How did the pyramids look back in the day?

In an interview with Live Science, Professor Mohamed Megahed, a specialist in Egyptology, discusses the original design of these pharaonic edifices. “All the pyramids were covered with a fine white limestone,” explains the scientist. This coating gave the pharaohs mighty tombs a smooth finish, reflecting sunlight.



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The Great Pyramid used to be so shiny, it glowed. Go to the pyramids at Giza today, and you'll see pollution blackened steppes surrounded by smog and sand. Some 4,000 years ago, the pyramids looked much nicer: They were covered in polished limestone, resembling brilliant lightforms dropped into the desert from the sky.

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While many theories have been proposed about how they were built, some researchers believe that the pyramids may have been more than just tombs for pharaohs. They may have also been part of a sophisticated power grid that harnessed hydrogen as a fuel and transmitted electricity wirelessly through obelisks.

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The short truth is, no one really knows how long the Egyptian Pyramids took to build, because they are so old, and such little evidence survives from the time when they were made. But estimates suggest each pyramid could have taken somewhere between 15-30 years to complete.

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Many people have said that the pyramids would last 1 million years or even until the world ended, but I'd say around 10,000 to 100,000 years based on current observations.

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But what the Egyptians lacked in tools, they made up for with science and engineering precision. Smith explains that they developed and used the cubit rod to measure and lay out the dimensions of the pyramid; a square level to level horizontal surfaces, and a 3:4:5 framing square to create precision 90-degree angles.

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The pharaoh's final resting place was usually within a burial chamber underneath the pyramid. Although the Great Pyramid has subterranean chambers, they were never completed, and Khufu's sarcophagus rests in the King's Chamber, where Napoleon is said to have sojourned, deep inside the Great Pyramid.

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It would take a large number of people to make and place the casing stones needed to restore the original appearance of the pyramid. These people would need to be paid. The materials would also be very costly.

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Considering the pyramids were built more than four thousand years ago, the exact technique of construction remains a mystery and modern-day equipment was not available at the time. It is believed that ancient Egyptians ferried the huge stone blocks on the Nile river.

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This mighty stone formed part of an outer layer of fine white limestone that would have made the sides completely smooth. It was polished until it shone so that the pyramid would have gleamed in the sun.

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Peasants and enslaved people would, of course, eat a limited diet, including the staples of bread and beer, complemented by dates, vegetables, and pickled and salted fish, but the wealthy had a much larger range to choose from.

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Military slaves were used by Egypt's rulers for ten centuries, from Ahmad Ibn Tulun (r. 868–84) to the late nineteenth century.

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It was the Egyptians who built the pyramids. The Great Pyramid is dated with all the evidence, I'm telling you now to 4,600 years, the reign of Khufu. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is one of 104 pyramids in Egypt with superstructure. And there are 54 pyramids with substructure.

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While the pyramid was originally built by 4,000 workers over the course of 20 years using strength, sleds and ropes, building the pyramid today using stone-carrying vehicles, cranes and helicopters would probably take 1,500 to 2,000 workers around five years, and it would cost on the order of $5 billion, Houdin said, ...

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They don't sink because they're built on solid limestone. If the ancient Egyptians were just amateurs building their huge monuments on sand, time would have erased all traces of them during the past 5000 years.

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Pyramids weren't constructed to contain mummies; tombs were. There were a variety of tombs: simple pit-graves, mastabas, burial chambers beneath pyramids, and rock-cut cliff tombs were the chief ones.

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