“How” were monuments constructed at Giza

Vanita Johnson
Jennifer Adrienne
HUM 111
October 25, 2011

Over the years many scientists and archaeologists have wondered, “How” did the ancient Egyptians construct these tombs of such a great size without the help of machinery. The main reason for this question was because each pyramid was composed of millions of limestone blocks each weighing 25 to 80 tons each and was located on the west side of the Nile. Experts have also talked a lot about the methods by which each block was raised into position. It was theory that wooden and bronze levers were used to move the blocks, a system of ramps, terrestrials or just millions of workers. There was also debate on how did they get these huge stones from the quarries into the middle of the desert. Some archaeologists believed that they used large boats, traveling the Nile or just simply rolled and drug them. I believe the theory of a million of workers is possible but whether they dragged, lifted or even rolled each stone into place is not.The Greeks believed slaves was used, but modern Egyptologists accept that it was thousands of skilled workers. Verner posited that the labor was organized into a hierarchy, consisting of two gangs of 100,000 men, divided into five groups of 20,000 men each, which may have been further divided according to the skills of the workers. So through research I believe these men may have used a system of ramps. Most archaeologists agreed that a system of ramps must have been used to drag the millions of blocks into their positions in the various pyramids. There are traces of these ramps around some of the older pyramids to suggest that at least five different systems of ramp might have been used. The common traces of the “spiral ramp and the “reversing ramp” effective for the construction of step pyramids, although there are no signs of its