This paper investigates the enduring mystery of how the Pyramid of Giza — the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World — was constructed. Drawing on the ancient account of Herodotus and recent archaeological findings from ongoing Giza excavations, the paper examines the roles of ramps and levers in moving massive stone blocks, challenges the widespread belief that slave labor built the pyramids, and addresses the myth of Jewish slave involvement. Archaeological evidence of worker tombs and skeletal remains points toward a paid, respected workforce of roughly 10,000 laborers, far fewer than Herodotus claimed, suggesting that mechanical aids were essential to the construction effort.
One of the great mysteries of the ancient world is how the Pyramids of Giza were constructed. The only remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the pyramids have fascinated historians, archaeologists, and engineers for centuries. The Greek historian Herodotus offered one of the earliest and most influential accounts, attributing the construction to slave labor and ramps. Modern archaeology, however, has begun to challenge several of his core claims.
Herodotus described the construction process in vivid detail, stating:
"He [Cheops] closed the temples, and forbade the Egyptians to offer sacrifice, compelling them instead to labour, one and all, in his service. Some were required to drag blocks of stone down to the Nile from the quarries in the Arabian range of hills; others received the blocks after they had been conveyed in boats across the river, and drew them to the range of hills called the Libyan. A hundred thousand men laboured constantly, and were relieved every three months by a fresh lot. It took ten years' oppression of the people to make the causeway for the conveyance of the stones, a work not much inferior, in my judgment, to the pyramid itself" (cited in Orcutt, 2000).
According to Herodotus, the great blocks of stone were transported by boat and by human hands down a ramp or causeway — itself a tremendous work of labor to construct. After the foundation stones were laid, machines made of wooden planks were used to transport stones higher and higher up the growing structure.
Given the great weight of the stones used in pyramid construction, levers do not appear to have been as practical as ramps as a means of raising large numbers of blocks vertically up tiers of stone in as short a time as possible (Orcutt, 2000). However, professional stonemasons today, drawing on the weight of the materials and the feasibility of lifting them, suggest that ramps were used for perhaps three-quarters or so of the pyramid's total vertical height, after which levers may have been of more use for the smaller volume of material required near the top (Orcutt, 2000). A combination of ramps and levers thus seems likely, although the exact method used still remains in doubt.
Although the precise method of construction is debated, there is increasing evidence that Herodotus's claim that slaves were primarily used is not borne out by existing archaeological evidence. Recently discovered tombs in the ongoing excavations at Giza yielded a striking finding: a series of modest nine-foot-deep shafts held a dozen skeletons of pyramid builders, perfectly preserved by dry desert sand, along with jars that once contained beer and bread meant for the workers' afterlife (Kratovac, 2011). Slaves would not have been awarded such a burial. There is also no evidence that Jewish slaves constructed the pyramids — another common myth — given that Jewish people were not present in Egypt during the pyramids' construction, although they may have had a hand in building the city of Ramses (Kratovac, 2011).
Historians now believe that the builders were lower-class paid laborers from the north and south of Egypt, and were respected for their work — so much so that those who died during construction were honored with burial in tombs near the sacred pyramids of their pharaohs (Kratovac, 2011). Solving the riddle of the builders' identity may provide clues about the means of construction. It is unlikely that even the poorest members of Egyptian society would willingly subject themselves to such backbreaking labor without some relief from mechanical devices such as levers. Indeed, the skeletal remains showed signs of severe arthritis, particularly in the lower vertebrae of the spine, confirming that the work was still grueling (Kratovac, 2011). Some form of lever assistance, nonetheless, must have been employed to reduce the physical burden.
"Greek bias and workforce size errors"
The construction of the Pyramids of Giza remains one of history's great engineering mysteries. What the archaeological record has made increasingly clear, however, is that Herodotus's account contains significant inaccuracies: the builders were not slaves but paid and respected laborers, the workforce was far smaller than he claimed, and a combination of ramps and levers — rather than sheer human numbers — was almost certainly the key to raising these monumental structures. As excavations at Giza continue, our understanding of this ancient achievement will only deepen.
Kratovac, K. (2011). Egypt says Jewish slaves didn't build pyramids. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2010/0111/Egypt-says-Jewish-slaves-didn-t-build-pyramids
Orcutt, L. (2000). The Pyramids of Giza. World Mysteries. Retrieved from
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