerly stepped forward, but each found that it was not the right size. When all the others had failed to fit the chest, Seth jokingly challenged the king (Osiris) to try. Proudly Osiris stepped into the chest and lay down to discover that it was a perfect fit, but no sooner was he inside than the conspirators slammed the lid over his head. While some nailed the top tight, others poured hot lead around the edge so that Osiris quickly suffocated. The party guests then took the chest to the Nile and threw it with its divine contents into the waters, which carried them far away. Soon, Osiris' wife, Isis, learned of this tragedy and went looking for his body. Eventually, she heard that the body had been washed ashore at a place called Byblos on the coast of Syria (though there is disagreement over this location). There, waves had carried it ashore and lifted it into the branches of a tamarisk tree, which grew to encompass and hide the coffin. The tree grew to be gigantic with such beautiful flowers that eventually the king and queen came from the palace to see the marvelous site. He ordered the tree to be cut down and used as a pillar to support the roof of his palace.” https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djedpillar.htm

[illustration] If Tree goddess Isis is here represented as being physically part of the sacred Tree, it only is because Isis is the glorification of the hauling ropes that were operated inside the central wooden Djed caisson of the Grand Gallery in the Great Pyramid. So, in some ways, Isis was indeed inside her tree. Tomb of Sennedjem at Luxor, photograph by Paul Smit and Mick Palarczyk: https://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Africa/Egypt-Luxor-tombs/i-jqJ9rQM/A

Operating diagram of the Great Pyramid of Khufu for flash-evaporative cold production.

“Carpenter Murat Tosun, one of Osman Erkurt trusted assistants, tighten the ligatures of a "sewn" planking of a conjectural reconstruction of Cycladic boats, in Osman Erkurt's workshop”. Photograph by Piero Castellano: https://www.lightrocket.com/galleries/30976/experimental-archaeologist-rebuilds-ancient-ships

33.02  The central wooden Djed caisson has been assembled just like it was a regular sewn boat: Egyptians used extra solid linen ropes rendered airtight by the application of myrrh resin

• From the previous excerpt of the Osiris myth, we can already highlight some critical points about how the central wooden Djed caisson was built and what was the destiny of Osiris: once the wooden coffin where Osiris was trapped got to shore after having floating in the water, it was literally lifted up into a gigantic tamarisk tree were the Osiris coffin was again, trapped and hidden. Even the mention of the fact that the tree has to be cut down is related to the fact that just like the inclined well, the central wooden Djed caisson was also inclined as well.

"Eventually, she [Isis] heard that the body [of Osiris] had been washed ashore at a place called Byblos on the coast of Syria (though there is disagreement over this location). There, waves had carried it ashore and lifted it into the branches of a tamarisk tree, which grew to encompass and hide the coffin. The tree grew to be gigantic with such beautiful flowers that eventually the king and queen came from the palace to see the marvelous site. He ordered the tree to be cut down and used as a pillar to support the roof of his palace.” https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djedpillar.htm

• But, the myth doesn't stop here: we also learn that Isis wrapped the tamarisk tree with linen and put additional myrrh resin all other the tree as well; and that is why we can be sure that the Djed caisson was made the exact same way that the so-called Khufu ship found next to the Great Pyramid: just like the Khufu ship is the oldest sewn boat known in Human history, Egyptians also used the technique of the sewn boat to construct the wooden Djed caisson.

“Isis maneuvered herself into the favor of the king and queen and was granted a boon. She [Isis] asked for the pillar in the palace hall, and upon being granted it, extracted the coffin from the pillar. She then consecrated the pillar, anointing it with myrrh and wrapping it in linen. This pillar came to be known as the pillar of djed.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djed

Operating diagram of the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, showing the upper part of the central wooden Djed caisson: the Djed caisson wasn't limited to the Gallery, but instead ran all the way down into the inclined well, probably to its very end with the Taweret block, so that the impactor could be guided by the hollow rails at all times.

Very approximative modeling of the central wooden Djed caisson of the Grand Gallery, in the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Djed caisson was made of sewn cases and provided pressurized air to the flash-evaporative cooling conduct that was the horizontal passage. Each case would have looked like one of the girdle stones found in the lower part of the inclined well. Edited from a basic modern wooden shelf: https://www.cdiscount.com/maison/decoration-accessoires/etagere-1-case-bois-36-2cm/f-117635206-ast8422341499657.html

33.03  The 'girdle of Isis' is about a wooden girdle: it is about the wooden girdles of the central Djed caisson

Now, we can go even farther in the reconstruction of the central wooden Djed caisson, because there is another thing about Isis and her sacred tamarisk tree: the famous 'knot of Isis'. Of course, the mention of the 'knot' about Isis is already a pretty good clue that Isis herself is all about ropes; but this is not the point here; the point is that this 'knot of Isis' was also called 'girdle of Isis'. Remember that if Isis is all about ropes, she is also a tree goddess; and we've seen that if she was a tree goddess its because she was about the two ropes operated inside the central wooden Djed caisson. In other words, Isis was indeed inside a tree; the tree of the Osiris myth, that is the pillar of Djed.

So, when it is said that the knot of Isis was also called the girdle of Isis, it's because these girdles are about the central wooden Djed caisson. And that means that the Djed caisson was made of girdles; just like the inclined well is partially made of girdles as well (these ones are of course the famous stone girdles of the ascending passage).

In short, the central wooden Djed caisson was built by stacking individual wooden cases that were then sewn together to form a continuous caisson that ran from the bottom of the inclined well to the top of the Grand Gallery.

“The tyet (Ancient Egyptian: tjt), sometimes called the knot of Isis or girdle of Isis, is an ancient Egyptian symbol that came to be connected with the goddess Isis. Its hieroglyphic depiction is catalogued as V39 in Gardiner's sign list.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyet

[illustration] If Tree goddess Isis is here represented as being physically part of the sacred Tree, it only is because Isis is the glorification of the hauling ropes that were operated inside the central wooden Djed caisson of the Grand Gallery in the Great Pyramid. So, in some ways, Isis was indeed inside her tree. Tomb of Sennedjem at Luxor, photograph by Paul Smit and Mick Palarczyk: https://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Africa/Egypt-Luxor-tombs/i-jqJ9rQM/A

33.04  The “backbone of Osiris” metaphor

I'm really not sure everyone will enjoy all these metaphors used by ancient Egyptians like I do, but anyway there is another one here about the girdles, whether they are girdle stones (huge blocks hollowed out in their center), or wooden girdles (made of wooden planks sewn together). The metaphor is about the backbone: nature had created bone girdles, long time before ancient Egyptians created their own wooden or stone girdles.

“The djed-pillar can perhaps be understood as the backbone of Osiris, or that of the deceased associated with him. The Egyptians recognized the importance of the spine and saw it as a symbol that kept Osiris, the resurrected god, intact and able to function. Spell 151e of the Book of the Dead refers to the djed-pillar amulet as “the magical protection of Osiris,” and spell 155 was recited over this amulet as it was placed on the throat of a mummy. As a hieroglyph, the djed-pillar denotes the more abstract concepts of stability, endurance, and rejuvenation”: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/117868

Photograph by Elizabeth Grant, "How to Identify Animal Vertebra": https://www.theclassroom.com/identify-animal-vertebrae-10015534.html

Operating diagram of the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid showing the descent of the composite impactor that generated pressurized air for the flash-evaporative cooling passage nearby.

33.05 The 'dismembered body' of Osiris is really about the 'dismembered backbone' of Osiris: the metaphor is about when the individual sewn wooden girdles of the caisson had to sustain elevated pressure caused by the descending impactor

We’ve just seen the meaning of the 'Backbone of Osiris' metaphor: the backbone is about the assembled individual wooden girdles constituting the central wooden Djed caisson of the Grand Gallery. When the impactor was speeding up in the caisson in order to generate pressurized air, the entire structure of the caisson was put under pressure, and of course it was the whole point of that caisson; but in the following excerpts, what they really are about is the caisson failing in resisting to the pressure: the metaphor of the 'dismembered body of Osiris' is actually about the 'dismembered Backbone of Osiris'. This part of the myth is pretty much the same thing as the 'Blood of Isis' metaphor (next chapter): it is about the risk of failure.

• the failure of the Isis hauling ropes to sustain the tension when they were trying to get the impactor out of the well (in particular because of the problem of the suction effect)

• the failure of the wooden caisson to sustain the pressure generated by pressurized air in the caisson (and in the myth, that pressurized air is Set)

The Khufu ship, a full-size solar barque, here at the Giza Solar boat museum, was a sewn boat. Photograph by Olaf Tausch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khufu_ship#/media/File:Giseh_Sonnenbarke_07.jpg

33.06  Was the wooden Djed caisson recycled into the Khufu ship or did it just inspired the ship’s dimensions?

“The Khufu ship is an intact full-size solar barque from ancient Egypt. It was sealed into a pit alongside the Great Pyramid of pharaoh Khufu around 2500 BC, during the Fourth Dynasty of the ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom. Like other buried Ancient Egyptian ships, it was part of the extensive grave goods intended for use in the afterlife. The Khufu ship is one of the oldest, largest, best preserved vessels from antiquity. It is 43.4 metres (142 ft) long, 5.9 metres (19 ft) wide, and 1.78 meters (5.83 ft) deep, and is the world's oldest intact ship. It has been described as "a masterpiece of woodcraft" that could sail today if put into a lake or a river.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khufu_ship

“The Grand Gallery continues the slope of the Ascending Passage towards the King's Chamber, extending from the 23rd to the 48th course (of stones), a rise of 21 metres (69 ft). It has been praised as a "truly spectacular example of stonemasonry".[184] It is 8.6 metres (28 ft) high and 46.68 metres (153.1 ft) long. Its walls are made out of polished limestone.[185] The base is 4 cubits (2.1 m; 6.9 ft) wide, but after two courses – at a height of 2.29 metres (7.5 ft) – the blocks of stone in the walls are corbelled inwards by 6–10 centimetres (2.4–3.9 in) on each side.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza

33.07  Why Djed pillars were represented supporting windows: they weren’t 'supporting the sky' but they simply let fresh new air get into the room

The beautiful thing about having finally understood the Djed pillar and how the central wooden Djed caisson has been built with sewn wooden girdles, is that we can now understand another metaphor, this one about the fact that Djed pillars were used as columns supporting windows. Remember that the only function of the closed Djed caisson was to create and manage pressurized air so that the flash-evaporative process could be repeated indefinitely; in short: the Djed caisson was nothing but a wooden box that let fresh air in to renew old air; and that is the exact function of a window. 

“R. T. Rundle Clark found a different origin. He pointed out that in the Old Kingdom, the pillar was shown in wall decorations at the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. In these drawings, the djed pillars were shown in the royal palace where they formed columns supporting windows. When one looked through the windows, the pillars gave the appearance of holding up the sky beyond. He wrote that, "The purpose is clear:... the djed columns are world pillars, holding up the sky and so guaranteeing the space of air and world in which the king's authority holds good". https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djedpillar.htm

Window illustration from: https://www.fenetres-sur-mesure.com

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Operating diagrams of the Great Pyramid

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