• DOI:10.1353/TECH.2003.0063
• Corpus ID: 109998651

Building the Great Pyramid: Probable Construction Methods Employed at Giza

@article{Edwards2003BuildingTG,
  title={Building the Great Pyramid: Probable Construction Methods Employed at Giza},
  author={James Frederick Edwards},
  journal={Technology and Culture},
  year={2003},
  volume={44},
  pages={340 - 354}
}

• J. F. Edwards
• Published 7 May 2003
• Engineering
• Technology and Culture

The article challenges the current principle theories proposed by Egyptologists and historians, namely, that the building blocks used in the construction of the Great Pyramid were elevated into position using ramps or levers. Using contemporary and ancient evidence, certain scientific parameters relating to the hauling of stone blocks are deduced, from which a more logical and practical alternative methodology emerged: utilizing the angled faces of the structure itself as a means of transporting the blocks used to construct the pyramid. Estimates relating to construction time were derived together with a much reduced workforce compared with that previously postulated. Previously, it had been proposed that as many as twenty-five thousand workers were involved at the building site during the most intensive period of construction. However, a significant proportion of this workforce would have been involved with building and maintaining massive construction ramps, which, using the methodology put forward in the article, would not have been required.