For several millennia, inquiring minds have wondered how the pyramids were constructed.
The Egyptian pyramids were not built from the top down. Like the vast majority of construction projects, the workers started with the base and worked their way up. One of the biggest problems they faced was raising the stones to the top of the structure. They most likely used ramps to solve that problem, though we do not know precisely what type of ramp.
There is still a lot left to learn about the process of pyramid construction. But we do have partial evidence and some robust theories.
The Great Mystery of the Pyramids
For several millennia, the Egyptian pyramids were the largest human-made structures on earth. Their sheet majesty and mammoth size compared to the scope of the other construction efforts of the ancient world have inspired wonder in countless observers.
The most remarkable pyramid of all is the Great Pyramid of Giza. To construct it, the builders used an estimated 2 million large blocks made of stone. These pieces weighed around two and a half tons on average. When you think about the tremendous undertaking, this must have been for an ancient civilization. It is understandable why some believe this was the work of aliens.
Even the great Greek historian Herodotus had some weird ideas about how the pyramids were built. He wrote that they were constructed by slaves using ‘machines.’ However, neither of those claims is true.
However, we have a tremendous amount of evidence as to why the pyramids were built and by whom. The Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom had them built to serve as their tombs and facilitate their ascension to the sky in the afterlife. Archaeological findings have also revealed quite a bit about the workers who constructed the pyramids.
However, there is still quite a bit we don’t know about the process of construction.
The Use of Ramps
The central mystery is how the ancient Egyptians elevated those giants rocks to the top of the pyramid. After all, the Great Pyramid of Giza stood 481 feet tall at the time of construction. Raising stones to that height would have been very difficult, considering the technology available at the time.
This is why some have speculated that the pyramids may have been built from the top down. However, this would create even more significant logistical problems. After all, if you made a substantial amount of the top of a pyramid upside down, placing the completed section on top would be more complicated than moving the individual stones blocks up, to begin with
After all, the Great Pyramid of Giza stood 481 feet tall at the time of construction. Raising stones to that height would have been very difficult, considering the technology available at the time.
The Egyptians often used ramps in those days, and archaeologists have found several examples. However, the types recovered were not significant or tall enough to support a mighty pyramid’s construction. Indeed, some calculations have shown that building a single ramp that would reach the top was probably impossible. The incline would make the ramp a mile long, and there is no room in Giza for its construction.
Another option is that the Egyptians built a ramp that went around the pyramids like a corkscrew. However, some architects have noted that this method would have made it impossible to correctly measure and complete the corners.
Therefore, while it is highly likely that ramps were used, a good deal of mystery surrounds the exact process by which these construction aids were made and used.
Since ramps that could facilitate the construction of huge pyramids have not been found, not all researchers agree that ramps were used to reach the highest points.
Inside Out or Outside In?
Another theory holds that external ramps were used to construct the base of larger pyramids. Meanwhile, internal scaffolding was used for the top part, meaning some of the Great Pyramid was built ‘inside out.’
We tend to think of Giza’s famous pyramids as the be-all and end-all of pyramids. But in truth, the ancient Egyptians built well over 100 in total over 2000 years. In that time, building technology and fashions changed. It is doubtful that all pyramids were constructed in the same way.
But we know two things for sure. Aliens did not build the pyramids, and they were constructed from the bottom up.