HUM111 Week 4 Assignment 1
Exploring Ancient Mysteries
World Cultures 1
July 20, 2015
There have been many theories regarding how the pyramids at Giza and how they were constructed. Scientist believe that they were constructed as burial monuments for pharaohs, but “how” these ancient people constructed monuments of such great size without modern machinery is a mystery which is still being debated. Some say that the great pyramids of Giza were made by aliens. A few claim that Egyptians used slaves to build the pyramids for them. Said Redford, the image most people have of slaves being forced to build the pyramids against their will is incorrect. Some believe that they were made with technology that the Egyptians created but may have lost through the ages.
Dr. Donald Redford, a professor of Mediterranean ancient studies, believes that these Pyramids were constructed by copper chiseling tools to cut limestone. Finer quality limestone composed the outer layer of the pyramids, giving them a white sheen that could be seen from miles away. The capstone was usually made of granite, basalt, or another very hard stone and could be plated with gold, silver or electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, and would also be highly reflective in the bright sun.
It appears that the Great Pyramid was never finished since the top is flat, and not pointed, as it should be. It has a truncated summit which is coarse and uneven and measures about 30 square feet. Diodorus Siculus tells us that in his day, when the Pyramid stood with its casing stones intact, the structure was "complete and without the least decay, and yet it lacked its apex stone". Since the top-stone could not have been dismantled without first demolishing the smooth casing-stones, so that the core masonry formed steps of approach to it, this statement of Diodorus supports the theory that the top-stone had never been added to the structure. Also it appears that between the different courses of stones there is a thin cement
World Cultures 1
July 20, 2015
There have been many theories regarding how the pyramids at Giza and how they were constructed. Scientist believe that they were constructed as burial monuments for pharaohs, but “how” these ancient people constructed monuments of such great size without modern machinery is a mystery which is still being debated. Some say that the great pyramids of Giza were made by aliens. A few claim that Egyptians used slaves to build the pyramids for them. Said Redford, the image most people have of slaves being forced to build the pyramids against their will is incorrect. Some believe that they were made with technology that the Egyptians created but may have lost through the ages.
Dr. Donald Redford, a professor of Mediterranean ancient studies, believes that these Pyramids were constructed by copper chiseling tools to cut limestone. Finer quality limestone composed the outer layer of the pyramids, giving them a white sheen that could be seen from miles away. The capstone was usually made of granite, basalt, or another very hard stone and could be plated with gold, silver or electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, and would also be highly reflective in the bright sun.
It appears that the Great Pyramid was never finished since the top is flat, and not pointed, as it should be. It has a truncated summit which is coarse and uneven and measures about 30 square feet. Diodorus Siculus tells us that in his day, when the Pyramid stood with its casing stones intact, the structure was "complete and without the least decay, and yet it lacked its apex stone". Since the top-stone could not have been dismantled without first demolishing the smooth casing-stones, so that the core masonry formed steps of approach to it, this statement of Diodorus supports the theory that the top-stone had never been added to the structure. Also it appears that between the different courses of stones there is a thin cement