The Great Pyramids of Giza are the oldest and longest surviving wonders still in existence. This video explores the forces involved in building the pyramids, including the lifting power needed to lift a 10-ton block.
The Egyptians did not leave behind schematics for their construction process, but using basic principles of physics and geometry, the video backwards engineers the machine they used to lift the blocks. The Great Pyramid of Giza, which initially stood 481 feet tall, took 27 years to complete and is made up of around 2.3 million limestone blocks, with an average weight of 2.5 tons.
The blocks at the base of the pyramid weigh up to 10 tons. The ancient Egyptians used a simple machine, later named the Herodotus machine after the historian who documented its use, to lift the blocks. The machine consisted of a large wooden beam secured with heavy rope and a wooden scaffold built around the block.
The basic operation involved tilting the block to the left, inserting two wooden slats on the right, pivoting the block around the slats on the right, and then inserting more slats on the left before pivoting the block around the slats on the left. This process repeats, adding more slats each time, until the block reaches its desired location.
