# How were the pyramids in Egypt built?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [December 7, 2014, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559 "2014-12-07T10:40:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dopestraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dopestraight)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/1 "2014-12-07T10:40:36Z")
For what purpose were they built? Who built the ancient monolithic structures? Doesn’t it bother any of you that today WE CANNOT but long BEFORE US THEY COULD?
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### Author:  [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/2 "2014-12-07T10:54:24Z")
> [@dopestraight](#):
>
> For what purpose were they built?
They’re tombs.
> [@](#):
>
> Who built the ancient monolithic structures?
As I understand it, a cadre of skilled workers, and tens of thousands of farmworkers picking up extra money in the off-season.
> [@](#):
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> Doesn’t it bother any of you that today WE CANNOT but long BEFORE US THEY COULD?
Rubbish. We can do everything that has ever been done, better, faster, and more safely than ever before.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/3 "2014-12-07T11:30:41Z")
> [@dopestraight](#):
>
> For what purpose were they built? Who built the ancient monolithic structures? Doesn’t it bother any of you that today WE CANNOT but long BEFORE US THEY COULD?
Why do you say that?
Witness the US Space Program. Vastly more complex than Pyramids.
The US Interstate Highway is both larger **and** more complex than the Pyramids. Damn sight more _useful_, too!
So, all the Woo you’ve read about Pyramids is easily dismissed rubbish. All you have to do is **open your eyes and look around you**.
BTW–the people who built the Pyramids were _Egyptians_, **not** Alien Grays. And they did not fart rainbows, either.
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### Author:  [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/4 "2014-12-07T11:38:48Z")
> [@dopestraight](#):
>
> Doesn’t it bother any of you that today WE CANNOT but long BEFORE US THEY COULD?
What bothers me is when people say there are no stupid questions.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/5 "2014-12-07T13:37:59Z")
> [@dopestraight](#):
>
> F Doesn’t it bother any of you that today WE CANNOT but long BEFORE US THEY COULD?
We certainly could build a pyramid. But given that the estimated cost to build a modern pyramid is some [$5 billion](http://www.livescience.com/18589-cost-build-great-pyramid-today.html) for a structure that doesn’t actually do anything I don’t think it is gong to happen anytime soon.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/6 "2014-12-07T13:42:07Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#):
>
> We certainly could build a pyramid. But given that the estimated cost to build a modern pyramid is some [$5 billion](http://www.livescience.com/18589-cost-build-great-pyramid-today.html) for a structure that doesn’t actually do anything I don’t think it is gong to happen anytime soon.
And 4 bil of that would be for permits, legal costs, and insurance, something the pharaohs didn’t worry about much.
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### Author:  [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/7 "2014-12-07T13:46:27Z")
Why did aliens build the pyramids
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### Author:  [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/8 "2014-12-07T13:51:52Z")
They stacked stones one atop the next in a pyramid shape. Pretty straightforward, actually.
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/9 "2014-12-07T13:55:14Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#):
>
> What bothers me is when people say there are no stupid questions.
Knock it off.
[/Moderating]
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### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/10 "2014-12-07T13:58:01Z")
Which pyramids? The ones at Giza? The step pyramid at Saqqara? The bent Pyramids? The later ones which have disappeared? You need to be specific.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/11 "2014-12-07T14:03:32Z")
[Plenty of answers in this “ancient” tome](http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Engineers-L-Sprague-Camp/dp/0880294566/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417960956&sr=1-2&keywords=Ancient+Engineers).
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/12 "2014-12-07T14:09:55Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#):
>
> We certainly could build a pyramid. But given that the estimated cost to build a modern pyramid is some [$5 billion](http://www.livescience.com/18589-cost-build-great-pyramid-today.html) for a structure that doesn’t actually do anything I don’t think it is gong to happen anytime soon.
We still spend a lot to build a lot of churches, for largely the same reason.
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### Author:  [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/13 "2014-12-07T16:40:16Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Who built the ancient monolithic structures?
The pyramids aren’t monolithic or monoliths. They are, in fact, composed of literally millions of blocks. 😛
> [@](#):
>
> Doesn’t it bother any of you that today WE CANNOT but long BEFORE US THEY COULD?
As noted, the answer is we could if we really wanted too. We have no need for a pyramid, and we could spend that $5-10 billion on a lot of other things that are more meaningful. For instance, we could spend a few billion on sending a rover to Mars, something the ancient Egyptians couldn’t even dream of.
As to how they were built, there really isn’t that much we don’t know at this point. We have the tools they used, have excavated the towns where the workers lived and worked, seen what sorts of food and medical care they received, have written accounts of the building and even have examples of early versions that didn’t go so well and how they refined their technique over time. Why people think it’s a mystery is, well, a mystery to me, as is this notion that we couldn’t build the same thing today if we wanted too…this despite plenty of examples of engineer projects that dwarf what the Egyptians did from a difficulty and technological perspective (an example would be the Chunnel (Channel Tunnel) connecting the British Isles to France). We probably couldn’t build them today using the tools the Egyptians used, and I think that’s where the confusion comes in and where this saying comes from. It’s true enough…we couldn’t build the pyramids using the Egyptians tools and techniques on that scale because, well, it would be stupid for us to do that when we have access to much more advanced tools and techniques and we aren’t familiar with the ones the Egyptians used, those tools and techniques having become obsolete thousands of years ago. Just like the vast structures the Greeks and Romans used were different and more technologically advanced than what the Egyptians used to build the pyramids.
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### Author:  [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/14 "2014-12-07T17:14:54Z")
Sure we can, and did recently:
[http://images55.fotki.com/v648/photos/0/1588090/8127415/adaLasVegasLuxorHotelandCasino-vi.jpg](http://images55.fotki.com/v648/photos/0/1588090/8127415/adaLasVegasLuxorHotelandCasino-vi.jpg)
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### Author:  [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/15 "2014-12-07T17:14:59Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#):
>
> We certainly could build a pyramid. But given that the estimated cost to build a modern pyramid is some [$5 billion](http://www.livescience.com/18589-cost-build-great-pyramid-today.html) for a structure that doesn’t actually do anything I don’t think it is gong to happen anytime soon.
Our pyramids make a boatload of money. Suck it, ancient Egyptians.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/16 "2014-12-07T17:15:04Z")
The SO complains about this sort of question every time we watch a documentary on ancient accomplishments. ‘Do they think people were _stupid?_ They had math. They could figure things out. Just because they didn’t have the technology we have doesn’t mean they couldn’t do things!’ she says. Me, I tend to take a more mocking stance. 'Oh, but the Aliens are so _wise!_ They taught us so _much!_ We are small, insignificant, _humble_ beings! Oh, Great Aliens! Return to us! :rolleyes: ’
> [@Douglas Adams](#):
>
> We’ll be saying a big hello to all intelligent lifeforms everywhere and to everyone else out there, the secret is to _bang the rocks together,_ guys.
It’s not hard, in concept, to build a pyramid. You cut a bunch of blocks and stack them. Actually doing it takes some work, but it was well within the capabilities of people a few thousand years ago. (Cite: The Pyramids.) An old girlfriend used to say, ‘It’s all what’s most important to you.’ For the ancient Egyptians, it was important. Today, not so much. It’s not that we _can’t_ build pyramids; it’s that we don’t _want_ to.
If I ever win the lottery, I’m thinking of building a Stonehenge-like structure. Not to actually use it, but just to mess with people who look at it in a few thousand years.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/17 "2014-12-07T18:00:44Z")
Well, one worker hired two other workers, who each hired two workers…
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/18 "2014-12-07T18:14:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> The SO complains about this sort of question every time we watch a documentary on ancient accomplishments. ‘Do they think people were _stupid?_ They had math. They could figure things out. Just because they didn’t have the technology we have doesn’t mean they couldn’t do things!’ she says.
There does seem to be a certain element of racism or culture-ism (I can’t think of the right word) involved. Somehow it’s always brown people like the Egyptians who needed alien help to build their ancient monuments; no one seems to think that the Greeks or Romans needed alien help to build the Parthenon or the Colosseum.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/19 "2014-12-07T18:26:41Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> We still spend a lot to build a lot of churches, for largely the same reason.
As much as I am not a fan of organized religion I will say that churches serve far more purpose than as a tomb for one megalomaniac. If you remove the Masses they act as community centers, rent out space to small organizations (AA being popular) and many have a daycare center attached.
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### Author:  [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-the-pyramids-in-egypt-built/706559/20 "2014-12-07T18:37:12Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> Well, one worker hired two other workers, who each hired two workers…
[Bravo.](http://i.imgur.com/fMjVR.jpg)
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