How were the pyramids built?
In: Engineering
Ya know how to water makes sand slippery? The favourite theory nowadays is that they’d make the sand wet and drag the large stones more easily than if the earth was dry. Than they’d use levers, ropes, and pulleys to assist dragging the large stones up one at a time. They probably built ramps as well, which would be easier than rolling large squares up stairs.
Hope that helps.
The most compelling theory I’ve seen is one that involves mixing a limestone based ‘concrete’ which was poured into moulds already in place, the ‘concrete’ sets and voilah, multi-tonne stone block in place and ready to go.
In reality we don’t know the answer yet, there is insufficient evidence to be certain of the exact methods. The Egyptians themselves did not record anything about the construction so arguably you could come to the conclusion that they inherited the pyramids from an earlier, forgotten human civilisation.
I believe recent internal imaging has shown internal spiral ramps which were used to get the blocks up to the top.
There were many Pyramids built before the Giza Pyramids. The very first Pyramids weren’t a perfect Pyramid shape, they were a few feet high and built by simply stacking small stones by hand.
Later Pyramids were designed using better geometry, built by rolling or wobbling stone into place and then moving it up earth ramparts. These were smoother but not enormous. A similar theory can be seen here for the Easter Island statues
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5YR0uqPAI8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5YR0uqPAI8)
As for the Giza Pyramids, nobody knows the definite answer to how the Giza Pyramids were built because the stones were enormous in size. . Some theories include:
Earth Ramps with the wobble drag or rolling technique – Wobble, drag or roll into place then drag the block up a ramp, the blocks can be wet first. This becomes a problem given the height and stone weight but they might have zig zagged around the pyramid to decrease the incline.
Cranes – Cranes at the time weren’t able to lift blocks this size to very tall heights but they might have assisted in places.
A system of flotation – My favourite. The theory makes sense considering the Nile but it’s hard to believe. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1y8N0ePuF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1y8N0ePuF8)
Pouring – Built casts and pour in concrete, similar to how the Hoover Dam was built.
Top down – The Pyramid was originally a natural stone mound and carved top down. Evidence however shows the material came from queries elsewhere.
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