How did the ancient Egyptians build the pyramids?
Ancient engineering feats such as the Pyramids of Giza are so impressive that even today scientists and engineers cannot be sure exactly how the pyramids were built, but they have learned a lot about the people who built them and the political power needed to make it happen. The builders were skilled Egyptian laborers living in a nearby 17-acre temporary city, while bakery remains and piles of animal bones show that they were extremely well-fed for their work. Archaeological excavations at the remarkable site have revealed a highly organized society, rich in resources, which must have been supported by a powerful central authority. Some archaeological sites such as tombs and temples as well as ancient papyri in Egypt show that the builders of the pyramids used the Nile River as well as a network of artificial waterways to bring materials and stones to the Giza Plateau for use in construction, including granite from Aswan quarries, copper cutting tools from the Sinai Peninsula, and timber from Lebanon and to support workers, they also delivered livestock from farms near the Nile Delta, according to National Geographic. Communities across Egypt likely contributed labor, as well as food and other necessities, in what in some respects became a national project to showcase the wealth and control of the ancient pharaohs. Scientists and engineers are still debating how the pyramids were built. It is generally believed that the Egyptians moved huge stone blocks to the heights along large slopes, greased with water or wet mud, using a system of sleds, ropes, pulleys and cranes. Some suggest external slopes either winding or spiraling around each pyramid, while a more controversial theory suggests that internal slopes were used. These pyramid-building secrets may lie beneath the surface, and when future imaging technology reveals the arrangement of the blocks inside, it will provide a blueprint for how the Egyptian builders created these timeless monuments. “A lot of people think the site is just a cemetery in the modern sense,” says Harvard University Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian, ”but it’s much more than that. In these ornate tombs, you have incredible views of every aspect of life in ancient Egypt, so it’s not just about how the Egyptians died, but the question is: How they lived. Tomb art includes images of ancient farmers working their fields, tending livestock, fishing, hunting birds, practicing carpentry, wearing costumes, and performing religious rituals and burial practices. The inscriptions and texts also allow for research into Egyptian grammar: “Almost any topic you want to study about Pharaonic civilization is available on the walls of the tombs in Giza.”
