I was just wondering, actually for some time now in fact. Given our current state of technology, science, math, architecture–heck, just the modern machines we use to build things (cranes, trucks, etc.)–could we build the big Egyptian pyramids today?
Interesting question. Because I know our modern machines are unable lift above a certain weight. So could we do it?
And by all means, be creative in your answer. What would be required to accomplish such a feat? And could we afford it too, for that matter.
Well, of course. Even if our modern technology failed at the task (which I doubt), we could always revert to their methods : flinging raw human misery and suffering at the problem until it is solved.
Seriously though, it’d be much, *much *easier to pull a 2 ton block of limestone up a snaking ramp with a Caterpillar than by means of sleds, wooden rollers and whipping people.
If by “we,” you mean humans, yes. If by “build,” you mean marshall the resources and actually construct a reasonable replica of the Great Pyramid, no. A 2012 estimate puts the cost at $5 billion. Which government or corporation could propose such a boondoggle and not have its leadership kicked to the curb? Even a private philanthropist couldn’t realistically do it because of the intense criticism s/he’d receive for not spending it on something more worthwhile. http://m.livescience.com/18589-cost-build-great-pyramid-today.html
Wait. I might want to change my answer. Apparently, the new World Trade Center was only $4 billion. So, maybe Gates or Zuckerberg could get away with it as a, “Heritage Gift to Mankind,” or some nonsense.
The heaviest stones used in the Great Pyramid (the ones in the base) weigh about ten tones. There are also some granite slabs in the interior - the heaviest of these weigh around fifty tons.
A normal construction crane can lift up to eighteen tons. So the stone blocks would be no problem.
There are specialty cranes that can lift heavier weights. One German crane can lift up to 1200 tons. So those granite slabs could be lifted into place if needed.
But in reality, the blocks wouldn’t be lifted into place. The normal procedure (and the one the Egyptians used) is to move them on the ground. Even a normal heavy-duty pickup truck can pull over ten tons. A ballast tractor can pull objects weighing over a hundred tons.
Three Gorges Dam weighs 9 times what the Great Pyramid does.
The Pyramids are impressive engineering for their time. By today’s standards they’d be a large project. By weight, height, volume or just about any other characteristic of a building the Great Pyramids records have already been beaten. I think the only thing the Great Pyramid can hold onto is the largest structure with the least usable interior space.
The only hurdle to building a Great Pyramid today is convincing someone to pay for it.
Despite the fact that you can see it and it is a dominating visual feature of the skyline in Pyongyang, officially it doesn’t exist: I heard that the official guides/minders won’t (aren’t allowed to) answer any questions about “What is that big pointed building over there?”
It’s like Mt Rushmore. The cost today would be prohibitive. OSHA rules would also make it impossible. The original workers hung by ropes while they worked. That wouldn’t fly today. Finally the environmental issues. You want to do what to a beautiful mountain?
Pyramids would have similar issues. Where would all that limestone block come from? OSHA would be a nightmare on a project like this. There’d be no more whipping of harnessed workers or replacing squashed workers with new blood. Workers Comp premiums would bankrupt the investors.
Or we could make a steel superstructure with a stone skin on top; there’s no reason we have to duplicate the construction methods of the ancient Egyptians.
It’s difficult to say how much if any “raw human misery and suffering” was involved in the construction of the pyramids. The notion that they were built by slaves now seems to be somewhat of a myth (here’s one cite), though AFAIK this doesn’t rule out slave labor being involved in at least some construction.
