How werethe pyramids built?

Question

Any interesting tid bits you might know would be neat to know
Weight, Size, Age, Height, etc.

Answer 1

While all of the precise methods regarding how the pyramids were built are not known, there are some general areas of consensus among professional scholars. (Think about it - if you saw a modern skyscraper, fully built, but had no idea about modern building techniques and had no written materials directly relating to the building of the skyscraper, would you know exactly how it was built?)

Tools included square levels and plumb bobs, set squares, and vertical plumb bobs (which can be seen in the Cairo Museum), as well as copper blades for stone cutting, pounding stones for dressing stone blocks, and a ridged, mushroom shaped device that may have served as a sort of "proto-pulley."

There is a general consensus among professional Egyptologists about construction techniques, most involving the use of ramps, the consensus breaks down a little on the details of construction, but there are several very good theories about the practicalities of moving blocks into place, etc. The most common theory involves the construction of ramps either directly outward or in a sort of spiral that rose as the pyramid rose. Blocks were dragged into place on sledges or on rolling logs. There is also evidence to suggest that those blocks that were not quarried on-site were moved to the building site during the annual innundation (flood) when they could be floated in close to the building site, and then moved by brute force into place.

Experimental studies by Dr. Mark Lehner have demonstrated that large blocks can be moved with a sufficient amount of man power - do a Google search for his name for more information on this. I believe it was also a subject of a NOVA special called "This Old Pyramid."
Unfortunately, until recently the evidence for the ramps has been circumstantial as such things would obviously be removed post-construction.
A French Egyptologist has recently found good evidence for remnants of ramps. I'm not certain how widely disseminated the information has been in the public sector - the reference I'm familiar with is in French in a scholarly journal.

Pyramid construction relied on highly skilled teams of workmen who were housed nearby the pyramid fields - in the Old Kingdom located in the general vicinity of the ancient capital Memphis at sites now knows as Giza, Saqqara, Meidum, and Dashur. A few pyramids in the Middle Kingdom were located near the Fayum, roughly Middle Egypt.
In addition to the full-time workmen, there was likely a seasonal labor requirement asked of the lower classes of Egyptian society - a sort of taxation, often referred to by the French term "corvee" labor. This is distinct from slavery. While the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (writing over a thousand years after the construction of the pyramids at Giza) reported that he was told the pyramids at Giza were constructed by slaves, Herodotus was wrong about any number of things in his reports and may not even have visited Egypt in person, so he is usually not taken as a realiable source.

The Egyptians were perfectly capable of using the basic mathematics necessary for the construction and layout of most pyramids. Despite the superb accuracy of the layout and plan, this was not impossible for them to achieve, nor did it require calculus. While no mathematical texts from the Old Kingdom survive, texts from the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period demonstrate a clear familiarity on the part of the Egyptians with basic arithmetic, geometry, and trigonometry.


The first royal pyramid in Egypt was built around 2650 BC in the reign of Sneferu during the Old Kingdom. Various kings and members of their immediate families built pyramids on and off for the rest of the Old Kingdom and during the Middle Kingdom. The last royal pyramid in Egypt was constructed by King Ahmose I, the first king of the New Kingdom.

The most famous pyramids in Egypt, and probably the only ones many people are even aware of (and, incidentally, the ones that attract the "Pyramidiots" with their bizarre, unsubstantiated claims) are the 3 main pyramids at Giza dating to the 4th Dynasty, accompanied by the Sphinx, various subsidiary pyramids and mastabas and temples.

Pyramids continued in use on a much smaller scale by private individuals in Egypt throughout the rest of Egyptian history.

Pyramids were also constructed by the Kushite kings of Nubia in modern Sudan during the 1st millennium BC.

If you're interested in more information, I strongly recommend looking at "The Complete Pyramids" by Dr. Mark Lehner, one of the foremost Egyptologists studying pyramids today. The book is well illustrated, easy to understand, and widely available.

Answer 2

Lots of people.

Most recent theory is that it was not slaves, but free labour.

I think the Hebrew slaves bit is a little far fetched - by the time of Rameses the pyramids were ancient history.

Answer 3

Location...location....location!

Answer 4

The current theory is that they where constructed by citizens of Egypt who where conscripted for a set period of time to aid the construction.

Answer 5

You need to search the internet about this. There are a lot of sites that would give you the info you need.

Answer 6

With the hands.

Answer 7

BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE, PROBABLY FROM MARS

Answer 8

Slave labor. ( mostly hebrews)