The Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx are monuments for all to see. Tourists visit each year in their thousands and wonder how the Egyptians could possibly have moved such large stones into such a position.
There are many theories about how the pyramids were built. One of the strangest theories is that aliens built the pyramids but fortunately there is proof that the Ancient Egyptians did indeed built them. Recently there has been a paper written to suggest the old theories of construction, thousands of men, ropes etc would not have been necessary.
The writer points to an example where Stone Age Man moved a stone across quite a distance in Northern France. Archeologists say that this stone, now broken into four pieces, once stood up as a single stone the height of a four storey building. Even thousands of men with rudimentary equipment and tools with ropes could not have even budged that stone, let alone moved it any distance so there has to be another way to move such heavy objects in order to make pyramids.
The Ancient Egyptians had no cat boots merely sandals, ropes not strong chains they simply needed to have had another method of moving stone other than sheer strength and weight of numbers.
The answer seems to lie in levers. They alone could move such large stones to the higher parts of the pyramids. Ramps simply would not do the job because of the gradient which would need to be gentle enough to have any prospect of attaining the height. The ramp would need to be almost a mile long at a gradient that would suit the purpose.
The Ancient Egyptians likewise had no pully system, a later invention, whereas a lever can raise a stone with little effort without tiring the workers.
This fairly recent paper suggests that large stones, similar to one used in the Great Pyramid, could be moved as much as a mile a day without great exertion. This method then must surely be the favourite theory concerning the construction of the Pyramids, and such things as Stonehenge and the Monuments on Easter Island for example. Perhaps the Incas used a similar system for the construction of Machu Picchu.
Different theories about the use of rollers and slipways have been rejected. Rollers are difficult to control, particularly as it is virtually impossible to obtain uniform sized rollers, hence direction is an issue. Slipways are fine but only going downwards. Flat ground is a problem, even greased and they do not solve the problem when the gradient is upwards.
In contrast a lever system will work upwards with the lever system simply being moved up to the next level once the pyramid's shape starts to emerge. The Ancient Egyptian, even without cat boots clearly had talent, firstly on the drawing board and then putting the idea and design into practice. The result is the wonders of the Pyramids of Giza.
