# At what rough point in time did the Pyramids become a mystery? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 2, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063 "2024-12-02T15:14:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063/41 "2024-12-04T02:03:59Z")
Speaking of earthworks, when a wabble of wowdy webels holed up in Masada, the Roman commander built a small wall around the whole fortress to ensure nobody went in or out, then laid seige while building a ramp up to the wall atop the rock. Supposedly he used captured Jewish risoners to build the wall, so anyone trying to kill the workers from above was only killing prisoners. Then they advanced a seige engine up the ramp to breach the walls. The remains of the wall and the ramp are still visible. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063/42 "2024-12-04T03:04:33Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > when a wabble of wowdy webels Wow. Wonderful weference. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063/43 "2024-12-04T04:15:35Z")
In fact thinking about this Iā€™d definitely say they were never "a mystery"in the way stonehenge was. True probably a medieval arab speaking Egyptian peasant probably couldnā€™t give a good explanation of who built the pyramids and when. But the same is true for their counterpart in medieval Italy about the coliseum. The academic elite both those places (which was a thing even in the ā€œdark agesā€) could give you a fairly good answer. It was never ā€œlost knowledgeā€ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063/44 "2024-12-04T05:06:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Which predates the Great Pyramid. > [@Chronos](#): > > The earliest constructions on the site are older than the Pyramids, but most of it is much newer. What Chronos said. The part most people would easily recognize, the outer ring of linteled sarsen stones and the trilithions, date to [_circa_ 2600-2400 BCE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#Stonehenge_3_II_(2600_BC_to_2400_BC)). Thatā€™s the same time or later than as the Great Pyramid. Other recognizable parts, like the inner bluestones, are probably contemporaneous with the Pyramid in origin if not earlier, but were placed in their current configuration only hundreds of years later. The dirt embankment is the earliest phase, which is significantly older than Giza. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063/45 "2024-12-04T07:23:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@md-2000](#): > > > > when a wabble of wowdy webels > > Wow. Wonderful weference. šŸ˜‰ Are tthey wagging me? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063/46 "2024-12-04T16:05:07Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Caesar, or Alexander? Could be. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063/47 "2024-12-09T19:23:43Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Are tthey wagging me? No! Just some Coptic joke, sir. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-rough-point-in-time-did-the-pyramids-become-a-mystery/1011063.md?page=2)