How Were the Pyramids Built?

 

  

     

    The pyramids built by the ancient Egyptians are among the most well known and celebrated in the world. Egyptians engineered the model for what most of us consider the classic pyramid design: a square base and four smooth triangular sides.

       

  The awesome design and massive size of the pyramids have evoked some fanciful explanation .  some people have suggested that inhabitants of the  legendary Atlantis civilization,   biblical Noah, and even
extraterrestrials built them , while others claim levitation was  used or that  Egyptians possessed a now lost, unique  technology to help them erect the  remarkable structures.

    

    Indeed, there is no known Egyptian  hieroglyph or relief or any surviving  written account from that time depicting  the building of the pyramids. For centuries,  Egyptologists,    scientists,   engineers,  writers, and mathematicians have theorized  how the pyramids were built. All agree,  however, about the basic techniques of  pyramid construcrion.    Copper chisels were used to quarry soft  rocks such as sandstone and limestone, while dolerite, a hard, black igneous rock, was used on granite and diorite. The blocks were transported  from quarries usually located in Aswan to the construction sites down che Nile River on rafts or barges during the rainy season.   

       

  Without  knowledge  of  the  wheel, pyramid builders used teams of oxen or  manpower to drag the  stones-many weighing more than 60 tons (54,431 kg)    on a smoothed, level surface built from the    Nile to the construcrion site. The stones   were pulled on sleds or on rolling logs, and   the roadways may have been lubricated   wirh oil or water.      The  big debate of archaeologists,  scientists, and professionals centers upon   exactly how the massive stone blocks were   lifted ro the top of the pyramid as it was  construted upward. Extant ramps-made  of mud, brick, earth, or rubble mixed with  fragments of brick for added stability and  strength-have been found at several  pyramid sites over the years. Some  Egyptologists theorize that side ramps  could have been erected, spiraling around  the four sides of the structure, while others suggest a steep staircase-type ramp. Some propose a straight, sloping ramp built from the ground to each side, which was constantly raised as the pyramid rose. One recent theory suggests that two types of ramps were used: an external ramp to build the botom portion of the pyramid and an internal ramp to complete the structure.        

     

    Recently discovered tombs of pyramid      workers indicate that the structures were      built by paid laborers, rather than by slaves      as previously believed. Many of the     laborers were farmers and local villagers.     who considered it a high honor to work for    their god-king rulers and build their    monuments. The workers were provided    food, clothing, and decent housing, and   many received tax breaks and other perks   for their efforts. Modern Egyptologists   estimate as many as 30,000  laborers   worked on a single pyramid.    

    

    Whatever   the   exact   construction  process, it is undeniable that the ancient  Egyptians    engineered    some    of  humankind's  most  massive  and  awe- inspirlng building projects. Archaeologists are certain that they achieved their success without supernatural aid-and' certainly without the assistance of alien beings.