The Original Theory

To some they are occult symbols created by the infamous illuminati. To others they are great temples built to hold ancient Egyptian kings and queens, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, gold, mummified cats and jars filled to the brim with human organs. (Mann 2) The great pyramids are a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Almost everyone you ask will give you a different answer as to who they are built by. Aliens, men, huge kites and other stories have been passed down since the year they were built. These theories explain almost everything but man himself. The pyramids are possible to built, and the ancient Egyptians did have the technology they needed to build them. The great pyramids were built be man.

Egypt, Giza more specifically, is home to these giant monuments. A total of four pyramids spot the desert and can be seen from miles away. The most commonly, accepted theory states that the pyramids were built by man, using nothing but brute force and simple pulley and lever type mechanisms. Many scientists state that there are 2.3 million blocks of stone in just the pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). These stones weighed anywhere from 2.63 tons up to 60.59 tons. (Smyth)

Although this is the case there are some people that say that man-made pyramids of these proportions can not be true, that they are too easily debunked. These ignorant people state that there are just too many stones, a number that science puts at 2.3 million, for the Egyptians to lift and place, saying that is would take a ridicules amount of years to build. These people say that the highly intelligent Egyptian civilization did not have the technology to build these amazing monuments. There are even more ridicules statements like this, mystic tales of aliens and UFO’s.

In the world of conspiracy nuts there are a few believers that stick out. These are the kind of people that will believe just about anything that is thrown out in front of them. These are the people that believe that the ancient pyramids of Egypt were built by creative aliens in their highly advanced UFO's that had nothing better to do than stack rocks in a pile over on some planet they call Earth. This theory states that very powerful UFO's flew overhead and built the pyramids. The UFO's did not just throw the stones down, they made pathways and chambers inside the pyramids.

The ancient Egyptians recorded just about everything that happened in their civilization, from laws to inventory but there have been no found records that explain the building of these great pyramids. (Payne) Maybe that is why some people believe that an extra-terrestrial built them. Being that it is impossible to prove something wrong, the theory stands possible, but there are much more logical explanations as to how the great pyramids of Giza were built.

Another theory that 'underground' scientists have put forward is the kites theory. This theory states that the great pyramids were built using man assisted with kites. There is no historical record of the Egyptians using kites, ever, but these 'underground' scientists say that it is the case. A Californian software engineer who saw a hieroglyphic showing men holding ropes apparently connected to a 'bird' wondered if it was actually a huge, man-made kite capable of providing the lift to raise a heavy block off the ground. After raising a 180kg cement block off the ground with kites bought in a shop, Maureen Clemmons took the idea to Morteza Gharib, a professor at the Californian Institute of Technology. He then lifted a 3.5 ton obelisk by using a large sail. (Ananova)

Numbers come into play a lot when talking about the building of the great pyramids. The most widely accepted number is that the base of the pyramid is 754 feet and covers 13 acres. As already started, the most commonly accepted number of the amount of block that is in the great pyramid is 2.3 million. This number seems very high and may be a factor that leads many people to believe that the great pyramids were built by something other than man himself. With the knowledge of math it is easy to see that this number can be much lower than the originally stated 2.3 million.

This figure is (2,300,000 - 590,712) = 1,709,288 blocks less than the often published 2.3 million value. The workload passes through three phases of decreasing difficulty, which are determined by the weights of the heaviest blocks:

Steps 1 through 21 (60.59 to 27.24 tons)
Steps 22 through 136 (17.66 to 6.44 tons)
Steps 127 through 201 (3.05 to 2.63 tons) (World)

As those numbers prove that it is quite possible that the great pyramids were built by man, yet another question still stands, how. What many people do not know is that the pyramids were once covered with a kind of solid stone called marble. The encasing marble which covered the outside of the pyramid has eroded or been removed over time. With this casing off, the pyramid lost 33 feet (11m) of all of its dimensions. This was removed during the building of a near-by city.

It is possible that the ancient Egyptian workers first created the kind of step pyramid that we see now starting from the bottom and working their way up. As the pyramid rises there is less space for the crews to work in and fewer blocks to be placed. In other words, the number of workers that will be needed depends on three factors of: weight of blocks, number of blocks to be placed, and the working space available.

They Egyptians builders could of then used the steps to mount their solid and smooth marble starting from the top and working their way down. It can be done.

Coral Castle located in Miami, Florida is what seems to be a modern wonder. It is an excellent example of just exactly what man is able of accomplishing. A 100lbs man named Ed has created a wonderful world out of stone, by himself without any machinery. Perched on top of a solid block of coral is the First Rocking Chair Ed built. He was proud of this accomplishment and wanted to place the chair where it would be most prominent. Ed's first Coral Rocking Chair weighed 1 ton; yes a child could rock it. A nine ton gate is also seen, which can be open by the push of a finger. (Leedskalnin)

From aliens to kites they can all easily be debunked. The most commonly accepted theory still stands victorious, man built the great pyramids.

[edit on 16/1/05 by MacKiller]

Man did build the pyramids, i agree no theories on aliens or kites could convince me otherwise.

Nicely written - we all so love the idea of anything that is "more than ordinary" that we choose to believe the unbelievable.

Its funny to hear the number of blocks in the pyramid is unknown - dont we have technology, and indeed, maths to establish that without question.

Does anyone have good links to to a page that argues the number of stones?

Yeah Cheops is big...but 2 million blocks? How many really big ones?

Hmm it just could be cause of the variable thickness of the walls and the chambers inside that make it difficult to count the number of stones used.

I think man built the pyramids too. Everyone always wants to complicate things. I think when they originally found the pyramids they were buried to the top in sand. What if as they built each level they built a long hill made of sand and walked right up the hill to add each level of stone. Or what if they dug out the sand and put it back with each layer and when the job was complete they dug it back out. What the hell else did these poor people have to do all day when it wasn't crop season -my guess is to build a pyramid.

This has interested me ever since an innocent family holiday to Cyprus in 1998. My dad arranged a mini-excursion to Egypt and Israel. Israel was amazing: The cafe which was a shrine to Elvis in the hills just outside Jerusalem was a fun point.

However, the visit to Egypt was very interesting. The Museum of History gave an insight as to the peculiarity of the situation. Let me put it into context...

The tunnels In the Great Cheops Pyramid are suffocating: the rails I saw upon peering into the entrance only allowed for transit of mummified idols and ancient treasures. They were only half a metre high, at the most. The pyramid is in a spiral formation: the upward-spiralling tunnels could have been constructed to aid the more difficult task of finishing the structure: any historical publication would tell you that mules and manpower were used. These tunnels would prove useful.

The tunnels are also used to store the various trinkets throughout history. The tunnels hide a secret though: My rather eccentric tour guide likened the internal pyramid map to a small snaking insignia engraved into the young King's sarcophagus. Two chambers were, at the time of this revelation, undiscovered. The tour guide was stringent in his assessment of this conspiracy. My point of this is that i have neither the facility nor the effort to return to the great wonder, but there are areas Man has not found. These may be pointless rooms, they may hold the Holy Grail, I am certain I will never know. I only wanted to add my input.