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BUILDING THE PYRAMIDS
Kephren
Kephren pyramid The pyramids of Giza are made from granite blocks, weighing as much as 70 tons, and limestone blocks, weighing up to 15 tons. The stones were mined on the other side of the Nile from the pyramids and transported to the pyramids by boat and sledge. In terms of how such large stones were put in place there is pretty good evidence ramps made of rubble were constructed around the pyramids and used to transport the blocks to where they were positioned. [Sources: Virginia Morrell, National Geographic, November 2001; David Roberts, National Geographic, January 1995]
Originally the pyramids were covered by a layer of carefully dressed white limestone casings that were brought from quarries on the east side of the Nile, cut in blocks and laid with exquisitely fine joints and polished. When these stones were in place the surfaces of the pyramid glistened like mirrors in the sun. Some Egyptologists believe the outer faces of the pyramids were left unfinished as the pyramid rose. After the capstone was set the workers then began moving downwards, removing the ramp as they went, and polishing the stone to give it the shiny finish. Over the centuries the casings have been removed (most likely by scavengers getting material for other buildings or to make lime). Some were stripped off for the buildings in Cairo. What we see today are the cores of the original pyramids.
To make a pyramid packing blocks were stacked until the core was right, and then finishing blocks were placed on the outside presumably for an eye-pleasing appearance. The Nile was once originally about a quarter mile from the pyramids and a temple stood on the shore of the river. A causeway from the temple passed some boats pits, a mortuary temple, an enclosure wall, subsidiary pyramids for the pharaoh's queens and finally led to the great pyramid itself. Today the riverside temple is about a half mile inland.
Dr Ian Shaw of the University of Liverpool wrote for the BBC: “Since at least the time of the ancient Greeks, there has been considerable debate about exactly how the Egyptians constructed King Khufu's Great Pyramid at Giza. Few texts concerning Egyptian engineering methods have survived the centuries, and in recent years experimental archaeology has been the main means for discovering the methods used for building the structure. Despite this, there are still many questions concerning the quarrying, dressing and transportation of the stone building blocks, let alone the methods by which they were placed meticulously in position. And there are further questions still about how the gigantic edifice was erected on a totally horizontal base, and aligned precisely with the stars.[Source: Dr Ian Shaw, BBC, February 17, 2011, Shaw is Lecturer in Egyptian Archaeology at the University of Liverpool]
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net:“The internal construction of most true pyramids consists of a series of buttress walls surrounding a central core. The walls decrease in height from the center outwards. In other words, the core of the true pyramid is essentially a step pyramid. The internal arrangement added stability to the structure. Packing blocks filled the "steps" formed by the faces of the outermost buttress walls and casting blocks (often Limestone) completed the structure of the true pyramid. Architects and builders used a different form of construction in the pyramids of the 12th and 13th Dynasties. Mainly because of economy, for it was suitable for relatively modest structures in inferior materials. Solid walls of stone ran from the center, and shorter cross walls formed a series of chambers filled with stone blocks, ruble or mud bricks. An outer casing was usually added, and although quite effective in the short term, it did not even come close to the earlier construction methods. Pyramids which were built with this structural design are quite dilapidated and worn.” [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
Categories with related articles in this website: Ancient Egyptian History (32 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Religion (24 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Life and Culture (36 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Government, Infrastructure and Economics (24 articles) factsanddetails.com
Websites on Ancient Egypt: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Discovering Egypt discoveringegypt.com; BBC History: Egyptians bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians ; Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for Universities. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics. ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt ; British Museum: Ancient Egypt ancientegypt.co.uk; Egypt’s Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org ; Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ; Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre in Paris louvre.fr/en/departments/egyptian-antiquities; KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt kmtjournal.com; Ancient Egypt Magazine ancientegyptmagazine.co.uk; Egypt Exploration Society ees.ac.uk ; Amarna Project amarnaproject.com; Egyptian Study Society, Denver egyptianstudysociety.com; The Ancient Egypt Site ancient-egypt.org; Abzu: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East etana.org; Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
Herodotus on Building the Pyramids
Herodotus wrote in Book 2 of “Histories”: Kheops, compelled all the Egyptians to work for him. To some, he assigned the task of dragging stones from the quarries in the Arabian mountains to the Nile; and after the stones were ferried across the river in boats, he organized others to receive and drag them to the mountains called Libyan. They worked in gangs of a hundred thousand men, each gang for three months. For ten years the people wore themselves out building the road over which the stones were dragged, work which was in my opinion not much lighter at all than the building of the pyramid [the Great Pyramid of Cheops] (for the road is nearly a mile long and twenty yards wide, and elevated at its highest to a height of sixteen yards, and it is all of stone polished and carved with figures). The aforesaid ten years went to the building of this road and of the underground chambers in the hill where the pyramids stand; these, the king meant to be burial-places for himself, and surrounded them with water, bringing in a channel from the Nile. The pyramid itself was twenty years in the making. Its base is square, each side eight hundred feet long, and its height is the same; the whole is of stone polished and most exactly fitted; there is no block of less than thirty feet in length. 125. [Source: Herodotus, “The Histories”, Egypt after the Persian Invasion, Book 2, English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920, Tufts]
“This pyramid was made like stairs, which some call steps and others, tiers. When this, its first form, was completed, the workmen used short wooden logs as levers to raise the rest of the stones52 ; they heaved up the blocks from the ground onto the first tier of steps; when the stone had been raised, it was set on another lever that stood on the first tier, and the lever again used to lift it from this tier to the next. It may be that there was a new lever on each tier of steps, or perhaps there was only one lever, quite portable, which they carried up to each tier in turn; I leave this uncertain, as both possibilities were mentioned.
“But this is certain, that the upper part of the pyramid was finished off first, then the next below it, and last of all the base and the lowest part. There are writings on53 the pyramid in Egyptian characters indicating how much was spent on radishes and onions and garlic for the workmen; and I am sure that, when he read me the writing, the interpreter said that sixteen hundred talents of silver had been paid. Now if that is so, how much must have been spent on the iron with which they worked, and the workmen's food and clothing, considering that the time aforesaid was spent in building, while hewing and carrying the stone and digging out the underground parts was, as I suppose, a business of long duration. 126.
“
Herodotus's idea of how the pyramid stones were raised
Leveling and Aligning the Pyramids
The foundations of the pyramids were laid with limestone block. Contrary to popular belief, the Giza pyramids were built up from the bedrock of the plateau, not over a flat sandy base. Khufu, in fact, was built around a small rock knoll.
The pyramids may have been leveled using survey lines that ran atop stakes mortared into regularly spaced holes around the perimeter of the pyramid. The holes were connected by depressions cut into the rock that could be filled with water to make sure they were equal with one another. Egyptologists believe that the stones were lined up with lines attached to stakes of equal length. "What is still a mystery," says University of Chicago archaeologist Mark Lehner, "is how the reference stakes and lines could have been transformed upward as the pyramid rose, since those around the base would have been buried under the massive construction ramps and dumps of debris."
Dr Ian Shaw of the University of Liverpool wrote for the BBC: “Between 1880 and 1882, Flinders Petrie, the first truly scientific archaeologist to work in Egypt, undertook some careful survey work on the Giza plateau. ...The results of Petrie's work suggested to him that the Egyptians had levelled the area intended for the Great Pyramid by cutting a grid of shallow trenches into the bedrock, flooding them with water, and reducing the intervening 'islands' of stone to the necessary height.[Source: Dr Ian Shaw, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]
“In the 1980s the American Egyptologist Mark Lehner began to produce a meticulous new map of the plateau, incorporating the various holes and trenches cut into the rock around the pyramids. On the basis of this project, Lehner argued that the Egyptians had in fact not levelled the whole area intended for the pyramids, but had simply ensured that the narrow perimeter strips around the edges of the pyramid were as perfectly horizontal as possible. |::|
“Egyptian architects, surveyors and builders are known to have used two specialised surveying tools, the merkhet (the 'instrument of knowing', similar to an astrolabe) and the bay (a sighting tool probably made from the central rib of a palm leaf). These allowed construction workers to lay out straight lines and right-angles, and also to orient the sides and corners of structures, in accordance with astronomical alignments. |::|
“It is clear that the Egyptians were using their knowledge of the stars to assist them in their architectural projects from the beginning of the pharaonic period (c.3100-332 B.C.), since the ceremony of pedj shes ('stretching the cord'), reliant on astronomical knowledge, is first attested on a granite block of the reign of the Second-Dynasty king Khasekhemwy (c.2650 B.C.). |::|
“This pedj shes ceremony relied on sightings of the Great Bear and Orion constellations, aligning the foundations of the pyramids and sun temples very precisely with the north, south, east and west. They usually achieved this with an error of less than half a degree. In later periods, the process of stretching the cord continued to be depicted in texts and in the reliefs of temples such as that of Horus, at Edfu, but it appears to have gradually become just a ritual, since these temples were aligned less precisely than the earlier ones, often simply with reference to the direction of the river.” |::|
Orientation and Layout and the Pyramid Platform
Giza's pyramids are oriented to face the four cardinal directions: true north, south, east, and west. Their entrances are all on the north side, and the temples of the pyramids are on the east side. Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net: “Before the physical orientation and layout of a new pyramid took place, considerable planning was needed under the direction of a "royal master builder". Ultimately, the responsibility fell on the vizier, who was typically the head of all royal works. The first step in the process was taken by specialists who would draw up plans for the pyramid on papyrus. After the construction began, plans and sketches were drawn on papyri or flat slabs of limestone. Planners even made models of their projects, as evidenced by a limestone model of a substructure found in the Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dahshur. After the planning stage, each step of pyramid building was initiated with foundation rituals.[Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
“Pyramids, unlike many other types of religious structures, required strict orientation to the cardinal points. Pyramid alignment may have been carried out through a number of different means, including some methods we have probably never thought of. The primary theory of how the ancient Egyptians oriented most any building that had to conform to true primary coordinates has been by stellar measurements. This involved building a small, circular wall of perhaps mudbrick that had to be perfectly level at the top. Within the circle, a man would stand and through a straight pole with a forked top called a bay, sight a circumpolar star as it rises. A second man at the perimeter of the small circular wall would then "spot" the wall where the star rose. Using a type of plumb line, or merkhet, he would also spot the mark at the bottom of the wall. When the star set, the process would be repeated. Measuring between the two spots would then provide true north from the center sighting pole. = “Recently several other theories have been raised, all of which involve some sort of astronomical measurements. A British scholar named K. Spence believes that the Egyptians used two circumpolar stars (Delta Ursae Majoris and Beta Urae Minoris or Epsilon Usae Majoris and Gamma Urae Minors) Another theory set out by a Slovak Egyptologist, D. Magdolen, believes that the ancient Egyptians oriented their monuments using the sun, by means of wooden stakes and ropes. There is in fact a reference in ancient text referring to "the shadow" and the "stride of Ra". =
“The sun rises and sets in equal but opposite angles to true north. Using a plumb line, a pole would have been set as vertically as possible. Then, about three hours before noon, its shadow would be measured. This length then becomes the radius of a circle. As the sun rises higher, the shadow shrinks back from the line and then becomes longer in the afternoon. When it reaches the circle again it forms an angle with the morning's line. The bisection of the angle is true north. However, this method would be less accurate than the stellar method, but could be fairly accurate during the solstices. =
“How did this astronomically based surveying work in practice? The British Egyptologist IES Edwards argued that true north was probably found by measuring the place where a particular star rose and fell in the west and east, then bisecting the angle between these two points. More recently, however, Kate Spence, an Egyptologist at the University of Cambridge, has put forward a convincing theory that the architects of the Great Pyramid sighted on two stars (b-Ursae Minoris and z-Ursae Majoris), rotating around the position of the north pole, which would have been in perfect alignment in around 2467 B.C., the precise date when Khufu's pyramid is thought to have been constructed. This hypothesis is bolstered by the fact that inaccuracies in the orientations of earlier and later pyramids can be closely correlated with the degree to which the alignment of the two aforementioned stars deviates from true north.” |::|
Creating a Pyramid Ground Plan with Precise Right Angles
Egyptian seked system
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net: “After the primary coordinates were determined, the ground plan would be marked out. Some of the methods used to do so varied from pyramid to pyramid. Here, we examine the means by which the ground plan of the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza was determined. Initially, a reference line along true north was constructed from the orientation process. The next step would be to create a true square with precise right angles. Within Khufu's pyramid, there is actually a massif of natural rock jutting up that was used as part of the pyramid's core. Therefore, measuring the diagonals of the square to check for accuracy was impossible. [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
“We believe that the ancient builders could have achieved a precise right angle in any of three ways. The first method would have involved the use of an A-shaped set square. The set square would have been placed along the established orientation line and the perpendicular taken from the other leg of the square. The set square would then be flipped and the measurements repeated. The exact 90 degree angle would then be taken by taking into account the small error of the angle between the two measurements. The problem with this method is that no set squares large enough to give a precise angle for the distances have been found in ancient Egypt. The perpendicular measurement it provides would be very short considering that the line would have to be extended some 230 meters (754 ft) in the case of Khufu's pyramid. =
“A second method would have employed the use of a sacred or Pythagorean triangle. The triangles seem to be present in the design of the Old Kingdom pyramids, but there is no real conclusive evidence of their use. Basically, this triangle uses three equal units on one side, four on the next, and five on the hypotenuse to give a true right angle. At Khufu's pyramid a series of holes along the orientation line are dug at seven cubit (3.675 meters or about 12 ft) intervals, so the triangle probably used these positions in the measurement. In other words, the triangle would have been measured as 21 cubits by 28 cubits with a 35 cubit hypotenuse. This would have resulted in a much longer measurement for the perpendicular line then with the use of a set square. If the unites used were any greater, the measurement would have been interrupted by the rock outcrop. =
“A third method possibly available to the early Egyptians would have been through the use of intersecting arcs. In this method, two circles would have been sketched by rotating a cord around two points on the orientation line. The intersection of the two circles would then provide a right angle. Some doubt this method was used because the elasticity of the string or rope used to sketch the circles would lead to inaccuracies. However, at Khufu's pyramid, there are a number of post holes dug that might have been used to draw such circles, so the method cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, the Egyptian may have used a rod or other device rather than rope or string to draw the circle, eliminating elasticity. =
Making the Platform of a Pyramid
Stepped pyramid of Saqqara
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net: “An orientation reference line was set up in a larger square by measuring off the established square ground plan. This was done by digging post holes at measured distances from the inner square in the bedrock and inserting small posts through which a rope or string ran. These holes were dug at about 10 cubit intervals. This outer reference line was needed because the original orientation lines would be erased by building work. Various segments of the reference line could be removed so that building material could be moved into place. Then measurements were taken from the guide line as the material for the platform were put in place so that the the platform was in accord with the initial floor plan. [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
“The platform of Khufu's pyramid was made of fine white Turah quality limestone slabs with occasion backing stones of local limestone for leveling. Today, we know that the platform was one of the most important elements to a pyramid's survival over great lengths of time. It also appears that the builders of Khufu's pyramid were well aware of this, but such knowledge seems to have been almost forgotten from time to time. Some later pyramids platforms were not built upon solid bedrock, or the platform was poorly built and those pyramids built atop these poorly constructed platforms did not survive for long. =
“Not only was the platform required to be laid in a perfect square, but it was also required to be very level. In Khufu's pyramid, the platform is level to within about 2.1 centimeters (one inch). There were several means that this too could be accomplished. Traditional though, apparently originally conceived by Edwards, suggests the use of water to level the platform. He thought that the ancient Egyptians might have built a mud enclosure around the platform that was then filled with water. A grid of trenches would have been cut at a uniform depth below the water. However, modern Egyptologists believe this method would have been cumbersome at best. The platform would have had to have been chiseled beneath the water. Perhaps a more accepted theory involves channels being cut to form a grid within the platform, which was then filled with water. At the top of the water's surface, the level would be marked along the sides of the channels, and then the platform cut accordingly. =
“However, Lehner, who must be taken very seriously in any discussion of Giza pyramids, does not believe that water was used to level Khufu's pyramid. In fact, he doubts any water related theories of leveling, mostly because evaporation might cause considerable variations in the measurements. Specifically though, Khufu's pyramid is built on a sloping base, and here, it is the platform itself that is leveled and not the bedrock beneath the platform. In fact, the ancient builders were required to cut down the northwest corner of the platform, while actually building up the opposite, southeast corner. =
“Another leveling method might have utilized the posts used to build the reference line of the pyramid. These posts could have been made of equal heights, or marked to provide a reference level. Apparently the leveling techniques used in pyramid construction are not well understood at this time. However, what is understood is that when the Egyptians, such as those who built Khufu's pyramid, were at the top of their skills, the monuments they built could indeed last virtually forever. =
Lifting the Stones to Build the Pyramids
was this devise used to lift the stones
Perhaps the biggest problem facing the builders of the pyramids was getting the large stone blocks to their proper place. Although many methods have been theorized, the use of ramps is the only one proven to have been used. The ramps were built on inclined planes of mud brick and rubble. The blocks were dragged on sledges to the location of their placement. As the pyramid grew taller, the ramp had to be extended in length, and to do this the base had to be widened to prevent it from collapsing. Several ramps were probably used in the construction of a single pyramid. [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
On how the ancient Egyptians lifted materials used in the pyramids, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote in 430 B.C.: "At first, it (the pyramid) was built with steps, like a staircase....The stones intended for use in constructing the pyramids were lifted by means of a short wooden scaffold. In this way they were raised from the earth to the first step of the staircase; there they were laid on another scaffold, by means of which they were raised to the second step. Lifting devices were provided for each step, in case these devices were not light enough to be easily moved upward from step to step once the stone had been removed from them. I have been told that both methods were used, and so I mention them both here. The finishing-off was begun at the top, and continued downward to the lowest level."
In his Bibliotheca, the ancient scholar, Diodorus Siculus, provides another view: “"It is said that the stone was brought over a great distance, from Arabia, and that the construction was undertaken with the help of ramps, since at that time cranes had not yet been invented."
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net: “Today, much of the scholarly work regarding material placement in pyramids revolves around the use of ramps... with perhaps some of the smaller masonry also being lifted into place with other ancient lifting devices such as those of Herodotus....“Ramps are generally considered to have been the main lifting devices for heavy material. While lifting devices such as pseudo pulleys and wooden levers were likely known in ancient Egypt, it has not been demonstrated that these tools could lift the massive stones of the great pyramids, which sometimes weighed as much as fifty or more tons. Yet there are many different theories regarding what shape ramps may have taken, and there sometimes appears to be flaws in most any such design. However, today we know that ramps were definitely used at least in some pyramids, because we have discovered a number of ramps at various pyramid sites, along with some documentation that would suggest the use of ramps. =
Ramps Used in the Building the Pyramids
one ramp scheme
Egyptologists generally agree the stones were hauled up ramps using ropes of papyrus twine. The popular belief is that the gradually sloping ramps, built out of mud, stone, and wood were used as transportation causeways for moving the large stones to their positions up and around the four sides of the pyramids. [Source: PBS]
Dr Ian Shaw of the University of Liverpool wrote for the BBC: “Most archaeologists agree that a system of ramps must have been used to drag the millions of blocks into their positions in the various pyramids. No such ramps have actually survived at the Great Pyramid itself, but enough traces can be seen around some of the other Old Kingdom pyramids to suggest that at least five different systems of ramp might have been used. [Source: Dr Ian Shaw, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]
“Traces of 'interior ramps' have survived inside the remains of the pyramids of Sahura, Nyuserra and Neferirkara, at Abusir, and of Pepi II, at Saqqara, but some kind of exterior ramp would still have been needed after the interior was filled in. The terraced nature of the pyramid core would often have made it more convenient to use a series of much smaller ramps built along the sides of the pyramid from step to step. The remains of these would no doubt have been lost when the outer casing was applied. It is also possible that the causeways stretching from pyramid to valley temple might originally have served as builders' ramps from quay to construction site (the quay being connected with the Nile by canal). |::|
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net:“Remains of ramps have been discovered at Meidum, Dahshur, Abu Ghurab and Abusir, thus supporting the claims of Siculus. Notable also are the Sinki pyramid at South Abydos and the Sekhemkhet pyramid where ramp remains, and even complete ramps have been discovered. Other ramp remains may have also been discovered at Giza, where excavators from the Cairo University excavated two parallel walls that may have formed the retaining framework of a ramp. [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
“The ramp theory is further supported, at least circumstantially, by documents featuring mathematical problems connected with construction projects, and ramps in particular. In general, it is assumed that ramps used to lift the giant blocks had an outside wall and framework made of mudbricks, with an interior filled with sand and other rubble, and perhaps covered with clay. However, beyond these basic specifications, Egyptologists differ considerably on their views of what such a ramp might have looked like. Complicating this matter further, it also seems that at different pyramid locations, different types of ramps might have been used. For example, in some places more room was available to construct such ramps than at other locations, so it is likely that the general design of these ramp systems may have varied simply due to necessity. =
Another ramp scheme
“For example, Uvo Holscher, a German architect and archaeologist who conducted excavations on the pyramid of Khafre at Giza, assumed that a ramp was constructed on each of the four sides of the pyramid, zigzagging upward from one corner to the other as the construction process continued. The complaint with this system, voiced specifically by Miroslav Verner, is that the ramp would not have been large enough to deliver the quantities of stone required during the construction of the lower and middle parts of the pyramid. Lehner may also have problems with model (see below). Dows Dunham and W. Vose, both American researchers, modified Uvo Holscher's ideas, theorizing a ramp that spiraled around the whole structure, but this system faces the same problems as that of Holscher's theory. The ramp would most probably not have been large enough to to move massive amounts of material, and would have also decreased in size considerably before reaching the top of the pyramid. Another Researcher, Goyon, does provide a somewhat more viable ramp theory. He pictures a single ramp that does not go around the whole structure. His model is wide enough to support several ox teams going and coming from the construction, and at the same time, leaves all four corners of the pyramid visible for ongoing measurements. However, even his ramp would have grown narrower towards the top of the pyramid, and would have been extremely long. Such a ramp would have been much more useful to build smaller rather than larger pyramids. =
Types of Pyramid-Building Ramps
The arrangement and types of ramps used for building the pyramids has been hotly debated. Many scholars believed that — - assuming that the core of a pyramid was a step pyramid and that it was built before the outer structure, and then the packing blocks were laid on top — the ramps could have run from one step to another rather than approaching the pyramid face at right angles. [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
Dr Ian Shaw of the University of Liverpool wrote for the BBC: “The most straightforward method would have been the so-called linear ramp, probably used in the Third-Dynasty pyramid of Sekhemkhet, at Saqqara. Such ramps, however, were probably rarely used, because they would have had to be very wide. An alternative would have been the 'staircase ramp', a steep and narrow set of steps leading up one face of the pyramid, traces of which have been found at the Sinki, Meidum, Giza, Abu Ghurob and Lisht pyramids. [Source: Dr Ian Shaw, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]
“In the case of the 'spiral ramp' (perhaps described in the Nineteenth-Dynasty Papyrus Anastasi I), the question arises of what it would have rested on, and how corrective calculations and checks could have been made from the corners if most of the pyramid was continually covered up. The 'reversing ramp', a zigzag course up one face of a pyramid, would probably have been most effective for the construction of step pyramids, although, frustratingly, there are no signs of its use on the step pyramids at Saqqara, Sinki and Meidum”. |::|
Problems with Linear Pyramid Ramp
other possible ramps
In Petrie’s view a single, vertical ramp with bricks, sand and round wooden beams was built, on only one side of the pyramid. Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net:“It would have been extended as the structure grew, and its mass would have been as great if not greater then that of the pyramid itself. With Petrie's model, the ramp would have been extremely long, as it reached the top of the pyramid. Furthermore, such a ramp would have required an enormous amount of material, and would have required considerable resources to build, not to mention dismantle. [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
Archaeologists don't believe a straight ramp could have been used to build the Great Pyramids of Giza. . "The greater length and breadth of a straight on ramp," Dora Jane Hamblin wrote in Smithsonian magazine, "eventually would have covered the quarry itself. No ramp could have existed on the north, where there is a 120-foot drop in the terrain. On the east, Khufu was building the three smaller Queens' pyramids and to the west, a field of mastabas...Only a wrap around ramp set against the sides of the pyramid could have been between it and the adjacent cemetery complexes. The Great Pyramid, at two thirds of its height, contained 96 percent of its total bulk, and so the higher it grew, the shorter were the reaches of the ramp itself and the less material that had to be carried up.” [Source: Smithsonian, April 1986]
"To be practical," says Lehner, "a straight slope ramp for the Great Pyramid would have to be nearly a mile long. Also, a mud-brick ramp would have left tons of debris. It just isn't here. What is there, and we find it in subsidiary ramps and embankments is a combination of limestone chips, gypsum and local calcareous clay called tafla . There are tons of this debris now filing the quarries. This must be the remains of the ramp from the main quarry to the pyramid." Variety of Ramps and Devices Used to Build the Pyramids
Jimmy Dunn wrote: “Jean-Philippe Lauer, a leading expert on the pyramids, provided a theory that seems to be acceptable, at least in part, to many Egyptologists. He suggests that both ramps and other lifting devices were used to build the Great Pyramid, which his theory specifically addresses. He believes that a whole system of ramps were utilized. These ramps would have been of various sizes and gradients. However, he also believes that additional tools and lifting devices would have been used, including wooden levers, round beams, poles and ropes. [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
“His model assumes four large frontal ramps, one running vertically up each side of the pyramid. A final ramp would have run, in the case of the Great Pyramid, directly to the stone quarries in the area. This last ramp would have at first been fairly short, with an easy gradient, but as the pyramid rose, the ramp would have been extended towards the south to a length of about 300 meters. At this stage, the ramp would have been about 35 meters high on the north end, where it could have been used to construct the great Gallery, the higher King's Chamber, and even the relief chambers built above that. However, to actually move the largest of the stone blocks, weighing up to 60 tons, he believes that smaller ramps were built into the actual core of the pyramid.
“Even here, problems persist. Lauer himself calculated that the rubble and other material used in the ramp would have a mass of some 1.5 million cubic meters. Combined with the mass of the pyramid itself, over four million cubic meters of material would need to have been found, moved and raised. This represents an enormous project even by modern standards. Lehner, another modern scholar and certainly an expert on the Giza Plateau, suggests against Lauer's view, that the ramp was not linear but spiral, and that it began in the local stone quarry for the Great Pyramid just to the southeast. Interestingly, Verner complains that for either Lauer or Lehner's solution, a great deal of material used in the ramp would have to be disposed somewhere, but he fails to mention the millions of cubic meters of limestone chips, gypsum sand and Tafla clay that covered the quarry used for Khufu's pyramid (pointed out by Lehner). In support of his theory on spiral ramps, at least in regard to the Great Pyramid, Mark Lehner suggests that a single, straight-on ramp would have soon extended beyond the quarry, if oriented in that direction, in order to maintain a usable slope as the pyramid grew taller. He also notes that such a ramp would not have been built to the east or west of the pyramid because Khufu built cemeteries in those areas early in his reign. =
“Essentially therefore, we know that ramps were used to lift the stones used to construct many of the pyramids. It is very probable that the ramp designs may have varied from pyramid to pyramid, dependent on the size of the pyramid, the material used to construct the pyramid, and the location of the pyramid, particularly relating to the space available for ramp construction. Whether other lifting devices were used is less clear, but certainly the Egyptians seem to have had such devices, and probably utilized them for lifting lighter building material. Regardless, what is clear is that a set, standard method for building ramps and using other devices to lift the pyramid construction materials did not exist throughout the Old and Middle Kingdoms of Egypt. Future excavations may tell us more about pyramid construction, but as is very often the case, there are simply no simple answers to the complex question.” =
Putting the Pyramid Blocks in Place
wooden butterfly braces
A number of theories have been offered as to how the stones were set in place. The use of cranes seems unlikely but has not be ruled out. The same goes for levers. The owner of a hair-care products company and a Cal Tech engineer have suggested that they were moved by wind powers. So far they have been able to move a 400 pound obelisk with two kites and hope move bigger stones with bigger kites. To back up their theory they point to Egypt's strong spring winds, the mass production of linen for sails and hieroglyphics that say the stones were moved by “invisible gods in the sky."
Dr Ian Shaw of the University of Liverpool wrote for the BBC: “Experts have also talked a lot about the methods by which individual stone blocks were raised into position. Since the Egyptians made no use of block and tackle methods, or cranes, it is usually assumed that wooden and bronze levers were used to manoeuvre the blocks into position. [Source: Dr Ian Shaw, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]
“The level of structural engineering was incredibly high in the internal chambers of the Great Pyramid. Indeed, the roof of the so-called Grand Gallery was the Egyptians' earliest attempt at corbel-vaulting on a colossal scale. The architects surmounted particularly difficult logistics in the creation of the corridor leading up to the main burial chamber of the Great Pyramid (the so-called King's Chamber). The corridors in other pyramids are all either level or sloping downwards, whereas this one slopes steeply upwards, which would have presented problems when it came to blocking the passage with granite plugs, after the king's body had been placed in the chamber. |::|
“It is clear from the fact that the plugs in this 'ascending corridor' are an inch wider than the entrance that the plugs must have been lowered into position not from the outside, as was usually the case, but from a storage position within the pyramid itself (perhaps in the Grand Gallery). It is also clear that the design had to allow the workmen who pushed the plugs into position to be able to escape down a shaft leading from the Grand Gallery to the 'descending corridor', through which they could exit. |::|
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net: “Once the huge blocks were moved to the top of the ramp, Lauer believes that a system of counterweights made of sacks of sand were used to position the stone blocks. Finally, the upper part of the pyramid would have been finished off using the long ramp. Its gradient would have been gradually increased while its width was decreased. However, with a slope of about 14 degrees, the ramp would have still allowed blocks weighing as much as a ton to be raised to a height of about 112 meters. As the angle increased further to about 18 degrees, blocks weighing around kilograms could have been raised to about 136 meters. He further assumes that the pyramidion, which weighed between five and six tons, would have been set in place using a system of wooden trestles, heavy greased beams, thick ropes and counterweights.” [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
Building Materials for the Pyramids
The foundations of the pyramids were laid with limestone blocks. Building stones were predominantly limestone and granite, while mudbrick was used earlier for mastabas. Mudbrick was also used to build later Middle Kingdom Pyramids. A brilliant white limestone provided the final outer layer for the Giza pyramids, creating shimmering perhaps blinding surface cover in the direct Egyptian sun. Limestone was used for all but the lowest course of outer casing on Khafre and the lower 16 courses of Menkaure. These lower casings were made of granite. Some of the stones were quarried from bedrock near the pyramids. The fine white Tura limestone was used from the outer layers of the pyramids came from quarries on the other side of the Nile. Granite used as a build material came from the Aswan area. [Source: PBS]
cutting the blocks
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net: “Many of the pyramids were built with a number of different stone materials. Most of the material used was fairly rough, low grade limestone used to build the pyramid core, while fine white limestone was often employed for the outer casing as well as to cover interior walls, though pink granite was also often used on inner walls. Basalt or alabaster was not uncommon for floors, particularly in the mortuary temples and as was mudbricks to build walls within the temples (though often as not they had limestone walls). [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
“Egypt is a country rich in stone and was sometimes even referred to as the "state of stone". In particular, Egypt has a great quantity of limestone formation, which the Egyptians called "white stone", because during the Cretaceous period Egypt was covered with seawater. The country is also rich in sandstone, but it was never really used much until the New Kingdom. Limestone seems to have first been employed in the area of Saqqara, where it is of poor quality but layered in regular, strong formations as much as half a meter thick. This limestone is coarse grained with yellow to greenish gray shading. The layers are separated from each other by thin layers of clay and the coloration may vary according to layer. It could often be quarried very near the building sites, and quarries have been found at Saqqara, Giza, Dahshur and other locations.” =
“Pink granite, basalt and alabaster were used much more sparingly. Most of this material was moved from various locations in southern Egypt by barges on the Nile. Pink granite probably most often came from the quarries around Aswan. Basalt, on the other hand was not as far away. Only recently have we discovered that most of the basalt used in pyramid construction came from an Oligocene flow located at the northern edge of the Fayoum Depression (Oasis). Here, we find the worlds oldest paved road, which led to the shores of what once was a lake. During the Nile inundation each year, this lake made a connection to the Nile, so at that time, the basalt was moved across the lake and into the Nile for transport. =
“Mudbricks, of course were made throughout Egypt and were a common building material everywhere, in common homes and palaces and probably many city buildings. The better mudbricks were fired, or "burnt" in an oven, though it was not uncommon for mudbick not to be fired, and so not as durable. Unfortunately, most structures built of mudbrick have not weathered the ravages of time well. They were built using wooden forms and Nile mud mixed with various fillers. =
“In the mid 1980s a French/Egyptian team investigated the Great Pyramid using ultrasound technology. Their efforts revealed that large cavities within the structure had been filled with pure sand. This is referred to as the "chamber method", and could have considerably increased the pace of work. In addition, we also know that the Great Pyramid utilized a rock outcropping as part of its core.” =
Building Stones in Ancient Egypt
unfinished stones for Menkaure's pyramid
James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote: “The building stones of ancient Egypt are those relatively soft, plentiful rocks used to construct most temples, pyramids, and mastaba tombs. They were also employed for the interior passages, burialchambers, and outer casings of mud-brick pyramids and mastabas. Similarly, building stones were used in other mud-brick structures of ancient Egypt wherever extra strength was needed, such as bases for wood pillars, and lintels, thresholds, and jambs for doors. Limestone and sandstone were the principal building stones employed by the Egyptians, while anhydrite and gypsum were also used along the Red Sea coast. A total of 128 ancient quarries for building stones are known (89 for limestone, 36 for sandstone, and three for gypsum), but there are probably many others still undiscovered or destroyed by modern quarrying. [Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]
“The building stones of ancient Egypt are those relatively soft, plentiful rocks used to construct most Dynastic temples, pyramids, and mastaba tombs. For the pyramids and mastabas made largely of sun-dried mud- brick, building stones were still employed for the interior passages, burial chambers, and outer casings. Similarly, building stones were used in other mud-brick structures of ancient Egypt (e.g., royal palaces, fortresses, storehouses, workshops, and common dwellings) wherever extra strength was needed, such as bases for wood pillars, and lintels, thresholds, and jambs for doors, but also occasionally for columns. Ptolemaic and Roman cities along the Mediterranean coast, Alexandria chief among them, followed the building norms of the rest of the Greco- Roman world, and so used stone not only for temples but also for palaces, villas, civic buildings, and other structures. Limestone and sandstone were the principal building stones used by the Egyptians. These are sedimentary rocks, the limestone consisting largely of calcite (CaCO3) and the sandstone composed of sand grains of mostly quartz (SiO2) but also feldspar and other minerals. The Egyptian names for limestone were jnr HD nfr n ajn and jnr HD nfr n r-Aw, both translating as “fine white stone of Tura-Masara” (ajn and r-Aw referring, respectively, to the cave-like quarry openings and the nearby geothermal springs at Helwan). Sandstone was called jnr HD nfr n rwDt, or occasionally jnr HD mnx n rwDt, both meaning “fine, or excellent, light-colored hard stone.” Although usually translated as “white,” here HD probably has a more general meaning of “light colored.” Sandstone is not normally considered a hard rock (rwDt), but it is often harder than limestone. In the above names, the nfr (fine) or HD or even both were sometimes omitted, and in the term for sandstone the n was later dropped.
“From Early Dynastic times onward, limestone was the construction material of choice for temples, pyramids, and mastabas wherever limestone bedrock occurred—that is, along the Mediterranean coast and in the Nile Valley from Cairo in the north to Esna in the south. Where sandstone bedrock was present in the Nile Valley, from Esna south into Sudan, this was the only building stone employed, but sandstone was also commonly imported into the southern portion of the limestone region from the Middle Kingdom onward. The first large-scale use of sandstone occurred in the Edfu region where it was employed for interior pavement and wall veneer in Early Dynastic tombs at Hierakonpolis and for a small 3rd Dynasty pyramid at Naga el- Goneima, about 5 kilometers southwest of the Edfu temple. Apart from this pyramid, the earliest use of sandstone in monumental architecture was for some Middle Kingdom temples in the Theban region (e.g., the Mentuhotep I mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri and the Senusret I shrine at Karnak). From the beginning of the New Kingdom onward, with the notable exception of Queen Hatshepsut’s limestone mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri, most Theban temples were built either largely or entirely of sandstone. Further into the limestone region, sandstone was also used for the Ptolemaic and Roman Hathor temple at Dendara, portions of the Sety I and Ramesses II temples at Abydos, and the 18th Dynasty Aten temple at el-Amarna. The preference for sandstone over limestone as a building material coincided with the transfer of religious and political authority from Memphis in Lower Egypt to Thebes in the 18th Dynasty. The Egyptians also recognized at this time that sandstone was superior to limestone in terms of the strength and size of blocks obtainable, and this permitted the construction of larger temples with longer architraves.
“The Serabit el-Khadim temple in the Sinai is of sandstone, and temples in the Western Desert oases were built of either limestone (Fayum and Siwa) or sandstone (Bahriya, Fayum, Kharga, and Dakhla), depending on the local bedrock. In the Eastern Desert, limestone was used for the facing on the Old Kingdom flood-control dam in Wadi Garawi near Helwan (the “Sadd el-Kafara”; Fahlbusch 2004), and sandstone was the building material for numerous Ptolemaic and Roman road stations. Both types of bedrock in the Nile Valley and western oases hosted rock-cut shrines and especially tombs, and these are the sources of many of the relief scenes now in museum and private collections. Limestone and sandstone were additionally employed for statuary and other non-architectural applications when harder and more attractive ornamental stones were either unaffordable or unavailable. In such cases, the otherwise drab- looking building stones were usually painted in bright colors. Conversely, structures built of limestone and sandstone often included some ornamental stones, most notably granite and granodiorite from Aswan, as well as silicified sandstone, but also basalt and travertine in the Old Kingdom.”
insertion of blocks and using them as a ramp Concrete Rather Than Limestone Used to Make the Pyramids?
Some scientists believe that the limestone blocks are not limestone blocks at all but rather concrete blocks that were formed in place. French scientist who first proposed this theory said Egyptian authorities prevented them from taking the samples to prove their theory. The theory is partly based on the narrowness of the joints between the rocks, which the scientists say is easy to create if the rock is formed but nearly impossible with quarried stones unless milling tools are available. If the theory is true it would end the need to explain how the massive stones were moved. Many think the theory is nonsense.
Research revealed in December 2006 by a team lead by Michel Barsoum, a professor of material engineering at Drexel University, indicate that some of the structures used to make the pyramids were concrete blocks, demonstrating that the Egyptians had developed the technology to make concrete and were using in construction. The determination was made by analyzing the composition of the minerals in several parts of the Khufu pyramid and finding mineral traces not normally found in limestone blocks but that are present in sand, clay and lime used to make concrete. Most archeologists still believe the pyramids are made of cut limestone blocks. Romans are usually given credit for inventing concrete around 100 B.C.
Barsoums has reasoned that using concrete made it possible to build massive structures like the pyramids. He suggested the Egyptians used concrete blocks in the inner and outer casing of the pyramids as well as probably on the top levels too, and doing so was much easier than hoisting massive carved stones. Many scientists question the finding, saying that the samples could have been taken where the pyramid was restored in modern times with concrete.
Sheila Berninger and Dorilona Rose wrote in Live Science: Barsoum’s team “found that the tiniest structures within the inner and outer casing stones were indeed consistent with a reconstituted limestone. The cement binding the limestone aggregate was either silicon dioxide (the building block of quartz) or a calcium and magnesium-rich silicate mineral. The stones also had a high water content — unusual for the normally dry, natural limestone found on the Giza plateau — and the cementing phases, in both the inner and outer casing stones, were amorphous, in other words, their atoms were not arranged in a regular and periodic array. Sedimentary rocks such as limestone are seldom, if ever, amorphous. The sample chemistries the researchers found do not exist anywhere in nature. "Therefore," Barsoum said, "it's very improbable that the outer and inner casing stones that we examined were chiseled from a natural limestone block." More startlingly, Barsoum...discovered the presence of silicon dioxide nanoscale spheres (with diameters only billionths of a meter across) in one of the samples. This discovery further confirms that these blocks are not natural limestone.” [Source: Sheila Berninger and Dorilona Rose, Live Science, May 18, 2007]
Great Pyramid Cores
the core is mainly what remains of the Black Pyramid
The cores of the larger pyramids were made of crudely cut limestone blocks, with the seams between filled with pieces of limestone and blobs of gypsum mortar. Smaller pyramids had cores with small stones, mud or mud brick retaining walls. In some places sand and rubble was sued as fill. John Watson, wrote in touregypt.net: “Most of Egypt's pyramids are made up of core stones that fill the bulk of the pyramid. These core stones resulted in tiers, making most pyramids at least internally we believe, step pyramids, though the steps may have been very crude. Then there was masonry that filled in the steps, which we could call packing stones. There was also a softer stone that the builders set between the core and casing that is frequently referred to as packing stone, and finally the pyramid was finished off with a smooth outer casing of limestone or granite. [Source: John Watson, touregypt.net/construction =]
“Many books that Khufu's Pyramid, greatest of all in Egypt, contains an estimated 2.3 million blocks of stone weighing on average about 2.5 tons. In the past, both professional and amateur theorists assume that the pyramids are composed of generic blocks of this weight. Next, they set about solving the problem of how the builders could have possibly raised and set so many huge blocks....Traditional assumptions are really valid. In fact, recent analysis has suggested that Khufu's Pyramid has far fewer large blocks than originally supposed, and those who maintain that the blocks are more or less uniformly 2.5 tons are simply wrong. = “At first glance, the sides of the Giza Pyramids, stripped of most of their smooth outer casing during the Middle Ages, look like regular steps. These are actually the courses of backing stones, so called because they once filled in the space between the pyramid core and outer casing. However, a closer examination reveals that the steps are not at all regular. In fact, rather than regular, modular, squared blocks of stone neatly stocked, there is considerable "slop factor", even in the Great Pyramid of Khufu. =
“Not only are the backing stones irregular, they are also progressively smaller toward the top. Behind the backing stones, the core stones are actually even more irregular. We know this because, in the 1830s, Howard Vyse blasted a hole in the center of the south side of Khufu's's Pyramid while looking for another entrance. This wound in the pyramid can still be seen today, and in it, we can see how the builders dumped great globs of mortar and stone rubble in wide spaces between the stones. Here, there are big blocks, small chunks of rock, wedge shaped pieces, oval and trapezoidal pieces, as well as smaller stone fragments jammed into spaces as wide as 22 centimeters between larger blocks. =
“In the Pyramid of Khafre, Giza's second largest structure, event the coursing of the base core stones is not uniform. The builders tailored blocks to fit the sloping bedrock that they left protruding in the core as they leveled the surrounding court and terrace. In fact, in this pyramid's northeast and southeast corners, where the downward slope of the plateau left no bedrock in the core, the builders used enormous limestone blocks, two courses thick, to level the perimeter. Higher up, the core is made up of very rough, irregular stones. The upper third of the pyramid core appears to be stone blocks in regular stepped courses, but on closer inspection, the heights of these steps range from ninety centimeters to 1.20 meters, and the widths of the steps vary from 23 centimeters to a meter. =
“Although considerable irregularity shows in the inner core of even the largest and finest pyramids at Giza, the builders did not simply pile up rubble as, in all probability, they built the core slightly ahead of the casing. There is evidence that they built up these pyramids in large chunks of structure. The first pyramids of Egypt were step pyramids, which are not true pyramids, lacking the smooth outer casing. Many pyramid theorists assume that a stepped core makes up the bulk of every pyramid. Indeed, the pyramid at Meidum does have such a core, made up with fine sharp corners and faces. In fact, the first true pyramids were indeed conversions of step pyramids. However, we actually do not know whether the largest pyramids of the 4th Dynasty, those usually best known to the world, are built with an inner step pyramid. =
“Irregardless of the irregularity of their cores, the Giza Pyramids do have the most massive, large block masonry of all Egyptian pyramids. These classic pyramids of popular imagination were built in only three generations and yet, all of the other pyramids of kings (excluding queens and other satellite pyramids) contain only 54 percent of the total mass of the pyramids of Sneferu, his son Khufu, and grandson Khafre. Many of the characteristics of these pyramids are very precise, but while they are not as perfect as many might imagine, they nevertheless represent true landmarks in human achievement.” =
Quarrying Stones for the Pyramids
Some of the stones were quarried from bedrock near the pyramids. The fine white Tura limestone was used from the outer layers of the pyramids came from quarries on the other side of the Nile. Granite used as a build material came from the Aswan area.
Quarries Tourah (1878)
Jimmy Dunn wrote in touregypt.net: In order to quarry the limestone in sites not far from where the pyramids were built “the blocks were marked out with just enough space in between each to allow for a small passageway for the workers to cut the blocks. The workmen would use a number of different tools to cut the blocks, including copper pickaxes and chisels, granite hammers, dolerite and other hard stone tools. =
“The finer, white limestone employed in the pyramids and mortuary temples was not as easy to quarry, and had to be found further from the building site. One of the man sources for this limestone was the Muqattam hills on the west bank of the Nile near modern Tura and Maasara. This stone laid buried further from the surface, so tunnels had to be dug in order to reach the actual stone quarry. Sometimes these deposits were as deep as fifty meters, and huge caverns had to be built to reach the quarry. Generally, large chunks of stone were removed, and then finely cut into blocks. The blocks were then moved to the building site on large wooden sledges pulled by oxen. The path they took would be prepared with a mud layer from the Nile in order to facilitate the moving. =
“Alabaster is quarried from either open pits or underground. In open pits, veins of Alabaster are found 12 to 20 feet below the surface under a layer of shale which can be two or three feet deep. The rocks have an average height of 16-20 inches and a diameter of two to three feet. Much of the alabaster used in the pyramids probably came from Hatnub, a large quarry near Amarna north of modern Luxor. However, it should be pointed out that by even the end of the Old Kingdom, there were hundreds of various types of quarries scattered across the western and eastern deserts, the Sinai and southern Palestine.” [Source: Jimmy Dunn, touregypt.net/construction =]
Dr Ian Shaw of the University of Liverpool wrote for the BBC: “The King's Chamber was made entirely from blocks of Aswan granite. Since the Second Dynasty, granite had frequently been used in the construction of royal tombs. The burial chambers and corridors of many pyramids from the Third to the Twelfth Dynasty were lined with pink granite, and some pyramids were also given granite external casing (eg those of Khafra and Menkaura, at Giza) or granite pyramidia (cap-stones). [Source: Dr Ian Shaw, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]
“The Aswan quarries are the only Egyptian hard-stone workings that have been studied in detail. It has been estimated, on the basis of surviving monuments, that around 45,000 cubic metres of stone were removed from the Aswan quarries during the Old Kingdom (Third to Sixth Dynasties). It seems likely that loose surface boulders would have been exploited first.” |::|
Shaping the Pyramid Stones
The limestone and granite blocks used to make the great pyramids weighed between one and 40 tons, averaging 2.5 tons. Soft copper tools and stone hammers were used to chisel grooves in the stones; copper blades moved back and forth with abrasive sand cuts the stone; and wetted wooden wedges were used to pry slabs from the cliff faces. After being pried loose in their quarries the stones were shaped with copper chisels and stone pickaxes to the necessary size so that excess weight did not have to be transported.
Dr Ian Shaw of the University of Liverpool wrote for the BBC: ““It is unclear what kinds of tools were used for quarrying during the time of the pharaohs. The tool marks preserved on many soft-stone quarry walls (eg the sandstone quarries at Gebel el-Silsila) suggest that some form of pointed copper alloy pick, axe or maul was used during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, followed by the use of a mallet-driven pointed chisel from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards. This technique would, however, have been unsuitable for the extraction of harder stones such as granite. As mentioned above, Old Kingdom quarriers were probably simply prising large boulders of granite out of the sand. [Source: Dr Ian Shaw, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]
“There has been much debate concerning the techniques used by ancient Egyptians to cut and dress rough-quarried granite boulders or blocks for use in masonry. No remnants of the actual drilling equipment or saws have survived, leaving Egyptologists to make guesses about drilling and sawing techniques on the basis of tomb-scenes, or the many marks left on surviving granite items such as statues. |::|
“In recent years, however, a long series of archaeological experiments has been undertaken by the British Egyptologist Denys Stocks. Like many previous researchers, Stocks recognised that the copper alloy drills or saws would have worn away rapidly if used to cut through granite without assistance. He therefore experimented with the addition of quartz sand, poured in between the cutting edge of a drill and the granite, so the sharp crystals could give the drill the necessary 'bite' into the rock, and found that this method could work. It seems a practical solution, as no special teeth would have been needed for the masons' tools, only a good supply of desert sand-and this theory is gaining acceptance in academic circles.” |::|
Moving the Pyramid Stones
Some of the stones were quarried from bedrock near the pyramids. The fine white Tura limestone was used from the outer layers of the pyramids came from quarries on the other side of the Nile. Granite used as a build material came from the Aswan area.
According to PBS: “The Nile was used to transport supplies and building materials to the pyramids. During the annual flooding of the Nile, a natural harbor was created by the high waters that came conveniently close to the plateau. These harbors may have stayed water-filled year round. Some of the limestone came from Tura, across the river, granite from Aswan, copper from Sinai, and cedar for the boats from Lebanon.”
updated September 2018
No animals or machines were used to transport the blocks. Whenever possible the stones were transported on the Nile. Canals may have been used to get the stones as close to the site as possible. On the banks of the Nile, teams of perhaps 20 to 50 men hauled the stones on wooden sledges to the building sites where master carvers shaped each block and levered it into place. A hoisting machine was used to lift stones ("none of them were thirty feet in length") into place.
Lehner told PBS: “During the making of the NOVA film "This Old Pyramid," Egyptian workers successfully pulled a large limestone block along using wooden rollers.” In the “NOVA experiment we found that 12 men could pull a one-and-a-half-ton block over a slick surface with great ease. And then you could come up with very conservative estimates as to the number of men it would take to pull an average-sized block the distance from the quarry, which we know, to the Pyramid. And you could even factor in different configurations of the ramp, which would give you a different length....How many men were required to deliver 340 stones a day, which is what you would have to deliver to the Khufu Pyramid to build it in 20 years.... Thirty-four stones can get delivered by x number of gangs of 20 men, and it comes out to something like 2,000, somewhere in that area. So now we've got 1,200 men in the quarry, which is a very generous estimate, 2,000 men delivering. So that's 3,200.
Pyramid Stones May Have Been Pulled on Wet Sand by a Sledge
The ancient Egyptians may have moved massive stone blocks used to make the Greeks across the desert by wetting the sand in front of a contraption built to pull the heavy objects, according to a new study. Denise Chow of Live Science wrote: “Physicists at the University of Amsterdam investigated the forces needed to pull weighty objects on a giant sled over desert sand, and discovered that dampening the sand in front of the primitive device reduces friction on the sled, making it easier to operate. [Source: Denise Chow, Live Science, May 1, 2014 ^=^]
“To make their discovery, the researchers picked up on clues from the ancient Egyptians themselves. A wall painting discovered in the ancient tomb of Djehutihotep, which dates back to about 1900 B.C., depicts 172 men hauling an immense statue using ropes attached to a sledge. In the drawing, a person can be seen standing on the front of the sledge, pouring water over the sand, said study lead author Daniel Bonn, a physics professor at the University of Amsterdam. "Egyptologists thought it was a purely ceremonial act," Bonn told Live Science. "The question was: Why did they do it?" ^=^
“Bonn and his colleagues constructed miniature sleds and experimented with pulling heavy objects through trays of sand. When the researchers dragged the sleds over dry sand, they noticed clumps would build up in front of the contraptions, requiring more force to pull them across. Adding water to the sand, however, increased its stiffness, and the sleds were able to glide more easily across the surface. This is because droplets of water create bridges between the grains of sand, which helps them stick together, the scientists said. It is also the same reason why using wet sand to build a sandcastle is easier than using dry sand, Bonn said. ^=^
“But, there is a delicate balance, the researchers found. "If you use dry sand, it won't work as well, but if the sand is too wet, it won't work either," Bonn said. "There's an optimum stiffness." The amount of water necessary depends on the type of sand, he added, but typically the optimal amount falls between 2 percent and 5 percent of the volume of sand. "It turns out that wetting Egyptian desert sand can reduce the friction by quite a bit, which implies you need only half of the people to pull a sledge on wet sand, compared to dry sand," Bonn said.” The study was published April 29, 2014 in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
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