The link

Sneferu started a third pyramid, now called the Red pyramid which is the fourth largest of the 100 or so that were built.



This is interesting as it supports the concept of the work gangs marking stones - like the marked stones found in the relieving chambers of the great pyramid.

When [the inscriptions are] studied together, the inscriptions show that it took about 17 years to construct the entire pyramid.

Wow,
if this is true, that will be shocking!
how the hell did they manage to do that?
a thousand years already sounded short

and if the reign of Snefru was shorter, this would shift the complete time-line of Egypt.

nice find

reply to post by GondelleX

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As any experienced NCO can tell you, well motivated and led men can accomplish astounding feats-especially if they are doing it for some higher purpose and you keep them well fed.

Probably by breaking the work up and using assembly line types of construction - something they'd have had experience with in rebuilding the irrigation systems after each Nile flood.

Interesting stuff indeed. it also means when the next strong earthquake hits Cairo and the loose outer layer of the pyramid comes down we might find some similar markings.

Oh I found this information by reading a thread over at the Hall of Ma'at, an Egyptologist there by the name of Anthony mentioned it in relation to another item....which is even more interesting but I don't have enough information about that to post it yet.

[edit on 2/1/09 by Hanslune]

They still argue over timelines, although it's more along the lines of some minor quibbles.

As to 'how did they do it', remember that the ancient Egyptians of that day were used to this kind of labor. Each pharaoh wanted to outdo the others with monuments and temples and so forth, and the quarries probably worked year around to cut and rough-hew stones to have them ready for the building season. There's a part of the year when the people can't work their fields (and Egypt was largely a farming country and supplied grain to most of the Mediterranean) and rather than have them idle, the kings gave them work projects. So it wasn't a case of untrained labor showing up but rather people who'd done this kind of work for generations. Each village probably had its own stone-hauling teams and they undoubtedly worked in competition with each other.

I agree with Byrd on the timelines. Here is another example of the same story, in which they discuss more of the dating and Snefru's ageline. The dating is always going to be off by just a bit.



Link

Still, there is some really interesting new information here. The amount of time it took them to complete this alone changes the perspective on how things were done then. I would never have believed only 17 years, but we are also talking about a highly resourceful and organized people, using methods that we may not even really know everything about to this day. I can't wait to see what else is discovered with this pyramid as time progresses and more is unearthed. Good find. Thanks for the info.

Isn't it strange that the ancient egyptians decorated the walls and ceilings of their pyramids with thousands of hieroglyphs and pictograms showing how they lived, from farming to making love but not even ONE of these shows how they built the pyramids.
If i was a pharaoh who'd had a pyramid built, i would want people to know how and who built it.

reply to post by the worn bootheel

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I believe Byrd is better versed in this but I'll give a few points. It may have been considered poor form, bad luck or rude to show the building of a tomb - perhaps taunting the gods to do in the Pharoah. They may have even considered it "secret" and not to be depicted. On the other hand such scenes may have existed in the mortuary temples that were built around the pyramids. In the Great pyramids there are indications that wooden panels lined the inner chambers and such information may have been there. However that is not known.

We may find such scenes in the more common burials, only a small fraction of the tombs of Egypt have been found, a lot of middle class ones still haven't been found or open, perhaps in one of those we'll strike pay dirt - scene wise.

[edit on 2/1/09 by Hanslune]

Great thread, hans.

Starred and flagged.

Harte

They assumed everyone would know, because back then, everyone knew. It was still common knowledge in Herodotus' time about 1800 years after the Giza complex was built.

The inscriptions in the royal tombs and temples (including those associated with pyramids) were inscribed with spells and prayers to guide the deceased through the underworld and into the afterlife. They include details of how faithful they were and how in the afterlife they would participate in the major festivals. Hunting and fishing scenes are given -- things they enjoyed.

It is in the tombs of the builders and overseers that we find paintings and inscriptions about the work THEY did.

For example, my former boss would not have listed in his accomplishments the programs that I wrote because he told me to. In the same way, the pharaoh might mention that temples were erected but they didn't write "I spent 20 years building this really great tomb for myself."

reply to post by Byrd

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I once asked a zealous believer what their reaction would be if Egyptologists found a tomb or temple wall that had scenes of pyramid construction on it.

They said, "it would have to be faked".