Scientists reveal long-kept secrets about the construction of the Egyptian pyramids
Researchers claim to have unraveled the enigma behind the construction of the Egyptian pyramids. According to them, the monuments were probably erected on the banks of an ancient course of the Nile River, now extinct.
Giza Complex - Photo Reproduction/Getty Images/via BBC
For decades, the pyramids of Egypt have been an object of fascination and mystery. Grand monuments, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza, challenged historians, engineers and archaeologists to uncover the secrets of its construction. Recently, a team of scientists believes they have unraveled one of the greatest enigmas of antiquity: how the country's 31 pyramids were built more than 4,000 years ago.
The Key to the Mystery
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, in the United States, discovered that the pyramids were probably built along an ancient branch of the Nile River, which has long since disappeared and is now hidden beneath deserts and farmland. For many years, archaeologists have believed that ancient Egyptians used a nearby waterway to transport materials, such as stone blocks, needed to build the monuments. However, "no one was sure about the location, shape, size or proximity of this huge waterway to the pyramids", explains Professor Eman Ghoneim, one of the study's authors.
Evidence and Experiments
In an intercontinental effort, a group of researchers used satellite radar images, historical maps, geophysical surveys and sediment surveys — an archaeological technique for recovering evidence from samples — to map the "branch" of the river, which they believe disappeared due to a severe drought and sandstorms thousands of years ago. The team was able to traverse the sandy surface and generate images of hidden features using radar technology, according to the study published in the scientific journal Nature.
Among them were "buried rivers and ancient structures" found on the slopes where most of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt are situated, as Ghoneim notes. Suzanne Onstine, co-author of the study, mentions in an interview with the BBC that "locating the true extent [of the river] and having the data that shows the existence of a waterway that could be used to transport heavier blocks, equipment, people, everything, really helps us understand the construction of the pyramids."
The research revealed that the stretch of this river, nicknamed Ahramat (from the Arabic "pyramid"), extended for approximately 64 kilometers, with a width varying between 200 and 700 meters. This river course flanked 31 pyramids, erected between 4,700 and 3,700 years ago.
The Importance of Discovery
The revelation of this ancient branch of the river offers an explanation for the high concentration of pyramids between Giza and Lisht, a now desolate region in the Sahara Desert. The proximity of this stretch of river to the monuments suggests its activity during the construction of the pyramids, as indicated in the article. Onstine suggests that ancient Egyptians may have harnessed the river's power to transport the immense blocks, saving human effort. He highlights that this would have been much less work. The Nile River was the backbone of Ancient Egypt and remains so to this day.
