Construction of the Ancient Pyramids Thesis

This is exactly the same case as the cladding stones used in covering the pyramids, if we use the same technique.

We would break the quarry stone into pieces, move it to the construction site, and put the pieces back exactly as they were in the quarry. This method required the stones to be marked or numbered at the quarry in such a way that enabled putting them back together in the correct order at the construction site. The stones were arranged exactly as they were cut from the quarry but flipped (turned upside down) to hide the cutting marks under the stones (Halim).

Construction Utilizing Large Labor Force was Plausible

Petrie, one of the first great modern Egyptologists, thought that the huge labor force the Greek historian Herodotus reported (100,000 men) to have been used for the construction of the Great Pyramid was plausible. In his view, which continues to have considerable acceptance by today's Egyptologists, the labor force was drawn mostly from the rural Egyptian population who would work on the monuments during flood season, when they could not work in their fields.

One of the most long held beliefs relating to the building of the pyramids is that they were constructed through mostly the use of slave labor. The reliablity of this is unknown since some outrageous theories have surfaced indicating aliens were involved in the construction of the pyramids. It is probably not unreasonable to believe that a few slaves were also involved in this construction work, though to what extent we do not know. And as for the aliens, let's not degrade the accomplishments by going there, said Petrie (Winston, The Labors of Pyramid Building ).

Architecture of the Pyramids

The pyramids' architecture is a monumental structure constructed of or faced with stone or brick and having a rectangular base and four sloping triangular (or sometimes trapezoidal) sides meeting at an apex (or truncated to form a platform) (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The internal construction of most pyramids consists of a series of buttress walls surrounding a central core. The walls decrease in height from the center outwards. In other words, the core of the true pyramid is essentially a step pyramid. The internal arrangement added stability to the structure. Packing blocks filled the "steps" formed by the faces of the outermost buttress walls and casting blocks (often Limestone) completed the structure of the pyramid (Winston). People might tend to think that Egyptian building styles stayed the same for the whole period of Egyptian history -- over two thousand years -- but that's not true. The Egyptians built different kinds of buildings at different times, just like any other group of people. For instance, with the pyramids, architects and builders used different materials. In the 12th and 13th dynasties, mainly because of economy, it was suitable for relatively modest structures to be built with inferior materials. Solid walls of stone ran from the center of the pyramid, and shorter cross walls formed a series of chambers filled with stone blocks, rubble, or mud bricks. An outer casing was usually added, and although quite effective in the short-term, it did not come close to the earlier construction methods. Pyramids which were built with this structural design are quite dilapidated and worn (Winston, Overview of Pyramid Construction) Bibliography Encyclopaedia Britannica. n.d. 18 Apr 2009 . "Great Pyramid of Khufu." n.d. crystalinks. 18 Apr 2009 . Halim, Hany. "THE BROKEN VASE THEORY." 2002. Exceptional Egypt. 18 Apr 2009 . "Mystery of the Egyptian Pyramids." 2008. Ancient Egypt. 18 Apr 2009 . Winston, Alan. "Overview of Pyramid Construction." n.d. Tour Egypt. 18 Apr 2009 . "The Labors of Pyramid Building ." n.d. Tour Egypt. 18 Apr 2009 ......