Martin Isler's On Pyramid Building

Scattered across the Egyptian landscape are massive pyramids – relics of a civilization long past. These monuments, serving as burial grounds for the pharaohs, stand to this day, relatively undamaged structurally. The Great Pyramids of Giza are particularly impressive, with the Great Pyramid of Khufu being the tallest structure in the world for 3800 years. However, one of the major conundrums is how exactly the Egyptians, without the use of modern technology or basic machines such as the wheel or pulley. After reading Martin Isler’s On Pyramid Building, I believe that the pyramids were built with a combination of ramps, levers, and buttresses. Specifically, the method I find particularly compelling involves using ramps for the lowest part

To begin, Isler’s two arguments against the widespread and total use of certain ramp types in building the pyramids are tremendously compelling. The first of the two is easy to debunk – a single perpendicular ramp to the top. When one considers the amount of material which goes into building said ramp, the ramp extends to one mile long and larger than the pyramid itself at a twelve-degree incline. Additionally, no material aside from stone (which was exceedingly trying and time-consuming to mine) is sturdy enough to prevent collapse of the ramp. Due to the impracticality and inefficiency of a stone ramp and structural problems with other materials, this argument becomes null. The second argument involves a spiral ramp. When using historical context, one must realize that the Eg¬¬yptians lacked calculus, advanced trigonometry, mathematics, and other later complex methods to measure the exact dimensions required to build such precise structures. Because of their limitations, the vital nature of seeing the corners of the pyramid to build

This argument is especially solid for two reasons. Primarily, as stones become lighter with increasing pyramid height, not only does the usefulness of levers increase, but the resources required in an alternative ramp increase. Therefore, levers are more resourceful, speedier, and require less manpower to operate with increasing height. Consequently, use of levers provides a reasonable hypothesis as to how ancient Egyptians managed to move the large granite slabs used in the internal chambers. Because granite is such a heavy material, the amount of manpower devoted towards moving the blocks is significantly less when using levers. While one might doubt the use of levers in a potential counterargument due to the scarcity of wood in Egypt, it is essential to realize the Egyptians commonly traded with other civilizations. In fact, Pharaoh Sneferu, the father of Khufu, is known to have owned timber and imported it from Lebanon (Meiggs 63). Regardless, Isler’s theory of buttresses used in building the pyramids is both remarkable and likely. In addition to providing a working space for the many laborers, they also shift the weight of transporting blocks on the pyramid and away from potentially dangerous,