Veritasium host Derek Muller travels to Egypt to examine some of the fascinating theories on how the pyramids were built. Muller visits the Giza pyramids to discuss theories on pyramid construction, and visits a quarry some 600 miles away, where some of the stones for the Giza pyramids were quarried.
Enjoy!
Key aspects of pyramid construction from quarry to completion.
The most common misconception about the pyramids is that they were built by slaves. Recent archeological evidence suggests they were instead constructed by paid workers. Some may have performed this work as a form of tax payment for several months of the year. Skilled engineers would have planned and orchestrated the building. An estimated 10,000-20,000 people would have been working on a pyramid at any one point in time. They were well fed and provided with shelter near the pyramids. Plus their burial sites close by indicate they were respected and were not slaves.
Much of the limestone was quarried from the Giza plateau itself, meaning the stones did not need to be transported far. The granite casing of Menkaure’s pyramid, on the other hand, was transported from Aswan, around 600 miles, or 1000 km up the Nile.
