How did people with no machines build the pyramids of Giza? Archaeologists have found many answers, and a few puzzles are still open.
Key idea
Teams of skilled Egyptian workers cut stone with copper tools, dragged blocks on wooden sledges and raised them on ramps. Just how the ramps ran is still unknown.
Why it works
Most of the stone was cut right at Giza. Fine white stone for the outside came by boat from Tura, across the river, and granite came from Aswan, far to the south. A papyrus diary kept by an official named Merer, found in 2013, records his team carrying stone by boat for Khufu's pyramid. Near the pyramids, archaeologists found the workers' town, with bakeries and the workers' own tombs.
Worked example: Moving a block
A team must move a heavy block across sand. What did Egyptians do?
- They put the block on a wooden sledge.
- Workers pulled the sledge with ropes.
- A tomb painting shows a worker pouring water on the sand in front of a sledge: wet sand is firmer, so the sledge slides more easily.
Answer: They dragged it on a sledge over wet sand.
Worked example: Known or unknown?
Do we know exactly how the ramps were laid out: straight, zigzag or wrapped around the pyramid?
- Remains of ramps have been found at quarries and building sites.
- But no ramp survives at the Great Pyramid, and experts suggest different plans.
Answer: No. That part is still unknown.
Common mistake
Thinking slaves built the pyramids, or that someone other than the Egyptians did. Archaeologists reject both ideas because of the evidence: the workers' town, their bakeries, their tombs, and their team names written on the stones.