Lecture by Andrzej Ćwiek (Adam Mickiewicz University)

 

How the pyramids were built is a recurring question in the Egyptian archaeology, engaging likewise scholars and amateurs. Among a number of issues, the most discussed is certainly the way of transporting large stones. There is no doubt that the method employed by the ancient Egyptians was dragging of heavy loads placed on sledges. However, the details of the procedure are somewhat unclear. Experiments made in Biskupin in 2001 and 2019, when an average 2-tonne block of stone was hauled on a sledge, revealed a bit in this respect. Being as much experiential as experimental, they resulted in important observations, including the necessary track preparation and ratio of the number of workers to the load weight. Most surprising results concerned, however, the way of levering the load to start moving or to turn. The effective method is surprisingly counter-intuitive proving that our contemporary theoretical reconstructions of an ancient technology are sometimes too sophisticated. Even graduated engineers are sometimes wrong, because we do not practice using simple machines. The observations on levering made in Biskupin not only enable understanding horizontal and vertical transport of stones at the pyramid building, but they also allow to explain some features noticed at the Cheops’ pyramid casing.