Engineering a Feasible Ramp for the Great Pyramid of Giza

Abstract

Although it is widely believed by archaeologists that the Great Pyramid was built using sleds hauled up ramps, no economically feasible ramp configuration has yet been found which would have permitted the placement of the 44 granite beams weighing up to 75 t and the 2.3 Mm³ of limestone blocks of the pyramid, in a period corresponding to the 27 year reign of Pharaoh Khufu. This paper focuses on engineering considerations: it proposes a simple configuration which is structurally sound and consistent with the archaeological evidence and the principles of ergonomics, mechanics and materials engineering, with a volume of only 6% of that of the pyramid. It demonstrates how the blocks, beams, supporting capstones and pyramidion could have been placed using only the tools found at Giza which date from the 4th Dynasty or earlier, within the constraints imposed by the topography of the Giza Massif.