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\"Carefully leveled text and vibrant photographs introduce early readers to the science and engineering behind the Pyramids of Egypt. Includes infographics, an activity, glossary, and index\"-- Provided by publisher.

Work smarter, not harder? Most archaeologists feel that 25,000 workers spent 20 years building the Great Pyramid in Egypt over 4000 years ago. However, by closely examining the clues and artifacts left behind, and by assuming that the Egyptians were clever and intelligent, it is found that 10,000 workers could have built the Great Pyramid in about 385 days. This book, for high school readers and up, shows how, even at a more realistic, relaxed building schedule, the project could have been completed easily within four to six years by just 4000 workers. Gerard Fonte presents the construction of the Great Pyramid as a wonder indeed, while challenging our cherished notions of the arduous labor and extreme human costs required for the project. Starting with his knowledge of project management, the properties of basic materials, and common sense, and giving the Egyptians credit as a sophisticated and well-run society, he shows step by step how they may have built great edifices and enhanced social cohesion at the same time. He posits that some of the implements found at archeological sites were clever labor-saving devices, and using experiments, models and tests he illustrates some ingenious techniques that were well within the scope of Egyptians' technical knowledge. Photographs and diagrams support his theory. This research covers all major aspects of pyramid building: quarrying, moving, placing, lifting, fitting the blocks, finishing the outer casing blocks, placing the top-most blocks, tool specifications, wood requirements and machine design. It examines Egyptian pyramids in general, general pyramid geometry, common pyramid fallacies, available worker population, social effects of large works and scale factors in engineering. It is important to emphasize that everything is based on archaeological remains, forensic evidence, engineering principles, common sense and creativity. Additionally, it presumes that the Egyptian builders were intelligent and innovative and would use the best available techniques. In particular, two mysterious tools that have been found at the pyramid site are examined and found to instrumental for moving and lifting the blocks. The first is the wooden quarter circle or rocker which is made from imported cedar. The author built replicas of these tools and was able to move a 4200 pound concrete pyramid block 15 feet in less than 10 seconds by himself and from a stationary starting position. (The author was 52 years old and weighed 135 pounds at the time.) A forensic examination of the second tool, a proto-pulley , reveals that the Egyptians used a particular type of lever to lift the blocks. A time-motion examination showed that three men could lift a block a full course in just three minutes with this lever. The conventional approaches of using ramps to lift blocks and sledges to move blocks are examined are shown to be flawed. The consequences of employing these methods lead to untenable situations, like a quarry that must supply twice as much rock than it can possibly hold.

A leading engineer provides an in-depth look at the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, discussing how the ancient Egyptians developed their building plans, devised work schedules, managed laborers, and solved specific design and engineering problems.

In Rosalie David's hands, the Egyptian builders of the pyramids are revealed as simple people, leading ordinary lives while they are engaged on building the great tomb for a Pharoah. This is an engrossing detective story, bringing to the general reader a fascinating picture of a special community that lived in Egypt and built one of the pyramids, some four thousand years ago.

\"The ancient Egyptian tomb evolved rapidly over a period of about 2,500 years, from a simple backfilled pit to an enormous stone pyramid with complex security arrangements. Much of this development was arguably driven by the ever-present threat of tomb robbery, which compelled tomb builders to introduce special architectural measures to prevent it. However, until now most scholarly Egyptological discussions of tomb security have tended to be brief and usually included only as part of a larger work, the topic instead being the subject of lurid speculation and fantasy in novels, the popular press, and cinema.In Securing Eternity, Reg Clark traces in detail the development of the Egyptian royal and private tombs from the Predynastic Period to the early Fourth Dynasty. In doing so, he demonstrates that many of the familiar architectural elements of the Egyptian tomb that we take for granted today in fact originated from security features to protect the tomb, rather than from monumental or religious considerations.\" -- Provided by publisher.

First published in 2005. This concise, erudite text will be of interest to any enthusiast of ancient Egypt or the mechanical arts. Among the topics included are the Egyptian knowledge of mechanics, the building of the pyramids, quarrying, the transportation of monuments and the erection of buildings and monuments.

Most archaeologists feel that 25,000 workers spent 20 years building the Great Pyramid (KhufuA's Pyramid) at Giza in Egypt over 4000 years ago. However, by closely examining the clues and artifacts left behind, and by assuming that the Egyptians were clever and intelligent, it is found (conservatively) that 10,000 workers could have built the Great Pyramid in about 385 days. Even at a more realistic, relaxed building schedule, the project could have been completed easily within four to six years by just 4000 workers.Dr. Mark LehnerA's A\"The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient MysteriesA\" (1998 Thames and Hudson) has only 35 pages on pyramid construction. In A\"How the Great Pyramid was BuiltA\" by Dr. Craig Smith (2004, Smithsonian Books), an executive-level approach is used with only chapters 6-9 actually addressing the construction techniques. Neither book acknowledges Egyptian creativity or intelligence. Both books ignore critical artifacts and contrary evidence. Neither book looks at the consequences of the suggested building methods which regularly lead to untenable situations. A\"Building the Great Pyramid in About a YearA\" focuses on practical and plausible techniques that derive from examining the tools and clues left by the builders and by accepting that the Egyptians were brilliant and creative builders.

While some are concealed by obscure rainforests and others protrude out of the desert wilderness, pyramids throughout the world are a link to the understanding of ancient architecture, religion and society. The Giza Pyramids in Egypt were 'launch pads' for the Pharaoh's soul as he made his journey to the heavens. Pyramids in the Mayan rainforest are examples of sophisticated calendars. Secrets of the Pyramids examines the fascination surrounding pyramids and travels the globe to unravel some of their appeal. Are they immense images of power or did ancient men simply feel a need to build up to the skies to be nearer to the gods?

Critics have overlooked Ruskin's negotiation with the heterodox scientific subject of Pyramidology in The Ethics of the Dust (1866), given momentum by arguments about weights and measures in Parliament in 1864. Ruskin silently employed the ideas of John Taylor and Charles Piazzi Smyth to impart depth and contemporaneity to his formulation of the spirit of life as associable with human personality in The Ethics. The allusive strategy also amplified the text's critique of materialist science, set terms for a literary practice that was to be characteristic of Fors Clavigera (1871-84), and indicated an aspect of Ruskin's self-reflexive sympathy with dissonant movements in the mid-1860s, a period when he was particularly aware of his own cultural dissonance.

\"Archeologists have spent centuries wondering how the towering pyramids of Giza were constructed thousands of years ago. Now, the discovery of a sophisticated ramp system has put them one step closer to solving the mystery.\" (CNN Wire Service) Read about the discovery of this ramp.