Practically any representative of modern society at least once in his life wondered who or with whose help the great historical monuments were built, what tools, tools and mechanisms our ancestors used in the construction process and whether there are answers to the riddles of the pyramids antiquities?
To begin with, we suggest first of all to get acquainted with some concepts, moments in history, as well as with the opinions of various people.
What is a pyramid?
From the point of view of architectural science, a pyramid is a structure that is a polyhedron, usually with four triangular faces. For ancient people, buildings of this kind served as tombs (mausoleums), temples, or simply monuments.
The history of the pyramids begins around the 3rd millennium BC. It is these figures that confuse many historians. It is hard to believe that people had advanced tools of labor at that time, if the descendants of some of them are still engaged in hunting and gathering, which is typical for a primitive level of development.
Modern scientists identify several main points of concentration of the ancient pyramids.
Egypt
NeiIt's no secret that the "country of the pyramids" is the second name of Egypt. Such a metaphor is well deserved. It was here that the very first pyramids in the world were built. They are located on the Giza plateau, on the territory of an ancient cemetery.
Only a few pyramids of ancient Egypt have survived to our times. These are the pyramids of Cheops, Mykerin and Khafre. According to scientists, there were many more of them before.
The Pyramid of Cheops is considered to be the most important, because it is the highest pyramid. Formally, it is she who is recognized as one of the wonders of the world. Its height is 147 meters, which is comparable to the height of five ten-story buildings. The sides of the bases, in turn, are about 230 meters long. The construction area is 50 square kilometers.
The size of the pyramid of Cheops once struck the great Napoleon. According to his dictum, the stone blocks used to build the Egyptian pyramids would be enough to completely surround France with a three-meter wall.
The Pyramid of Khafre was built as a tomb for the son of Cheops. Its dimensions are slightly smaller than the previous one.
It is worth noting that this burial complex, unlike other pyramids, includes the famous Great Sphinx. According to one of the legends, the gaze of the Sphinx is directed towards Mount Kailash, in the depths of which, according to ancient legends, secret knowledge is imprisoned.
The Pyramid of Menkaure is considered the smallest and "youngest". Its height is 62 meters, and the length of the sides is equal to the length of the football field. Existspeculation that the pyramid used to be a little larger, since the structure was originally covered with red granite cladding, which may have been lost as a result of Mameluke raids. During the construction of this pyramid of Ancient Egypt, Pharaoh Menkur ordered the use of blocks of stone, much larger in size than in the pyramids of Khafre and Cheops. He also allowed workers to process the stone not carefully. The fact is that the pharaoh wanted to complete the tomb before his death and by all means tried to speed up the construction process. However, Menkur could not live to see his graduation.
Mesopotamia
It would seem that it is not so far from Mesopotamia to Egypt, the conditions for construction and materials are almost the same, therefore, their approach to architecture should not differ much. But it wasn't there.
The pyramids of Mesopotamia are unique religious buildings - ziggurats (translated from the Babylonian "mountain top"). Their external structure resembles the Egyptian pyramids, but, unlike them, the levels of the ziggurat were connected with the help of stairs, and along the edge of the wall, in turn, there were special ramps (gentle ascents) that led to the temple.
Another feature of the structure of the ziggurats is the broken line of the wall formed by the ledges.
In the event that it was required to have window openings in the structure, then they were created, as a rule, on the upper part of the wall. They were a narrow gap.
It is noteworthy that the peoples of Mesopotamia did not use ziggurats asburial structures for the reason that they did not see any connection between the preservation of the body of the deceased and the acquisition of immortality by him in the next world, as the ancient Egyptians did.
Sudan
At one time, the Sudanese kings revived the ancient Egyptian tradition associated with the use of pyramids as burial places for the rulers of the country.
By and large, the cultures of Ancient Egypt and Sudan were closely related. Consequently, the architecture had a lot in common.
In ancient Sudan, there were the following types of pyramids: classical structures (according to the principle of the Egyptian structure) and mastabas, having the shape of a truncated pyramid. In contrast to the Egyptian ones, the Sudanese buildings have a steeper slope.
The most famous pyramids are the archaeological sites of the city of Meroe. In the second half of the sixth century BC, the capital was moved here, which later became the cultural and religious center of the state.
Modern scientists in Meroe counted several dozen pyramids that have survived to this day. In 2011, these archaeological sites were officially declared a World Heritage Site.
Nigeria
Here, according to custom, the pyramids were erected in honor of the god Al. Ancient people believed that it was possible to contact the deity through these structures. They believed that his abode was located on the tops of the pyramids.
The official opening of these religious buildings took place only in the 30s of the last century. Then,the famous archaeologist Jones took several photographs of the pyramids for his own archive (however, they were not published until eighty years later).
In his opinion, the buildings of Nigeria were built much earlier than the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, and also that the local civilization is much older than many others. Unfortunately, the pyramids have survived to this day in a rather worn condition.
Mexico
Since ancient times, this country was inhabited by a people to whom modern historians attribute a rich mythology and cultural heritage - the Aztecs.
Although the heyday of civilization dates back to the XIV-XVI centuries, the Aztec pyramids were built long before that. So, for example, the famous Pyramid of the Sun, which ranks third in the world in size and only seven meters below the tomb of Cheops, according to historians, was erected around 150 BC.
The pyramids of Teotihuacan, in turn, are considered a monumental attempt to realize an eternal blessed utopia.
For seven centuries, the Aztec pyramids were a kind of guiding star, whose radiance called all those who were thirsty to taste a noble dream. It is believed that the city of Teotihuacan was obsessed with the idea of order and regularity. However, love and harmony did not prevent the flow of human blood through the blades of barbarism and inhumanity. The Aztecs ruthlessly killed and sacrificed everyone objectionable to the gods.
The pyramids, where these sacrifices were made, had some similarities with the Mesopotamianziggurats: they also had a "stepped" shape, there was also a ramp (it was the only one leading to the very top of the structure).
Unfortunately, not all of the Aztec pyramids could survive today. Most of them were destroyed during the invasion of Mexican territory by European colonizers, which took place in the 16th century.
China
Of course, some readers, seeing this sub title, were very surprised. After all, almost no one talks or writes about the Chinese pyramids.
In total, scientists have about a hundred such structures. They acted as burial mounds for the rulers of famous Chinese dynasties. The shape of the pyramid was truncated (like the Sudan scale). Due to the peculiarities of the local flora, some large structures have taken the form of overgrown hills.
The origin of the pyramids is quite interesting. The fact is that in written sources that date back to the fifth century BC, the structures are already called “ancient”. Did the pyramids really exist long before the document was written? It must be admitted that humanity is unlikely to know about this. A detailed study of structures, as is done in Egypt, is almost impossible: excavations in the areas where they are located are often prohibited by local authorities.
North America
In the 11th century, when endless wars were fought on the territory of Europe, at the other end of the hemisphere, in the Mississippi Valley, the civilization of the Indians peacefully developed and flourished. They quickly builthousing, developed infrastructure.
Also, the ancient Indians had a habit of constructing special mounds, an area of about a few dozen football fields. Here they did almost everything: they celebrated holidays, held religious and sporting events, etc. Quite often, mounds also served people as mounds (burial places). One of the largest concentrations is Cahokia - a group of 109 burial mounds. It has also been declared a World Heritage Site.
Who built them and why?
People have been scratching their heads over this question for many years. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to fit into the head the fact that the construction of the pyramids at the level at which ancient people did it, even today, is a rather complicated process, given modern methods and technologies. How, for example, did the Egyptians drag stone blocks weighing 7-10 tons to the height of a ten-story building, and how did they manage to process them perfectly (sometimes even a blade cannot squeeze between loose blocks)?
Currently, there are several theories and hypotheses that are the most plausible.
I. The existence of a highly developed pracivilization
Everyone is used to thinking that a person today is a highly developed and enlightened being, to whom Mother Nature herself is sometimes subject, and many thousands of years ago people were savages living to satisfy their primitive needs. However, few people thought that once on our planet there already existed a similara civilization with a high level of intelligence and technology. Maybe they knew much of what we are rediscovering today?
According to one version, this civilization may be the Atlanteans, who either built the pyramids themselves using technologies inaccessible to others, or helped to do it.
According to another, ancient people were able to find and quickly adapt for use the technology of pre-existing, but disappeared highly developed civilizations.
Another version says that the ancient people (the same Egyptians) themselves were at a fairly high level of development both mentally and technologically.
All this can refute the only fact that the ancient manuscripts never mentioned contacts with any super-civilizations.
II. Alien intervention
This theory of the origin of the pyramids is the most common and discussed. According to her, representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations helped people build various kinds of structures.
For starters, let's figure out why suddenly aliens from outer space (if they already took place) help underdeveloped people at that time to build the pyramids of the world?
According to one of the versions, the structures served representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations as a source of energy, still incomprehensible to mankind, or as intermediaries for communication between planets (a rather strange form of a pyramid, as an architectural structure as a whole, is also attributed here).
There is another theory. She islies in the fact that ancient people, coming into contact with aliens, could take them for gods.
Aliens, with their technology and "chariots of fire", had a huge number of opportunities, which people used, turning to representatives of highly developed civilizations for help in such a matter as building pyramids.
Many ufologists who are interested in the question of who built the pyramids are interested in the relationship between the location of the pyramids and the map of the starry sky. In their opinion, this connection is direct, since, for example, the famous Giza complex in Egypt, which we have already talked about today, corresponds to the three largest stars located in the constellation Orion. Perhaps this pattern is based on the fact that this constellation was symbolic for the Egyptians: it personified the god Osiris, one of the most important deities of Ancient Egypt.
But another question immediately arises: why did the Egyptians associate the names of the gods with the stars? According to the same experts, perhaps it was some kind of connection between these same "gods" and their abode.
As another evidence of the presence of aliens on Earth, one can cite various drawings depicting incomprehensible circles, and sometimes even human-like creatures. Are these drawings depicted by real creatures, or are they just the works of an artist with a rich imagination?
It is worth mentioning the ancient Egyptian manuscripts, which speak of a certain war of powerful Gods. What or whom peoplecould call Gods, what was this war, did it exist in reality or is it just a fabulous myth? The answers to these questions have long been buried in oblivion.
III. Skeptical theory
According to her, ancient people were able to independently build the pyramids of the world. According to scientists who adhere to this point of view, people could have had enough incentives to build such structures: religious considerations, the desire to earn a livelihood for the work performed, the desire to stand out in terms of unique architecture.
The ancient historian Herodotus was the first Greek scientist who, in his writings, was able to describe in detail the famous pyramids of Giza. In his opinion, for the construction of a structure of this type in a short time (according to the descriptions, the period of construction of one pyramid was, as a rule, 15-20 years) it was necessary to involve at least one hundred thousand workers.
This does not include the gratuitous labor of slaves and prisoners, who died by the thousands at construction sites from disease, hunger and thirst, unbearable work, the wrath of the owners. Unlike them, masons, architects, builders received money for building ancient pyramids.
Ordinary peasants could also be involved in the construction of the pyramids. This process could take the form of a kind of labor service, that is, the same people were called to work after a certain period of time (most likely, once a year or two for a period of several weeks). Thus, the Egyptians were able to easilyupgrade workforce.
It is possible that a kind of “competition” was held between the workers involved in the construction of the pyramids, the winners of which could be determined by the amount of work done both in a group and individually, its quality, etc. Those who could to stand out among others, received various promotions.
As proof of Herodotus' theory, one can cite the multiple burials of workers and architects discovered by archaeologists during excavations, as well as ramps near the unfinished pyramids, along which, most likely, stone blocks were raised. From the same burials, one can also judge how difficult the work of the workers building the structures of that time was. This conclusion can be drawn by examining the remains of ancient people: numerous traces of healed fractures were found on their bones.
Moreover, the components of the device were found, which, most likely, is the prototype of the modern crane. It is unlikely that the construction of the pyramids was accelerated and facilitated only through the use of this mechanism. It is possible that there were many other devices.
Skeptics also have certain views on the technique of building pyramids.
Let's start discussing the process from the very first stage of creating such structures - the production of building blocks. It has been scientifically proven that those who built the pyramids used “soft” limestone as the main materials, as well as harder ones: granite, quartzite and bas alt. However, there are several opinions about how exactly construction began.are separated.
According to one of the versions, the extraction of blocks was carried out in special quarries, located near the places where the pyramids were built. The downside of the theory is that using these quarries would only complicate the construction process, and transporting the blocks would make the process almost impossible.
Another hypothesis is that the blocks were cast on site, from limestone concrete. Its adherents are sure that those who built the pyramids knew how to make concrete mixtures from various hard rocks. However, there are opponents of this theory of the construction of ancient structures. They argue their point by referring to the fact that in some areas where the pyramids were built in large numbers, there are simply no resources to create a binder concrete solution.
Speaking about the hypotheses of moving blocks, it is worth mentioning that here, too, the opinions of experts are divided.
The most common version of this is about pulling blocks. As proof of this theory, historians cite one of the ancient Egyptian frescoes, which depicts about one hundred and fifty people pulling the monument of Jehutihotep II. At the same time, workers use special sled-sleds. It is noteworthy that their runners, as depicted in the fresco, are poured with water, which was most likely used to reduce friction and facilitate the process. This hypothesis has the right to refute the fact that the process is quite laborious and it is unlikely that those who built the pyramids coulddo it quickly.
Another theory under discussion is the use by ancient people of various kinds of mechanisms. The most famous hypothetical devices are the so-called "cradle" mechanism, square wheel technology (using a special track), an internal ramp, etc. But, according to many, these technologies were not yet available at that time.
Summing up
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the question of who built the pyramids and what is their main purpose remained relevant at all times. Most likely, humanity will never know this. Over time, everything goes into oblivion: manuscripts, frescoes, drawings. And there are so few such historical sources today.
It is obvious that the mysteries of the pyramids will never leave a person indifferent.
