Pyramids have been a mystery for thousands of years and numerous scientists have spent their life trying to figure out how they were built. While a lot of people are convinced that the pyramids were built by Aliens, there are still new theories and discoveries coming to light. In this article, I will try and explain what the current knowledge is about these mysterious builds in the desert of Egypt.
Pyramids of Giza
Around 3000 years B.C. when pharaohs still ruled over Egypt, they were believed to become gods in the afterlife. To prepare for that, they built pyramid tombs and filled them with gold, jewellery or statues. The first pyramid was started by Pharaoh Khufu at around 2550 B.C. and it is the largest of the three in Giza. Around thirty years later his son then built the second pyramid and this project also included the Sphinx. The third, and smallest of the pyramids of Giza, was built by Pharaoh Menkaure around 2490 B.C. The biggest pyramid is said to contain around 2.3 million stone blocks which weigh 2500 to 15000 kg each.
The Nile as the missing puzzle piece
As mentioned earlier alone for one of the pyramids, over 2 million big stones were needed. It’s almost impossible, at these times, to carry such heavy items over land. That is why many scientists believe that the stones must’ve been transported over the river Nile. Looking at the Nile today, there is still a logical problem that comes with it: It is several kilometres away from the pyramids. So how did they get the stones to the place where they are today? That question was highly debated until a group of researchers found, that there used to be a branch of the Nile that lead up to the Pyramids which dried out over time. This certain part of the Nile was called the Khufu Branch and disappeared at around 600 B.C.
Different theories
Ramps
One of the most widespread theories includes wooden ramps. It is said that they were sitting at the side of the pyramid, and, because they were lubricated, only around 10 men were needed to drag the stones up the pyramid. In addition, the ramps might have not gone up in one straight line, but instead wrapped around the pyramid in a zigzag.
Cranes
Another idea, which can already be debunked, are cranes made from wood. The theory suggests that the blocks would have been lifted up from one level to another. Since Egypt is mainly deserted, Egyptians did not have wood available which would have been strong enough to lift these heavy stone blocks.
While we now know that the Nile was used for the transportation of stones, the actual construction of the pyramids is still a mystery. To this day, nobody knows for sure how the pyramids were actually built. All that remains for us is to wonder and admire them from up close if we get the chance. I hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new about the great question of Ancient human civilization.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_pyramid_construction_techniques
https://www.memphistours.com/Egypt/Egypt-Wikis/Egypt-Pyramids/wiki/pyramids
https://www.wionews.com/science/researchers-may-have-solved-mystery-of-how-pyramids-were-built-512515
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/giza-pyramids
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/30/science/pyramids-nile-river-construction-egypt.html
https://www.thetravel.com/how-the-egyptian-pyramids-were-built/