Construction Theory of Khufu's Pyramid

For the ancient egyptians to move 2,300,000 blocks of stone, weighting 2.5 tons average each,heavier ones near the base and lighter ones on the upper levels, from cutting them at the quarry, transporting them in boats to the Giza building site, shaping them and moving them into position, all this had to be done with the most available efficient means at hand and that was organized gangs of farmers pulling them on wooden sleds up rubble ramps. Available evidence suggests that ramps made of rubble from dressing the stones and other building rubble was used and they pulled the blocks to each level on wooden sleds using these ramps. Those same farmers could only work part of the year when the Nile river flooded their farm land, the rest of the year they had to farm. This meant that only a small permanent workforce was working on the Giza pyramids during the full year, maybe two thousand at most including those at the stone quarry. I believe that the builders used some sort of a system of sliding the stones from the plain below by the use of ropes and sleds as evidenced in carvings of other tombs showing large statues on wooden sleds, being pulled by groups of men while some type of lubricate was poured in front of the sled to reduce friction. Once the stone reached the level it was to be placed on, I believe they were maneuvered into position using wooden pry poles and some type of lubricate to help them slid. This theory could account for some of the ancient texts reporting the pyramid stones were put in place by using short pieces of wood. Enough manpower was stationed at the level being worked on to be able to maneuver the heavy stones into position while other gangs of men were assigned the role of pulling the stones from the valley floor to the present working level. Of course there were many of these pull operations operating on the ramps, allowing many stones to be pulled and placed hourly. I believe there were many ramps running from ground level to most of the lower levels of the pyramid where the heavest and largest number of stones were placed. As the height of the pyramid increased, the size and weight of the stones decreased and some system of short internal ramps, using counter-weights was used to pull the blocks to the higher levels. I would imagine that stationed at the end of these short internal ramps were gangs of pullers, whose job it was to take over the pulling from one gang, pull the block a certain distance and turn the block over to the next gang to be pulled higher up to the level it was needed. As the levels rose, another internal ramp with a counter-weight was built to help move the blocks up to the working levels there-by decreasing the need of men to pull the blocks for long distances. This system gave each gang a little rest in between pulls. If a system of internal counter-weight ramps was used, with short manpower pulling ramps going from one counter-weight ramp to the next one, blocks could have been moved quickly. All in all, no more than 15000 to 20000 men would be working on the pyramid during the flood season and with a lot of stone ready to be positioned, from the labor of the permanent workcrew who shaped and smoothed the stones to get them ready for the seasonal workforce. Almost all the stones were quarried close to the pyramid. The Great Pyramid could be finished in 20 years. Of course this theory will apply to all pyramids. To complete the Great Pyramid, figure the men had 6 months a year to work on the pyramid, pulling up and getting the stones in place that had been prepared for them by the permanent workforce. That's 2,300,000 stones placed over a 20 years (2,300,000 / 20 = 115000 blocks per year, 115000/180 days = 639 blocks per day , 639/12 hours a day = 53 blocks per hour raised to the working level), easily possible with a large number of ramps for the lower levels and pull gangs working at the same time, and the handoff system being used by many pull gangs stationed along the super ramp or assigned gangs at shorter ramps, needed for getting the smaller stones to the upper levels. A lot of the evidence now available to prove the hard work that these pull gangs endured is by looking at the bones of those that died and were buried in a workmens graveyard in the shadow of the Great Pyramid. The back bones show a great deal of stress was applied to the discs in the back and this would come from pulling and lifting heavy objects for a period of time. This workmens graveyard also answers another question about who built the pyramids. If they were built by slaves, no Pharoah would have allowed them to be buried in the shadow of his tomb. It is very clear that these laborers were egyptians giving freely of their time and energy in the service of their God King.

"Imagination is so much more important than knowledge"
Einstein

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