Essay Example on Mystery of the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids: A Wonder of the Ages

The topic of how the ancient Egyptians built has to be a mystery and a topic of assumptions and wonder for many years. It dates back to the era of Herodotus, and the stories told are from Egyptians. The Egyptians pyramids of Giza are some of the most imposing structures from the ages of time (Sean, 2018). It is approximated that the pyramids were constructed over 4500 years ago with more than two million stones. The period taken was about 20 to 30 years and utilized more than 10,000 men (Haan, pp 147). How the Egyptians pyramids were constructed remains to be a mystery and a secret. There lacks evidence, no ancient plans, and adequate conspiracy theories.

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The ancient pyramids will continue to prompt the world of the architectural accomplishment of Egypt's old kingdom. A pyramid drew resources from the kingdom and even out of the kingdom. There are many theories about the ancient pyramids, but the most important involves the building of the ancient pyramid (Haan, pp 146). The first theory suggests that slaves point out that slaves were coerced to under daily hard labor to work to the completion of the pyramid. This paper refutes this theory and supports a more logical and more supported approach which involve the great pyramid being built by skilled worker who camped near the pyramids and labored to be paid until the completion of the pyramid and using ramp theory where the pyramids were constructed with labor force and many workers who pulled the large stones across the desert using ropes and sleds in addition to wetting the land to decrease friction. The wet sand increased the movement of the stones, and this practice can be proved in some historical wall paintings.

The challenge posed at arriving at a definitive conclusion of construction remains that the Egyptians did not give any clear account of how it was sone. Thus there has been a dependence of flawed knowledge of the Egyptian's knowhow on engineering. The stones were moved along the surface across the desert through ramps erected to drag the stones to top as they built upwards. With sand, the laborers developed either a straight ramp up on one side, s spiraling ramp that they enveloped around the pyramid, and sometimes a merge of the two. Levers were also meant for a significant height reached by the stones where the ramps became inapplicable. This theory refutes the water shaft theory of utilizing canals built and dug to the construction sites permitting the stones to float to the desired location. In this theory, floats were assumed to be made of cedar wood or inflated animal skins enveloped with papyrus, and when tied to the stones, it would permit the laborers to pull the stone to the shore. However, these stones weighed about 25 and 80 tonnes, which would have to be extremely difficult to keep afloat (Sean, 2018). It would have to be much easier to use pulleys since simply dragging the rocks upward on an inclined surface would have needed massive amounts of effort. Wooden sledges were also used in raisings. The stones and the wooden timber were placed to resemble a railway on the ramps. These timbers would also have impacted with aversion from deterioration of the roadway from the passage of the sledge runners. The ramps were constructed out of rubble mixed with the Nile mud. Also, in those periods, the Nile experienced yearly floods, which made it impossible to produce crops in the land (Haan, pp 150). Therefore, many workers were unemployed and therefore would agree to work in building the pyramids and get paid. Moreover, the Egyptians then lacked draught animals, and therefore men were available for pulling the stones. At the time it was cultural to lay masonry with open faces which were incomplete and then cover the surface from the top working downwards

The reconstructions until now basically favored using ramps used perpendicularly to the face of the pyramid. In the watershed theory, four pipelines were utilized to float the blocks uphill and were extended as the pyramids grew. A series of gates were used to control how the blocks were conveyed upward to the top. A stream of water on the top of the construction site permitted more floating and right placement without any dragging or real heavy lifting. However, the ramps theory refutes this theory based on the technology level, which had not invented at the time. It is argued how the ramps were disposed of after the construction, and some theories point out that the ramps were made of salt and natron, which melted and dissolved away when the waters came, which concealed the traced used in using human labor to construct these materials (Bob, 2010). However, the same multitude of laborers who positioned them returned the same ramps to the first place. Most Egyptologists admit that ramps are the most justifiable of methods to raise the blocks, and evidence for the use of ramps has also been found by archeologists at the pyramid of Giza as well other [pyramods. The archeological record shows proof of small ramps and raised causeways. Still, there are also numerous suggested ramps, and there is an unusual amount of inconsistency concerning the kind of ramps utilized to construct the pyramids. One much discredited ramping theory is the use of a large straight ramp, on grounds for ite huge size, inadequate archaeological proof, massive labor cost, and other problems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Egyptian pyramid construction methods remain to be the most controversial topics subject to numerous hypothesis. It is believed that the pyramids were constructed through slave labor. Still, archeologists now believe that the ancient pyramids were built by skilled laborers who worked for a salary following the inability to farm. Also, the stones were weighty, which would have sunken in the canal, but rather ramps were used, which significantly reduced friction and enabled pulling.

Works cited

Brier, Bob. "The Great Pyramid: The Internal Ramp Theory." Offerings to the Discerning Eye, Jan. 2010, doi:10.1163/ej.9789004178748.i-362.19.

Haan, H. J. De. "More Insight from Physics into the Construction of the Egyptian Pyramids." Archaeometry, vol. 56, no. 1, 2012, pp. 145-174., doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2012.00726.x.

Keach, Sean. "Mystery of How the Pyramids Were Built SOLVED? Genius Ancient Building Hack Revealed." The Sun, The Sun, 6 Nov. 2018, www.thesun.co.uk/tech/7668771/egypt-pyramids-built-how-ramp/.