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Topics: History, Technology, World News, Egypt
Lucy Devine
Experts think the Egyptians could have had help in building the pyramids from a very unexpected source.
A new study, investigating how the pyramids were built thousands of years ago, has produced some surprising findings.
The ancient structures are some of the most mysterious and intriguing pieces of history in the world.
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They were built to house the mortal remains of Egypt's ancient pharaohs, with the oldest pyramid being a whopping 4,700 years old.
A great deal of work has gone into understanding how the pyramids were built, and now, a new study has gone one step further in providing the answers.
Published in Plos One, the research explains that the Step Pryamid of Djoser, around 4,500 years old, may have been built with the help of a simple tool.
The pyramid was constructed outside of Djoser's capital city of Memphis, and features six step layers of stone. Meanwhile, underneath the pyramid there was a huge underground structure with around 400 rooms.
Now, scientists believe that the pyramid could have been built by using a water-powered hydraulic lift system.
While it was previously believed that the pyramids were constructed using ramps and levers, it's now thought that Egyptians used nearby water sources to help aid the build.
"Ancient Egyptians are famous for their pioneering and mastery of hydraulics through canals for irrigation purposes and barges to transport huge stones,” said study authors.
“This work opens a new line of research: the use of hydraulic force to erect the massive structures built by Pharaohs.”
In the study, it's reported that Egyptians could have used water to transport the stone to the top of the pyramid, to build the upper levels.
Scientists found evidence that a water filtration and hydraulic system could have been used at the Step Pyramid, which is thought to have been constructed downstream from a watershed.
"The ‘Dry Moat’ surrounding the Djoser complex is likely to have been filled with water from the Upper Abusir Lake, making it suitable for navigation and material transportation," they wrote.
"We have uncovered a possible explanation for how the pyramids were built involving hydraulic force. The internal architecture of the Step Pyramid is consistent with a hydraulic elevation device never reported before.
"The current authors hypothesize that the ancient architects could have raised the stones from inside the pyramid, in a volcano fashion.
"The granite stone boxes at the bottom of the north and south shafts above the Step Pyramid, previously considered as two Djoser’s graves, have the technical signature of an inlet/outlet system for water flow."