Pyramid Scheme: New Discovery Finally Reveals How Ancient Egyptians Built Megastructures
Theories have ranged from lost old-world technologies to being of extraterrestrial origin (no one said the theories have to be entirely sane) to a series of ramps.
A group of camels and horses stand idle in front of the Great Pyramids awaiting tourists in Giza, Egypt (File photo/REUTERS)
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It’s perhaps the oldest, and most enduring, mystery in the academic world. How did the ancient Egyptians, with little access to complex tools or machinery, manage to plan and construct the massive, geometrically accurate pyramids, over 4500 years ago?
Theories have ranged from lost old-world technologies to being of extraterrestrial origin (no one said the theories have to be entirely sane) to a series of ramps.
After a recent discovery, the mystery is finally solved, and because science ruins everything, it is the most boring one.
Scientists researching ancient inscriptions in Egypt chanced upon a ramp with stairways as well as a series of what they believe to be postholes, all of which suggest that the hurdle of hauling up the ginormous blocks of stone used to build the tombs would have been easier and faster (not to mention actually possible) than anyone had previously thought.
The theory that ancient Egyptians used ramps to aid their construction had already been put forward, as mentioned, but the discovery of this new structure confirms the idea.
The Guardian reported that an Anglo-French team discovered the structure, and dated it as belonging to around the same period as the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza (2580 BC -2560 BC). The researchers believe the inclusion of steps and postholes on either side of the ramp suggests that the builders were able to haul the blocks from both directions, rather than simply dragging up each one behind them. The team believes those below the block would have used the posts to create a pulley system while those above it pulled simultaneously.
This would not only have expedited the time and effort of hauling the blocks and putting them into place, but also made the construction feasible.
We still say, alien mummies would have been a way cooler story though.
Theories have ranged from lost old-world technologies to being of extraterrestrial origin (no one said the theories have to be entirely sane) to a series of ramps.
After a recent discovery, the mystery is finally solved, and because science ruins everything, it is the most boring one.
Scientists researching ancient inscriptions in Egypt chanced upon a ramp with stairways as well as a series of what they believe to be postholes, all of which suggest that the hurdle of hauling up the ginormous blocks of stone used to build the tombs would have been easier and faster (not to mention actually possible) than anyone had previously thought.
The theory that ancient Egyptians used ramps to aid their construction had already been put forward, as mentioned, but the discovery of this new structure confirms the idea.
The Guardian reported that an Anglo-French team discovered the structure, and dated it as belonging to around the same period as the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza (2580 BC -2560 BC). The researchers believe the inclusion of steps and postholes on either side of the ramp suggests that the builders were able to haul the blocks from both directions, rather than simply dragging up each one behind them. The team believes those below the block would have used the posts to create a pulley system while those above it pulled simultaneously.
This would not only have expedited the time and effort of hauling the blocks and putting them into place, but also made the construction feasible.
We still say, alien mummies would have been a way cooler story though.