[David]

"I'm not sure I follow. Not only could we build the pyramids today, we could build them faster, cheaper and with greater durability."

Not so! Now normally when somebody says that to me, my usual response is "ok--why not?" There are a number of reference texts that explain what the problems are. Most significant technical problem is that we cannot achieve the tolerances of the block fits with carved stone and can't achieve the hardness of the blocks from any other stone based material. There are other issues but there are a number of texts out there which deal with this kind of problem. The best one I have had in my personal library I loaned to an architect friend of mine (who is an expert in stone and poured composite structures) who has not given it back--done by some composite scientist in Europe, his hypothesis is that the blocks were poured in place although his bottom line is that we lack the technical capability to do it that way today either.

[BJClinton]

I understand your point about emulating their techniques, but today we could do better. Whether the Egyptian pyramids were made with hewn stone, poured concrete or clay and straw bricks, we have much better capabilities today.

We have access to a wider variety of materials (marble, granite, steel, concrete) and we have heavy machinery.

[SoCal Pubbie]

“the pyramids are beyond our technical capability to duplicate today”

”There are a number of reference texts that explain what the problems are. Most significant technical problem is that we cannot achieve the tolerances of the block fits with carved stone and can't achieve the hardness of the blocks from any other stone based material. There are other issues but there are a number of texts out there which deal with this kind of problem. “

Bunk! I have to laugh at all the people who swallow this stuff. Today’s computer driven machine tools can cut materials to incredibly tight tolerances unheard of in the ancient world. If people 2,000 years ago could do it you can bet we could do it today, if we wanted to.

Other excuses given include the fact that no cranes exist with a heavy enough lift capacity to move the giant stone blocks. Of course this completely ignores the fact that modern building techniques are so much more efficient today that structural members need not be so heavy, hence there is no need for such monster cranes. It’s kind of like those who say we could not go back to the moon today. It’s true that we could not just dust off a rocket and push the button for lift off, but that doesn’t mean we are incapable if we wanted to. Same goes for the pyramids. If we wanted to spend millions of dollars, and decades if need be, to build giant stone structures that would serve no purpose for today’s world, we could.