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cargo_run_rust t1_jbstnj5 wrote

Great Pyramid of Giza - How on earth did they build that massive structure? (too many stories but none backed evidence)

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bangdazap t1_jbt4reb wrote

The year in Ancient Egypt was divided into two parts: harvest season and flood season, when the banks of the river Nile overflowed. That meant that for half of the year, the Egyptian state had access to large numbers of idle laborers.

Add to that that they had long experience in building monuments (the Great Pyramid was hardly the first colossal monument built by Egypt).

They also had a stable system of government, which meant that they could build their monuments over a long period of time.

Also, the pyramids were built next to a quarry, and a short way from the Nile meaning that they could easily ship in stones.

We also have writings of the engineering teams who built the pyramids, along with other archeological evidence from the construction.

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cargo_run_rust t1_jbt4z8m wrote

But 20 years is still a very short period to have built the great pyramid. The math tells that 1 stone should have been put in place for every 1 hour.

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mouse_8b t1_jbtbjqe wrote

Or 2 stones an hour in a 12 hour shift. Or 4 stones an hour in a 12 hour shift 6 months at a time. Placing a stone every 15 minutes doesn't seem so impossible, especially if there is a queue of stones ready to go.

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cargo_run_rust t1_jbtd1p5 wrote

It is possible, but the same pace over 20 years is unbelievable? Inspite of Rains, battles, summers, droughts... Too difficult to believe.

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flibble24 t1_jbte8b7 wrote

Same pace? Maybe busier some days than others.

Or are you suggesting aliens

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Entropy- t1_jbtg5h0 wrote

It’s not outrageous, considering the wealth of Egypt and half year time span to get everything ready and planned each year.

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Thibaudborny t1_jbt722b wrote

With a massive workforce of (off-)seasonal labourers, performing tasks for the state in an effort that saw a massive amount of the state's resources thrown into the fray. Calculations cited by Toby Wilkinson in "The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt", show that the effort of Cheops' (Khufu) pyramid could have been done by two crews of about 4000 men could have completed the job (to quarry, to haul & set in place 2.000.000+ blocks) + an equal number of men to construct and maintain the logistics of construction (ramps, scaffolding, etc) & other small army of workers for specific tasks (carpentry, pottery, cooking, etc) - all in all suggesting an estimated workforce of around 10.000 people. Most of these would only have been there according to the seasons (farmers off duty), with a small dedicated core tending to the site all-year round.

The shape of the pyramid is simple in conception, but the whole planning of the work (like the specific alignment of the building ) is nothing but impressive.

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cargo_run_rust t1_jbtdtld wrote

Yep. I'm a fan of toby wilkinson. But the numbers there are ridiculous

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Thibaudborny t1_jbtekxk wrote

Why? He is one of the foremost academics on the period, what makes them ludicrous?

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TheBattler t1_jbudbh0 wrote

I'm just here to point out that you keep on waving off every explanation as "ridiculous" but you readily accepted a story involving tamed elephants in Egypt in 2500 BC, which is not backed by evidence.

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Dtr4goat t1_jbtf25r wrote

I saw YouTube video that suggested they were able to transport the stones utilizing water pressure from the Nile River. Has anyone heard/read/ seen anything in regards to that theory? Does it have any merit?

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Entropy- t1_jbthuvj wrote

Yeah, the river used to run right in front of the sphinx monument, large boats were able to transport supplies or stones up and down the river. They had massive boats for the time period.

You can see where the lowest part of the terrain is to the left of the pathway walking up to the sphinx, that was the line of the river. You’ll definitely notice a difference

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