Architectural appearance ancient egypt changed rapidly during the Old Kingdom. Mastaba - stone foundations were replaced by pyramidal complexes. The evolution of construction took several centuries.

The life of the builders of the pyramids of ancient Egypt

Construction pyramids in ancient Egypt was preceded by the creation of a mastaba - a platform at ground level, made of high-quality granite or marble. Under the site, underground tunnels, a burial chamber and rooms for storing things and products were previously built.

In the last pyramids of Egypt of the fifth dynasty, the chamber where the sarcophagus with the body of the pharaoh was kept was mounted from marble or granite blocks at a level above the ground with an entrance at a height of 10-20 meters. This made it possible to save on excavation work.

Giza Plateau. Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu). 80s of the last century. Photo.

During the earthworks, the builders lived in a number of built temporary structures or underground structures, that is, not far from the site where the pyramids were built.

Burials of ordinary workers and employees were carried out in the zone of construction of the burial complex in the allotted place.

Part of the local population, mostly women, cooked food and baked bread, brought water in jugs from the Nile River or from canals built specifically to supply water to the village of craftsmen. Food was prepared not only for hired workers, but also for slaves.

At the same time, up to 10 thousand workers and employees worked on the pyramid, and the same number prepared blocks in limestone and marble quarries, both near the pyramid and hundreds of kilometers away.

Most of the marble and granite blocks were supplied along the Nile from the stone mines of Kom Ombo and finishing materials from Syria and Libya.

Sectional Pyramid of Ancient Egypt

If we consider the internal contents of the pyramid in a section, then it is easy to determine the place for installing the sarcophagus - the burial chamber, somewhere in the center of the pyramid, with the installation of five to seven ventilation ducts and hatches of various sections with an inclination of 45 degrees.

From above, the sarcophagus is protected by a tent-type canopy made of multi-ton marble slabs, which enhances the fastening and protection of the sarcophagus from the weight of the ceiling, the subsidence of the masonry blocks of the pyramids of ancient Egypt from above, in the early projects leading to its destruction.

Work on the construction of the burial chamber, underground passages, grottoes, false passages, lighting and ventilation shafts, tunnels, dead ends, anti-vandal bolts, corner fixtures, wastewater discharge systems and stormwater sewerage - were carried out before the construction of the pyramid, the so-called zero construction cycle.

Question: “How did they carry a multi-ton sarcophagus through such narrow tunnels?” is fundamentally wrong. It was installed before the start pyramid building in ancient egypt, on a pre-built mastaba or below it at a depth of 20-60 meters!

The embalmed body of the pharaoh was brought into the sarcophagus along the corridors already at the end of the construction of the main building. With him, food and clothing were brought in, which could be useful to him in the other world. Upon completion of the loading of the burial chamber and the sarcophagus, the entrance and ventilation tunnels were covered with multi-ton granite slabs. Small holes were left in them for the passage of air and the communication of the pharaoh with the world.
Neither marble latches nor deep mines saved the tomb from robbery.

Everything that was built above the level of the mastaba, such as ventilation shafts, was carried out during the laying of stone blocks.
Compared to the processing of tunnels and passages with a simple copper chisel with a low surface quality, the walls of the burial room are made with special diligence - they are polished and painted with hieroglyphs.

Construction of the pyramids of ancient Egypt

Assembly of blocks in the construction of the ancient pyramids of Egypt

No one raised blocks of 20 tons to the height of the pyramid, they were prepared on site in the formwork from Egyptian cedar boards, on polymer concrete with additives from marble and granite chips from stone quarry waste. The solution was kneaded on the spot, water, boards and building materials were brought to the height along the ramp. The larger the stone block was planned, the less expensive wood was spent on the formwork.

In earlier pyramids, the space between the burial chamber and the outer contour was filled with rubble and waste from quarries. From above, the pyramid was lined with polished limestone slabs and blocks.
There are almost no stone blocks inside - they were used only for fastening the passages of tunnels, shafts, props and stretch marks.

Pyramids of Ancient Egypt: Photos

Egyptian pyramid building material

The lack of stone blocks was filled in almost all pyramids with raw brick, which is still produced in large quantities for the construction of housing.

There was also a construction quarry near the pyramids, but the limestone here was of poor quality with a high content of sand. A visit to the passages of the pyramids and the opening of collapses indicates a weak fastening of the internal ligament of the body of the pyramid, consisting of fragments and pieces left over from the processing of limestone blocks and slabs, which went to the external surface finish and installation of the pyramid.

This method of economical use of materials is used in our time in construction, the outer surface is made of high-quality bricks, and the inner part is filled with waste with a polymer mortar on cement.

The order of execution of polymer concrete blocks is shown in one of the pyramid drawings, and is no different from the modern one - wood formwork and mortar.

Egyptian Pyramid of Pharaoh Teti and Djoser

The foundation for the multi-ton pyramid was not built; the foundation was taken from the solid limestone of the sole of one of the natural hills - the plateau.

The construction project of the ancient pyramid of Egypt provided for the burial area of ​​the relatives and wives of the pharaoh, sometimes next to small ones.

The lack of geodetic study of the soil, the presence of groundwater, as a rule, led to the premature destruction of the pyramid, but this rarely happened. In the floodplain of the flood meadows of the Nile, the construction of pyramids was not carried out, and the foothill territory occupied by burials did not have underground groundwater.

Pyramids washed away high level The waters of the Nile during the years of the flood were destroyed almost to the ground.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, in the zone where the pyramids were located, there were mountain ranges that collapsed from the waters of the ancient sea in the river valley, the sun and heat - turning into sand and rubble.

Pyramids of Ancient Egypt video

The first truly major building project in the history of ancient Egypt was erected during the reign of the pharaoh Khasekhemwy, who reigned until 2686 BC. He became famous in connection with the construction of Hyraconpolis in Abydos and the Pharaoh's Hall in Saqqara, made of skillfully worked stone.

Little is known about Sanakht's next ruler, Nebka, and even his existence as pharaoh is uncertain. He did not create any serious construction projects.

The tradition of building pyramids began with Djoser (ruled 2668 - 2646 BC). At this time, the high priest of Heliopolis was Imhotep.

The legends surrounding his name claim that he gained access to the secret writings of another civilization. Under him, the architecture of Egypt received a new development: buildings and steles began to be built from polished stone. It is a mystery, but until now it is not known to science how, several millennia ago, stone blocks could be perfectly processed like modern laser technology.

It is known for certain that Imhotep became the chief architect who built the complex. Perhaps he also developed a plan for the construction of the complex of the pharaoh Sekhemkhet.

The Djoser complex includes a number of buildings. His pyramid measures 121*109 m and is 60 m high.

Priest Imhotep - a messenger from other worlds?

Imhotep was revered not only as the greatest architect of all time, but also as a doctor, scientist, knowledgeable in the history of ancient Egypt. His tomb has never been found. Probably, as for all artisans and craftsmen, it is not far from his creation - the tomb of Djoser in Saqqara. Should it ever be discovered, it could shed light on many questions in Egyptian science.

Researchers still cannot explain how, always in a few decades, Egyptian civilization moved from building with mud bricks to high-tech schemes for processing and grinding granite and stones. The answer seems to be hidden in the personality of the genius Imhotep.

One of the theories refers us to the stone ruins of Malta. The building of the Maltese cultural temple was built around 3700 BC, that is, a thousand years before Djoser. It is known that the inhabitants of Malta were superior in their skill to the builders of the Egyptian pyramids. They used for laying the same stone blocks measuring 3 * 1 m, weighing over 10 tons.

The building of the Maltese megalithic temples ceased around 2500 BC, that is, at about the same time as the giant stone buildings began to be built in Egypt. The stone structure of Stonehenge in England, for example, was also built a little later than the Egyptian tombs, around 2400 - 2300 BC.

For 36 years after the reign of Pharaoh Djoser, no major projects were carried out in Egypt. Sneferu, to whom power passed in 2613 BC, decided to surpass all the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian architecture known at that time - to build a complex on the Giza plateau, which later became the seventh wonder of the world, perfectly preserved to our time.

In 2589 BC King Khufu (Cheops) ordered him to build the largest pyramid of all time, which is now known to the whole world as.

From the beginning of the reign of Djoser to the era of Cheops, from 2668 to 2589 BC, that is, 79 years, there has been a rapid development in the field of construction. Under them, stone structures were erected that dwarf in geometric accuracy any other structure ever made by man. After that, the decline begins. The next four pyramids were much smaller. The later burial places of representatives of the dynasties of Ancient Egypt were distinguished by their modesty: they were small in size and lined with stones on the outside and covered with sand and gravel inside. The most recent known Egyptian pyramid was built in 1750 BC. pharaoh of the 13th dynasty.

Pyramid of Khufra on the Giza Plateau in Egypt

Were the pyramids tombs?

Scientists put forward several conflicting theories on this matter. But the facts show that the Giza Plateau is a huge necropolis headed by the Great Pyramid of Cheops, surrounded by numerous burials. If these complexes are not considered tombs, then where were the remains of the pharaohs of the IV dynasty, since no other burial places of the kings were found?

For the ancient Egyptians, the pharaoh was the chief priest, an intermediary between the spiritual and material worlds. Its vitality meant fertility and abundance to ancient Egypt. Every day, for this purpose, priestly orders performed their ritual services over his tomb. Their goal was to perpetuate the flow of this life-giving force to the earth. This is enough to argue that these huge ancient buildings were erected precisely for the purpose of resting the remains of the royal dynasty.

Pharaohs - the builders of the pyramids of ancient Egypt

II dynasty
Pharaoh Khasekhemwi Rasehemui
Under him, the walls of the "king's hall" were built in about 2686 BC. Perhaps they served as the foundation for the unfinished pyramid.

III dynasty
Pyramid of Pharaoh Sanakhte, ruled 2686 - 2668 BC
Nebka complex.
The Pyramid of Djoser was designed by the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, it is considered the first in the world. Its dimensions: 121*109 m. Height 60 m. It is built entirely of polished stone.

Pharaoh of Egypt Sekhemhem (Djoser Tati). He owns the unfinished pyramid at Saqqara. Size: 120 sq. m. Height: 7 m.
Pharaoh Zanakht. No tombs belonging to him have been found.

The structure was covered with a layer of white limestone slabs measuring 1.5*3.3*2.4 m, which weighed about 15 tons and covered an area of ​​8.9 hectares. The distance between them is filled with a solution whose composition is still unknown. The gaps between the plates are only 1 mm. For such processing of stone, a saw with blades of at least 3 m in length with a diamond coating would be needed. In order to cut a sarcophagus from solid granite, a drill with a pressure of 2 tons was needed. Until now, there is no technical device in the world that could perform such a job.

Mathematics of the Great Pyramid

The pyramid is a unique geometric figure, the knowledge of which is comprehensible only with the knowledge of higher mathematical laws. The height along its perimeter corresponds to the value of Pi ("π") (Smith: 3.14159+) (Petri: + 3.1428), which is a characteristic of a particular shape and no other geometric shape. It establishes a direct relationship between the pyramid and the hemisphere - the Northern Hemisphere of our planet.

The corners of the pyramid are directed to four parts of the world: North, East, South and West. The deviation level is only 3 min. However, given the theory of dispersion, its proportions are perfectly ideal. The fact is that the Earth rotates among the stars very slowly - it makes one revolution every 26,000 years. According to the zodiac calendar of the ancient Egyptians, we are currently leaving the Age of Pisces and entering the Age of Aquarius. During the existence of the ancient civilization of Egypt, our planet was in the constellation Aries, which occupies a leading place in history and played an important role in religion, appearing in the form of the cult of Amon.

Knowledge about the movement of celestial bodies testifies to the high knowledge of mathematical astronomy by the ancient Egyptians.

Ancient Egypt Zgurskaya Maria Pavlovna

How were the pyramids built?

How were the pyramids built?

This question haunts more than one generation of researchers. How did ancient builders raise huge stone blocks? In other words, what engineering solution was found by the ancient architects, who managed to lift and install millions of blocks in their place in a relatively short period of time? This is not an exaggeration: the pyramid of Cheops alone contains 2,300,000 of them. Limestone blocks weigh from 2.5 to 15 tons. From ancient times to the present day, many researchers have been looking for an answer to this question.

In the question of the construction of the pyramids, of course, one cannot do without the testimony of a visitor to Egypt in 425 BC. e. "father of history" Herodotus. He suggested that the pyramids were built using wooden machines that lifted blocks from ledge to ledge. “The method used was to build in steps, or, as some call it, rows or terraces. When the base was completed, the blocks for the next row above the base were raised from the base level by fixtures made from short wooden levers; on this first row there was another that raised the blocks one level higher, so that step by step the blocks were raised higher and higher. Each row or level had its own set of mechanisms of the same type that easily moved loads from level to level. The completion of the construction of the pyramid began from the top, from the highest level, continued down and ended with the lowest levels closer to the ground.

Herodotus' mention of "wooden machines" gave impetus to one of the lines of research. The Italian Egyptologist Osvaldo Falestiedi believes that the remains of one of these machines were found in the 19th century during excavations of the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. He managed to restore the ancient device, and it worked!

The machine designed by Falestiedi resembles a cradle: a stone block tied with ropes is placed inside a wooden frame, which is swayed with the help of special wedges. With the help of such rocking, the inventor is convinced, the ancient Egyptians raised multi-ton stones. Falestiedi's discovery was tested by Japanese and American engineers and archaeologists, who confirmed the Italian was right. Now Falestiedi, together with engineers from the Turin Polytechnic Institute, is going to create a working model of a device that can lift stones weighing up to forty tons.

But not only Falestiedi was inspired by the words of Herodotus. American Ron Wyatt designed his own version of the lifting machine. The obvious simplicity of the device, the very principle of operation and many other properties of this design make this mechanism extremely similar to the one described by Herodotus and which was used by the ancient Egyptians when building the pyramids.

An interesting hypothesis is the version of "the oldest concrete in the world." In the 1710s, the Frenchman Paul Lucas claimed that the pyramids were lined with cement, not stone. The Englishman R. Pocock in 1745 suggested that the pyramids were like mountains lined with stone slabs. And in our time, the hypothesis of cement (concrete) lining and blocks made of concrete has been revived again. The thesis about the use of concrete in the construction of the Egyptian pyramids has been seriously put forward since 1979, since the II International Congress of Egyptologists in Grenoble; its main "adept" is the French chemist Professor Josef Davidovich. On this subject, he published the book "How the god Khnum took care of Cheops, the builder of the pyramid." At the same time, the Frenchman began to assert that some ancient Egyptian vases were not made of natural stone, but were produced using the “stone casting” method.

But these are all assumptions. Most Egyptologists believe that the giant pyramid of Cheops was built during the 4th dynasty from large precisely fitted blocks, and the next dynasty built primitive small pyramids from blocks of irregular size roughly cut in quarries that did not connect to each other and did not fit one to one . This style of construction can be called "primitive megalithic".

There is another chronological paradox: the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom, who had at their disposal only primitive, mostly stone tools, built pyramids allegedly from relatively hard limestone, and in the period of the Middle Kingdom, when bronze tools were already widely used, the main building material became relatively soft sandstone.

J. Davidovich defends the opinion that some Egyptian pyramids and individual temples were built from one of the varieties of the so-called natural or geopolymer concrete. Various petrified deposits, such as limestone or sandstone, can be considered as natural concrete. So from the streams of mud of volcanic or other origin, as a result of drying and setting, natural concrete arises. Whenever, as a result of the mixing of sand and other mineral sediments with organic components(marine organics, waste products of microbes, etc.) layers of petrification arose, we actually encountered natural concreting with organic additives. In the case of the Egyptian pyramids, we are talking about the repetition of these natural processes by a person with minor changes: due to organic additives to natural mineral materials dissolved in water, natural concrete with good properties is obtained.

At the same time, Davidovich refers not only to the results of his own chemical analyzes, but also to several ancient texts, according to which Pharaoh Djoser was instructed by a certain divine being to grind blocks of rocks and mix them to produce building materials.

Based on the results of the analyzes that Josef Davidovich conducted on samples of materials from three pyramids and from two quarries, he came to the conclusion that concrete was apparently used in the construction of these pyramids. In samples of material from the blocks of the pyramid of Cheops, the scientist found, for example, traces of zeolites. These substances are not found in limestone of natural origin. Zeolites arise mainly in the final stage of the hydrothermal process at high temperatures (up to 600 °C and above) and pressures up to several thousand atmospheres. They, as a rule, are found in volcanogenic strata, in which they fill voids and form tuff cement, i.e., they act as binders. The best binding (cement) qualities are exhibited by zeolites, which arose at not very high, but still elevated temperatures of the order of 250–300 °C. As a result of erosion of rocks of volcanic origin, zeolites enter rivers and are deposited in river silt. They are also found in large quantities in the Nile silt. Quantitative studies of samples of material from the pyramid of Cheops showed that the proportion of zeolites and other, as Davidovich puts it, "binding polymeric agents" in them is about 13%. The analyzes also showed that the physical parameters (density, porosity, moisture) of the samples were very different from the parameters of ordinary limestone.

Microscopic studies of limestone from quarries revealed the presence of calcium structures with clear crystal lattices at a constant density and, at the same time, calcareous fragments of shells. On the contrary, the building materials of the pyramid of Cheops contained, along with fragments of shells, admixtures of lime, soda, and substances of organic origin. Density fluctuations and even inclusions of air bubbles were observed in them. In the samples from the quarries, the limestone shells and other “details” were intact, while in the pyramidal blocks they were damaged and crushed.

Davidovich's explanation for these differences is as follows: stone materials of shell rock softened in water from nearby dry channels were mixed with Nile silt and binders (soda, lime, organic additives) necessary for the formation of geopolymer concrete, and then this mass hardened. In addition, casting concrete blocks would explain the tight fit of the blocks. At the same time, it must be said that individual external blocks, at least visible from the outside, do not at all adjoin each other so tightly as blocks of internal passages and rooms. The outer blocks of the pyramids are subject to the destructive influence of the forces of nature and "civilizational" forces. Unlike the blocks inside the pyramid, the outer blocks get very hot during the summer days and cool down very much at night. Strong winds blow away broken pieces, and the resulting cracks are used by tourists to get samples of the pyramid stones as souvenirs.

The transport of heavy blocks from the quarries to the Nile and from the Nile to the pyramid building site remains one of the major obstacles to a credible description of pyramid building technology. Modern Egyptology comes from a drawing on the tomb of Pharaoh Jehutihotep depicting the transport of a huge statue on a sleigh of massive logs pulled by hundreds of people. But it is one thing to transport a statue once, and another to organize the mass transportation of stone blocks, the number of which is in the millions. Egyptologists believe that the corresponding roads were paved with dried clay bricks and then watered over them to improve the sliding of the sleigh. However, with this technique, the road will be destroyed each time by skids, and its canvas will turn into a strip of mud. That is, after each transported block, it will be necessary to repair the road along its entire length, which could be measured in tens and even hundreds of kilometers. Geopolymer concrete technology explains how these difficulties were overcome.

But Zahi Hawass called the hypothesis about the use of concrete in the construction of the pyramids of Giza "idiotic and offensive." He was also outraged by the fact that he did not know how the samples of the rock got to the French chemists who put forward the "concrete theory" without the permission of the Egyptian government. The chief archaeologist of Egypt is convinced that the pyramids are entirely built of blocks of limestone and granite. Supporters of traditional views on the technology of building pyramids, including Zahi Hawass, believe that the ancient Egyptians used only simple mechanical devices and transported blocks of limestone and granite from quarries.

For construction, ancient Egyptian engineers built a harbor 800 meters east of the recently discovered Cheops Valley Temple. This harbor was used to transport stone from other quarries in the country to the plateau, such as the granite used for the burial chamber of Cheops and the fine white limestone with which the pyramid was lined. The harbor was also used to bring workers from their homes in Memphis and other nearby cities. Food from farms on the banks of the Nile was offered as sacrifices for temples and used to feed the inhabitants of nearby cities, responsible for maintaining the cult of the deceased king. South of the pyramid of Cheops, the American Egyptologist Mark Lehner discovered a quarry in which stone was mined for its construction. The remains of a ramp made of crushed stone and silt were also found nearby. This ramp went from the quarries to the southeast corner of the Cheops pyramid. Most likely, blocks were raised along it.

A compatriot of Mark Lehner, a certain engineer by the name of Bush, expressed the original opinion that stone blocks were equipped with segments on both sides and thus turned from rectangles into cylinders. Bush successfully tested his method by rolling an almost three-ton cylinder down an inclined plane with the efforts of four people.

Another possible way to build the pyramids tried to demonstrate the Japanese researchers. In 1978, they wanted to build a mere 11-meter pyramid, using a sloping mound and drags to lift stone blocks, but failed. The embankment turned out to be too steep to drag drags with cargo along it, and it was necessary to complete the pyramid with the help of modern technology.

Here, perhaps, are all of the methods known today, and any of them is in doubt for one more reason. Herodotus writes about 100 thousand people who worked for 20 years on the construction of the pyramid of Cheops. How were they placed on a site of only 5 hectares? Even if we assume that they were not all there at the same time, the crowding during the work was incredible. After all, people did not just stand, they worked and had to have free space for maneuvering. On the embankment and on the site itself, at the same time there should have been a lot of people pulling drags with blocks. This is indirectly indicated by the data of an experiment conducted in 1954 by British archaeologists. Studying the famous Stonehenge, they reproduced the transportation of one and a half ton stone blocks. Tied to a simple wooden sled, a block of 32 strong young men was barely dragged up an inclined plane with a slope of 4 °. Things improved when rollers began to be placed under the sled: it took only 24 people. From this it was concluded that 16 people are needed for 1 ton of block weight. Consequently, the Egyptians needed 40 people to transport a block weighing 2.5 tons along an inclined plane. And if we also take into account the number of stacked blocks, the drags had to continuously follow each other. In addition, to the complexity of transportation, one should add the laboriousness of making mounds, the volume of which could reach a quarter of the volume of the pyramid itself.

It is unlikely that other methods were easier: one way or another, tens of thousands of builders had to either crush tens of thousands of tons of limestone to produce cement, or roll millions of huge stone cylinders along an inclined plane, risking being crushed every second. And all this under the hot Egyptian sun.

Well, not aliens, in fact, built the great pyramids with the help of anti-gravity installations! True, there are a great many various pseudoscientific theories on this subject. But for obvious reasons, we will not consider them.

However, there is another theory based on hydroweightlessness. Recall that hydroweightlessness occurs when the force of Archimedes pushing the body out is balanced by the weight of the body itself. But equilibrium can come either when the body is lighter than water - it will float on top, or if its weight is equal to the weight of water - then it will hang freely in the water column, not rising to the surface and not sinking to the bottom. This second case is hydroweightlessness. However, the specific gravity of the stone is much greater than the weight of water. How could the Egyptians use hydroweightlessness? Could they have known and used the law later formulated by Archimedes to lift stone blocks? Here we ask ourselves one more question: what did the Egyptians know how to do by the time the pyramids began to be built?

They managed to complete the construction of networks of irrigation canals and protective dams. They used irrigated agriculture, learned to raise water with the help of water-drawing structures, pump it from one level to another. They have long used shaduf - a lever water-lifting device: a bucket was attached to one arm of the lever on a long stick, and a stone was attached to the other arm as a counterweight. The Egyptians knew water distribution structures such as shields and valves, transported building materials along the Nile and canals on oared and sailing ships made of papyrus or wood, and knew how to calculate the carrying capacity of their ships.

Based on this, it is quite possible to assume that the ancient Egyptians did not need to carry multi-ton stones on themselves, they could easily get by with a system of water locks from the foot of the pyramid to the continuously rising construction site.

But what about the specific gravity of the stone in this case? Perhaps the Egyptians could get around this problem by using floats made from tarred empty containers, boxes, and a system of locks for transportation. It is known that with the help of locks it is possible to transport goods along the ascending line. The water rising along with the load is drained through the same chain of locks located nearby. Without delving into complex calculations, one can refer to hydraulic engineers who calculated the scientific possibility of such a method. So, this is theoretically possible. Ukrainian hydraulic engineer Alexander Grigoriev conducted a whole system of complex calculations and, based on them, claims that from a mathematical point of view, there is nothing impossible in the ancient Egyptian hydraulic lift.

One of the paintings of the tomb in Thebes depicts a boat with oars, in the boat there is a strange stepped structure, and all this is supported by a column of water. What is encrypted in the picture, what idea does it contain? Maybe lifting the boat through a system of locks?

And here is a quote from the works on the history of the construction of the pyramids and their creators by the Arab writer of the late XII century, Ibrahim ibn Vazif Shah: western regions and to Said".

However, not everyone is of the opinion that the "bricks" for the pyramids were unbearable. Zahi Hawass, from the height of his authority, claims that reports of the large weight of stone blocks are nothing more than speculation. According to him, the weight of the blocks from which the pyramids were built did not exceed half a ton.

And the French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin believes that he solved the mystery of the pyramids, putting forward the theory that the great pyramids of Egypt were built ... from the inside, not the outside. Scientists around the world for a long time could not understand how the ancient Egyptians were able to raise stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each to such a height. Jean-Pierre Houdin denied one of the most common versions, according to which an external inclined ramp was used to build the Cheops pyramid. According to the scientist, this design should have been inside the pyramid. According to Houdin, to build the first 40 meters of the pyramid, the Egyptians first erected an external inclined ramp, and then built the same slope inside the pyramid, with which they built another 137 meters. “This theory is better than others because it is the only one that works,” said the French researcher. To prove his point, Houdin teamed up with a French company that builds 3D models for car and aircraft designers. Perhaps the results of this experiment will shed light on some of the secrets of the pyramids.

The researchers are also haunted by the mysteries of stone processing. For example, in order to carve out the internal cavity of a granite box from the chamber of the king of the Cheops pyramid, drills with diamond nozzles operating under a pressure of 2 tons were needed. With the tools with which these incredible products were allegedly created, it is physically impossible to even come close to their production. Many of the objects showed traces of processing methods such as sawing, turning on a lathe, milling and, most incredible, trepanning. This method is used to gouge a cavity in a block of hard stone, for which it is first drilled out and then the "core" is knocked out. There are spiral grooves on the stone - evidence that the drill penetrated the stone by 2.54 mm per revolution.

According to these technical data, it turned out that the ancient Egyptians drilled granite at a speed 500 times greater than what could be done at the end of the 20th century! The only possible method that explains all the discovered facts is the use of ultrasonic equipment. And this, in turn, means that we are dealing with another mystery.

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 3 [Physics, chemistry and technology. History and archeology. Miscellanea] author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

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Why were wooden bridges built? Three forms of beam bridge structures. In the foreground - a truss with a parabolic belt, behind - a truss with parallel upper and lower belts Since antiquity, stone was preferred for the construction of bridges because of its

From the book Bridges by Köthe Rainer

How was the Britannia Bridge built? A team of engineers led by Robert Stephenson, builder of the Britannia Bridge. The bridge itself is visible in the background. One of the best English bridge builders was Robert Stephenson (1803–1859), son of the famous inventor and pioneer of the railway

From the book KOMANDARM UBOREVICH. Memoirs of friends and colleagues. author Uborevich Ieronim Petrovich

GT Gorbachev THIS IS HOW WE BUILT THE AIR DROME. COLONEL ENGINEER GT GORBACHEV When I was offered the position of commander and commissar of the 5th airfield engineer battalion, I accepted the appointment without hesitation. I did not doubt at all that I would cope with the battalion, since, having finished

From the book What was before Rurik author Pleshanov-Ostoya A.V.

Why were white stone fortresses built? On the territory of the Russian Khaganate for that time, archaeologists record monuments of the Saltovo-Mayak culture, more precisely, its forest-steppe variant. The culture itself is firmly associated with the Khazars, however, to assert that each archaeological

The majestic Egyptian buildings are impressive, so the question involuntarily arises: how were the pyramids built?

The pyramid is the tomb for the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. The pyramids were built from about 2700 to 1800 BC.

Having ascended the throne, each pharaoh began to build a pyramid in which, after his death, he would be buried. And the richer and more powerful the pharaoh was, the more powerful was his tomb.

Well, let's consider how all these great structures were built. For example, take the pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu). This pyramid is called the "Great" because it is the most studied and largest of all the surviving pyramids.

Scientists calculated the total weight of the stone blocks that were processed and stacked by workers in a pyramid. It is 6.5 million tons! One part of scientists believe that the construction lasted 20 years and 100,000 people took part in it. Another part believes that even such an army of builders could not build a pyramid in two decades. Also, most likely, construction was not carried out all year round, but only during the flood of the Nile. The duties of the builders included that they had to be several tens of meters above the ground (the total height of the pyramid is 146.6 meters), and turn, lift and plant huge blocks weighing about 15 tons. There are 2.3 million similar stone blocks in the Great Pyramid. If we take into account that the builders worked ten hours a day, and the time of the Nile flooding in a year was 3 months, then the workers would have to put up four blocks in one minute! And within an hour, they would have already put up about 240 stone blocks! At such a high speed, precise calculation had to be used to maintain the geometry of the pyramid. But in the construction of the pyramid, such primitive mechanisms as ropes, levers and wooden rollers were used.

There are various hypotheses about how such heavy stone blocks were lifted to the site where the construction took place. For example, that the Egyptians poured bricks and soil, and a stone block passed through it to a given height. Most likely, the builders used several mounds to make it more convenient to lift stones from several sides at once.

But this hypothesis does not withstand heavy criticism. Those who think otherwise say that a plane that goes from the ground straight to the top of the pyramid at a slope of 1:10 would need an embankment of 1460 m. The volume of this embankment would be 3 times larger than the pyramid itself! This is eight million cubic meters against two and a half million. If the steepness of the rise is large, then it will be impossible to lift stones along it. For such an embankment - which is 1.5 km long and 150 m high - soil and brick will not serve as building material. Calculations have shown that such embankments will settle under their own weight.

Another hypothesis says that the builders used a spiral shape made of bricks. Such a plane requires less cost and material. However, scientists calculated and came to the conclusion that the spiral could end long before the top of the pyramid. And the corners of the structure would be the most difficult for them to do.

Now consider what technological solutions were used in the construction of the pyramids. Many hypotheses have been put forward on this question. Most contradict each other or are completely mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, none of them stand the test of strength. What can not be said about the pyramids that have survived to this day and are patiently waiting for the researchers to find answers to their riddles.

The pyramids are the tombs of the kings, the buildings are so magnificent and monumental, because. The Great Pyramids at Giza were built between the 27th and 25th centuries BC. The problem of building pyramids is complex, I will only note some findings that provide new important details.

There are few ancient Egyptian sources about how the pyramids were built: all traces of activity were carefully removed around the finished structure. We get much more information from unfinished pyramids (for example, in): next to them, possible remains of auxiliary structures, tools are found, and the technical problems of construction are better seen there.

It is sometimes believed that the pyramid is large regular cubes, neatly folded in rows. But in the break of the pyramid, made in the Middle Ages by Arabs looking for treasures, it is clear that the masonry is irregular: stones of different sizes, in some places you can see the solution. Large blocks lie at the base, and towards the top they become smaller. There are several hypotheses regarding the technique of erecting the pyramids (for example, Mark Lehner's assumption about the ramps "encircling" the pyramid). To a modern person, the construction of such huge structures in such extreme antiquity seems like a miracle, possibly carried out by an extraterrestrial civilization, but the pyramids fit very harmoniously into the context of the amazing culture of Ancient Egypt.

Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara

// wikipedia.org

The construction of the pyramids was not done by slaves, but by the main population of the country - this was their labor service for the benefit of the king. People were called to work in seasons when it was not necessary to do agricultural work. The construction itself was carried out by highly qualified specialists: architects, foremen. The largest number of not so qualified people were involved in quarries and in the delivery of stone. It is estimated that 20-30 thousand people were employed at the construction site.

Next to the three pyramids in Giza, archaeologists have found a settlement for builders - excavations have been underway there since the 60s of the XX century. A necropolis was also found, where the tombs of architects, foremen are located, there are very poor burials of workers who died during the construction. American expedition of Mark Lehner in Giza at the end of XX - early XXI century opened production complexes that served the great construction site. Copper-smelting workshops were found in which they made tools for building pyramids. A huge industrial complex was directed to the manufacture of food to feed the masses of workers: bakery shops (beer was brewed there), pantries for drying fish. Lehner also found places where sacrifices were made to the late kings. This material told about the wealth of society in the heyday of pyramid building, since young, not old animals were sacrificed.

It is difficult to say how long the construction took. Herodotus, an ancient Greek author of the 5th century BC, wrote that it took 20 years to build the road to the pyramid (perhaps it is a ramp) and 10 years to build the pyramid itself. But it is known that Herodotus did not know the Egyptian language, and therefore could misunderstand what he was told, especially since two millennia had already passed since the time of construction. More reliable information is the ancient Egyptian inscriptions on the stone blocks from which the pyramids were built. But most of these inscriptions are hidden in the thickness of the pyramids, because these are the working notes of ancient foremen. In unfinished structures, sometimes such marks are found that recorded the name of the construction team and the date when the work was completed (perhaps the teams competed with each other).

In 2011, on the shores of the Red Sea (Wadi al-Jarf), French archaeologists found a port during the construction of the great pyramids. From this harbor, the Egyptians sailed to Sinai in Wadi Maghara and Serabit al-Khadim, where they mined copper ore (there are traces of copper tools on the blocks of the pyramids). The papyri from Wadi al-Jarf contain very interesting data on the construction of the pyramid of Cheops, but they have not yet been fully published. In particular, a working diary of a man who led a team that delivered high-quality limestone from Tura for facing the pyramid was found. Today we see "undressed" (as if stepped) pyramids, but initially the buildings were perfectly smooth, lined with white limestone from Tura. It was delivered from the other side of the Nile, channels were laid from the river to bring the stone closer to the pyramids (the expedition of Mark Lehner also found the harbor near the pyramids). The lining of the pyramids of Giza was removed during the Arab period, it was used to build medieval Cairo mosques.

The inscriptions on the blocks of the pyramids provide reliable information about who owned the buildings. So it was established that the pyramid of Cheops really belonged to him. Above the burial chamber of the king there are low rooms, which were intended so that the top of the pyramid would not press on the burial chamber (the so-called "unloading chambers"). On the ceiling of one of these rooms, hieroglyphs were painted with paint - “Horizon of Khufu” (the name of the pyramid), we know them from other sources, in particular now from the papyri of Wadi al-Jarf (Herodotus calls the king Cheops, and the Egyptians called him Khufu ).

Pyramid of Cheops at Giza. Observation of the concavity of the sides at the end of the 19th century

// wikipedia.org

The pyramids were built from local limestone. In Giza, the expedition of Mark Lehner showed that the quarries were located no further than 300 meters from the construction site. Giza was chosen as a place with enough limestone for construction. For some works, materials were brought from afar. The burial chamber inside the pyramid of Cheops is lined with huge granite slabs. They were transported almost a thousand kilometers from the south from Aswan, where there were granite quarries. In Aswan, the details were rough processed, they were marked, and already on the spot, granite slabs were polished with dolerite tools. The nobles who supervised the work, in the inscriptions in their tombs, proudly reported that the king had sent them for material for the pyramid. The officials coped with the task, and the king praised them. The reward could also be the permission to build a tomb closer to the king's pyramid.