For years, discovery and research processes in the Egyptian pyramids have been in full swing. The richness of this place surprises archaeologists who still have a lot to discover in the resting place of great pharaohs.
However, the passage of time has a negative impact on the condition of the pyramids, which scientists are trying to remedy whenever possible. There was even a plan to rebuild, or rather rebuild, one of the great pyramids of Giza – the Menkaure pyramid.
It is the smallest of the famous Giza pyramids. It is the tomb of the ruler Menkaure from the 4th dynasty of the Old Kingdom, whose real Egyptian name was MenKauRe and meant: “The power of Re is enduring”.
This pyramid of the big three pyramids is the smallest, measuring only 65 m high, and… it is also the most mysterious. Already during its construction, the pyramid was supposed to stand out from the others – it was covered not only with limestone, but also granite slabs.
During the first discoveries made in these three pyramids, only in the Menkaure pyramid were human remains found, but these were not those belonging to the pharaoh, but to a woman. However, to this day it is not known how the remains got there and why they were buried there.
The Menkaure pyramid is also associated with an extraordinary project… the reconstruction of this ancient work.
These plans are related to the granite slabs of this unique pyramid. Only part of the great tomb was once covered with granite blocks, not limestone. However, the ancient pyramid builders only placed 16 to 18 layers of these blocks on it before construction was stopped after Menkaure’s death. Many of the granite blocks that remained at the base of the pyramid were never placed on the structure. Only 7 layers of granite on this pyramid remain today.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced a few weeks ago a plan to restore the pyramid’s granite casing as part of a three-year renovation. This “project of the century” – as Mostafa Wazery, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, called it – was met with a sharp reaction from researchers from around the world.
Monica Hanna, an archaeologist and Egyptologist at the Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, issued a statement on behalf of a group of archaeologists who called the plan “completely unscientific.”
“We can’t finish the work that the ancient Egyptians left us,” Hanna told Stephen Snyder on “The World” radio show.
“It must remain unfinished,” the archaeologist said.
Additionally, the Menkaure Pyramid Revision Committee “unanimously opposed the reinstallation of the granite casing blocks scattered around the base of the pyramid.”
The committee presented a report in which it noted that “the importance of maintaining the pyramid’s current condition unchanged, given its outstanding universal and archaeological value, is crucial.”
“The commission found that it would be impossible to determine the exact original location of any of the housing blocks,” the statement reads.
“It is therefore impossible to restore any of them to their original position on the pyramid. Therefore, any reinstallation of the casing blocks would change the ancient, original structure and appearance of the pyramid, which would hide important evidence of how the ancient Egyptians designed and built the pyramids,” he points out Commission in a statement.
Another problem would be the use of modern binders, which would adversely affect the ancient granite blocks. Another obstacle may be the constant, uninterrupted work of trying to explain how the pyramids were built. This topic continues to heat up the world of history and archeology.
Transporting stone blocks on wooden poles, using human muscle power, using appropriate bronze tools – scientists have been explaining for years how the ancients created the pyramids.
Looking at the civilization of that time and the lack of tools such as cranes, it is hard to imagine. There are even theories that the pyramids were not built by people, but by aliens.
However, the world of science is gradually proving that building the pyramids was possible, and from time to time archaeologists draw new conclusions and find new explanations for how the stone blocks ended up in Giza.
The latest discovery was recently published in “The Independent” magazine and concerns a branch of the Nile that was important for building the pyramids.
Scientists have concluded that a branch of the Nile, which is now dry, once ran through Giza and was supposed to enable the transport of stone blocks.
This discovery changes a lot in the perception of the route and method of transporting stone blocks. The former presence of a waterway may also suggest why there is such a concentration of pyramids in this particular place in Egypt.