Massive stones were transported by water
Scientists have discovered a long-flooded branch of the Nile River that once flowed alongside more than 30 Egyptian pyramids, potentially revealing how the ancient Egyptians transported massive stone blocks for the construction of famous monuments.
According to the study, the 64-kilometer-long branch of the river that flowed past the famous pyramid complex at Giza was for thousands of years hidden beneath desert and farmland.
The presence of a river might explain why 31 pyramids were built in a chain along a now desert strip in the Nile Valley between 4,700 and 3,700 years ago.
Near the capital of Ancient Egypt, Memphis, is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving structure of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as the pyramids of Khafre, Cheops and Mikerinus.
Archaeologists have long believed that the ancient Egyptians used the nearby waterway to transporting the giant materials used to build the pyramids.
«But no one was sure of the location, shape, size or proximity of this giant waterway to the site of the real pyramids,» lead study author Eman Ghoneim from the University of North Carolina in the US told AFP.
The international team researchers used satellite imagery to map the river branch, which they called Ahramat, which means «pyramids» in Arabic.
The radar used by the experts gave them the «unique ability to penetrate the surface of the sand and obtain images of hidden objects, including buried rivers and ancient structures.»
According to Ghoneim, field research and sediment samples at the excavation site confirmed the presence of the river in the past. According to scientists, the once mighty stream of water increasingly covered the bottom with sand. It began during a severe drought about 4,200 years ago.
Many of the pyramids had a «ceremonial walk» that ran along the river and ended at temples in the valley that served as harbors. This indicates that the river played a «key role in transporting the vast quantities of building materials and workers needed to build the pyramid.»
How exactly the ancient Egyptians managed to build such huge and durable structures remains one of the greatest mysteries of history, about which experts argue, and conspiracy theorists build theories.
“These heavy materials, most of which were brought from the south, it would have been much easier to float down the river than to transport overland,” archaeologist Suzanne Onstein told AFP.
She suggested that the river banks could have been the place where the pharaohs' funeral entourage were met before their bodies were disposed of moved to «the site of the last burial within the pyramid.»
The river may also indicate why the pyramids were built in different places.
“The course of the river and its volume changed over time, Therefore, the pharaohs of the fourth dynasty had to make different choices from the previous rulers of the 12th dynasty,” she explained.
This discovery, according to scientists, should serve as a reminder of the close connection between geography, climate, environment and human behavior.
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