How exactly was the Great Pyramid built How exactly was the Great Pyramid built? Inside-out, thinks architect Jean-Pierre Houdin.

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Monumental Shift

Tackling an ages-old puzzle, a French architect offers a new theory on how the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid at Giza

  • By Diana Parsell
  • Smithsonian.com, August 01, 2007

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    External ramps figure in many previous theories of pyramid-building. One favors the use of a straight frontal ramp extending from the base to the summit; alternative approaches involve external ramps that zigzag up the triangular faces of a pyramid or spiral around the sides like a corkscrew. But all these theories have drawbacks, according to Bob Brier, an archaeologist at Long Island University who described Houdin's theory in the May/June issue of Archaeology.

    A straight frontal ramp would require too much stone and labor if built to the full height of a pyramid, he explains. To maintain a manageable grade of 6 to 8 percent for the incline—the maximum slope of modern highways—such a ramp would have to extend a mile or more. Ramps surrounding a pyramid might block sight lines the builders needed to ensure their measurements were accurate, or be prone to collapsing.

    Brier thinks Houdin has made a compelling case in his engineering analysis. "It's a radical idea, because of the ramp being internal, but it's possible, and it's worthy of being tested," Brier says. "It's not a perfect theory, but I think it's the most interesting archaeological theory we've had in a very long time."

    Brier says he remains skeptical about whether internal passageways would have allowed the pyramid builders enough room to maneuver heavy stone blocks.

    Craig B. Smith, an engineer who wrote How the Great Pyramid Was Built, also has some doubts about the new theory. "It adds an unnecessary degree of complexity, and I think of the ancient Egyptians as practical builders who reduced things to simple, practical approaches," says Smith. "Also, there is no evidence that internal ramps were used in any pyramid built before the Great Pyramid, or after."

    Houdin is confident that internal passageways remain inside the Great Pyramid, obscured by outer layers of stones. He plans to test for their presence using non-invasive technologies such as infrared photography, radar, sonar and microgravimetry, which can detect hidden spaces in solid structures by measuring differences in density.

    In partnership with archaeologists from around the world, Houdin applied for permission to do an on-site survey. He expects to get the go-ahead from Egyptian authorities in the next year or two.

    Houdin has presented his theory to Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council on Antiquities. In the foreword to a recent book by Houdin, Khufu: The Secrets Behind the Building of the Great Pyramid, Zawass calls the work "an interesting, potentially promising, new line of investigation."

    Diana Parsell is a writer and editor in Falls Church, Virginia.

    In 1999, Henri Houdin, a retired French civil engineer, was watching a television documentary on the construction of Egypt's ancient pyramids. He had supervised many dam and bridge projects, and much of what he saw on the show struck him as impractical. "It was the usual pyramid-building theories, but he wasn't satisfied as an engineer," says his son, Jean-Pierre, an independent architect. "He had a sparkle in the brain. 'If I had to build one now, I would do it from the inside out.' "

    Jean-Pierre Houdin realized he could test the feasibility of his father's idea through computer-based 3-D modeling. That's what he set out to do, taking for his model the Great Pyramid at Giza. His inquiry grew into a passionate quest to solve a puzzle that has baffled humankind for ages: how exactly was the Great Pyramid built? Houdin thinks he's figured it out, and that his father was onto something.

    The Great Pyramid rose 4,500 years ago on the Giza plateau, just outside Cairo, to house the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu (called Cheops by the Greeks). Covering 13 acres and originally 481 feet high, it survives as the last of the "seven wonders" of the ancient world. Its technical precision amazes modern architects and engineers, especially in light of the available resources. The pyramid's 2.3 million limestone blocks, most weighing more than two tons, were cut and hauled into place without the benefit of wheels, pulleys and iron tools.

    After visiting Khufu's pyramid around 450 B.C., the Greek historian Herodotus surmised that 100,000 slaves spent 20 years building it. Many modern Egyptologists view that time frame as reasonable. But the notion that slaves did the work—long a myth of schoolbooks—has been discredited. Researchers now regard Egypt's pyramids as huge public works projects, to which all households in the kingdom provided workers, food and supplies.

    Various studies have analyzed logistical movements, labor organization and the use of wooden sledges, ramps, levers and other devices to help explain pyramid construction. Some studies suggest that the work force may have been a fifth or a tenth of Herodotus' estimate. Yet the overall process by which the workers assembled the Great Pyramid remains a mystery.

    To make his 3-D models of pyramid construction faithful to methods of the past and prevailing knowledge in the field, Houdin consulted with Egyptologists. Five years into the project, Dassault Systèmes, a French software company that makes 3-D models for cars and airplanes, stepped in to offer support. The company's software engineers spent 5,000 hours helping Houdin compile 3-D computer simulations to verify his ideas.

    "The objective was to say, if we had to build the pyramid today using Jean-Paul's theories, would it be possible?" says Mehdi Tayoubi, a creative director at Dassault. "We found it would be."

    Houdin announced the results of his study, which has not yet been published in a scientific journal, in March at a press conference in Paris. Members of the audience donned 3-D glasses to follow Houdin "inside" the Great Pyramid as he explained his view of how it was built. (His father, now 84, attended the event.)

    As Houdin sees it, the process worked like this: First, workers used a conventional straight ramp to haul and assemble the large stone blocks for the pyramid's base layers, up to 141 feet; at that level, nearly three-fourths of the structure's total volume would be complete. That took about ten years. Next came construction of the interior King's Chamber—a separate engineering challenge because its ceiling incorporated granite beams weighing up to 60 tons each.

    In the final stage, Houdin contends, the builders reached the steep upper layers of the pyramid by means of spiraling internal ramps, or tunnels. Stone blocks from the external ramp, he believes, were cut smaller to fill the top spaces. "At the end you have no waste," he says. "That's why we never found any remains at the site."

    External ramps figure in many previous theories of pyramid-building. One favors the use of a straight frontal ramp extending from the base to the summit; alternative approaches involve external ramps that zigzag up the triangular faces of a pyramid or spiral around the sides like a corkscrew. But all these theories have drawbacks, according to Bob Brier, an archaeologist at Long Island University who described Houdin's theory in the May/June issue of Archaeology.

    A straight frontal ramp would require too much stone and labor if built to the full height of a pyramid, he explains. To maintain a manageable grade of 6 to 8 percent for the incline—the maximum slope of modern highways—such a ramp would have to extend a mile or more. Ramps surrounding a pyramid might block sight lines the builders needed to ensure their measurements were accurate, or be prone to collapsing.

    Brier thinks Houdin has made a compelling case in his engineering analysis. "It's a radical idea, because of the ramp being internal, but it's possible, and it's worthy of being tested," Brier says. "It's not a perfect theory, but I think it's the most interesting archaeological theory we've had in a very long time."

    Brier says he remains skeptical about whether internal passageways would have allowed the pyramid builders enough room to maneuver heavy stone blocks.

    Craig B. Smith, an engineer who wrote How the Great Pyramid Was Built, also has some doubts about the new theory. "It adds an unnecessary degree of complexity, and I think of the ancient Egyptians as practical builders who reduced things to simple, practical approaches," says Smith. "Also, there is no evidence that internal ramps were used in any pyramid built before the Great Pyramid, or after."

    Houdin is confident that internal passageways remain inside the Great Pyramid, obscured by outer layers of stones. He plans to test for their presence using non-invasive technologies such as infrared photography, radar, sonar and microgravimetry, which can detect hidden spaces in solid structures by measuring differences in density.

    In partnership with archaeologists from around the world, Houdin applied for permission to do an on-site survey. He expects to get the go-ahead from Egyptian authorities in the next year or two.

    Houdin has presented his theory to Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council on Antiquities. In the foreword to a recent book by Houdin, Khufu: The Secrets Behind the Building of the Great Pyramid, Zawass calls the work "an interesting, potentially promising, new line of investigation."

    Diana Parsell is a writer and editor in Falls Church, Virginia.


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    Comments

    I understand the theory of the internal ramp but in the drawing i notice an external ramp leading up to the structure. how does it move inside after that level has been completed? Do they leave a doorway for the blocks then close it in after all the rest of the stones are in place?

    Posted by Kevin on December 1,2007 | 08:29PM

    how was the great pyramid built for?

    Posted by selena on May 19,2008 | 04:51PM

    In 2006 I was doing research for a university study in Australia concerning the construction of the Pyramids at Giza. Working with real excavated artefacts and ancient documents I was able to discover an ancient type of pulley that is unknown in the modern world until now. I am a mechanical fitter and people consider that my knowledge of mechanics at a practical level assisted me with this discovery. This ancient pulley walks up (or down) steps in a similar way to a three wheel step-trolley and I firmly believe that this is how the ancient Egyptians built their Pyramids. The Giza Pyramids have steps of course, which I have termed "racks" and of course there are four "racks" in a square based Pyramid. The wooden ancient Egyptian Pinion-Pulleys made positive engagements with the Pyramid's stone "racks" carrying a stone block each, rotating as they were being hoisted with ropes. No ramps were required as the Pyramid itself was used. This ancient pulley has a mechanical advantage of 2.8, thus is a simple machine and proves the Greek historian, Herodotus to be absolutely correct as he recorded wooden machines made of short wooden planks were used to raise the blocks of stone. These planks only needed to be the side length of a Pyramid block which is about one metre and were easily carried also, as Herodotus also records. Well, Herodotus was only writing what Egyptian Priests told him and Egyptian Priests recorded history as part of their duties. A working model has been made and a book about all of this has been published and I wish the World's people to know of this. This book is dedicated to the Egyptian people to promote "new awareness of their intelligent and innovative glorious historical past". RAISING STONE 1 - Paul Hai's racks & pinions theory. (121 pages) ISBN 9780646476797 Please visit my website at www.haitheory.com Best Regards to you all, Paul Hai, Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. haitheory@gmail.com

    Posted by Paul Hai on June 9,2008 | 04:58AM

    Thank you for allowing me to comment on the new theory of internal ramps. I was very surprised when Archaeology magazine seemed to come out in favor of Houdin's theory lot stock and barrel. How do the experts at the Smithsonian feel about it. To me, it is the most fascinating thing I've heard about in years. I've e-mailed Houdin, but is there anyone else who has an opinion on the matter who I might contact? Fascinated but still skeptical James Webster Auburn, Ala.

    Posted by James Webster on June 9,2008 | 01:27PM

    May I request that the Smithsonian update their websites concerning ancient Egyptian Pyramid construction theories by including the new discovery and Australian rampless theory of 27 August 2006. The new work is carried within a 121 page book. http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an41968130 The National Libraries Australia link.

    Posted by Paul Hai on June 10,2008 | 12:45AM

    The Pyramids were made by Telekinesis by the Sirians from Sirius, you will find the answers you seek in The Pleiadian Agenda. Peace. Love and Light. B

    Posted by Brett Berg on June 10,2008 | 10:56AM

    Canto's Pyramid Sides As Ramps Theory of Construction... Henry Houdin was partially correct. The internal ramp was used to haul up sand and small stones as well as equipment by workers. My theory contends that the Egyptians used the SIDES OF THE PYRAMID AS RAMPS from launch points on a base ramp. The building stones were placed on sleds that were pulled straight up the side of the pyramid using vessels as counter weights on the opposite that were filled with sand and small stone. Winches were used at the top to guide ropes and tracks in core stones guided the sleds. Once the building stones reached the top, the sand and stone were emptied out the bottom of the vessels. This method was duplicated all along the side of the pyramid which accounts for the speed of construction. The outer casing stones were cut and polished in the quarry and put in place first and then the core stones were put into place as needed and cut to size on the spot to fit. My theory does not require massive construction of external ramps, complicated pulleys/lever mechanisms, nor extra terrestrials. It uses simplicity and the resources of the time. I can email a pdf diagram for further illustration. canto_lee@hotmail.com

    Posted by Canto Lee on December 2,2008 | 03:03PM

    The Cheops pyramid was designed by skilled architects, and the construction was supervised by very skilled Engineers. The very moment that the Cheops pyramid was completed, with all its fittings and precision surfaces in place, was the only time that this Instrument was ready for use, for the purpose to which it was designed. The outer casings were precision ground to optical tolerances. The so called “ventilation shafts” measured 8.2 inches square, the same dimensions as the wave length Of galactic Hydrogen ( 1,420 MHz), There was no metal used in their construction because a more efficient method was used ,. Namely a UHF plasma beam. Using one side of the pyramid, fitted with a small hyperbolic reflector, would convert this paraboloid surface Into a very high gain UHF antenna. Few people are interested in the original purpose of this instrument. The outer casings are seldom referred to. Of course the shafts ( wave guides) were closed up, which is the most intelligent thing one can do, when not using the shafts, particularly if you want to avoid filling the interior of the pyramid with water from the rain . All we have left now is a huge pile of stones, it is no longer a purpose built pyramid. B .Sallur

    Posted by Brian Sallur on January 19,2009 | 04:49AM

    A Google search for "Egyptian pyramid construction" and "Egyptian pyramid ramps" displays my web page as number one on page one. It is the only web page that describes the use of movable wooden ramps. My web page also points out the absurdity of the mud rubble ramp theory postulated in almost all the other web pages. Perhaps you can tell my why it is totally ignored by your page and all the others when it is so widely viewed.

    Posted by Frank Steiger on October 9,2009 | 10:38PM

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