They used copper chisels, dolerite hammers, and wooden wedges to cut stone. To move the stones, they used wooden rollers, rafts, and sleds. It was simple to cut these stones, as most of them had a natural cleavage that split easily in a straight line when struck with the aforementioned tools. The blocks were trimmed before they were put into place by teams of workers. Stonemasons smoothed and neatened the outer limestone surfaces once the structure was complete and the earthen ramp was removed. Bore holes, discovered by Egyptologist Mark Lehner, helped builders keep the lines of the pyramid straight. Most of the limestone ancient Egyptians used to build the pyramids came from a quarry on the Gizeh plateau, just south of the Great Pyramid. White limestone, however, came from Tura across the Nile. Granite that was used in the king’s burial chamber was ferried from Aswan by boat, a distance of about seven hundred kilometres. Ramps from the quarry could rise around the perimeter of the pyramid with each level of blocks …show more content…
Near the Gizeh pyramids, they found flint blade, copper, sandstone rubbers (used to polish stone), and grinding pigments. These materials date back to the Old Kingdom, which means that it’s entirely possible—and likely—that they were used to build the pyramids scattered throughout ancient Egypt. Along with this, Lehner and Sawass also found non-local stones such as granite, quartzite, and basalt. The fact that they were non-local may mean that a large variety of goods used for toolmaking and building were imported to Egypt, specifically for the construction of pyramids or otherwise. It has seemed to be confirmed that the galleries in which these materials were found were, in fact, storage rooms. The speculated date of the galleries and their isolated location indicates that they could have been used by Egyptians who were constructing the pyramids. Religious conviction was the main drive for workers to complete the pyramids, as they were optimistic and determined—they even chose the pyramids’ location (the west bank of the Nile) because they believed the setting sun in the west was the place where the dead