This is not the whole story of
course but it is certainly part of the story and a very important part. It allows a sand roadbed to be constructed
from the block making locale to the pyramid for direct haulage in order for the
blocks to be stockpiled in preparation for construction. I had anticipated a canal, but this would
work quite as well. One can even grade
the sand to optimize its effectiveness as well.
In this way a sledge of blocks
may even be sped steadily across the desert without let up.
We have perhaps all seen that
particular image as well and never grasped its significance. Asking the right question has revealed an
answer.
An important question will be to
discover what grades may be possible and whether runners can be accommodated
also. This promises to greatly
facilitate the use of ramps in the early levels of building although doing
nothing after that limit is reached.
Scientists Discovered the
Egyptian Secret to Moving Huge Pyramid Stones
Andrew Tarantola
The question of just how an ancient civilization—without the help of
modern technology—moved the 2.5 ton stones that made up their famed pyramids
has long plagued Egyptologists and mechanical engineers alike. But now, a team
from the University of Amsterdam believes they've figured it out, even though
the solution was staring them in the face all along.
It all comes down to friction. See, the ancient Egyptians would
transport their rocky cargo across the desert sands, from quarry to monument
site with large sleds. Pretty basic sleds, basically just large slabs with
upturned edges. Now, when you try to pull a large slab with upturned edges
carrying a 2.5 ton load, it tends to dig into the sand ahead of it, building up
a sand berm that must then be regularly cleared before it can become an even
bigger obstacle.
Wet sand, however, doesn't do this. In sand with just the right
amount of dampness, capillary bridges—essentially microdroplets of water that
bind grains of sand to one another through capillary action—form across the
grains, which doubles the material's relative stiffness. This prevents the
sand from berming in front of the sled and cuts the force required to
drag the sled in half. In half.
As a UvA press release explains,
The physicists placed a laboratory version of the Egyptian sledge in a
tray of sand. They determined both the required pulling force and the stiffness
of the sand as a function of the quantity of water in the sand. To determine
the stiffness they used a rheometer, which shows how much force is needed to
deform a certain volume of sand.
Experiments revealed that the required pulling force decreased
proportional to the stiffness of the sand...A sledge glides far more easily
over firm desert sand simply because the sand does not pile up in front of the
sledge as it does in the case of dry sand.
These experiments served to confirm what the Egyptians clearly already
knew, and what we probably already should have. Artwork within the tomb of
Djehutihotep, which was discovered in the Victorian Era, depicts a scene of
slaves hauling a colossal statue of the Middle Kingdom ruler and in it, a guy
at the front of the sled is shown pouring liquid into the sand. You can see it
in the image above, just to the right of the statue's foot.
We can now finally put this scientific snipe hunt to rest and focus on
how the hell Stonehenge got that way. [Gizmodo en EspaƱol]
1 comment:
Okay, they used sled on wetted sand, compacted just from the usage of hauling blocks on it, to haul the blocks weighing 2.5 tons from quarry to pyramid. Got it. How far were the quarries from pyramids?
Using...men? Ox? Because one must make the pulling force on top of that wetted sand....let's assume well compacted.
Then how did they place them up the pyramid? I'd strongly suggest using maritime technologies, and a youtube visit search: "Steve Tasker" Pyramid" will show you what those "Djed columns" are really all about. I think he nailed the stone block construction/erection devices and method. With ancient illustration of Egyptian pharaoh tilting one back on it's wheels like a "dolly" to move a fridge. The Ankh? A set pin. Those are tools, not staffs, that Ptah and other early "Gods" and pharaohs are depicted holding, later when purpose forgotten, morphed into mythological usages.
Thanks, interesting stuff. I thought canals too. Still do.
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