Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock
Topics: Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, History, Podcast
Jen Thomas
A ground-breaking new discovery has revealed who built the Great Pyramid of Egypt 4,500 years ago.
Modern technology has opened up a brand new explanation as to how the infamous pyramid came into being. Ancient inscriptions have confirmed that everything archaeologists thought they knew about the creation of the pyramid was wrong. For thousands of years, many people have wondered just how they managed to build the pyramids without the use of modern machinery.
Previously, it was thought that the iconic pyramid was built by more than 100,000 slaves, who spend 20 years working in shifts lasting three months. This narrative came from stories shared by the Ancient Greeks.
Now, inscriptions have been found inside the Pyramid which tell a very different story. Apparently, they show that instead of slaves, the monument was actually built by skilled, paid labourers.
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Workers took one day off every ten days.
The discovery was found after narrow chambers above the King’s Chamber were explored for the first time using state-of-the-art imaging technology.
These inscriptions were found by Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass and his team. The markings had never been seen before, and are believed to have been left by workers in 13th-century BC.
Additional tombs have been discovered too, where some of the skilled workers were laid to rest. In the tombs, the archaeologists also found status which showed the workers carrying huge stones, as well as titles written in hieroglyphics.
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The titles included things like 'overseer of the side of the pyramid' and 'craftsman'.
Dr Hawass said finding the tombs and the inscriptions 'confirm that the builders were not slaves. If they had been, they would never have been buried in the shadow of the pyramids'.
"Slaves would not have prepared their tombs for eternity, like kings and queens did, inside these tombs", he added on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast.
The team also found flint tools and stores which they believe were used in the construction of the pyramid. Other findings from the latest search has also revealed more of the techniques used.
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A limestone quarry was find 1,000 feet away from the pyramid, complete with a rubble and mud ramp to make transportation easier.
"We excavated this area, and in the site labeled C2, we found remnants of the ramp, stone rubble mixed with sand and mud. When the ramp was dismantled, they didn’t remove every trace, and what was left behind is what we uncovered," said the expert.
Dr Hawass now intends to send a robot into the Great Pyramid.
This isn't the first time inscriptions have been found.
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Some previous carvings were found in the 19th century, which caused a debate about when they were inscribed, with some arguing it was hundreds of years later.
Podcast host Beall queried: "There was some debate on whether or not that could be a forgery, but now you're saying that you've discovered three more cartes within the King's Chamber."
Hawass replied: "They were found in chambers that are difficult and dangerous to access, and they use writing styles that only trained Egyptologists can accurately interpret.
"It’s nearly impossible that someone in recent times could have forged something like this. You must climb about 45 feet and crawl through tight spaces to even reach those chambers."
He said the inscriptions are 'original graffiti from ancient Egyptian worker.' They even found more clues as to what the workers ate while building the pyramid.
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"There’s a popular myth that the workers ate only garlic, onions, and bread, but we found thousands of animal bones at the site," revealed Dr Hawass.
It's estimated they 'slaughtered 11 cows and 33 goats every day to feed the laborers... this diet was enough to support around 10,000 workers per day'.