Pyramids,symbols of the Ancient Egyptian civilization,are visited by tourists and studied by researchers from all around the world.However,the techniques used by Ancient Egyptians to construct the pyramid,specifically...Pyramids,symbols of the Ancient Egyptian civilization,are visited by tourists and studied by researchers from all around the world.However,the techniques used by Ancient Egyptians to construct the pyramid,specifically,how such a tall structure could have been constructed from huge blocks of stone with the limited productive forces at the time,remains a mystery to the world.Though numerous theories,such as the use of ramps,levers,pulleys,fluid buoyancy,and cast-in-place concrete,have been proposed in academia,no consensus has been reached to date.Based on mechanical principles and the productive forces available at the time,the famous Pyramid of Khufu is used as a case study in this paper to propose a theory of pit-aided construction.The main steps include the digging of the pit,the transportation of stone blocks into the pit,the layer-by-layer construction,and the layer-by-layer filling of soil until the top of the pyramid is completed.The main idea of the pit-aided construction was to use the self-weight of the stone material to achieve the transportation of stone blocks by converting potential energy to kinetic energy,thereby avoiding the large amounts of work that must be done to elevate the huge blocks of stone.The proposed theory of pit-aided construction is consistent with the cultural custom of burial that is associated with tomb construction,namely laying the deceased to rest through burial,and is also consistent with the productive forces available in Ancient Egypt at the time.展开更多
文摘Pyramids,symbols of the Ancient Egyptian civilization,are visited by tourists and studied by researchers from all around the world.However,the techniques used by Ancient Egyptians to construct the pyramid,specifically,how such a tall structure could have been constructed from huge blocks of stone with the limited productive forces at the time,remains a mystery to the world.Though numerous theories,such as the use of ramps,levers,pulleys,fluid buoyancy,and cast-in-place concrete,have been proposed in academia,no consensus has been reached to date.Based on mechanical principles and the productive forces available at the time,the famous Pyramid of Khufu is used as a case study in this paper to propose a theory of pit-aided construction.The main steps include the digging of the pit,the transportation of stone blocks into the pit,the layer-by-layer construction,and the layer-by-layer filling of soil until the top of the pyramid is completed.The main idea of the pit-aided construction was to use the self-weight of the stone material to achieve the transportation of stone blocks by converting potential energy to kinetic energy,thereby avoiding the large amounts of work that must be done to elevate the huge blocks of stone.The proposed theory of pit-aided construction is consistent with the cultural custom of burial that is associated with tomb construction,namely laying the deceased to rest through burial,and is also consistent with the productive forces available in Ancient Egypt at the time.
