Pyramids of Giza and Their Construction Mystery Essay

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Introduction

The pyramids of Giza remain one of the most amazing works of ancient times. Aged over 4500 years, it is widely held that their construction was mainly meant to create a burial place for pharaohs and in particular three pharaohs, namely, Khufu, Khfare, and Menkaure (Clarke & Engelbach, 1990). The pyramids are a true revelation and living proof of the excellent mathematical skills, project planning ability, as well as constructional and organizational skills that the ancient Egyptian’s possessed. However, the most astonishing thing is how these magnificent pyramids could have been created without the assistance of the specialized equipment used in modern-day construction. Both theorists and scientists have often attempted to answer these questions.

Main body

As has already been mentioned, there are vast theories put forth by leading Egyptologists as to the exact ways through which the pyramids were constructed. Most theories are often premised on the supposition that ancient Egyptians would have literally found it impossible to construct the pyramids had they relied on the primitive methods associated with them during the times of construction. Most theories have therefore opted to rather than focus on archeological evidence, premise their arguments on suppositions. One rather outstanding theory is the one proposing the use of ramps in the construction of the Pyramids.

The hypothesis proposing the usage of ramps and sleds largely dwells on a hypothesis that there was a large team of laborers who pushed stones with the assistance of wood-made sleds up a single ramp to connect the quarry and the pyramids under construction. However, this theory has been disputed with its critics citing that such sleds would have required more resources than the pyramid itself. Another of the theories is Herodotus’ Lever and Pulley’s theory. In this theory, Herodotus proposes that the stones used to construct the pyramids were lifted using a series of levers and pulleys (Boxer, 1987). Although many have criticized this theory, some proofs have been found to render some credence to the proposition including small wooden gadgets also known as rockers.

An interesting and rather fascinating theory of recent times is the one proposed in the book, ‘The Phoenix Solution’ published in 1998 (Alford, 1998). In this book, the author advocates for the adoption theory where he argues virtually all archeological evidence is consistent with the fact that Egyptian kings adopted structures that already existed and used the same as the foundation for the construction of the pyramids. As a matter of fact, he goes further to propose that the Kings in essence only added causeways that ran amidst the mortuary and the valley temples. Considering how taxing this task would have been, the theory amalgamates the fact that the villagers must have participated in large numbers to aid the construction.

Conclusion

It must be noted that the adoption theory presents a rather realistic view of how the pyramids were constructed. The evidence of workers found in 2003 further gives credence to the argument that a large pool of villagers engaged in the construction although it does not explain how stones were lifted. However, with pre-existing structures hypothesis, this question is well answered. In essence, more credence can be given to the adoption theory as compared to multiple other theories that are often susceptible to being discredited on basis of factual information.

References

Alford, F. A. (1998). Phoenix Solution. London: Wembley Publishers

Boxer, S. (1987). Herodotus’ theory of how the pyramids were built gets a lift. Discover, 8, pp.23-24.

Clarke, S. & Engelbach, R. (1990). Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

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