Posted on 05/03/2014 6:46:48 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids may have been able to move massive stone blocks across the desert by wetting the sand in front of a contraption built to pull the heavy objects, according to a new study.
Physicists at the University of Amsterdam investigated the forces needed to pull weighty objects on a giant sled over desert sand, and discovered that dampening the sand in front of the primitive device reduces friction on the sled, making it easier to operate. The findings help answer one of the most enduring historical mysteries: how the Egyptians were able to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of constructing the famous pyramids.
To make their discovery, the researchers picked up on clues from the ancient Egyptians themselves. A wall painting discovered in the ancient tomb of Djehutihotep, which dates back to about 1900 B.C., depicts 172 men hauling an immense statue using ropes attached to a sledge. In the drawing, a person can be seen standing on the front of the sledge, pouring water over the sand, said study lead author Daniel Bonn, a physics professor at the University of Amsterdam...
But, there is a delicate balance, the researchers found... The amount of water necessary depends on the type of sand, he added, but typically the optimal amount falls between 2 percent and 5 percent of the volume of sand.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Ok......and they hauled all that water into the desert how?
We saw the pyramids and the sphinx in person. They are amazing. The climate? Horrible. They were, without doubt, truly an amazing culture, but they didn't continue on forever. By the end of the B.C. era they had been replaced by Arabs. Arabs AIN'T no Egyptians.
TODAY, Egypt is Arab. We loved our two visits there while we were living and working in the middle east. The Egyptians, at the time, really LIKED Americans. I was so used to the world view, that Americans suck, that I enjoyed being where we were liked.
I have nothing but good things to say about Egypt. It's a shame that it's Arab now and turning to s*** something less that it used to be. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
> Djehutihotep 12th Dynasty... was a nomarch during the reigns of Amenemhet II and Senwosret II, who reigned during the 12th Dynasty. He performed many services for the royal family and accompanied Senwosret II on a military campaign in Syria. The thing that he is best remembered for are the reliefs in his tomb at Bersha. These reliefs show the transporting of a colossal statue from the quarry at Hatnub. These give insight into the construction and the architectural methods of this time period. Many building projects were going on at this time. This statue weighed more than 60 tons and was moved on a huge sled by the Egyptians as part of their corvee obligations.
http://www.touregypt.net/who/djehutih.htm
[ by “as part of their corvee obligations” is meant “slavery”, a word that the Egyptians refuse to use to refer to the ancient past of that country ]
They brought sand and lime (concrete mix) to the worksite, built forms, mixed with WATER, then let the mix set, them removed the forms
Figures.
I thought they forced Isrealites to do it?
I'm not sure about the last, because that wrapper may have been dropped by a grad student, but the rest, I'm pretty sure of.
I really did study ancient foods, especially breads and beers, very seriously.
/johnny
If they had some sort of 2nd amendment, they might have done exactly that.
Dude- They used the hose!
/johnny
/johnny
Clearly they had no labor shortage.
By the time he leaves office, DC will be ass-deep in dung beetles.
That’s BS. Obviously, the ET’s levitated the dam@ed rocks with their tractor beams.
Nothing new here. Perfect non-story. This has been known for years.
I’ve heard the same from most people who traveled there. A former coworker went there with her husband on their honeymoon (they made a weeks-long trip throughout the Holy Land and Egypt) in the late 1970s I think it was. She got all banged up in the bazaar in Cairo or other market area because the burkah-clad Egyptian beeotches would kick her or step on her feet because she was going around the way that women from actual civilizations go around.
That horrible mass-murder of tourists at Luxor was carried out by typical jihadi; the locals got very pissed off by that, and chased down the shooters, and beat the living hell out of at least one of them. I think that’s how all of them were apprehended.
I think they just sprayed the rocks with WD-40.
The study of beer is nearly universal during the college years (in non-muzzie countries anyway). :’)
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