There i s no preci se i nform at i on on t he m et hods of p yr am i ds ’
cons t ruct i on
and
archi t ect u re
in
E gyp t ,
t hou gh
m an y
Eg ypt ol o gi s t s
s ugges t ed t hei r own t heori es on t hi s su bj ect , i ncl udi ng a n um ber of ye ars ,
workers and st ones used. B ei ng one o f t he “S event h wond er s of t he wo rl d”
t hat s t i l l exi st , pyr am i ds i n Eg ypt
rem ai n t he obj ect of num erous
res ea rches, cal cul at i ons, i nvest i gat i ons and wonde rs for m an y p eopl e i n
t he worl d.
Hi s t ori ans from e ar l y t i m es t i l l present cont i nue m aki n g r esear ches
to
ex pl ai n
“t he
p yr am i d
m yst e r y”,
m ai nl y
m et hods
of
p yram i ds
cons t ruct i on , l i ft i ng of h eav y m at e ri a l s, especi al l y at t hei r t op l evel s ,
num ber of worke rs used, and evol ut i on of p yr am i d desi gn s t art i ng f rom t he
s t ep p yr am i d s t o the t rue p yr am i d s . The st ep p yr am i ds were fi rst bui l t
duri ng t h e 3 r d D yna st y. The re wer e a l ar ge num b er of suc h p yr am i ds, but
onl y p yr am i d of Ki ng Net j er ykh et Dj oser at S aqqara was t he onl y one t o be
com pl et ed ( Birdsall, 2004). Lat er E g yp t i ans l earnt t o con st ruct t he t ru e
p yr am i ds for t hei r p haraohs. Th e y we re fi rst i nt roduced at t he be gi nni ng of
t he 4 t h D ynast y. E g ypt i ans bel i ev ed t hat t he phar aohs w ere t he ke y fo r
aft er l i fe for ever y Eg ypt i an person, t h us, p yram i ds worke d as t he st rong
evi dence o f such a b el i ef.
Toda y t h e num ber of p yr am i ds i n E g ypt i s around 110 o f vari ous
hei ght and st ruct ur e. Despi t e t he re i s no com m on t heor y on p yr am i d
cons t ruct i on, m erel y al l hi st ori ans an d sci ent i st s agre e t hat ram ps were
cert ai nl y used; ot he rwi se, i t i s hard t o i m agi ne and ex pl ai n how peopl e at
t hat t i m e l i ft ed h eav y st ones t o ea ch l e vel of t he p yram i d. Agai n, t here i s
no preci se i nform a t i on what shape, l engt h and w ei ght capabi l i t y t hos e
ram ps had . Thus, t here i s st i l l m uch di sput e on t he a rra ngem ent of t h e
ram ps . S everal m ost com m on t heori es hel p t o m ake an over a l l pi ct ure and
cons i der som e possi bl e vari ant s su ch as a st rai ght -on ram p, Hol scher st yl e
ram p, S t adel m ann st yl e r am p, Arnol d st yl e r am p, Isl er st yl e l i ft s and
ot hers .
The fi rst
one, a
st rai ght -on
ram p,
is
consi dered t o b e t he onl y on e prov en t o
be used si nce i t s d esi gn and st ruct ure i s
t he m ost l ogi c al , st rong and possi bl e f or
us age b y E g ypt i ans at t hat t i m e. Li ft i ng t he l arge and heav y st on es t o t he
hei ght p eopl e need e d was t h e m ai n pro bl em t hat bui l ders of t he Anci ent
Eg ypt i an P yram i ds f aced wi t h.
Thus, accordi n g t o t he fi rst ram p t heor y when t he
p yr am i d gre w t al l e r, t he st r ai ght -on ram p was
i ncreas ed i n l en gt h and i t s base was wi dened t o
be
s t rong
P erhaps,
enou gh
ev en
for
s e veral
l i ft i ng
h eav y
ram ps
w ere
st ones .
used
to
cons t ruct one p yra m i d. S i nce r am ps were t he m ai n l i ft i ng devi ces for t h e
heav y m at eri al s, i nf orm at i on on t he l i fti ng devi ces for t he sm al l er obj ect s
duri ng p yr am i d cons t ruct i on i s st i l l i n quest i on.
Zi gz a g fo rm of t he r am p was off ere d b y a
Germ an
a rchi t ect
and
archa eol o gi st
Uvo
Hol sc her. A ccordi n g t o hi s vi ew, al l four si des
of t he p yr am i d had a ram p, z i gz aggi n g upward
from one corner t o t he ot her. However, anot her
hi s t ori an Mi rosl av Vern er d eni ed t hi s t heor y. H e poi nt ed out t hat as
p yr am i d gr ew i n he i ght , i t was obvi ous t hat wi dt h of t he ram p decr eased
proport i onal l y; t hus , i t had b een not l ar ge enou gh t o l i ft t he n ecess ar y
quant i t i es of st one to com pl et e const ruc t i on of t he m i ddl e and upper part s
of t he p yr am i d.
Accordi n g t o a t h eor y of t he fam ou s Engl i s h
archa eol o gi st P et ri e, Eg yp t i ans bui l t one si ngl e
vert i cal r am p onl y on one si de of t h e p yr am i d
whi ch was enou gh t o del i ver al l ne cess ar y st one
upward. Thus, P et ri e suggest ed t hat
at t he l ast st ages of p yr am i d
cons t ruct i on when t op of t he p yram i d was bui l t , ram p shoul d have been
ex t rem el y l on g. Al l t hese t heo ri es ar e possi bl e t o b e t rue, but m an y
Eg ypt ol o gi st s acc ep t t he vi ew of a l ea di ng ex pert on t he p yr am i ds, J ean P hi l i ppe Laue r. Ac c ordi ng t o hi s vi ew, not onl y ram ps, but al so addi t i onal
l i ft i ng devi ces l i ke round beam s, woode n l e vers, ropes and pol es were used
t o bui l d t he Great P yram i d. It s ram p was ex t ended i n t h e sout h t o 300
m et ers l en gt h at t h e st a ge whe re p yr a m i d’s hei ght was o nl y 35 m et ers
hei ght (Verner, 2001).
M ost t rue p yr am i ds have t he i nt erna l const ruct i on consi st i ng of
s everal but t r ess wal l s t hat surround a c ent ral co re. It was di scovered t h at
act ual l y a st ep p yra m i d i s a core of t he t rue p yram i d. Thus, t he st ruct ure o f
t he t rue p yram i d w as com pl et ed b y pu t t i ng bl ocks bet we e n t he l evel s of
s t ep p yram i ds t o for m t he sm oot h surfac e of t he p yr am i d. There ar e seve ral
s i t es i n Eg ypt wh e re p yr am i ds wer e bui l t , m ai nl y Abu R awash, Gi z a,
Za w yet el -A r yan, A bu S i r, S aqqara, Da hshur, Maz ghuna, Li sht , Mei dum ,
Hawa rra and el - La hun (Birdsall, 2004). S i nce t he Gre at P yram i d i s t h e
bi g ges t and m ost popul ar am ong ot her p yr am i ds i n Eg ypt , i t i s necessar y t o
t el l about i t i n det ai l s. Am ong t he t hree p yr am i ds i n Gi z a Necropol i s t he
Great P yr am i d i s t h e l ar gest and has b e en const ru ct ed arou nd 2560 B.C . It
i s al s o known as t he P yr am i d of Khu f u. There i s a com pl ex of p yram i ds i n
Gi z a consi st i ng of t he Gre at P yr am i d as t he m ai n part , t wo m ort uar y
Khufu’s t em pl es i n honor known as t he P yram i d of Khafr e a nd t he P yr am i d
of M enkaur e , t hree sm al l p yram i ds for wi v es of Khufu, and m ast aba t om bs
and t he Gre at S phi nx .
There ar e vari ous
vi ews on how m an y work ers t ook part
in
cons t ruct i on of t he Great P yram i d. The Greek hi st ori an H e rodot us i n t he
5 t h cent ur y su ggest e d t he num ber was 1 00,000 m en worki n g for 20 ye ars .
On t he cont rar y, P ol i sh archi t ect W i esl a w Koz i nski cal cul at ed t here shoul d
have be en around 300,000 worke rs b ui l di ng t he p yr am i d i t sel f whi l e
addi t i onal 600,000 assi st ed t hem off -si t e. Ot her assum pt i ons i ncl ude
50,000 m en b y Ku rt Mendel ssohn, 36 ,000 worke rs b y Loui s C roon and
Ludwi g Bo rch ardt an d 30,000 m en by Ve rner. S om e t i m e l at er Mark
Lehn er t o get h er wi t h som e ot her E g ypt ol ogi st s m ade a t ho rough rese arch
on pos s i bl e num ber of peopl e worki ng on const ruct i on. It was est i m at ed
t hat m i ni m um num ber coul d be 14, 567 peopl e whi l e t he m a x i m um num ber
s houl d be not m ore t han 40,000. Lehn er’s su ggest i on was t hat t he Great
P yram i d w as com pl et ed wi t hi n 10 ye a rs usi ng nea r a rou nd 2.3 m i l l i on
bl ocks . Man y E g ypt ol ogi st s a gre e t o t hi s num ber of bl ocks used t o
cons t ruct t he l ar ges t p yr am i d. C onsi der i ng t hi s num ber i t was c al cul at ed
t hat t here shoul d b e 3 bl ocks p er m i n ut e, t hus, 180 bl oc ks per hour wi t h
t he worki n g d a y of t en hours (Schoch, 2005). Grani t e, basal t and l i m est one
were us ed fo r t he const ruct i on of t he pyr am i d. The bas e w as m ai nl y don e
from t he l ow q ual i ty rou gh l i m est one bl ocks of 2 -4 t ons i n wei ght . Out er
cas i ng w as bui l t usi ng hi gh qual i t y l i m est one bl ocks whi ch som et i m es
m i ght wei ght t i l l 15 t ons. C ert ai nl y, al l t hese const ruct i on m at eri al s w er e
not l ocat ed near t he p yr am i d const ruc t i on si t e i t sel f. Maj ori t y o f t hem
were del i ver ed ei t h er f rom ne arb y o r f ar a re as. Fo r i nst an ce, hi gh qu al i t y
l i m es t one was del i v ered from Tur a l oc at ed on t he ot h er si de of t he Ni l e;
As wan was t he l oc at i on for quarr yi n g grani t e despi t e i t s l ong di st ance
from t he Gre at P yr am i d, et c. It w as est i m at ed t h at at t he end of
cons t ruct i on t he Gr eat P yr am i d had a vol um e of around 2,600,000 cubi c
m et ers and t ot al m a ss of 5.9 m i l l i on t ons.
The Gre at P yr am i d has
t hree
cham be rs
known
for
hi st ori ans, m ai nl y t he Ki ng’ s
C ham ber, t he Qu een ’s C ham ber
and t he s m al l est “unfi ni shed
cham ber ”. It i s obvi ous t hat t he
Ki ng’s C ham b er i s t he m ai n
one i n t he p yr am i d, despi t e t he
l argest
one
was
t he
“unfi ni shed” l ow est cham ber .
Hi s t ori ans found graffi t i on t he wal l s i nsi de t he p yr a m i d whi ch a r e
bel i eved t o be l eft b y on -si t e work ers. The cham bers we r e not t he onl y
i m port ant feat ures o f t he Great P yr am i d. Eg ypt ol ogi st s al so di scovered t he
Grand G al l er y, t he sarcopha gus i n t he Ki ng’s C h am ber an d ascendi n g and
des cendi n g pass a ges .
It i s obvi ous t hat n one of t he p yr am i ds was const ruct ed d uri ng t h e
rei gn of onl y on e p haraoh. Thus, t her e were ce rt ai n va ri at i ons bet ween t he
s t ruct ure and d esi gn of t he p yr am i ds. Fo r i nst ance, t he ent i r e Gre at P l at eau
was com pl et ed wi t hi n t he rei gn of fi ve pharaohs. Duri n g t hi s t i m e ot her
t hree l ar ge p yram i d s were const ruct ed: st ep p yr am i d of S a qqara, t he Bent
P yram i d,
and
t he
R ed
P yr am i d.
S om e
of
t he
bl ocks
used
duri ng
cons t ruct i on of t hese p yr am i ds were fro m 60 t o 80 t ons i n wei ght (Verner,
2001). Hi st ori ans est i m at ed t hat hei ght of t he p yr am i d w as 146.6 m et e rs ,
t hough curr ent l y i t i s sm al l er due t o erosi on and num erous t heft s. Despi t e
abs ence of kno wl ed ge i n m at hem at i cs, Eg ypt i ans at t hat t i m e wer e abl e t o
bui l d p yr am i ds wi t h m erel y pe rfe ct square. For i nst a nce, t he Gre at
P yram i d had a m e a n error of onl y 58 m m i n l engt h and 1 m i nut e i n angl e
from havi ng a pe rfe ct square. Acco rdi n g t o t he com m on vi ew of hi st ori ans ,
i n order t o com pl ete const ruct i on of the Great P yr am i d wi t hi n 20 yea rs
ever y 2 m i nut es 1.1 bl ocks shoul d have be en put i n pl ace i f peopl e wo rked
10 hours per da y, 365 da ys i n a yea r du ri ng t he pe ri od of 20 ye ars (Schoch,
2005). Though, t hes e c al cul at i ons a re re l at ed onl y t o t he co nst ruct i on i t sel f
and do not i ncl ude t i m e t hat was necessa r y t o desi gn, m ake det ai l ed
p l anni ng, surv e y t he possi bl e opport uni t i es and l evel t he t h i rt een ac re si t e
of t he Gre at P yr am i d.
Accordi n g t o t he rec ent st udi es, i t was p roved t hat conc ret e was used
i n p yram i d const ru ct i on. Gi ant st ones were not haul ed t o and up t he
p yr am i d, but concr e t e was not pour ed i nt o bl ocks hi gh on t he si t e t o form
neces s a r y m at eri al for const ruct i on (The Ti m es, 2005) . The previ ous
t heori es st at e t hat a l l t he st ones were c arved f rom quarri es l ocat ed nea rb y
t he s i t e. Aft er qu ar r yi n g t he y wer e t ra nsport ed usi ng b ar ges o r woode n
s l eds , heaved up wi t h t he hel p of huge ram ps and put i nt o necessa r y pl ac e
b y num erous of wor kers. The sl eds wer e dra gged m anual l y over sm oot hed
roads . Ther e i s an assum pt i on t hat Egyp t i ans al so used l ubricant t o pour on
t he roads and t hus red uce fri ct i on. In 2006 J ournal of t he Am eri can
C eram i c S oci et y pu bl i shed t he resear c h work done b y t w o professors –
P rofes s or Mi ch ael Barsoum from Dre x el Uni versi t y i n P hi l adel phi a an d
P rofes s or Gi l l es Hug from t he Fr en ch Nat i onal Aeros pace R ese arch
Agenc y. Thei r rese arch con cl uded t hat t here wer e t wo t yp es of st ones i n
t he cons t ruct i on of Gi z a P yram i d: qua rr i ed and m an -m ade st ones. Thi s fi rs t
quarri ed t ype o f st one was qua rri ed i n Tura and M aadi , wh i ch was used fo r
t he l ower part s of t he p yr am i d. The hi ghes t l evel s o f p yr a m i d were bui l t
us i ng t he conc ret e m et hod. These t wo t ypes of st one were used i n
cons t ruct i on of t he C heops as wel l where t he l owest part s consi st ed of a
1 0 -t on of nat ur al gr ani t e bl ocks whi l e t he hi gh est l evel s w ere don e usi n g
concret e. Th e bl ock s of concr et e wer e done usi n g t he fol l owi ng m et hod:
s al t and l i m e from f i repl ace ash w ere m i x ed; wat er was eva porat ed l e avi n g
a m oi s t , a m i x t ure t hat l ooks l i ke cl a y. C oncret e i n t hi s condi t i on was
del i vered t o t he con st ruct i on si t e and packed i nt o w ooden m oul ds. W it hi n
s everal da ys t h e w e t concr et e b ecom es hard and coul d be used as bl ocks
for cons t ruct i on.
It w as prov ed t hat peopl e worki n g on t he p yram i ds w ere n ot sl aves ,
but pai d cr aft sm en who had t hei r o wn vi l l age i n Gi z a . Usual l y, t he y
worked at t he p yr a m i ds duri ng t he p er i ods of Ni l e fl oodi ng wh en i t w as
i m pos s i bl e t o farm or harvest . Eg ypt i an workers al so used i n -fi l l i ng
p yr am i d l evel s wi t h l oose rubbl e whi ch hel ped t o const ru ct p yr am i ds wi t h
fewe r res ou rces and wi t hi n m uch short er peri ods.
There are no wri t t e n reco rds on how t he p yram i ds we re bui l t , i t s
procedur e, m et hods and t echni ques si nc e al l t he prov en m et hods are b ased
s ol el y on t an gi bl e a rcheol o gi cal evi den ce r esea rched and c onfi rm ed b y t he
Eg ypt ol o gi st s. One of such con fi rm ed evi dence i s t he usa ge of r am ps t o
l i ft gi ant st ones t o t he p yr am i ds. The desi gn of t he r am ps vari ed from
p yr am i d t o p yr am i d due t o di ffe rent si z es of t he p yr am i ds , t hei r va ri ous
l ocat i on and m at eri al s used. It was al s o est i m at ed t hat t h e re w as no si n gl e
s t andard m et ho d f or const ruct i n g ra m ps and usi ng ad di t i onal devi ces
duri ng t he t i m es of Ol d and Mi ddl e Ki ngdom s of E g ypt .
Work s Ci ted :
Birdsall, Richard. “The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh”, Hudson Press: 2004
Schoch, Robert. “Voyages of the Pyramid Bu ilders”, Penguin Books: 2005
Verner, Miroslav. “The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt’s
Great Monuments”, Grove Press: 2001