Scientists have discovered a dry bed of the Nile - with its help they could build the Egyptian pyramids
Miscellaneous / / December 09, 2023
It is unlikely that stones were dragged across the desert.
A team of scientists led by Eman Ghoneim (famous Egyptian geomorphologist) confirmedthat thousands of years ago in Giza, where the famous pyramids are located, there was a large branch of the Nile River. Presumably, it was with its help that the Egyptians delivered rock for construction. About the possible existence of this sleeve it was known and earlier, but no one knew where exactly it was located, what size it was and how close it was to the pyramids.
To find out for sure, it was necessary to change the point of view - and turn to data from radar satellites that film the Nile Valley from space. Radar allows you to “look” not only at the surface, but also at what is underground. By studying this data, scientists were able to reconstruct an approximate picture of what the region looked like thousands of years ago.
The radar revealed the presence of a dry river bed that stretched through desert and farmland for about 100 kilometers. The thickness varied and in some places reached 500 meters - this corresponds to the current width of the Nile bed.
This waterway, which runs from Faiyum to Giza, passes through the construction sites of the 38 pyramids, therefore, researchers dubbed it the “Sleeve of Ahramat” (from Arabic it can be translated as “Sleeve pyramids"). The team now plans to analyze soil samples from the ancient riverbed to determine was it active during the Old and Middle Kingdoms (3700–4700 years ago) when it was built pyramids.
Without this confirmation, it is impossible to say that the mystery of the construction of the pyramids has been solved, but the chances are high that the hypothesis is correct. This is indirectly confirmed by the valley temples that most pyramids had - they strongly resembled harbors or ancient ports. Given that they were located right on the banks of the discovered river, they could have been used to unload materials: without water nearby, such buildings would have been useless.
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The funny thing is, while I’m sober, I’m a notorious introvert, but 100 grams of cognac turns me into an extrovert. A sort of split personality