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Lifting the Stone Blocks in the Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) in Egypt
Pyramid Construction Theory by Daniel Gerardo (continued)
Techniques for Lifting the Stone Blocks
The average weight of the blocks of stone in Cheops' Pyramid amounts to
2,500 kilogrammes - except for the huge slabs on the 68-metre-high roof
of the granite chamber and its outlet rooms, near the centre of the building.
There was but one way in which ancient Egyptians could lift those enormous slabs: the use of the straight ramp made of bricks and earth.
Considering that vestiges of ramps were found during archaeological explorations, the straight ramp theory formulated by Borchardt and completed by Lauer was unanimously accepted at that time.
However, the use of a straight sloping path proves extremely laborious when it comes to reaching heights like those in this pyramid, as the volume of the material on the ramp could only be compared with that of the pyramid itself. The use of a spiral ramp might have helped overcome this difficulty.
Even though no archaeological evidence has confirmed it, the spiral ramp theory has been widely accepted among scientific circles.
J.F. Lauer, an archaeologist who has greatly helped elucidate this issue, suggested a variant to his straight ramp model.
He postulates that ramps of increasing steepness were placed one on top of the other, taking into account both the gradual average-height decrease in the courses as they approached the peak, and the fact that the huge stone slabs are not found above the height of 68 metres in this pyramid.
Furthermore, superimposed ramps make it possible to limit their length from the foot of the pyramid to 300 metres.
The great advantage of this system is that the ramps in the lower levels of the pyramid are extremely wide, providing vast building surfaces. Their width decreases slightly as each new row of stones is placed.
The outer path, on the other hand, lengthens towards the south and towards the north, where a system of large counterbalance baskets filled with sand, descending along the face of the building, may have helped lift the heavier blocks of stone.
A Different Proposal
It is clear that one of the objectives of pyramid builders was to increase
the height of their constructions.
In the case of Cheops's Pyramid they achieved the maximum height of 147 metres - surpassing by far that of the proceeding South Pyramid (103 metres) and North Pyramid (92 metres) of the Dahshur Group.
This remarkable increase in height entailed growing difficulties. Builders had to solve a number of structural problems which were apparent both in Meidum and in the South Pyramid, and they also had to confront ever-increasing difficulty when raising the blocks of stone to much higher positions.
Most probably, as construction evolved the block-lifting techniques also varied. Thus, the difficulties that the old construction methods entailed could finally be overcome.
Coinciding with the unprecedented height of Cheops's Pyramid there is also an unprecedented feature in its inner layout: the Grand Gallery.
Let us consider that both phenomena are connected, that is to say, that the remarkable increment in height has been achieved by applying a block-lifting method which calls for the existence of an inner ramp with the characteristics of the Grand Gallery.
In order to clarify my thesis, I shall adopt the hypothesis that the gallery was used as an inner ramp whereon a counterweight would slide (see Fig. 3)
To illustrate the practical application of the method I am postulating, let us imagine that the pyramid has been built up to the height of 100 metres; its upper surface is a square platform where the next row of blocks is about to be placed.
Inside the building, the sloping gallery is divided by a wooden platform mounted on the existing slots along the third tapering of the side-walls.
Under this platform a counterweight container filled with small stones is sliding along the wooden rails fixed to the benches. The holes at regular intervals make it possible to fit the logs to the benches by means of wooden pegs, while the blocks embedded in the walls, acting as bumpers, halt the counterbalances at intermediate positions.
A vertical conduit connects the south wall of the gallery with the upper surface of the building.
The effect resulting from the counterweights sliding movement is transferred by means of ropes and lubricated props thus helping lift the blocks of stone outside.
By the time a block has been lifted, the counterweight reaches the end of its run, next to the north wall of the gallery, where it is unloaded. A group of men standing on the platform in the gallery raise the unloaded counterweight back to its initial position in the upper part of the gallery by means of ropes.
Once the counterbalance has been loaded again, another block of stone can be lifted.
As we can see, the apparently inexplicable details and features in the gallery can now be explained in the light of the roles they have been assigned.
