Scientists Say Pyramids Could Be Concrete

Physorg ^ | 4-23-2008 | UPI

[blam]

Scientists say pyramids could be concrete

April 23, 2008

Scientists are taking a new look at Egypt's pyramids to see if some of the blocks could have been made from concrete.

Linn W. Hobbs, a materials science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told The Boston Globe there is a chance ancient Egyptians could have cast the blocks from synthetic material instead of carving them from quarries. Scientists have long believed Romans were the first to use structural concrete.

Undergraduates in MIT's Materials in Human Experience class are building a scale-model pyramid made of quarried limestone and blocks cast from crushed limestone sludge fortified with clay, silica and natural desert salts.

Archaeologists say there is no evidence the pyramids are built of any synthetic material, the newspaper said. Hobbs said the concrete theory, advanced in the 1980s by French chemical engineer Joseph Davidovits, is fascinating because it would mean the ancient Egyptians were great materials scientists as well as great civil engineers.

[arthurus]

I have seen this speculation before on FR, a few years ago. It would be a much easier explanation than hauling those humongous blocks in those humongous numbers from far away then raising them into place. If it finally turns out to be correct.

[maine-iac7]

http://www.aeraweb.org/khufu_quarry.asp

http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/egypt/studyguide/6stone.php

[fso301]

According to Barrack Hussein Obama’s pastor, they were cut with high speed diamond wet saws then lapped to a mirror finish, transported to the job site where stationary and mobile cranes hoisted them into place.

[fr_freak]

And still couldn't make drawings depicting people in 3D.

That's because in ancient times, the world still only had 2 dimensions. That's why they all said the world was flat. All modern species of cartoon characters are descended from this time period. The Earth later evolved the 3rd dimension because everything was getting a little too crowded.

[Jeff Chandler]

That's because in ancient times, the world still only had 2 dimensions. That's why they all said the world was flat. All modern species of cartoon characters are descended from this time period. The Earth later evolved the 3rd dimension because everything was getting a little too crowded.

It was during this era that humans and cartoon characters diverged from their common ancestors. Humans retained their vestigial fifth fingers.

[True Republican Patriot]

ping

[FreePaul]

Are you sure, absolutely sure, that Al Gore didn’t create the third dimension shortly before he invented the internet and global warming/cooling/whatever?

[wendy1946]

The basic pyramid blocks had to have been poured; way too much work and you’d waste more than half the available stone material otherwise.

[tet68]

Ok, cut and moved OR cast in place they STILL had to move
a billion TONS of mass into position.

At the rate of 400 blocks or 800 tons or more a day of limestone aggregate and assorted water and chemicals still pretty incredible.

I don’t think we have the answer yet.

[tet68]

Sorry not a billion tons but ten million tons or so.
Still amazing.

[SunkenCiv]

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