Essay on Egyptian pyramids

The history of ancient Egypt features a lot of unsolved mysteries and one of the most intricate is the perfection of Egyptian pyramids. Any other building of the past cannot be compared with the Fourth Dynasty pyramids at Giza that were built on the desert plateau near Memphis, as being so magnificent and splendor, they make the visitors become fascinated and curious about the ways ancient people could construct  such a great size without modern machinery and technics. So it becomes understandable why this funerary complex and the Great Pyramid built for Khufu in particular are admitted to be one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, as its size is definitely enormous (Hunt, 2009, p. 89).

It is not surprising why so many theories about the ways of pyramids’ construction exist, as there are not any written evidences that can prove the actual process of building. So, let us consider and contrast two of the theories, which were presented by English archeologist ”“ Petrie and the best-known expert of the Egyptian pyramids ”“ Jean-Philippe Lauer.

Petrie ”“ a great English archeologist researched the issues of the pyramids during all his life. According to the theory developed by Petrie, a single vertical ramp was constructed just on the one side of the pyramid and increased in size during the whole process of a pyramid construction (Verner, Miroslav; Rendall, Steven, 2001, p. 89). Speaking about the materials from which the ramp was built, Petrie suggested that sand, clay, bricks along with wooden beams were present there. Thus, judging by Petrie’s assumptions, it should be said that the volume of such a ramp might be the same of the one of a pyramid. So, this theory cannot be called an appropriate one, as it is obvious that such a ramp would require a lot of materials as well as much time for its construction and removal. Moreover, no one found such a huge mass of materials near the territory of the pyramids and the fact that they were transported to another place seems to be very doubtful.

Another theory suggested by Jean- Philippe Lauer is considered to be more thought out and efficient. Lauer states that there was not a single ramp, but a combination of ramps of different sizes and gradients. Furthermore, various lifting devices and tools were used as well, and among them ropes, poles, round beams and wooden levers. Lauer tried to apply his theory to the Great Pyramid in Giza, as it is believed to be the most complex of the Egyptian pyramids, thus illustrating all tiny details of his assumptions. The overall volume of the ramp is estimated by Lauer to be 1,560,000 cubic meters and the one of the whole pyramid – 4,160,000 cubic meters accordingly (Verner, Miroslav; Rendall, Steven, 2001, p. 91).

To draw the conclusion, it should be said that the theory of Jean- Philippe Lauer seems to me more significant and therefore the one that explains the mystery of the pyramid construction in the best way. Despite some particular inaccuracies, as any mention about the methods of ramp removal, Lauer’s theory provides more sufficient details about the process of pyramids building as well as gives us an idea of step-by-step workers actions.



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