A recent study published in July suggests that Egypt’s oldest pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, may have been constructed using advanced technology. The study proposes that a hydraulic lift system was used during the construction of the pyramid to raise the massive blocks needed for its construction.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser was built as the final resting place of King Djoser, the first or second pharaoh of Egypt’s Third Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, around 4,700 years ago. The pyramid rises in six tiers to a height of 62 meters above the Saqqara plateau, equivalent to the height of a 14-storey building.
If proven true, the existence of this hydraulic lift system would offer an explanation for how the ancient Egyptians were able to construct such monumental structures with the technology available at the time. The study also suggests that a nearby enclosure, known as Gisr el-Mudir, may have served as a “check dam” to capture water and sediment, supporting the hydraulic system.
The study proposes that a sophisticated system of water treatment plants outside the pyramid combined with the Gisr el-Mudir and a ditch controlled water quality and flow. Water would flow into a shaft inside the pyramid where a float system potentially carried building stones to their needed locations. A plug system at the base of the shaft could then drain the water for the process to start again.
Xavier Landreau, president of Paleotechnique and lead author of the study, emphasizes the importance of this discovery in questioning established historical narratives and the technical knowledge possessed by the ancient Egyptian architects. The study also raises the intriguing question of whether the same hydraulic system used to construct the pyramid could have been used to bury the king in his final resting place within the pyramid.
About the Experts
Xavier Landreau: President of Paleotechnique and lead author of the study. Paleotechnique is a research practice that combines hydrology, geotechnical engineering, physics, mathematics, materials science, and history to explore the origins of civilization.
Read more:
Source: www.sciencefocus.com
