How do you think the pyramids were built?

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

In preparation for his book 5/5/2000 Ice: The Ultimate Disaster, Richard Noone asked Merle Booker, technical director of the Indiana Limestone Institute of America, to prepare a time study of what it would take to quarry, fabricate, and ship enough limestone to duplicate the Great Pyramid.

“Using the most modern quarrying equipment available for cutting, lifting, and transporting the stone, Booker estimated that the present-day Indiana limestone industry would need to triple its output, and it would take the entire industry, which as I have said includes thirty-three quarries, twenty-seven years to fill the order for 131,467,940 cubic feet of stone.5 [sic] These estimates were based on the assumption that production would proceed without problems. Then we would be faced with the task of putting the limestone blocks in place.”

Yeah but does it have a deck you can grill on.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Karl Pilkington has the best reaction towards the pyramids.

 

[andnowweknow]

Yeah but does it have a deck you can grill on.

I'm sure it did. A sweet one.

 

[revoltub]

I think you're on the right track. But I think the better point to be made is that they wouldn't go to such lengths to use granite from 500 miles away in such quantities if it was a.) Unnecessary b.) Not easy for them to do.

I would posit that it was necessary for a functional purpose (not structural, limestone would have sufficed) to use granite and that whatever method used was relatively easy for them to accomplish...as weird as that sounds.

I say it must have been easy due to what we know about human nature and how we live today. We, as human beings, simply don't go to such lengths unless it is prudent to do so, we are constantly looking for efficiency and expediency unless the more difficult route is completely necessary. What continues to bother me about the whole Pyramid construction mystery is that we could build the great pyramid today, but even with our modern equipment it would be EXTREMELY difficult to accomplish to the same level of accuracy...and we ain't doing that in the proposed 20 years it took the builders (which is nonsense).

The levitation stuff I usually don't touch as it's pure speculation and there is no precedent for it in our technology...but, I think it's completely possible to be vastly inferior to us in certain forms of technology while at the same time vastly beyond us on another technological track that was beneficial in moving and work stone.

As for the accuracy, the Egyptians did have a knowledge of mathematics and therefore precision. For example when people are amazed by ancient wisdom of the stars, I always think well they didnt have phones or television, so they'd focus on stars (or math) more vehently than modern humans.

If we continue on the path of time conservation, as for the precision you mentioned, couldn't the pyramid, after the basic formation is competed, be "edited" or cut as it lies to fit the geometrical blueprints I'm only assuming the architect(s) had?

 

[andnowweknow]

As for the accuracy, the Egyptians did have a knowledge of mathematics and therefore precision. For example when people are amazed by ancient wisdom of the stars, I always think well they didnt have phones or television, so they'd focus on stars (or math) more vehently than modern humans.

If we continue on the path of time comservation, as for the precision you mentioned, couldn't the pyramid, after the basic formation is competed, be "edited" or cut as it lies to fit the geometrical blueprints I'm only assuming the architect(s) had?

The pyramid was smooth, not rough and unfinished as we see it today. It was face with polished white limestone casing stones. In 1300 or so AD a major earthquake loosened some uppermost casing stones which allowed locals to get crowbars in the gaps and begin knocking them off. Many of the large mosques in Cairo are made of these casing stone...talk about vandalism! The place has literally been a quarry for about 800 years now.

Here are several original casing stones, and to answer your question, no, it was built precisely in the blueprint ohase and executed to the point that it is the envy of every architect or great mind over the milenia that have examined it, from Isaac Newton to Napoleon and his traveling savants.

 

[Bacco]

Obviously Mammoths

 

[revoltub]

The pyramid was smooth, not rough and unfinished as we see it today. It was face with polished white limestone casing stones. In 1300 or so AD a major earthquake loosened some uppermost casing stones which allowed locals to get crowbars in the gaps and begin knocking them off. Many of the large mosques in Cairo are made of these casing stone...talk about vandalism! The place has literally been a quarry for about 800 years now.

Here are several original casing stones, and to answer your question, no, it was built precisely in the blueprint ohase and executed to the point that it is the envy of every architect or great mind over the milenia that have examined it, from Isaac Newton to Napoleon and his traveling savants.

The only explanation is that in the future we obtain the technology to build the pyramids and also time travel so we go back and build the pyramids to troll modern humans until we reach the era of time travel and all have a laugh.

 

[andnowweknow]

The only explanation is that in the future we obtain the technology to build the pyramids and also time travel so we go back and build the pyramids to troll modern humans until we reach the era of time travel and all have a laugh.

 

[TSO]

shit load of slaves

Slaves were not used.

 

[nhbfan8080]

Ancient republicans. With very few regulations, and trickle down economics, they were able to get A LOT done, and created work for the lower class.

I doubt current day conservatives really understand any real economy theory at all beyond mythical buzz words like trickle down while has never worked for any advanced economy at all.
The ancient great pyramid projects much more resemble massive govt projects with a massive amount of top down planning in order for them to be successful. In fact the pyramids are looked upon by economists as wasteful instead of allowing the free citizens and slaves to engage in more economically fruitful activities.

 

[NHB7]

It wasn’t all slaves. Some were paid, some were fulfilling what was considered a civic duty and responsibility. Ironically Israel had a similar policy when they started doing building projects (ie. The temple, border defenses). Under Solomon Israelites were expected to help build for free as a civic duty. Solomon, whose lineage came from Judea in the south, had most Israelites (including Northern Israelites) building projects in the south. When he died, his son Rehoboam (SP?), took the crown. The Northern Israelites demanded to know if he was expecting them to continue this free labor. He said yes and they revolted and killed the guy in charge of directing the building projects. I forget the word they used, but they called that man basically a task manager and the word they used was used only one other time in the Bible, it was used to describe the “slave masters” in Egypt.

Basically, any Israelites that were in Egypt at the time of monumental construction (not of Pyramids mind you, as those were much older) were, as citizens of Egypt, expected to provide a free civic duty and help build monuments. Of course the Israelites there didn’t see it that way, they experienced it as indentured servitude and when they attempted to escape it, they were in the minds of the aristocracy in Egypt, defectors prosecutable with death.

Anyway, the pyramids were much older than Hebrew slaves. But were likely built with a similar assortment of slaves and indentured citizen servants.

But TS real question is could people have done this....yes. They did. It was designed by brilliant people which existed then as they do now. In fact, because they lacked the technology, they needed even greater ingenuity than we have today. Truly mankind can create amazing things.

 

[nhbfan8080]

In preparation for his book 5/5/2000 Ice: The Ultimate Disaster, Richard Noone asked Merle Booker, technical director of the Indiana Limestone Institute of America, to prepare a time study of what it would take to quarry, fabricate, and ship enough limestone to duplicate the Great Pyramid.

“Using the most modern quarrying equipment available for cutting, lifting, and transporting the stone, Booker estimated that the present-day Indiana limestone industry would need to triple its output, and it would take the entire industry, which as I have said includes thirty-three quarries, twenty-seven years to fill the order for 131,467,940 cubic feet of stone.5 [sic] These estimates were based on the assumption that production would proceed without problems. Then we would be faced with the task of putting the limestone blocks in place.”

Thats a scary amount of work for a single pyramid. I wonder how the ancient bureaucrats manage to convince the pharoah to build it in the first place.

 

[andnowweknow]

Thats a scary amount of work for a single pyramid. I wonder how the ancient bureaucrats manage to convince the pharoah to build it in the first place.

The Great Pyramid has enough limestone in it to build 30 Empire State Buildings. Aside from the precision of it all, most people who haven't looked into it don't have a real grasp on the scope.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I honestly think it's just ignorance that leads to people wondering about the building of the pyramids. I don't mean that to be insulting. Just lack of experience.

Humans are ingenious, have been for hundreds of thousands of years. Of course an empire could build some buildings out of stone really precisely. We don't often get all old-school with hand tools in interesting construction projects so we don't tend to think in those terms but even a top 1%er can think their way through most if those problems. Egypt had a body of knowledge on the matter, lifetimes of work on it and the best minds of millions with a state entirely behind them and incredibly cheap labour.

This. I don’t understand why people have to resort to crazy alien theories to explain how some shit was built. Occam’s razor - humans probably built them. Most likely, the humans who were living there at that time.

 

[bandicoot]

Wonder Showzen was FUCKING GENIUS

 

[bandicoot]

Wait. Are you serious? Just so happens A) it was a joke and B) I myself am Jewish.

Are you really that sensitive?

He is, he's completely bitch made

 

[elreece]

Slaves were not used.

some were, yes there was paid labor but there was still a good slab of slaves doing the heavy lifting.

 

[TSO]

some were, yes there was paid labor but there was still a good slab of slaves doing the heavy lifting.

Nope.

 

[elreece]

Nope.

So you think not ONE slave was used at all?

 

[TSO]

The Great Pyramid has enough limestone in it to build 30 Empire State Buildings. Aside from the precision of it all, most people who haven't looked into it don't have a real grasp on the scope.

Yet once you've seen modern buildings that hit almost 1500' tall the great pyramids dont actually impress you at under 500'.