Seven Wonders Of The World & The Great Pyramid
The New 7 Wonders of the World is an international list recognizing the most impressive and meaningful structures in our modern history. The list features The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichén Itzá in Mexico, The Colosseum in Rome, and The Taj Mahal in India.
Besides these seven magnificent structures, the list also includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, which holds a prestigious place of honor. Much about these massive pyramids remains unknown to this day, and historians are still uncovering exactly how they were built.
The History of the Great Pyramid of Giza
There are countless theories surrounding the pyramids—including the absurd notion that aliens placed them on Earth—but the mystery is finally starting to be solved. To uncover the true history, we have to go back more than 5,000 years to when Ancient Egypt, one of the most advanced civilizations in human history, arose along the Nile River.
To this day, humankind admires their culture and their advances in mathematics, language, medicine, and architecture. One of their greatest achievements—The Great Pyramid of Giza—still stands today and continues to fascinate people worldwide. This colossal structure was built in only 27 years and originally stood 146.5 meters tall. In total, it consists of 2.3 million stone blocks, each with an average weight similar to a modern SUV.
The Great Pyramid also looked quite different when it was first built, as it was encased in smooth white limestone. This shiny encasing concealed the rougher core and made the pyramid dazzle in the desert sun. The tip was capped with gold-plated stone, giving it an exquisite look visible for kilometers in every direction. Over time, the shiny casing stones loosened and were removed to build other monuments, like the Cairo Citadel and mosques across the capital. This is why the Great Pyramid stands about 8 meters shorter today at 138.5 meters.
How Did the Egyptians Build It?
Despite the lack of modern tools, how did the Egyptians manage to quarry, transport, and position these massive stones? Most of the blocks were quarried near the pyramid in what is known as the Central Field. It is believed that workers used wooden sleds to move the blocks across the sand.
Dragging heavy objects through hot, dry sand causes the sleds to dig into the ground, making movement incredibly difficult. Their simple yet brilliant secret to overcoming this problem was wetting the sand just in front of the sled. This reduced friction and hardened the sand, making it much easier to pull the heavy blocks to the construction site.
However, the white limestone for the outer casing had to be transported by boat from Tura, about 10km to the south. Even more impressive, researchers have discovered that roughly 8,000 tons of granite stones came from Aswan, located 900km south of the Nile. These were used for the King's Chamber, and some blocks weighed up to 80 tons—roughly the weight of 12 African male elephants. The real challenge was installing these stones perfectly as the structure grew taller.
Read Also: Machu Picchu: How It Was Built, Reason For Building It, Discovery Of Machu PicchuThe Ramp Theories
Over the centuries, scientists have developed several theories regarding construction. Without cranes, ramps are considered the only possible method for transporting massive stones to the top.
1. The Straight Ramp Theory: The first theory suggests a single, long straight ramp was raised alongside the pyramid. To keep the incline manageable (around an 8 percent maximum grade), this ramp would have to stretch for 1.8 kilometers. Building a ramp of that size would have been a massive project in itself, perhaps bigger than the pyramid.
2. The Wrap-Around Ramp: A more efficient theory involves a ramp spiraling around the outside of the pyramid. The flaw here is that the pyramid's corners wouldn’t be completed until the very end, making it almost impossible to measure the angles correctly and ensure the tip met perfectly in the center.
3. The Internal Ramp Theory: In 2003, French Architect Jean-Pierre Houdin presented a groundbreaking theory. After seven years of 3D modeling, he suggested that an external ramp was used only for the bottom third of the pyramid. For the remainder, the Egyptians built an internal ramp spiraling upward in a corkscrew shape inside the structure. This allowed them to align the outer corners perfectly as they built upward.
In the 1980s, the Great Pyramid was scanned using microgravimetry, which measures the density of objects. While searching for hidden chambers, they captured images showing a lower-density spiral pattern wrapping around the inside of the pyramid. This strongly supports Houdin's internal ramp theory. Unfortunately, no physical entrances to these tunnels have been discovered yet to confirm it entirely.
Who Built the Great Pyramid?
According to a popular myth first put forward by the Greek historian Herodotus, the Great Pyramid was built by slaves. However, modern archaeology has proven this is false.
Archaeologists have located the remains of purpose-built villages designed to house the thousands of skilled workers who traveled from faraway settlements to find employment. The slave theory was further debunked in 2010 when Egypt unveiled newly discovered tombs holding the skeletons of the pyramid builders.
These skeletons were perfectly preserved and buried with jars of beer and bread meant for the afterlife. Because the ancient Egyptians followed these exact same burial rituals for their Kings and elites, it proves that the pyramid workers were highly respected, well-fed, and honored citizens, not slaves.
While we may never know with 100% certainty exactly how the last stone was laid, one thing is clear: Ancient Egypt had the resources, architectural genius, and organizational power to realize this masterpiece in just 27 years, proving what a remarkably advanced civilization they truly were.
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