Building the Pyramids
How did they do it?
by
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I'm standing beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza, Egypt. It’s just after sunrise on March 23, 1978. I've dreamed of this moment for so long I was afraid it might be anticlimactic. I worried needlessly. Before me a mountain of stone blocks climbs to the sky. I’m awestruck, mouth agape. Why? Is it the size of the mountain? Yes, that's part of it. Its age? That too. Its intriguing history? No doubt. But gazing upward a single question prevails: How in blazes did all those stones get from down here to up there? It is remarkable that we have no answer, though it has been studied for centuries. Now my baby brother and I are scrambling up the northeast edge of the pyramid. To slow his pace I frequently pause to take photos; otherwise he'll leave me far behind. We gain the summit in twenty minutes. The view of Khafre's pyramid is breathtaking. The morning sun reflects from its smoothed upper portion. What a sight the pyramids must have been before their beautiful casing stones were plundered long ago.
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About the Book
This book examines the architectural achievements of the Egyptian pyramid builders and how they may have accomplished those deeds. Many of their building techniques we today cannot explain. The baffling puzzle of how the stones were raised is one of these. The big puzzle aside, many minor mysteries are for the first time explained. Egyptologists agree that those performing the heavy labor were conscripted citizens, not slaves. The builders were inventive, motivated, daring, and superbly organized. They made mistakes, the price of innovation. Still, they persevered, and created some of the most impressive monuments in history. This book should help the reader understand the problems the builders faced, and instill admiration of their work.
About the Author
BOB MOORES has a mechanical engineering degree from Johns Hopkins University. He worked in product development as a designer and manager for Black & Decker/DeWalt for 36 years. He was granted 38 U.S. patents. For the past 46 years his hobby has been studying construction of the Egyptian pyramids. In 1987 he was a member of the National Geographic team that revealed the second of Pharaoh Khufu’s two solar boats entombed in a rock-cut pit on the south side of the Great Pyramid. Bob lives with his wife Marlene in Chestertown, Maryland.