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| A Newport engineer claims the long-held theory that the Egyptians used outer ramps to construct the pyramids is 'impossible'. He believes that the Egyptians built an inner core of zigzagging stairs, using smaller, lighter blocks while the larger outer casing stones were placed on the outside using scaffolding |
Dec 19, 2013 | DailyMail Online | Victoria Woollaston
For centuries it's been thought that the ancient Egyptians built their huge pyramids by hauling heavy granite blocks up specially crafted ramps.
Yet Newport engineer Peter James has branded this ‘impossible’, claiming the ramps would need to have been a quarter of a mile long or else they would have been too steep to carry the large blocks up.
He believes, instead, that the Egyptians built an inner core of zigzagging ramps, using smaller, lighter blocks while the larger outer casing stones were placed on the outside using scaffolding.
This means the pyramid was built up in layers and the top would have been built using scaffolding on the outside.
Peter James and his company Cintec are experts in construction and have been restoring the Egyptian pyramids for the past 18 years.
Mr James told the MailOnline: ‘Looking at the pyramids from a builder’s point of view, and not an archaeologist’s, it’s clear that the current theories are nonsense.
‘Just look at the numbers. Under the current theories, to lay 2 million blocks, the Egyptians would had to have laid a large block once every three minutes.
HOW WERE THE PYRAMIDS BUILT: CONFLICTING THEORIES
For centuries archaeologies believed that the ancient Egyptians built the huge pyramids by hauling heavy granite blocks up specially crafted ramps.
Under this theory, to lay 2 million blocks, the Egyptians would had to have laid a large block once every three minutes and it would have taken 100,000 people.
Newport engineer Peter James has branded this ‘impossible’ claiming the ramps would need to have been a quarter of a mile long or else they would have been too steep to carry the large blocks up.
He believes, instead, that the Egyptians built an inner core of zigzagging ramps, using smaller, lighter blocks while the larger outer casing stones were placed on the outside using scaffolding.
They would have set out the four corners a pyramid, like the four corners of a house. They then would have built four access points in the centre of the pyramid.
Next they would have established where the burial chamber would need to be built, and that would have been built using granite.
Starting from the walls of the burial chamber, the Egyptians could then build ramps using the lighter, smaller rocks in zigzags (pictured above left) around the structure, placing these rocks on top of each other as they went in order to build the pyramid up in layers.
The heavy blocks could then be either pulled up these ramps on sledges, or placed on the outside using scaffolding made from timber and lashings.
This theory builds on the work of French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin who, in 2007, similarly claimed that the pyramids were built from the inside out.
He suggested the ramps would have been built in the centre of the pyramid, or in a spiral 30 to 50ft beneath the outer skin (pictured centre and right).
The scaffolding used by the Egyptians would have been made from timber and lashings and James knows this would have been successful because he used these materials when repairing the pyramids.
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| The theory is also supported by the maze-like inner structures of the
pyramids. This is the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid of Giza |
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| The theory is also supported by the maze-like inner structures of the pyramids. This is the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid of Giza |
James continued that once the rest of the pyramid was built, the top blocks would had to have been placed from the outside, but would fit together like ‘Lego.’
He also said that he was sure of this theory because when studying the structures he noticed that none of the blocks on the later pyramids were bigger than 30 or 40cm thick.
According to Mr James, as the different pyramids were built from the Step pyramid to the Bent and Red pyramid and finally to the True pyramids, it was clear that the Egyptians were innovators.
‘Really these pyramids show a lot of innovation of how [the Egyptians] overcame problems, and how they resolved them in the next pyramid.'
He was inspired by this alternative theory when he was asked to look again at the Step pyramid after the burial chamber had collapsed.
‘People believe the Egyptians built this as a stairway to the heavens and to the gods, but it’s more simple than that.
On timber and lashing scaffolding, the Egyptians would not have wanted to go higher than 10 metres at a time, so they built 10 metres, took a step inwards and built another 10 metres. It’s not symbolic, it’s practical.'
Whichever method was used, on these different pyramids, it would still have been a substantial job.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, for example, is believed to have been 481ft tall when it was built but has sunk slightly and is now around 455ft tall. The base is said to cover 756ft.
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| Originally, Giza, pictured, and other pyramids would have been covered
by casing stones. This would have given them a smooth outer surface, yet this is missing from the current structure and all that remains is the underlying core. James believes the larger stones would have crumbled because of 4,000 years of heat exposure |
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| MYSTERY OF THE OUTER CASTINGS Originally, Giza and other pyramids would have been covered by casing stones. This would have given it a smooth outer surface, yet this is missing from the current structure and all that remains is the underlying core.‘Some locals claim that these stones were stolen, but I can’t see anyone wanting to climb that high to do that,’ said Peter James. ‘Archaeologists claim that the pyramid casing fell off, especially on the bent pyramid, because of the foundations. But it’s not that either. Not at all.‘It’s a simple temperature problem. The outer blocks heat up to 40 and 50 degrees during the day and at night it cools to 4 or 5 degrees. ‘When limestone heats up, it expands and it never goes back to where it starts. This would have caused the casing and the structure to warp and bend meaning the problem was all over the pyramid, so it couldn’t be foundations. |
‘Some locals claim that these stones were stolen, but I can’t see anyone wanting to climb that high to do that,’ continued James.
‘Archaeologists claim that the pyramid casing fell off, especially on the bent pyramid, because of the foundations. But it’s not that either. Not at all.
‘It’s a simple temperature problem. The outer blocks heat up to 40 and 50 degrees during the day and at night it cools to 4 or 5 degrees.
‘When limestone heats up, it expands and it never goes back to where it starts. This would have caused the casing and the structure to warp and bend meaning the problem was all over the pyramid, so it couldn’t be foundations.
'And after 4,000 years, that’s a lot of expanding and movement. There’s a builder’s story to be told here. Not an academic one.’
The reason Egyptian chose the pyramid shape is believed to stem back to the Egyptian sun god Ra.
Ra was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before he created all other gods.
The shape is also thought to be symbolic of the sun’s rays and they were usually placed on the western side of the Nile so the pharaoh’s soul could join the sun as set.
James’ theory supports that suggested by French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin in 2007. Like James, Houdin began working on the riddle and quickly found flaws in the two existing theories.
He claimed the ramp must have been a spiral 30-50ft beneath the outer skin.
He added that his theory could be proved by radars and heat detecting cameras as the ramp had to remain inside the finished structure.
The two theories mean that that 4,000 people could have built the pyramid using the techniques outlined - rather than previous estimates of around 100,000.
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