Engineering of King
Khufu’s Great Pyramid
Source: V.Loy. (2011, January, 21). Seven Wonders of Ancient Egypt [Online]. Available: http://vincentloy.wordpress.com/tag/civilization /
By: Rackel Savadian
WRIT 340
In the 4th dynasty, three large stone pyramids were built at Giza, Egypt. The Great Pyramids
consist of three large pyramids, each made for a pharaoh. These pyramids served as a “house
of eternity” for the deceased pharaohs to pass into the afterlife. It served as the ultimate resting
place of Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty. Without any machinery or complex tools, these
large structures were engineered and built to last for over 4,000 years
Introduction to Pyramids
Engineering dates back to ancient times, most notably seen with the Great Pyramids in
Egypt. The word pyramid originally comes from the Greek and translates to “fire in the middle”.
Pyramids were commissioned by the pharaohs of the current reign, but the pyramids were built
by skilled workers. It was believed that being buried under these pyramids made pharaohs
immortal and would protect them in their afterlife. Inside of the pyramids were built like
labyrinths. There were secret doors and rooms that contained necessities for the pharaoh’s
afterlife, such as jewelry, food, and furniture. With the labyrinth like structure, the Egyptians are
considered one of the earliest civil engineering of complex structures.
History of the Great Pyramid
The Great Pyramids are located in Al Haram Giza, Egypt on the west bank of the Nile
River. The Great Pyramid is one of the World’s Seven Wonders and was the tallest man-made
structure for over 3,800 years. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is a massive monument with a
square base, covering an area of 13 acres, and four smooth-sided triangular sides, escalating to a
point.
The largest of the three pyramids of Giza is believed to have been a tomb for the
Egyptian pharaoh, King Khufu. The two smaller surrounding pyramids were made for Khufu's
son, Khafre, and his grandson, Menkaure. Khufu ruled the 4th dynasty of Egypt at around 2580
B.C. King Khufu began planning his pyramid as soon as he took the throne. He chose to have his
monument built on the west bank of the Nile, where the sun sets every night. The pyramid [1]
was originally 146.5 meters, but due to attrition it is currently 138.8 meters. Measurements have
lead to the pyramid being said to be large enough to contain the European cathedrals of Florence,
Milan, St. Peters, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s.
How were these massive monuments created without the use of modern technology?
The massive pyramids look simple, but took great engineering ability to construct.
Engineering of the pyramids has always been a mystery. However, with the help of a lot of
research, the mystery seems to be slowly unfolding. The pyramids are made from a very early
form of concrete. The Great Pyramids were created using about 2.5 million blocks of concrete
composed of limestone and granite, clay, and water. Each of these blocks of concrete weighed
about 5 tons each.
The pyramids were built in 5 simple steps. Firstly, the workers would survey and
excavate an appropriate site for the pyramid [3]. This consisted of choosing a suitable site,
orienting and leveling out the foundation where the pyramid was going to be built. Location of
the pyramid was very important.
The Great Pyramids are all on the West bank of the Nile,
which is the side of the river that the sun “dies” at every night [2].
Next, using only the most primitive of tools, workers quarried clay and large stone
blocks of limestone and granite from the Nile River[3]. Iron tools were unobtainable, so workers
used copper and stone to cut out the blocks in the quarries. Once quarried, a team of oxen or men
were used to drag the stones and clay to the construction site. The items were then shaped with a
trowel so that the sides of the blocks made from limestone, granite, clay, and water would have a
flat surface. The shaped blocks would be then placed under the sun until the clay hardened. As
soon as the sun baked the blocks, construction would begin.
Construction began with the blocks being put together to form the square base of the
pyramid. Mud was placed in between the blocks to help hold them together. Also as a
precautionary, holes were drilled in the blocks and pegs were put to hold the blocks in shape.
Lastly, when the base was completed, it was time to build the triangular structure with
four sides leading to the top. There are many ideas proposing how this was done. Scientists are
still unclear as to which theory is true. One theory [3] states that the ancient Egyptian workers
made a straight or spiral ramp that was raised as construction continued, as demonstrated in
Figure 1. It is believed that mud made internal and external ramps were used to raise the stone,
at a rate of approximately 5 stones per minute, in order to build the pyramid. A second theory
[3] says that the blocks were carefully positioned with the help of long levers with a short angled
foot. As the workers built each level of the pyramid, they also built up the ramps around the
pyramid. Overall, the pyramid took about 20 years to complete.
Figure 1: Spiral External Ramps
Source: T.Taru. (2011, August, 4). A Theory that Could Finally Explain how the Great Pyramids of Egypt
were Built [Online]. Available: http://www.cosmostv.org/2011/08/theory-that-could-finally-explain-how.html
The pyramid also had four main airshafts. The airshafts were believed to not only serve
as ventilation during construction, but were used as “escape routes” for the Pharaoh’s soul. Being
that the Egyptians were a solar religion, each airshaft points to a significant region of the sky:
two points to Orion and the other two points to the polar stars.
As mentioned in the Introduction, the word pyramid means “fire in the middle” [1].
Khufu’s Great Pyramid was originally fashioned with a gold pyramidion, a pointy capstone that
would be placed at the peak of the pyramid. With the capstone present, it would attract light from
the sun and illuminate a green electric fire in the center, also known as St. Elmo’s fire [5]. St.
Elmo’s fire is an occurrence in which luminous plasma is produced by coronal discharge when
there is a pointed object in a strong electric field. However today, the gold capstone at the top of
the pyramid is missing and it is currently a flat surface at the peak.
The Importance of the Shape of the Pyramid
The Egyptians chose the distinctive shape of their tombs because of their solar religion.
The 4 angles of the pyramid are said to represent the rays of the sun falling to the earth. The
pyramid’s sloping sides symbolized the dead pharaoh climbing to the sky to their afterlife [5].
The pointed peak was also thought to function as the departure point for the pharaoh’s soul to
climb into the sky and unite with the sun god, Ra [1].
The shape is also very significant to the field of engineering because of the enhanced
positive energy field created by the pyramid. From ancient times, pyramids have been accredited
as potent design formations that bond all kinds of energy forces. Written by engineer Joe
Parr[7,8], a member of the Great Pyramid of Giza Research Association, it is stated that the
pyramid shape attracts and traps mass particles. These mass particles then produce a
“containment bubble”, which contains positive energy and deflects destructive energies. He
further studied this energy field which emanates from one third height level of the pyramid. This
energy field in the center, made by the containment bubble, allows bodies to be completely
preserved by dehydration, rather than decay due to the trapped mass particles. Furthermore,
whatever was placed at a height of one third from the base would remain fresh. At the base
center of the pyramid is the burial chamber, also known as the King’s Chamber. This is the most
important room being that this chamber is where the mummified pharaoh is kept.
Another researcher [7,8], Antoine Bovis, noticed small animals that had died in the
King’s Chamber upon his visit to the Great Pyramid. However, all we completely preserved by
dehydration. To confirm that this was true, he built a scale model of the Great Pyramid and
placed a dead cat about one third up. The body of the car did not decay.
Studies [8] have also been done with fruit and emphasized that “pyramids do not kill
bacteria. However the bacteria feed by absorbing nutrients as entropy breaks the tissues down. In
a pyramid there is so little entropy that the bacteria barely survive and don’t multiply prolifically.
Food therefore stays fresher longer “and is conserved indefinitely by dehydration
Conclusion: The Great Pyramid Today
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest pyramid ever built. It features about 2.5 million
stone blocks, each weighing an average of 2.5 to 15 tons. People come from around the world to
see the last standing wonder, so it is no surprise that all three pyramids have been looted both
within and on the surface. Consequently, the burial goods originally placed in the chambers are
gone, and the pyramids do not reach their original stature because they have been almost fully
disrobed of their external smooth white limestone blocks.
Out of the all the Pyramids at Giza, only one of the pyramids –Pyramid of Khafre- retains
some parts of the originally polished limestone, where as the other two have been restored.
Restoration was necessary because parts of the pyramid had been destroyed due to an earthquake
in 1300 A.D., grave robbers, and tourism.
The pyramids were shut down for tourism in the
1990’s. They reminded closed for the next 10 years due to heavy reconstruction and then
reopened soon after. Overall, the restoration project cost around $4 million. During this process,
walls were cleaned, graffiti eliminated, and inscriptions were further preserved, and new lighting
and ventilation systems were set up. To ensure the pyramids stay preserved and the chance of
looting is slim, the pyramids are surrounded by tall, motion detecting fences and special guards
during non-tourist hours.