How were the pyramids of Egypt built?

The construction of the pyramids has put thousands of Egyptians to sweat, required advanced knowledge of mathematics and many rocks. Of the hundred-known pyramids in Egypt, the largest (and most famous) is that of Cheops, one of the seven ancient wonders that resists time. Dating back to 2550 BC, it was the icing on the cake of a generation of pharaohs with architectural aspirations.Khufu (or Cheops, his name in Greek), which commissioned the Great Pyramid, was the son of Snefru, who had already made his piramidezinha. The knowledge passed from generation to generation, and Khafre, son of Khufu and Menkaure, the grandson, completed the trio of the Giza pyramids. To put up the monuments, which were nothing but luxurious tombs for the Pharaohs, an estimated 30,000 Egyptians worked for 20 years. "These workers were changed every three months. Most of them worked in the cutting and transport of the blocks," says Antonio Brancaglion Jr., Egyptologist at the National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). In addition to the staff who took heavy, there were architects, doctors, bakers and brewers. All indications are that these guys were free (not slaves), paid with food and beer. But there is controversy. Some bet on 100 000 workers, and theories that attribute the work to ET! Stone unturned About 2.3 million blocks helped put up the pyramid of Cheops The stones were the beginning of everything - each block weighed on average 2.5 tonnes, but this varied: the size decreased according to time and in specific places, like the king's chamber, there were giant boulders, estimated at up to 80 tons. After cutting in the quarries, the blocks were sanded and cataloged: write the name of the pharaoh and the group of workers responsible. In total, 2.3 million blocks have been used in building the pyramid of Cheops It QUARRY! To build the pyramids, the land was flattened. Besides leaving the land ready for work, the process yielded a natural source of raw material: the plateau was rich in limestone, a softer type of stone, extracted with copper tools. Limestone rocks thinner, used to give brightness to the pyramid, came to the region near Tura WILL THE BOAT Pharaoh chose granite to decorate the king's chamber, where he was buried. As the stone was not found in the region, the blocks had up to 800 km away from the quarry of Aswan, the Nile in boats.The very heavy blocks, some with up to 80 tonnes, also covered the internal chambers and corridors CONCRETE BASE For some researchers, the analysis of the rate of minerals present in parts of blocks of the pyramid shows that may have been used a kind of primitive concrete both on the outside as on the inside. If the theory is true, this would have been the first application of concrete that has news - before that, the pioneers were the Romans Rock'n'roll Theories explain how the Egyptians rolled the stones The feat of transporting the giant blocks is so complex that even today there is no consensus. This may have been done with ropes, with a sort of sled cylindrical wooden trunks, on which the stones slid, or with the help of tafl, a type of clay, wet, and help it's slippery slide blocks. Once seated, the blocks were cut at an angle of 51, which left the flat face of the pyramid Up the hill What is - a ramp made of earth and gravel, with anchors on the sides Strengths - How would occupy only one side, this would leave the ramp side of the pyramid free - so it would be easier to check if the piece was "Pie" Negative points - For the ramp reached the full height, would have to be sooo long, and that work would be stopped every time it was necessary sprit ZIGZAG What it is - unique zigzag ramp built around the pyramid. It is currently the most popular theory Strengths - The ramp would have a constant slope, unlike the single ramp Bad points - The ramp cover the vision of the entire work. Thus, there is a risk that the cutting up the ramp, see the faces of the pyramid were pies UNDER THE SNAILS What is - Up to 43 meters high, it uses the external ramp. From there, it used an internal spiral ramp, set back 15 meters from the outer side. At the end of each floor, an edge that allows the stones to rotate 90 degrees Strengths - reusing material from outer ramp for the rest of the building. A counterbalance system would carry the larger stones Negative points - As the line is not straight, the ramp would increase the distance by which the blocks had to be dragged DICK IN THE MACHINE What is - Several theories suggest that machines were used to block up the pyramid above. These machines could be cranes, levers or seesaws system, with a basket of sand on one side and another block Strengths - The machines would give relief to the hardness of the legwork Negative points - would lack space to maneuver, and the machines were not going to the larger blocks Size matters Compared with buildings and soccer fields, the pyramid wins HEIGHT - 147 meters Equals - Building of 49 floors - the Copan, for example, has 140 meters WEIGHT OF BLOCK 1 - 2.5 tonnes Equals - 3 of 800 pounds Beetles TOTAL WEIGHT - 6.5 million tons Equals - 11.5 cargo ships loaded AREA - 13 acres (52,598 m2) Equals - 6 soccer fields