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The Last Wonder Standing: Ramping up the Giza Pyramids - Aliens 56
587 Plays11 months ago
How were the great pyramids of Giza built? This is a question that's been asked for a long time. The answers have been ranging from those based on the best available evidence to the more far-out ideas. Among those there are suggestions that such precision and scale could only be the work of extraterrestrial intervention. But what do the most recent archaeological discoveries and scientific experiments tell us?
This time we delve into the true ingenuity behind these monumental structures. The pseudo-historical narratives often propose that the pyramids' advanced engineering and astronomical alignments are beyond human capability. Yet, a closer examination of historical records, architectural techniques, and archaeological findings reveals a different story.
Come with and find out how the pyramids at Giza where built.
In this episode:
The Orion Constellation Theory
Construction Insights
Materials and Methods
Ramp Theories and Labor Techniques
Mysteries and Misunderstandings
Links:
- Episode page
- More episodes on pyramids and stone technology:
Not since Sneferu - Pyramid building 101,
Power of the Obelisk,
The non-mystery of Puma Punku and Tiwanaku
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast and Episode
00:00:00
Speaker
You're listening to the Archaeology Podcast Network.
00:00:19
Speaker
Welcome to Digging Up Ancient Aliens, this is the podcast where we examine strange claims about alternative history and ancient aliens in popular media, do they claim all water to an archeologist, or are there better explanations out there?
00:00:34
Speaker
We
Debunking Myths About the Pyramids
00:00:35
Speaker
are now on episode 56, I am Fredrik, and together we will fence the misinformation with some troubles while dancing on Occam's razor's edge. Today we will start to talk about the last of the seven wonders that still stand. These breathtaking pyramids of ancient Egypt stands at the Giza Plateau. These structures have inspired and raised questions through the millennials.
00:01:03
Speaker
Of course, this has led to some rather wild theories and speculations, many of which we will be able to put to rest today, including the Orion connection, leveling the site, and several ramp theories.
Resources and Support Information
00:01:18
Speaker
Remember that you find sources, resources, and reading suggestions on our website, diggingupancientaleons.com,
00:01:24
Speaker
There, you will also find contact info if you notice any mistakes or have any suggestions. And I also want to thank those who support the show, either through Patreon or the membership portal. And if you want to support the show, I will tell you exactly how to do this the best way at the end of the episode. Now that we have finished our preparations, let's dig into the episode.
Deep Dive into the Pyramids of Giza
00:01:53
Speaker
Finally, we stand on the Giza Plateau in Egypt, and in front of us we have a large complex of pyramids and temples, and the most famous of these are the pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre, and the Great Pyramid of Khufu, also known as Chiops, and we will spend most of our times with the horizon of Khufu, as the pyramid is called.
00:02:15
Speaker
But we should not forget Menkaure and Khafre, especially since Khafre's pyramid is only 10 meters or 33 feet shorter than his grandfather's Khufu's pyramid. So how is the pyramid complex in Giza presented in Ancient Aliens?
Critiquing the Orion's Belt Alignment Theory
00:02:34
Speaker
The massive structures are engineered to near perfection.
00:02:39
Speaker
and are believed by many to have been intentionally placed to align with the three belt stars of the Orion constellation. But of greatest significance to ancient astronaut theorists is the largest of the three, the Great Pyramid. This enormous structure stands 480 feet tall and was built from more than 2 million limestone blocks, each weighing thousands of pounds.
00:03:06
Speaker
So first of all, I want to address the Orion constellation theory. This is far from a new idea, something that we have discussed several times throughout the episode. And this idea was presented in the book Messages of the Swings, and it was written by Graham Hancock and Robert Barwall
00:03:26
Speaker
published in 1996. They present several ideas in it, one of which is that the pyramids we see on Giza Plateau line up perfectly with the Orion's Belt constellation. A massive flaw with this idea, and it's pretty huge when you think about this, is that, well, the pyramids simply doesn't line up with Orion's Belt.
00:03:51
Speaker
The only
00:04:06
Speaker
and Bawao simply live out of their books for mysterious reasons. That the pyramids look kinda like the Orion's Belt constellation isn't really well that the Orion's Belt had a specific significance in ancient Egypt thought.
00:04:22
Speaker
but it's more of a way to achieve a very specific optical illusion. You see, when Mankare built his pyramid, it's the third one in the series, he seemed to not have the same, well, same kind of body as Hufu or Kafre, but by placing his pyramid where he did, he could achieve a sort of optical illusion visible when you approach the pyramid by water.
00:04:49
Speaker
So when traveling on the Nile and approaching the plateau, it will look as if the three pyramids are all the same size. So this is more or less why the pyramids are set up in the way they are.
Construction Techniques and Precision Engineering
00:05:03
Speaker
Sure, this explanation isn't as fancy and involved for less extraterrestrial alien than
00:05:11
Speaker
Graham Hancock and Robert Puval's idea, but this is grounded in reality. And then we have these two million blocks numbers. I'm sure that you heard this before, and something you will hear if you go on a tour on the plateau, but it kind of bothers me, because as Egyptologist Niels Billin puts it, it's based on
00:05:31
Speaker
pure speculation. It is an estimation that relies heavily on the fact that there is no filling in the pyramid and that it was constructed on a totally smooth surface. But if we could look at the pyramid from a kind of dissected view, we will see that part of the bedrock is left at the center.
00:05:53
Speaker
So in the middle of the pyramid we have a small hill of the natural bedrock. This way they could, when they constructed the pyramid, save a bit of time since they wouldn't need as many stones if they leveled the whole area of the pyramid.
00:06:11
Speaker
And from further scans of the pyramid, there are a good amount of evidence of hollow areas filled with sand and rubble. So it's another way to save the number of stone blocks needed to construct the pyramid.
00:06:26
Speaker
So you can take this with a grain of salt when you hear this 2 or 2.3 million number or whatever amount of blocks they claim to be used throughout the construction. But before I get ahead of myself, let's maybe start with the initial part of the pyramid construction. Now, alternative history proponents often claim that the pyramid's foundation is
00:06:52
Speaker
maybe even more level than the buildings we see today. The precision of this building exceeds anything that we require of builders today.
00:07:05
Speaker
For instance, the area over 13 acres was leveled within seven-eighths of an inch. That's about the thickness of a thumbnail. But that's not all. The casing stones are filled with some kind of mysterious cement that nobody's been able to figure out what the formula is.
00:07:25
Speaker
This is not the work of primitive people. Right. So one of the issues with Chris Dunn's claim here is the measurement simply isn't correct. The average deviation in the foundation of the Great Pyramid of Giza is about two centimeters, plus minus, and that translates to roughly half of an inch if we use the American system of measuring distance.
00:07:51
Speaker
Archaeologist Craig Smith did point out this in his book How the Great Pyramid was Built that modern levelling achieves high-end accuracy about 0.3 cm and an average accuracy of 3 cm. The ancient Egyptians did very well given the limited tools.
00:08:12
Speaker
But how did the ancient Egyptians achieve this level of accurate leveling? Egyptologist Dr. Edwards suggests in his books The Pyramids of Egypt that
00:08:24
Speaker
To level an area like the bed of a pyramid, it would have been necessary to surround it on all four sides with low banks of nylon mud. Fill the enclosure so formed with water and cut a network of trenches in the rock in such a manner that the floor of each trench lay at the same depth beneath the surface of the water. The intervening spaces could have been leveled after the water had been released.
00:08:55
Speaker
Edvard's suggestion might work in locations such as Maidum or Dachor, locations that are more flat from the start and are at the same level as the Nile. The issue with the Giza plateau, especially the pyramids of Kufe and Khafre, they are built on an initial sloping plateau area. So for example in Khafre's pyramid, the builders had to cut down the northwest corner of the pyramid by
00:09:24
Speaker
about 10 meters or 33 feet. On top of it, they had to build up the south-eastern corner, as Mark Lehrer points out. Mark Lehrer also mentions in his books the complete pyramids that quote
00:09:38
Speaker
Any leveling technique using water must take into account the problem that waterlifting and transport in the Old Kingdom was probably limited to pots slung from shoulder poles. Even if all this water had been carried up to the plateau, it would have been more likely that it evaporated or drained away before any measurements could be completed. Such practical hurdles make all theorists using water unworkable.
00:10:09
Speaker
after the break. If water might not have been used at the Giza plateau, what other technique could have been used? And is the secret cement one of the keys to unlock the age of the pyramid?
00:10:30
Speaker
Welcome back! A more realistic way to achieve this great level is to use a reference line. Archaeologists and Egyptologists have found rows of holes around both Khafres and Khufu's pyramids, and these holes are regularly spaced about five and a half meters apart from each other. Now, this could be evidence of a very linear gopher living in the area, or
00:10:56
Speaker
As many archaeologists suggest, a more realistic explanation is that these are postholes. And they have to do with the leveling of the pyramids. So the pyramid must rest on solid bedrock as we learned in previous pyramid building episodes. This doesn't require the bedrock itself to be leveled. We just need the foundation platform to be leveled.
00:11:21
Speaker
So what they can do is put these post holes and then they set a string between the poles. And with this string, they could make sure that the blocks of the foundation platform were all at the same height and leveled with the string that went around the pyramid.
00:11:39
Speaker
And with this method we can save quite a lot of time because we only need the outer part of the foundation platform of the pyramid to be level. Remember, a massive of rocks was deliberately left at the pyramid center, again to save time and effort during the construction process.
00:11:58
Speaker
and how to get these precise angles that the pyramid builders achieve can be done at least with three different methods. You can use a set square, well a A-shaped square placed on an established line on the pyramid, and then you can utilize this carpenter square to take out the right angle.
00:12:16
Speaker
or we can use a 3-4-5 triangle or a Pythagorean triangle, and we can draw this on the ground and use this as a reference to get this right angle on the pyramid. The third option is to use intersecting arcs. While some Egyptologists are skeptical about this method being employed in construction of Hufu's pyramid, it would explain several of the postal that we find around the pyramid
00:12:45
Speaker
especially in the corner of the pyramid because in the corners we find two postholes that are outside the reference line and they seem to have been used to establish the lines of the side of the pyramids and if we use them intersecting arc idea to get these right angles
00:13:05
Speaker
it would explain why they are positioned where they are, because they would have been used while drawing up their arcs on the ground.
Advanced Skills of Ancient Egyptians
00:13:15
Speaker
So, in a sense, Christopher Dunn was correct in his statement that this was not the work of primitive people, because the ancient Egyptians were far from primitive, and this label is often used by, well, the ancient alien people or the ancient astronaut people, alternative history, and
00:13:32
Speaker
We see this again and again in previous episodes. And as soon as you hear this claim about a culture being primitive or primitive people, you should be careful because people training archaeology or history do not use this term due to these negative connotations. Sure, back in the day, early 1900s, 1800s, primitive was a label that often were used in archaeology textbooks, but
00:14:02
Speaker
Since then, we have moved forward, but the ancient alien people have not. The label primitive people are more or less about quantum mechanics is to physicists, but for archaeology. It's used by people trying to sell you pseudoscientific ideas.
00:14:21
Speaker
Now I will let you in on a little secret here. Come close. I will tell you the ingredients of that secret mortar that hasn't been replicated. Wait for it. It's limestone, gypsum and ash. And this isn't a new discovery. It's been around and well known for actually quite some time by now. We have even found out where they created the mortar at the site.
00:14:48
Speaker
and thanks to the fact that the mortar contain organic material we can even use the mortar to date the pyramid using carbon 14 and guess what the test confirmed a date corresponding with the reign of Kufo so maybe it's not so much a secret and more that Dan doesn't want to talk very specifically about it so
00:15:13
Speaker
Let's leave him be for a moment and let's continue to another statement that we hear all too often when alternative historians talk about the pyramids in Giza.
00:15:34
Speaker
And well, there are different variation of this claim. It's a mystery. We don't exactly know how they did it or something in this spirit. And sometimes I think scientists are maybe a little bit too careful when speaking about things because while it's kind of true that we don't know
00:15:50
Speaker
something with 100% certainty, we significantly understand the construction and the process of the construction of the pyramid. While we don't have answer to a few things like exact what ramp they use, it doesn't invalidate all the other evidence that we do have.
00:16:10
Speaker
Now, there are several ideas on how the pyramid could have been done, what type of ramps they used, all more likely than levitation devices and aliens. It could have been an outside or an inside ramp, even if Juan Pierre
Discovery of the Great Pyramid's Quarry
00:16:26
Speaker
Houdin's inside ramp theory isn't looking too promising today, but there are ample evidence of ramps being used.
00:16:34
Speaker
For example, the quarry for the Great Pyramids at Giza Plateau wasn't found until 1920. Why, might you ask? Well, the quarry was filled with millions upon millions of cubic meters of limestone, ships, gypsum, sand, clay, etc.
00:16:52
Speaker
Fländer's Petrie and all other famous archaeologists had missed it up until this point until Selim Hassan spent a decade from 1920 to 1930 to clear out the quarry, and he only cleared it out partially. But after Hassan cleared part of the quarry, the remains of one of the construction ramps became visible.
00:17:17
Speaker
and the rubble clear out was most likely the material that was used to construction the ramp around the pyramid or up to the pyramids. Now a common objection towards outer ramp theory is that the critics claim that a ramp built on the outside of the pyramid
00:17:37
Speaker
would cloak the rise in angle of the pyramid, making it hard for the architects and project managers to keep the pyramid at an accurate level and all of that. While this initially sounds like sound criticism, it doesn't really account for the evidence and archaeological remains that we do have.
00:18:00
Speaker
And this objection also relies heavily on that the casing stones would have been added at a later point when the pyramid was more or less finished. But as it turns out, the casing stones were put in much, much earlier.
00:18:16
Speaker
The blocks that was blocked in for the casing were only dressed in the bottom, but at the pyramid they were lined up in their locations with their neighboring stones and when these blocks were then dressed to fit closely together and then they marked how much of the excess block on the outside was going to be shaved off at a later time.
00:18:39
Speaker
So how much to remove was measured with a plumber and a set square. After the break, we will ramp up the ramp theory and see how our unfinished pyramid might help us figure out how the kiosk pyramid were built.
00:18:59
Speaker
Welcome back! Now, the removal of the extra stock on the casing stones I mentioned just a moment ago is clearly visible in Menkaure's pyramid. Now, Menkaure died before his pyramid was 100% finished, so
00:19:18
Speaker
the project was abandoned. And due to this, the casing stones on one of the sides are left undressed. So we can really see how they got this smooth sloping outer surface on the pyramid. And what's really interesting is that we still have the markings of the stone masons on the undressed stones. Mancaret's pyramid is in a sense a bit more interesting because we have this treasure trove of markings left by masons, the architects and the surveyors.
00:19:48
Speaker
We even have a paint red vertical line that marks the center axis of the pyramid. But by leaving these outer casing stones undressed, the pyramid's angle and level would have been cloaked and obscured by these protruding stones.
00:20:03
Speaker
Using this method would mean that while the workers dismantled the ramp, they would simultaneously dress down and shave away the excess stone on the casing stones, stopping when they hit the markings they left earlier and this way they could achieve this very smooth surface we see on the surface stones still left in place. They could also smooth out any uneven joints while doing this and dressing down this ramp.
00:20:32
Speaker
And in this ramp discussion I also want to point out that we're mainly talking about the Khufu and Khafre's pyramid. The smaller pyramid most likely used a single ramp, and in several locations we even have in-situ ramps. That means that these are ramps still left in place. One example would be Sunki's pyramid in Abyros, a small steppe pyramid still having the ramp of the pyramid in-situ against one of its facades.
00:21:01
Speaker
An interesting theory I've seen is that a sudden burial could have filled an additional function beside being a ritual burial. Some evidence could indicate that these sudden pyramids could have
00:21:16
Speaker
been used as part of the ramp's foundation for the more larger pyramids, and this is particularly visible in Snefros' bent pyramid, where the tracks almost seem to lead through the southern pyramid, indicating it might have functioned as part of the ramp's foundation initially. So while we might not know exactly
00:21:39
Speaker
how the ramp was designed. It doesn't really matter in this case, because we have all of this surrounding evidence pointing to a ramp being used. And as we will see later on, the causeway from the Valley Temple of the Pyramid seems to function as additional ramps when
00:21:57
Speaker
they were unloading blocks that arrived by boat to the construction site. Another pseudo-historic objection against that the ancient Egyptian built the pyramids is often the idea that there are no tools found
00:22:14
Speaker
around the pyramids, or that the tools that the ancient Egyptians would have had access to could not really cut the stone.
Tools and Materials Used in Construction
00:22:22
Speaker
So let's dismantle this idea. While there's not a metric ton of tools found at the site, some have been uncovered during excavations. We have plenty of copper tools, including chisels, needles, weaving poison, a bunch other copper tools. A reason why we don't find
00:22:40
Speaker
that many copper tools could be that copper was monopolized by the ruling clause. We have records demonstrating this during the Middle and New Kingdom. Records show that tools were assigned to workers and weighed and measured at the beginning and the end of each day. And based on the documents found in Wadi el-Jarf could indicate similar practices during the Old
00:23:08
Speaker
kingdoms and we will return to these documents in a little bit. In some previous episode I have discussed in a little bit more detail the idea that the pseudoscientific claims that the copper can't cut stone. A devastating blow towards this claim is the experiments done by experimental archaeologists to tend the stocks. Stocks show that the copper tools can be used very well to shape even hard rocks like a granite.
00:23:37
Speaker
A Kahneman objection is that the copper chisels would become dull too quickly. As things turn out, this isn't necessarily true. There is a French mason reworker named Michael Restoin, who has developed a technique that if used correctly, you can keep the copper chisel sharp while you chisel the granite.
00:24:00
Speaker
and another nail in this coffin is residue found in cut marks on stones that confirm that copper was used to cut these, as Mark Lehrer points out. Dennis Stokes and archaeologist Stella Nair has also shown that flint tools can be utilized as chisels with very good result, and this indicated that ancient Egyptians could have relied on several different resources for the tools to build a pyramid.
00:24:28
Speaker
And many ancient astronaut theories focus on the granite within the pyramid. It's worth mentioning that the vast majority of the stone blocks are limestone, a relatively soft stone, and it was quarried just beside the pyramid. And limestone, as I mentioned, is a lot easier to work with compared to granite.
00:24:51
Speaker
Most of the time they will not need things like copper saws to achieve the smooth surface. As for the parts made out of granite, Dennis Stokes points out that a relatively small team of skilled workers would have been able to complete these details rather quickly. Combining a blunt copper blade with an abrasive such as sand gives you a saw capable of cutting about 4 cubic centimeter of gross granite per hour.
00:25:20
Speaker
And experiments with copper and sand from Aswan managed to produce a cutting rate of a lot more, 12 cubic centimeters per hour. And copper tube drills are maybe not as effective, but have a cutting rate of still 1.5 cubic centimeters of rose granite per hour.
00:25:39
Speaker
So we could have several teams of three people who operate both drills and saws on a stone block simultaneously. Each team would consist of two people responsible for operating the saw or the drill, and the third one
00:25:57
Speaker
is responsible to add abrasive and potentially liquid like water or oil to make the sand more abrasive on the stone. However, the granite in Kufus pyramid is chiefly used as material for the chambers, and these blocks would not need this kind of work to get these smooth surfaces.
00:26:18
Speaker
There you would be able to get away with shistles, pounders, and then making the stone even by robbing hard stones on it, again with potentially abrasive. What would require a bit more work were the Sark of Fergus, where the pharaoh would have his final rest in place. But then again, you could have multiple teams operating the sauce and the drills at the same time.
00:26:45
Speaker
And again, the pyramids limestone would not require this amount of precision work and tools to be fitted in place. Again, you would get away with rather simple tools and less time consuming work on these.
Refuting Ancient Astronaut Theories
00:27:00
Speaker
So the ancient astronaut theory is dead and gone by, well, this information alone, but we will seal
00:27:09
Speaker
this coffin completely next time where we will also discuss the Red Sea Scrolls and deconstructing Kristen's pyramid machine theory. So make sure that you come back again that time. And until then, please spread the word by leaving a positive review on platforms like iTunes or Spotify or even better to one of your friends. Share an episode that you like with them and well, get them hooked.
00:27:37
Speaker
For more information about me or the podcast, you can go to diggingupancientaliens.com. You will find an extensive list of sources and resources and reading recommendations for you who are eager to expand your knowledge on pyramid building.
Supporting and Contacting the Podcast
00:27:55
Speaker
And this list is found at the episode page.
00:27:59
Speaker
on the website now if you want to support the show you can head over to patreon.com slash digging up ancient aliens to become a monthly members and if you're one of those who don't like or prefer patreon there's also a members portal that give you the same bonuses but not involving patreon and you find that on digging up ancient aliens slash support
00:28:22
Speaker
And if you don't want to play favorites and want to support an archaeological podcast network, you can head over to archaeologicalpodcastnetwork.com and sign up as a member there. And if you want to contact me, it can be done through most social media sites. And if you have comments, corrections, suggestions, or you're hankering to write that email in all caps, you'll find my contact info
00:28:44
Speaker
on the website. Sandra Martelor created the intro music and her outro is by the band called Trels Kriv, who sings their song Thin Foil Hat. Links to both of these artists can be found in the show notes. Now, until next time, keep showing that silence.
00:29:34
Speaker
I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.