THETECHNOLOGYBEHINDTHECONSTRUCTIONOFTHEPYRAMIDSOFGIZA

OnalargeplateaujustwestofCairoonefindsthreehugesquarebasepyramidsconstructedofmainly
largelimestoneblocks.ThesepyramidswerebuiltduringthetimeoftheOldEgyptianDynastysome
4500yearsago.Thelargestofthethreepyramids,oftenreferredtoastheGreatPyramid,was
commissionedbyPharaohKhufu(25512528BC)ashisburialplaceandistheonlyonestillexistingof
thesevenwondersoftheancientworld.Peoplehavespeculatedforyears,startingwithHerodotus,
howthesemonumentscouldhavebeenbuiltbypeoplewhowerenotfamiliarwiththewheel,worked
onlywithcoppertools,andhadnoideaaboutmachinerysuchascranesand/orblockandtackleand
hadonlylimitedknowledgeofastronomy.Yettheydiditusingalargesupplyofhumanlabortypically
toilingsometwentyyearsperpyramid.Itisourpurposeheretoofferamorerationalexplanationof
howthiswasaccomplishedwithouttheneedtointroducetheuseoftechnologywhichwasnotyet
knownatthetime.

ThedrivingforcebehindthebuildingoftheEgyptianpyramidswastheirreligiousbeliefthatadeceased
bodymustbepreservedandprotectedtogainentranceintoanafterlife.Mummificationandlarge
stableandimpenetrablestonestructuresasatombintheformofpyramidsmetthesecriteria.Hence
therulingPharaohs,withtheiralmostunlimitedpowersandenormouswealth,commissionedthese
structuresandsupportedresearchintosuperiorembalmingtechniques.Wewanttofocushereonthe
mathematicsandtechnologyusedinconstructingthebestthreeofthesepyramids,namely,theonesat
theGizaPlateau.

Webeginwithafigurewehaveconstructedfromanaerialviewofthesepyramids.Hereisthefigure
showingboththeirorientationwithrespecttothecardinalpointsandtheirrelativespacing

Thefirstthingonenoticesisthatthepyramidsareeachorientedalmostperfectlyinthedirectionofthe
cardinalpointsandthattheviewsintheNESWdirectionsareunobstructedfromthecenterofeach
pyramidbase.TheactualdeparturefromthetruenorthsouthlineforthePyramidofKhufuisabout4
minutesofarc(or1/15thdegree).Clearlythisorientationwasimportantandwasprobably
accomplishedasfollows.In2500BCtheEgyptianastronomerswouldhavebeenfamiliarwiththe
locationofthenorthstarandalsoknewthedirectioninwhichaverticalstickcastsitsshadowatlocal
noon.Henceconnectingtheseobservationpoints,anaccuratenorthsouthlinecouldbedrawnasthe
accompanyingfigureindicates

NextthecenterofthepyramidisplacedatapointonthisNSline.Thenacircleisdrawnaroundthe
pointusingaropeoflengthequaltoonehalftheintendedpyramidbase.Nextapairofnorthsouth
linesparalleltotheoriginalnorthsouthlinearedrawnsuchthattheyarejusttangenttothecircle.Then
aneastwestline(EW)isdrawnthroughthesetwotangentpoints.Finallyapairoflinesparalleltothe
eastwestlinearedrawnwhichjusttouchthecircleatthenorthsouthlineintersections.Theresultisa
perfectsquareorientedintheNESWdirections.

Nextwecometothemanufacturingandtransportationofcutrectangularstonestothepyramidsite.
Theblocksweremostlylimestoneofdensity2.6gm/cm3somecutinaquarrynearCairobutmost
comingdirectlyfromtheGizaPlateau.Thematerialisrelativelysoftandsocanbeworkedwith
hardenedcopperchiselsexistingatthetime.Oncecut,leverswereusedtoloosenthestones.The
transportwasmostlikelybymultiplemenpullingonropesattachedtoasledcarryingatypicalblockof
limestoneofaboutonecubicmetervolume.Tombpaintingsindicatetheuseofsuchsledsbeforethe
inventionofthespokedwheelwhichdidnotarriveinEgyptuntilsome500yearslater.Hereisasketch
ofthesledtransportationmethod

TheblockusedinpyramidconstructionatGizarangedinweightfromafractionofatontoseveraltens
oftons.Theheaviest,ofwhichtherewereonlyafew,weregraniteimportedfromAswan.Theaverage
blockwasabout1metercubedandsoweighedaround2600kg=5720lb=2.86tonseach.Assumingasled
transporttotheconstructionsitesimilartowhatisdepictedintheabovewallpaintingonewillhavea
frictionforceof(W)resistingmotiononahorizontalsurface.HereWisthestoneplussledweightand
thecoefficientoffrictionbetweenthesledrunnerandthehorizontalground.Whenmovinguphillat
angletheforceFrequiredtomovetheblockuptheinclinewillbe

FW[sin()+cos()}

WhennoforceFisappliedthesledandattachedblockwillslidebackwardsunless>tan().Nowthe
Egyptiansweresmartenoughtorealizethatwateroilmixturespouredontothesledrunnerswillreduce
thefrictioncoefficientconsiderablyandthusrequirelessmanpowertomoveagivenblock.Withproper
lubricationbetweenhardoaksledrunners(withpossiblecoppercladding)againstasmoothstone
surfacecanprobablybringthedynamicfrictioncoefficientdownto0.1.Thusiftwentymenare
assignedtopullathreetonblocksittingonasledwithlubricatedrunners,itwilltakeaneffortofjust
30lbeachtomovetheblockonahorizontalsurfaceforasledblockcombinationweighing6000lb.
Theymight,however,needsomeextrahelpwhengoingupa30deginclinefortheneachwouldneedto
pullwithaforceof175lb.Doublingthemanpowerpersledshouldsolvetheproblemuntilarrivalat
thepyramidsite.

ThepyramidsenvisionedbythearchitecsatGizahaveasquarebasebxbandheightH.Thevolumeof
suchapyramidisjustb2H/3.ForKhufusGreatPyramidwhereb=230.4metersandH=146.5meters,this
meansavolumeof2.59millioncubicmetersandsorequiringthedeliveryofsomethreemillionblocks
assumingsomedamagealongtheway.Workingattherateof10hoursperdayeverydayoftheyearfor
twentyyearsmeansthatcutstoneshadtoarriveattherateofabout35blocksperhour.Under
equilibriumconditionsthisalsoimpliesthat35stonesarebeingquarriedperhourandthat350cubic
meterstonesarebeingliftedupthesidesofthepyramideachday.Wow!Quiteaneffort,probably
involvingaboutonehundredthousandworkersworkinginthreemonthshiftsastheGreekhistorian
Herodotus(484425BC)claims.

Sofaritlooksthateverythinginvolvingpyramidconstructionwehavediscussedispossiblewithenough
peopleworkinganduseofthetechnologyoftheday.Butnowwecometothemostdifficultaspectof
theconstructionprocess,namely,howdoesonegetthestoneblocksupthesidesofthepyramidatthe
estimatedrate.Itmustberememberedthatin2500BCtheEgyptianshadavailabletheleverandthe
inclinedplanebuthadnoideaabouttheuseofrollersorthewheelormorecomplicatedmachinessuch
asblockandtackle,pulleysandthescrew.Alsotheirsupplyofwoodwasverylimitedsothatthis
materialhadtobeusedsparingly.Peoplehavesuggestedthattheuseoftheshadoof(Aleverdevice
usedforliftingwaterfromtheNile)orwoodbearingscapableofredirectingforcealongaropeas
possibledeviceswhichcouldbeusedforliftingprocess.Thedifficultywiththeseideasisthatthereis
absolutelynoevidenceoftheirexistencein2500BC.Thesolutionclearlylieswiththeuseofropes,
inclinedplanes,andmassivemanpower.TheanglethethreepyramidsatGizamakewithrespecttothe
horizontalisarctan(2H/b).Thisequals=57.6degfortheKhufuPyramid.Somehavesuggestedthatthis
angleistoosteeptomovearectangularblockupthesideofthepyramidwithoutfirstbuildinga
massiveramptoreducetheinclinationangle.Suchasuggestionisunrealisticastherampwouldhaveto
behundredsofmeterslongforstoneblocktransfertothehigherlevelsofthepyramid.Wesuggest,
ratherthatthe210layersoftheKhufupyramidwerebuiltuplayerbylayerasasteppyramidwithsteps
abouth=0.70meterhighandw=0.55meterhorizontal.Thetangentoftheanglewhichthecornersof
suchstepsmakewiththehorizontalis1.27andthusagreeswiththe=57.6deggivenabove.The
ancientEgyptiansmeasuredtheiranglesintermsofsekelswhichareessentiallythetangentsofan
angle.AccordingtotheirmeasurementtechniquestheslopeoftheKhufuPyramidis1cubitdividedby5
palmsand2digits.Thisgivesashekelmeasureof7x4/(4x5+2]=1.27.TheEgyptianmeasureoflength
wastheroyalcubit(20.7)withonecubitequalto7palmsandonepalmequalto4digits.These
measuresarebasedonthehumandimensionwiththewidthoffourfingersequaltothewidthofa
palm.Thesevenpalmwidthsfromthehumanelbowtothetipofthemiddlefingerproducethecubit.

Nowgettingtowhatseemstousthemostlogicalmethodforraisingblocksupthesideofapyramid
usingonly2500BCtechnologyandminds.Ithinkitinvolvedsomethingassimpleasconstructingfour
severalmeterwidecausewaysalongthefourpyramidfacesbyinsertingtriangularcrossectionblocks
betweenstepsandthenpullingthelargestoneblocksmountedsecurelytoasmallsledupthe
causewaybybruteforceviatwogroupsatthetoplevelpullingontworopesattachedtothesled.The
geometryofthecausewayswouldhavebeennotunlikewhatIsawbackin1983attheCastilioPyramid
intheYucatan.Hereisaphoto

Notethecausewaysonthesidesofthepyramid.WeenvisionthesecausewaysintheGizapyramidsto
havenotbeenbuiltupasatChichenItzabutrathertobeflushwiththeremainingpyramidsteps.

Topullalimestoneblockupalongsuchasteepinclinedcauseway(bytheway,oneonwhichonecould
notremainstandingwithoutthepresenceofsteps),wehavetwocrewsofmenstandingonthelatest
finishedpyramidlevelandpullingontworopesattachedtothesledandthesecurelymountedblock.It
mayalsohavebeenthatnosledswereusedinthisraisingstepsincethefrictiontermbecomessmall
comparedtothedownwardweightwhenablockispulledupsuchasteepincline.Iftheanglebetween
thetworopesisdegreestheforcewhichneedstobeexertedbyeachcrewwillbe

Slidinga6000lbblockupsuchacausewaywhen=0.1,=57.6deg,and=30degwillrequireeachcrew
pullwith2855lb.With40menineachgrewthisloadreducesto71.4lbeach.Itshouldberemembered
thattheotherthreecausewaysarealsoinusesimultaneously.Itstillrequiresconsiderableeffortamong
thesecrewstomatchthenineblocksperhourwhicheachsetofcrewsmustslideuptotheconstruction
level.Afortunatepropertyofpyramidsisthatmostoftherequiredstonesgotothebottomportionso
thatbythetimethelevelisathalfthefinalheight,fullyseveneightsofthetotalstonesupplyhas
alreadybeenincorporatedintothestructure.Nevertheless,itwasthelastportionofpyramid
constructionwhichmusthavebeenthemostdifficultandisthereasonthestoneblocksbecomesmaller
nearthetop.Afterthehighestlevelwasreachedandacapstoneplaced,theythenfinishedtheentire
steppedsurfaceofthepyramidwithabrilliantwhitelimestonecladdingmostofwhichwasremoved
manyyearslatertohelpbuildmosquesinCairo.IfyoulookatapictureoftheChefrenPyramidor
actuallyhavetheopportunitytovisitinperson,youcanstillseethecladdingnearitstop.Iremember
beinginsidethispyramidbackinthe1980s.Itwasasomewhatunimpressivesightasitledtoanempty
tombinwhichwaslocatedanopenandemptysarcophagusplusthenameofBelzoni(anItalian
exploreroftheearly18hundredsofdubiousreputationbutalsothediscovereroftheRamsestombat
AbuSimbel)writteninlargelettersonthewall.Nohieroglyphicsbutplentyofheatandhumidity.

Wehaveshownthat,withtheratherprimitivetechnologyavailabletotheancientEgyptians,the
constructionofthepyramidswasquitefeasiblewithoutoutsidehelpandwasaccomplishedwiththe
useofonlyropes,coppertools,sleds,leversandinclinedplanesandofcourseanalmostunlimited
supplyofEgyptianlabor.ThereisnoneedtopostulatetheneedforhelpfromAtlantiansorother
nonsensesuchasaidfromextraterrestrials.