Posted on 02/19/2006 4:27:58 PM PST by blam
Egypt ruler moved to pull down Cheops Pyramid of noble motives
Cairo, 13:30
An Albanian with Macedonian origin, Muhammad Ali Pasha, ruler of Egypt, Syria and Arabia in 19th century, had ordered his French engineer Linan to pull down the Cheops Pyramid.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops had been rescued with two piastres, the then Egyptian currency.
This information was documented in archive paperwork kept in Revolution Museum depots. Media in Egypt cited extracts of these documents.
According to documents, the then Egypt ruler Muhammad Ali wanted to remove stone blocks from their pyramid in order to build a dam on the Nile River.
French engineer Linan along with the then French consul in Cairo, were well aware of the historic value of the pyramid and they told the pasha of Egypt that pyramid's stones are four times bigger than the ones needed for dam construction.
Linan had finally managed to convince the pasha that his project was not worthwhile as the expenses for transport of one cubic meter of construction material would be higher (two piastres) comparing with the stones transported from Shalkan stone-pit.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) is one of the largest structures built by man even today, 4,500 years later. It is estimate that 2.3 million blocks averaging 2.5 tons a piece were used in the building the pyramid. Weight of the block ranged from 2 to 15 tons.
The pyramid sits on 13.5 acres of land and is a height of 480 feet. The length of its sides totals 756 feet. It is estimated to have taken 100,000 men over 25 years to build the pyramid. /end/
It's true, Joseph lived hundreds of years later. A canal built to irrigate areas west of the Nile (and ultimately, to feed Lake Fayyum) still bears Joseph's name; he was in Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, and the MK pharaohs built a lot of stuff near the end of the canal.
Ah, but we have so much to learn from the calm, patient wisdom of our Islamic brethren.
Amazing that it held the record for the tallest man-made structure from 2580 BC until the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 AD.
You could still climb on the pyramids in the 1960's. Not sure when they banned it, but you can't do it now.
Well you can for a LOT of money. :)
And your proof would be.....?
Actually, the whole idea that the pyramids were built with huge gangs of slaves yanking on ropes, and that they didn't have the wheel, or a simple lever-operated elevator, blah blah blah, is the big load of manure. The ancient Egyptians drilled holes in solid granite with helical tool marks that indicate a rate of advance of the drill (1:60) that is many times faster than modern machinery. To think these same people would employ forced gangs of slaves numbering in the hundreds of thousands (and the logistical and enforcement nightmare that goes with it) is amusing, to say the least.
But back then he was still known as Cassius Clay.
The pyramids were not built by slaves. They were built by farmers in the off-season.
Farmers doing the work that slaves wouldn't do?
Impossible. Zahi Hawass was not informed.
skilled workmen doing the work that others couldn't do.
And your proof would be.....?Right back at ya.
The pyramids were not built by slaves. They were built by farmers in the off-season.None. No proof. None at all. Nothing exists that could qualify as proof. It's just Zahi "Zowie" Hawass' propaganda.
Actually, the whole idea that the pyramids were built with huge gangs of slaves yanking on ropes, and that they didn't have the wheel, or a simple lever-operated elevator, blah blah blah, is the big load of manureAnd I brought this up, where? Oh, I know, nowhere. That's just you trying to damn me by association.
The ancient Egyptians drilled holes in solid granite with helical tool marks that indicate a rate of advance of the drill (1:60) that is many times faster than modern machinery.And your proof would be.....?
To think these same people would employ forced gangs of slaves numbering in the hundreds of thousands (and the logistical and enforcement nightmare that goes with it) is amusing, to say the least.Yeah, I can see your point -- hundreds of thousands of people the length of ancient Egypt, laboring away, anonymously, while an absolute monarch aggrandizes himself (or herself) using the entire state apparatus to assure control of the grain supply... why would there be gangs of slaves? How amusing.
I'm not sure how much skill is required to tug on roped 3000 pound rocks for 8 or 10 hours every day, but you could be right...or not.
Sorry, roped 5000 pound rocks...
"The other day I got on an elevator and this old guy got in with me.
I was over near the button. I pushed number four and I said 'Where you going?'
He said 'Phoenix.'
So I pushed 'Phoenix'.
Doors opened, two tumbleweeds blew in. We stepped off; we were in downtown Phoenix.
I said 'You know, you're a kind of guy I really like to hang out with.'
He said 'Well, I'm going out the desert, you wanna go?'
I said sure... so we hopped in his car and started driving out to the desert.
He told me he spent most of his life working on a research project for the government trying to find out who financed the pyramids. he worked on it 30 years and they paid him an incredible amount of money... he told them he was pretty sure it was a guy named Eddie..."
Compulsion? Sure.
It was a civic/religious duty to continue the cycle of Life-Pharaoh-Egypt. Entire villages would be conscripted when they were idled by the Nile flood to work on the construction.
By comparison, in medieval times the commoners and the yeomanry would be called temporarily for the King's service. But you wouldn't call them slaves anymore then you'd call the present German or Israeli military conscripts a slave.
EVEN if it was made by non-enslaved people, doesnt mean that they had a lot to say about building it..
I can imagine when a Pharao tells people to come help built it would not be a good idea to flip him the finger.
Thanks for the entertaining post :)
Well put.
In the Fall 2002 issue of KMT Anthony P. Sakovich showed his systematic approach to estimating the number of stones (some larger, some smaller) in the Khufu pyramid, arrived at a figure of 4 million, and Zahi's response was to say that Khufu's consisted of perhaps one million stones, and each was, on average, less than 2 tons each.Great Pyramid's Stones CountedA new study conducted by the Supreme Council for Antiquities in Egypt has determined that the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza consists of one million limestone rocks.
by Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News
December 2002
The number is under half of the previously estimated amount of 2.3 million stones, indicating that the Egyptian pyramid builders were even more organized and efficient than previously thought.
Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council, said that the Great Pyramid was considered to be a national project that all Egyptians took part in, according to an Egyptian State Information Service report last week. The report also mentioned that Hawass and his team analyzed the administrative organization and work scheme used in the construction of the 450-foot tall monument.
This topic was posted , thanks blam.
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