There are many stories about Egypt, many of which have distorted the original one, while many have intrigued the people from all around the world. One such story is told by a missing captain of the Danish Navy who, in one of his exploratory trips, realized that the Pyramids of Egypt (Giza Plateau) were not actually three, as has always been believed, but that there was a fourth pyramid. Furthermore, this pyramid was of glossy black color. Many theories have been put forth around this story, mainly because there is no evidence of a great black pyramid. However, the history and the evidence of such trip exist, and no one knows what happened to that mysterious fourth pyramid of Egypt.
Illustration of the Black Pyramid © Cc Roskelley
The evidence of the Fourth Pyramid of Egypt
During the 1700s, Frederic Norden, a Danish navy captain, and explorer made extensive notes, observations, and drawings of everything around him, including the people, pharaonic monuments, architecture, facilities, maps, etc., everything which was published in his posthumous book “Voyage d’Egypte et de Nubie.”
On page 120 of his book “Voyage d’Egypte et de Nubie” (Travels through Egypt and Nubia) Norden describes the mysterious pyramid:
“The main pyramids are in the east, south-east of Giza … there are four of them; they deserve the most attention of the curious; although we see seven or eight others in the adjacencies, they are nothing compared to the previous ones … The two pyramids further north are the largest and are five hundred feet high perpendicular. The other two are much less, but they have some peculiarities, which motivate them to continue to be examined and admired.”
“They are uncoated, close and resemble the others but no temple like the first. It has, however, a special feature that deserves attention; which is, that its summit ends with a single large stone, which seems to have served as a pedestal… a fourth pyramid has been made, upwards above the average, of a stone blacker than common granite, and equally Lasted. Its top is made of a yellowish stone. I will talk later about its upper part, which ends in a cube. It is also located outside the line of the others, being more to the west … it makes a series with the other three.”
Norden’s sketch from the 1700s showing 4 pyramids at Giza.
The text was published after Norden passed away and in it, he shared drawings from the expedition he had led to Egypt. The data in the text has fascinated researchers who speak of a glorious black pyramid at Giza. In the book, he describes the pyramid as a black stone that was much harder than granite. Sceptics have said that perhaps he mistook the satellite pyramids, which are around the top three, as a fourth. However, this does not make sense since the satellite pyramids were built from sandstone.
An early illustration shows that the pyramid actually existed
Researchers and Egyptologists, however, tend to dismiss the idea of a fourth black pyramid at Giza, suggesting that it may have mistakenly taken one of the pyramids called Menakure’s satellite pyramids as a fourth pyramid.
However, this contradicts everything Norden describes in his book, as he does it with such precision that he even points to it on the map as a fourth pyramid. Also, the details it gives are so clear that it leaves no room for doubt or any invention on the part of the explorer. It is obvious that Norden well a pyramid made of a harder stone and a shiny black colour.
Strangely, the description and illustrations made by the Danish explorer are of an extremely surprising quality and position the fourth black pyramid at a certain distance from the current three pyramids of Giza. In his book, Norden also describes and mentions the existence of seven (in even eight, probably) more pyramids on the Giza plateau. But at present, there is not a single trace of them.