Construction of the Great Pyramid with pulley-like systems using counter-weights on sliding-ramps
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The construction method of Khufu’s Great Pyramid remains debated. Several theories have been proposed that implicate construction-ramps and a layer-by-layer bottom-to-top growth progress. Regrettably, none provides satisfactory explanations how to lift blocks weighing up to ~60 tons and for the tremendous pace to place blocks every ~1 min. Here, a radically different proposal for the construction of the Great Pyramid is presented, where blocks were lifted using pulley-like systems fueled by sliding counterweights down sliding-ramps. One pulley-like system and three sliding-ramps are still visible today, assigned as the Antechamber, and as the Grand Gallery, Ascending Passage, and Descending Passage, respectively. The construction proposal based on analysis of the pyramid’s architecture and masonry, is physically advantageous and can explain the fast construction. The proposal offers explanations for the recently discovered voids, and for structural features such as the course height variations, the concavity and the central furrow of the pyramid faces.
Source: npj Heritage Science
Author: Simon Andreas Scheuring
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414494493