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Pyramids: Cast, Poured, or Both?

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Author Topic: Pyramids: Cast, Poured, or Both?  (Read 9426 times)
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Qoais
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« Reply #105 on: November 13, 2009, 06:12:11 pm »

                                         The Archaeological Evidence
1. The hieroglyphic texts:

We know the Egypt of the Pharaohs quite well, thanks to its numerous steles, frescos and
papyrus describing all kinds of religious, scientific, technical knowledge, the craft industry,
agriculture, medicine, astronomy, and so on. However, there is not a single hieroglyphic
document revealing the pyramids’ construction with carved stones, ramps, and wooden sledges.
On the contrary, we find many texts showing that the ancient Egyptians had the knowledge of
man-made stones:

The Famine Stele is engraved on a rock at Sehel island, close to Elephantine. It stages the god
Khnum, Pharaoh Zoser and his architect Imhotep, builder of the first pyramid at Saqqarah. This
inscription contains 650 hieroglyphs depicting either rocks and minerals, or their transformation
processes. In column 12, we read: "With these products (mineral) they built (...) the royal tomb (the
pyramid)". In columns 18 to 20, the god Khnum gives to Zoser a list of minerals needed in the
construction of these sacred monuments. This list does not mention the traditional hard and
compact construction stones like limestone (ainr-hedj), monumental sandstone (ainr-rwdt) or
Aswan granite (mat). By studying this text, we notice that we cannot build a pyramid or a temple
with simple minerals, except if they are used to manufacture the binder of a re-agglomerated
stone. [8]

The Irtysen stele (C14) at the Louvre Museum is an autobiography of the sculptor Irtysen
under one of the Mentouhotep Pharaohs, eleventh dynasty (2000 B.C.). It explains the method of
manufacturing synthetic stone statues (with "cast stone"). [9]

The Ti fresco, fifth dynasty (2450 front. J.-C.), illustrates the sculptors work on a wooden statue,
the manufacturing of a stone statue and mixtures in vases. This fresco perfectly shows the
difference between carving a statue (here in wood with hieroglyphic signs depicting the operation
of carving), the fashioning of a statue (made out of synthetic stone with hieroglyphic signs
representing the action "to synthesize", "man-made"), and mixing caustic chemicals in ceramic
vases to work on this statue. [10]

2. The invention of re-agglomerated stone: growth and decline of a technology
Before the first pyramid built out of stone, the ancient Egyptians constructed very imposing crude
brick monuments. We find large funerary temple enclosures of the second dynasty, like the
Khasekhemwy one (2,730 B.C.). Its massive wall is of crude clay bricks, therefore in a moulded
material. It is generally agreed, since these bricks were worked in moulds, that their dimension
must be uniform. However, this is wrong. Despite having been manufactured in moulds, the clay
bricks are of approximately 5 different sizes, implying the use of several patterns. We find these
differences in proportions in all pyramids. This heterogeneity gives the monuments the ability
to resist earthquakes by avoiding the amplification of seismic waves.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 06:12:49 pm by Qoais » Report Spam   Logged

An open-minded view of the past allows for an unprejudiced glimpse into the future.

Logic rules.

"Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong."
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