RE: Giza pyramids
November 11, 2011 at 1:37 pm
(This post was last modified: November 11, 2011 at 1:40 pm by Anomalocaris.)
The Egyptians built more than one canal to connect the nile and the red sea, so I would not be surprised if they built a canal from the Nile to a jetty at the base of each pyramid to facilitate movement of the stones. As to any ramp, I suspect any reasonable efficient technique to build the pyramids must either incoroporate the ramps directly into the structure of the pyramids, ie the unfinished structure of parts of the pyramid acts as ramp for moving material to other parts, or the ramp must be so constructed such that large portion of their material will gradually be dismantled and incorporated into the pyramid as the pyramid is finished.
As to smoothing and polishing casing stones, I wonder if roughly shaped lime stone blocks were primarily not polished with tools, but we're polished against each other? Perhaps roughly shaped blocks were first used as a sort of paving stone, with other similar sized blocks secured by wooden frames and dragged over them, so that stone polish themselves against each other as they are moved to the pyramid and up it's sides?
As this process occurs, the stone flour that would result from stones grounding against each other, when wetted with water, would make a very efficient polishing compound, capable making an almost mirror finish to the stones, as demonstrated by the glacial polish the one finds where glaciers have receded from the stones they polished.
As to smoothing and polishing casing stones, I wonder if roughly shaped lime stone blocks were primarily not polished with tools, but we're polished against each other? Perhaps roughly shaped blocks were first used as a sort of paving stone, with other similar sized blocks secured by wooden frames and dragged over them, so that stone polish themselves against each other as they are moved to the pyramid and up it's sides?
As this process occurs, the stone flour that would result from stones grounding against each other, when wetted with water, would make a very efficient polishing compound, capable making an almost mirror finish to the stones, as demonstrated by the glacial polish the one finds where glaciers have receded from the stones they polished.
