That DOES NOT MEAN that it was built by non-Egyptians, just that we cannot say it was built by any particular Pharoah (

Hans: I would disagree partially, yes we can agree that it was the Egyptians and we can make a point of assigning it the pharaohs whose names are associated with it. The evidence from the worker's village and the writing in one of the pyramids gives us names of two we can associate with their pyramids. Herodotus is also a source but his realiability can be questioned.

Unless we find more materials its possible that x pharaoh built it but it was used by Y or not used by Z.

There is no telling, from a modern perspective, what was actually in that library.
Hell, maybe you would have your evidence of claim there, if it weren't burned down.

You know, that a pharoah actually initiated the construction of ANY of these buildings.

the moon doesn't have a sign on it that says "built by the sun" and it's not just speculation to deduce that. archeaology differs because obviosuly the further back you go the less evidence you have. so speculation is 10 times better than anything else.

personally i don't think the pyramids were built for khufu. barring the new article i was reading about the workers camps i'd never seen that before. hwoard vyse's story wasn't convincing at all.

"to build a tomb for"...

First of all, where is ANY evidence it was a tomb at all?!

Secondly, you are right, you COULD BE wrong.

Not only that, but the rest of your post goes on to DEFINE the fallacy of begging the question!

I'm sorry, but this simply isn't good enough.

[edit on 11-12-2008 by Jay-in-AR]

I don't know guys...I gotta be honest here...I think you guys are both wrong.....I like to think the the aliens gave them the knowledge as to how to build them.....Yea..You guys make good points..but those are to boring...I'm going with the alien thing....So I win on style points

Some interesting discussion in this thread.

But, in my opinion, the theory presented in the OP kind of misses the point.

Regardless of HOW the Giza pyramids were built, the most important question of WHY they were built still seems to be skimmed over here.

I have to side against Hans in this one - there really is no evidence that the Pyramids were ever tombs. Ever. As far as i'm aware, Egyptian Pharoahs and the like were mainly buried in the Valley of the Kings.

And why are we buying in to Khufu's name being written on the inside of the Great Pyramid?

I mean come on, if Barack Obama, for instance, visits the Hoover Dam and etches his name into the main control room somewhere, does this mean that in 10,000 years time, when the ruins are found, people would be correct in assuming that Barack built the dam and that it was all for him and/or his people? They would be incorrect - as, i believe, we are when we make assumptions regarding the, well, grafitti, (for all we know) found in the Great Pyramid which some say points the Khufu's hand in building the Pyramid.

And while the 'built over time' theory suggested in the OP is interesting and certainly a fresh take on how the Pyramids were built, it has some serious holes in it.

Still not explained and/or proven through this theory:

* HOW the multi-tonne blocks were placed into position.
* HOW the red granite found in the King's Chamber (and other locations) was transported to the Giza plateau from its original quarry.
* The PURPOSE of the 5 relieving chambers (placed above the Kings Chamber) - they hold ONLY their own weight and have little structural use.
* The REASON each beam of red granite (used to construct the reliving chambers of the King's Chamber) are rough and unfinished on their top, yet perfectly finished and squared-off on all other sides. Why go to such effort for areas which will never be seen?
* The chemical reactions which took place (according to evidence at the site) in the Queens Chamber. (for more on this, google 'Christopher Dunn' - some great research there).
* The seemingly overwhelming correlation between the Great Pyramid's internal design and acoustics. Every internal structure seems to have been intentionally constructed to maximise and utilize the Pyramid's acoustic resonance. (Christopher Dunn again)
* The so-called 'air-vents' or diagonal shafts which are IN NO WAY air shafts. Two terminate WITHIN the Pyramid walls, while the other two (which continue to the Pyramids external surfaces) are in no way designed for air-flow.

I could keep going. It seems the theory proposed in the OP has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.

I applaud the idea and am glad to see fresh ideas still being released, but until it can explain all the above and the many more anomalies i didn't mention, it can't really be seriously considered.

Perhaps, as with many such theories, it is but ONE PIECE of a puzzle.

I doubt any one person or persons has the whole truth, so perhaps this is another piece to a puzzle we must all put together to find the reality of the Pyramids' history.

Who knows, maybe the pharaohs were actually grave robbers, trying to find some precious gold inside the pyramids? Why exclude such a possibility?

On the other hand, this looks pretty realistic, if we consider the cost of building such huge buildings. What would you do if you were a king: try to dig out some gold, or spend lots of gold?

The story from historians is quite an idealistic one, too bad, it would be a heresy to destroy such an idyll. Maybe Hawass is so reluctant to allow any changes in the promoted story.

There is another thing, I don't know how true it is. About those mummies in which koka and nicotine was found, a proof that Egyptians were in contact with Americas, because koka and tobacco are endemic in America... This would indicate very old connections between continents and allow possibility that pyramids are much older than Kephren.