Who Built the Pyramids Essay Example

a thing is unlikely.

Also, recently, villages were found near Giza and from the remains of the villages it has been understood that the villagers were far from being slaves. Many of the villagers could possibly have been farmers, manufacturers, craftsmen, tailors, and the like. Now after proving the theory of Herodotus wrong, a new theory has been created.The villages that were found near Giza contained structures that were similar in making to the pyramids. This caused researchers to believe that the inhabitants of this village were the ones that built the pyramid of the pharaoh Khufu and, possibly, the pyramids made afterward. It has been told through Herodotus that it took over 100,000 people to built the pyramids over a period of 20 years (he was probably told this by guides or storytellers) and that is nowhere near the modest amount of workers estimated to have populated the villages.

The pyramid is an architectural feat that cannot be duplicated with our modern technology and advanced knowledge. Many… have tried to build a smaller pyramid to scale, but have not been successful” (Warren). Egyptologists Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass had once collaborated with NOVA (a show on PBS) and went to Giza to construct a pyramid of their own next to the original by using the same procedure that the original workers had probably used when constructing the pyramids.The Egyptologists used twelve men and only achieved a small amount of work in the time given.

Mark Lehner decided to use more men and proportioned the data to see how much more work would be accomplished and how long it would take to do so. Eventually,

Lehner reached the conclusion that “between 20,000 and 30,000 laborers were needed to build the Great Pyramid at Giza in less that twenty three years. By comparison, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris took almost two hundred years to complete” (How).This number seemed reasonable but it had to be applied to other factors regarding the villages, such as the actual population of the villages. “Rooted firmly in the popular imagination is he idea that the pyramids were built by slaves serving a merciless pharaoh… But graffiti from inside the Giza monuments themselves have long suggested something very different” (Shaw).

These inscriptions that were found demonstrated that there were groups that were divided into tribes (the word tribes in Egyptian is “za”).The tribes that Mark Lehner seems to have discovered some information about were like “gangs” and none seemed to be involved in slavery. Not long after, Lehner and his group had discovered the names of the “gangs” on the sides of monuments and, after further research, it appeared to Lehner that different tribes, or gangs, were assigned much labor work. …There must have been a cadre of very seasoned laborers who really knew how to cut stone so fine that you could join them without getting a razor blade in between.And perhaps they were the stone cutters and setters, and the experienced quarry men at the quarry wall.

And the people who rotated in and out were those doing all the different raw labor, not only the schlepping of the stone but preparing gypsum and we don't know to what extent the other industries were also organized in the phyles system. (Who) Zahi Hawass contributed to

Mark Lehner’s ideas about the number of workers and who they were. He and his crew found around six hundred skeletons that most likely belonged to the workers.After having those skeletons checked by scholars, doctors, and the like, it was revealed that many of the skeletons had suffered injuries that could have been achieved from hard labor used in building the pyramids.

Zahi Hawass also contributed to Lehner’s findings by deciphering the writing inside the five chambers of the Great Pyramid. The inscriptions prove that it was not enslaved Hebrews as Herodotus thought, but Egyptians, who built the pyramids. From inscriptions in the pyramids and evidence found from the villages, twenty-five different titles were collected.Of these different titles, there are artisans, bakers, overseers, craftsmen, inspectors, and directors of tomb building. Many people still choose to question this theory for it still involves the use of human labor, craftsmanship, and technology which they believe was not advanced enough during that time for the Egyptians to successfully build such a monument.

However, in the case for Egyptians, it can be argued that for many years civilization has managed without much technology, therefore, it is not improbable that the Egyptians built the pyramids. We are today so used to machinery to carry out virtually all our major construction work that we sometimes forget that machinery, in terms of historical events, is a very new development… [and has] only been around a couple of hundred years or so” (Mayes). The other theory is that extra-terrestrial forces, or aliens, built the Pyramids at Giza. By looking at the many characteristics and features of the pyramids, especially specifics regarding the Great

Pyramid, many people have conjectured that it is impossible for any human to have any part in the unbelievable physical and geographical attributes of the pyramids.As mentioned before, researchers and historians have found there to be no proof of the construction of the pyramids in Egyptian records. Those who believe the alien theory argue that if the Egyptians had really built the pyramids, why would they not mention such an important event in any of their records.

Other than this, many of the arguments revolve around the dimensions of the pyramid, specifics, astronomy, and geography of the pyramids. The Great Pyramid itself consists of “approximately 2. 5 million blocks that weight from two tons (4000 pounds) to over seventy tons.The blocks on the top of the pyramid are from the same site and time period as those on the bottom” (Warren). Laborers would have to carry these blocks all the way to the site of the pyramids, which was not an easy task for there was no way to transport the blocks as the wheel had not been invented yet.

For such heavy blocks to be carried even a short distance was a demanding job and would be difficult for the ordinary man. On the day of the summer solstice, the sun is seen setting between the Great Pyramid of Giza and its neighboring pyramid when it is viewed from the base of the Sphinx.On the day of the winter solstice, “the sun rises exactly at the left side of the base of the Sphinx’s head. Then it traces it all the way around until it sets on the right side of the Sphinx’s head”

(Aliens).

This is not something the Egyptians could have planned out for they had no knowledge of either the summer or the winter solstices. If the three pyramids at Giza are viewed in relation to a compass rose, the edges of the pyramids are lined up almost exactly to all four of the poles. The compass is an invention that wasn’t around until long after the pyramids were built.One of the more amazing evidence is the alignment of the three pyramids with three of the stars on the belt of Orion.

“…the positioning of the three Pyramids of Giza are exactly aligned with the position of the three starts in the belt of Orion, both in position and in size” (Aliens). The only small difference is that the direction of their alignments is different from that of the stars in Orion’s Belt. Like many of the other previously mentioned details, it would be very difficult for the Egyptians to be able to do this. Other evidence regarding this theory has to do with the measurements.

The Great Pyramid at Giza covers thirteen acres of land. It was originally 485 feet tall, but is not 450 feet due to erosion. “Each side of the square base is 755. 5 feet in length” (Warren). Each angle of the base is ninety degrees forming a perfect right angle.

Much more mathematical data can be achieved from the dimensions. For example, if the perimeter of the pyramid is divided by twice the height, the number achieved is equivalent to the number pi calculated up to the fifteenth digit. Pi was only calculated to the fourth digit in the 6th century.Also,

the height of the pyramid is about one billionth of the distance from the Sun. The Great Pyramid was built on almost perfect level and only differs about half an inch over the whole thirteen acres of land that it covers. Each stone block is cut with such precision and fit so tightly that the smallest or skinniest object can’t fit through between any two blocks.

Pyramidologists believe that the meridian line runs through the pyramid north and south. Due to this, they also believe that the pyramid should be the zero line of the entire world.It is because the facts stated above are so exceptionally accurate that it makes people believe that humans could not have done such accurate work, especially a civilization with hardly any machinery or technology. The theory that the pyramids were built by the Hebrews, though still widely known, had been found to be incorrect. Instead, a new theory has been made that the pyramids were built by nearby villagers.

Others believe that to build the pyramids of Giza was and is an impossible task for humans, and that it has to be the work of extra-terrestrial forces.Though there is much reasoning and evidence behind both of the current theories, only one can be true. Until more substantial evidence can be found, the questions as to who built the pyramids will remain unanswered. Works Cited “Aliens Built the Pyramids.

” 15 Apr. 2008 ;http://www. outerworlds. com/likeness/aliens/ aliens.

html;. “How Were the Egyptian Pyramids Built? ” Science Daily. 29 Mar. 2008. 16 Apr.

2008 ;http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2008/03/080328104302. htm;.

Manley, Bill. The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames andHudson,

2003.Mayes, Keith.

“Who Built the Egyptian Pyramids? ” Theories with Problems. 16 Apr. 2008 ;http://www. thekeyboard. org.

uk/who%20built%20the%20pyramids. htm;. Shaw, Jonathan. “Who Built the Pyramids? ” Harvard Magazine. July-Aug. 2003.

15 Apr. 2008 ;http://harvardmagazine. com/2003/07/who-built-the-pyramids. html;.

Warren, Lee E. “The Great Pyramid of Giza. ” PLIM. May-June 1997. 16 Apr. 2008 ;http://www.

plim. org/greatpyramid. html;. “Who Built the Pyramids? ” Nova Online. 15 Apr.

2008 ;http://www. pbs. org/wghb/nova/ pyramid/explore/builders. html;.