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Community => Recreation Commons => Our researchers have made a breakthrough! => Topic started by: Buster's Uncle on September 26, 2017, 05:11:29 PM

Title: Mystery of how the Great Pyramid was built has finally been solved
Post by: Buster's Uncle on September 26, 2017, 05:11:29 PM

Mystery of how the Great Pyramid was built has finally been solved
Ancient papyrus discovered that details amazing logistics.
Mother Nature Network
Bryan Nelson  September 26, 2017, 4:59 a.m.


(https://media.mnn.com/assets/images/2017/09/Pyramid.jpg.653x0_q80_crop-smart.jpg)
Mystery has long surrounded the construction of Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. (Photo: Nina Aldin Thune/Wiki Commons)



The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the great architectural marvels of history, but how the ancient Egyptians were able to haul the massive blocks into place — some from more than 500 miles away — has become a beguiling historical mystery. Theories abound, including wild postulations about ancient alien encounters, but little documentation has been uncovered that could finally put the matter to rest. That is, until now.

Archaeologists have uncovered ancient papyrus in the ancient port of Wadi al-Jarf, on the Red Sea, that appears to be a firsthand account of the construction of the Great Pyramid. The documents of note are contained within a diary of a man named Merer, an official known to have been involved in the planning of the architectural wonder, reports Newsweek.

At more than 4,500 years old, the documents are among the oldest papyri ever found. Given their content, they might represent one of the greatest discoveries in Egyptian archaeology in recent history.

If Merer's account is authentic — and there's no reason at this time to doubt it — then the Great Pyramid's massive stones were apparently ferried via canals right up to the foot of the structure. Given that the banks of the Nile River are currently several miles from Giza, this means that an elaborate canal system had to be built specifically for the purpose of building the pyramids. This isn't an outlandish idea, given that ancient Egyptians were masters of canal building, irrigation, and otherwise redirecting the Nile to suit their needs. Still, the finding demonstrates the remarkable engineering capabilities of these ancient people.

Since the discovery of the papyrus, archaeologists have corroborated Merer's account by also unearthing a buried waterway hidden beneath the Giza plateau, as well as a ceremonial boat at the foot of the pyramids.

The findings, detailed in a new documentary titled "Egypt's Great Pyramid: The New Evidence," aired recently on British television's channel 4, and can be viewed online here (http://www.channel4.com/programmes/egypts-great-pyramid-the-new-evidence/on-demand/67194-001).


https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/ancient-papyrus-discovered-reveals-how-great-pyramid-was-built (https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/ancient-papyrus-discovered-reveals-how-great-pyramid-was-built)

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I will be dipped.

Just last night, I was telling Momma there had to be a canal buried at Giza - not just for transporting blocks and such, but for afterwards.  The pyramids were symbolic of Ra's boathouse, if you ask me, and this is ancient Egypt we're talking about, where teh Big River was the center of their universe and all over their religion; there's about a million appropriate things one could do with the landscaping after construction.  -However, it would only take one generation of hard times and/or sloppiness about keeping the canal dredged for it to disappear, and I doubt the pseudo-river construction around the plaza lasted more than a few hundred years...

Title: Re: Mystery of how the Great Pyramid was built has finally been solved
Post by: Buster's Uncle on September 26, 2017, 06:26:08 PM

-And important to note that ISTR coming up with the canal idea in the first place as explanation for the strange erosion patterns of the Sphinx - the pseudo-nile clearly made a flowing pond around the Sphinx.

I found the BBC documentary on YouTube:
Ch4 Egypt's Great Pyramid: The New Evidence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uJtKVUNPaU#)
-because the vid at the link wouldn't play for me.  I'm listening to it now, and let's see if they don't work in the Sphinx...