Mystery of Ancient Pyramids How were they really built. Islamic & Informative Channel
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00:00Namaskar friends!
00:01Around 4,500 years ago,
00:03a miracle was made in Egypt
00:06that still amazes people to this day.
00:09The Great Pyramid of Giza.
00:15Built at a height of 147 meters,
00:17it was the tallest thing ever built by humans
00:20for around 4,000 years.
00:22Such heavy stones were used to build it
00:25that the weight of the entire pyramid is said to be 6 million tons.
00:28Compare it to today's tallest building, Burj Khalifa,
00:32which weighs only 5 lakh tons.
00:35The most surprising thing here is
00:37how was it built?
00:39Because in those days, people didn't have cranes,
00:41bulldozers, or any big technology.
00:44In fact, they didn't even have wheels.
00:47They didn't even have wheels.
00:48But still, they built a monument
00:51that is still standing today.
00:53Think about it.
00:54A building was built for 4,500 years.
00:57In this scorching heat,
00:58there was a storm,
00:59there was rain,
01:00there was weathering.
01:01There is no such thing in the world
01:03that has survived to this day.
01:05So how did all this happen?
01:07Let's understand the mystery of this pyramid
01:10in today's video.
01:27Built as gargantuan tombs
01:29of shining white limestone,
01:31the pyramids were designed to hide
01:33dark secrets of the dead.
01:37The more we go back in history,
01:39the more difficult it becomes to find out
01:42what exactly happened,
01:43how it happened,
01:44and when it happened.
01:45It is assumed that the Great Pyramid of Giza
01:48was built in the year 2560 BC
01:52by Pharaoh Khufu.
01:54The kings and emperors of Egypt
01:56are called Pharaohs.
01:57If we talk specifically about Pharaoh Khufu,
02:00we don't know much about these kings.
02:02We only know that he was the second king
02:05of the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.
02:07There is a lot of discussion about
02:09how long he ruled.
02:11Historians make some estimates.
02:13Some say 23 years.
02:14Some say 34 years.
02:15Some say more than 60 years.
02:17This pyramid is located on the banks of the Nile River
02:20on its west bank.
02:21And if you look at the photos and videos,
02:23you will see that this is not the only pyramid.
02:25There are two more pyramids like this.
02:28They were built in the same place.
02:29The Great Pyramid of Giza is the tallest of the three,
02:32which we also call the Pyramid of Khufu.
02:34The Pyramid of Khafre is smaller than this,
02:36which is the second largest pyramid in Egypt.
02:38It is said that Khufu's son Khafre built it.
02:41And the third and smallest pyramid is
02:43the Pyramid of Menkaure.
02:45It is said that Khafre's son built it.
02:47These are not the only monuments built in that era.
02:50There are also the Great Sphinx,
02:52the Great Burial Tombs,
02:53and many other small pyramids.
02:54In total, there are 118 pyramids
02:57of different shapes and sizes.
02:59Many of these pyramids have been destroyed
03:00due to weathering.
03:02Very few have survived in good conditions.
03:04And perhaps the best well-preserved
03:06are these three pyramids.
03:08Especially the Great Pyramid of Giza.
03:10What was the reason behind building them?
03:12The same reason that was behind building
03:14many other ancient monuments.
03:16They were built as a tomb.
03:18This is a tomb.
03:19These pharaohs have been buried here
03:21inside the pyramid.
03:22The thing is that the ancient Egyptians
03:24believed in the afterlife.
03:26They believed that after death,
03:28life does not end.
03:29After death, our soul goes to the underworld
03:32where God judges our soul.
03:35Those who have done good
03:36live forever in this afterlife.
03:39And to prepare for this afterlife,
03:41when their king, their pharaohs were alive,
03:44they would build tombs for themselves.
03:46They would keep a lot of food, treasures,
03:48jewellery, furniture, clothes,
03:50all these things inside the pyramid
03:52to be useful in the afterlife.
03:54After their death,
03:55their bodies were mummified
03:57and buried in wooden or stone coffins.
04:01Now you will ask,
04:02how did we know that the pyramid
04:04was used for these things?
04:06There are two main reasons, friends.
04:08First, on such ancient pyramids,
04:11we have found inscriptions.
04:13On such coffins and pyramids,
04:15we have found texts
04:16where it is written what these people used to do.
04:19Second, the majority of such historical pyramids
04:21that we have found in Egypt and Sudan,
04:23they have been used as tombs.
04:26But because specifically
04:27inside the Great Pyramid of Giza,
04:29there is no substantial evidence
04:31of these things inside the pyramid,
04:33people make their alternative theories.
04:36Inside this Great Pyramid,
04:37when the archaeologists went,
04:38they found only three relics
04:40and an empty coffin.
04:41This coffin is believed to belong to Khufu
04:44and the other treasures and jewellery
04:46that should have been around it.
04:47It is assumed that in all these years,
04:49someone stole it and took it away.
04:51Those who disagree with this,
04:53their alternative theories are very strange.
04:55One very popular theory that is heard
04:57is that this Great Pyramid
04:59was a power plant
05:00that could generate electricity.
05:02Those who believe in this say
05:04that the ancient Egyptians
05:05were very technologically advanced.
05:07They had already learned to generate electricity.
05:09What is said as evidence of this theory?
05:12Some of their old artworks are shown here.
05:15On the walls of their old temples,
05:17some such artworks have been found.
05:19Some people conclude
05:21that they have made a light bulb here.
05:23They had already invented the light bulb.
05:26And I don't know what happened after that.
05:28I have repeatedly said that
05:29such conspiracy theories are made
05:31when there is no substantial evidence
05:33of anything.
05:34But these conspiracy theories
05:35are often so strange
05:37that they have no logical sense.
05:39If the light bulb really existed
05:41in the time of the ancient Egyptians,
05:43why hasn't there been any evidence of it?
05:45In reality, this artwork
05:47shows the story of an Egyptian mythology.
05:49Similarly, another popular theory is said
05:51that this pyramid was actually
05:53a granary for storing grains.
05:55It was a big storehouse.
05:57This theory was proposed by
05:59American politician Ben Carson in 1998.
06:02According to him,
06:03this is his personal theory.
06:05These pyramids were actually
06:06made by the father of Jesus Christ.
06:11Who built the pyramids
06:12in order to store grain.
06:14All the archaeologists think
06:16they were made for the pharaohs.
06:18Here, you can see
06:19another major reason
06:20behind making conspiracy theories.
06:22Which is religious appeasement
06:24by politicians.
06:25Anyways, this is quite clear.
06:27Today, historians agree
06:29that the Great Pyramid of Giza
06:32was made as a granary.
06:34At that time, people believed
06:36that the grander the granary,
06:38the more treasures and food
06:40the king's afterlife would be.
06:44Now, let's come to the biggest question.
06:46How were these pyramids actually made?
06:49To be honest,
06:50this is the most mysterious thing
06:52about these pyramids.
06:54How did the people of that time
06:56build a 137-meter-high building
06:58made of such huge stones?
07:01These stones themselves
07:03weigh between 2.5-80 tons.
07:05Each stone has been cut
07:07in such a fine way,
07:09when there was no tool to cut it.
07:12How were these stones
07:13placed one on top of the other?
07:15When these people
07:16weren't even using wheels.
07:18And they did all this
07:19within 20 years.
07:2120 years, friends,
07:22is the time span
07:24it took to build
07:25this Great Pyramid of Giza.
07:27Many theories are told about this.
07:29And this time,
07:30I won't talk about conspiracy theories
07:32which are very strange.
07:33But before talking about these theories,
07:35let's look at a big misconception
07:37that people have about these pyramids.
07:40In movies, it is often shown
07:42that during the construction of these pyramids,
07:44slave labour was used.
07:46Very poor servants
07:47were forced to work here
07:49day and night.
07:50Their bosses
07:52used to beat them with ropes.
07:54They used to beat them with a hunter.
07:55Do you remember?
07:56You must have seen this
07:57in some movie.
07:58For a long time,
07:59people thought
08:00that such slaves
08:01had built these pyramids.
08:02A Greek historian
08:03who lived in the 5th century BC
08:05named Herodotus,
08:07suggested this theory
08:09that these slaves
08:10had built these pyramids.
08:11But today, we know
08:13that this was not the case.
08:15The people who were working
08:16to build this pyramid
08:18were highly skilled labourers.
08:20They were not beaten
08:21with a hunter.
08:22In fact,
08:23they were fed well.
08:24In fact,
08:25they were fed so well
08:26that the average Egyptian citizen
08:28who lived at that time,
08:29were more well-fed
08:31than them.
08:32These labourers
08:33used to live in cities
08:34near a construction site.
08:36Apart from this,
08:37in different seasons,
08:38they used to get support
08:39from different community members.
08:40For example,
08:41if the farmers
08:42were not farming,
08:43they used to come in their free time
08:44and help in the construction.
08:46In a way,
08:47all the people
08:48living in the kingdom
08:49were united
08:50about the success
08:51of this national project.
08:53They trusted their king a lot.
08:55In total,
08:56there were around
08:5720,000 to 30,000 workers
08:58involved in the construction
09:00who worked
09:01for 10 hours a day
09:02to build this great
09:03Pyramid of Giza.
09:04If we talk about the action material,
09:06around 5.5 million tonnes
09:07of limestone,
09:088000 tonnes of granite
09:10and 500,000 tonnes of mortar
09:12were used.
09:13Most of these stones
09:14came from the nearby areas.
09:16Most of them came from
09:17the southern region of Egypt
09:19which was 800 km away.
09:21Now the question is
09:22how were these stones cut?
09:23Copper was the most common metal
09:25used at that time.
09:27So the tools
09:28were made of copper.
09:29The harder stones
09:31were made of granite.
09:32They were broken
09:33using dolerite.
09:34There were many unique ways
09:35of doing this.
09:36For example,
09:37they would find cracks
09:38and holes in the stones.
09:39And with a hammer,
09:40they would insert
09:41wooden wedges
09:42which were soaked
09:43in water.
09:45As the stone
09:46absorbed water,
09:47the wedges
09:48would expand
09:49and the stone
09:50would break.
09:51But the biggest question
09:52was
09:53how were these stones
09:54moved?
09:55At that time,
09:56wheels were not used
09:57in carts.
09:58So there was no
09:59machine
10:00to put
10:01the wheels
10:02and put the stone
10:03on it
10:04and move it.
10:05The most plausible theory
10:06here is that
10:07to bring the stones
10:08from so far away,
10:09they would make
10:10rafts
10:11which would
10:12float on the river.
10:13After that,
10:14when the stone
10:15came near the pyramid,
10:16to keep one stone
10:17on top of the other,
10:18they would use
10:19sledges
10:20in the wet soil.
10:21This is a very
10:22interesting theory
10:23which was discovered
10:24very recently.
10:25A study was done
10:26in 2014.
10:27And the basis
10:28of this theory
10:29was found
10:30on the tomb
10:31of Jehutihotep.
10:32This tomb
10:33dates back
10:34to 1900 BC.
10:35But in this painting,
10:36you can see
10:37about 170 people
10:38carrying a statue
10:39on a sledge
10:40and using
10:41ropes
10:42to pull
10:43such a heavy
10:44object.
10:45If you look carefully
10:46in this painting,
10:47you will see
10:48how a man
10:49is pouring water
10:50on the sand
10:51in front of the statue.
10:52In the beginning,
10:53the archaeologists
10:54thought it was
10:55a ritual
10:56or a tradition
10:57to pour water
10:58on the statue.
10:59But when the
11:00physicists,
11:01Daniel Born
11:02and his team
11:03tested it,
11:04they found
11:05that if a certain
11:06amount of water
11:07is present in the
11:08sand,
11:09the friction
11:10of the object
11:11on the ground
11:12and on the ground
11:13reduces to a great extent.
11:14This ratio is
11:15quite fine.
11:16About 2-5%
11:17of the water
11:18is in the sand.
11:19With this,
11:20it becomes
11:21quite easy
11:22to drag
11:23objects
11:24in the wet sand.
11:25The next question
11:26that arises here
11:27is how can
11:28such a heavy object
11:29be carried
11:30without using
11:31machines?
11:32Usually,
11:33a police system
11:34can be made
11:35to carry it.
11:36But as I told you,
11:37the wheel
11:38did not exist
11:39in Egypt
11:40during the
11:414th Dynasty.
11:42It existed
11:43but it was
11:44only used
11:45for pottery.
11:46The answer
11:47to this
11:48is that
11:49a unique
11:50system
11:51of ramps
11:52was made.
11:53In 2015,
11:54a team of
11:55English and
11:561500-year-old
11:57wooden ramps
11:58was uncovered
11:59by a quarry.
12:00The scholars said
12:01that a ramp
12:02like this
12:03must have been
12:04made at that time
12:05which was a
12:06straight slope
12:07from the ground
12:08to the top.
12:09To push the
12:10stones on the
12:11slope,
12:12they used
12:13a system
12:14with wooden
12:15poles around it.
12:16Then,
12:17they used
12:18ropes around
12:19the poles
12:20to pull
12:21the stones
12:22up.
12:23In this way,
12:24as you can
12:25see,
12:26they used
12:27a system
12:28of levers
12:29to keep
12:30the stones
12:31one above
12:32the other.
12:33In the
12:34drawings,
12:35you can
12:36see how
12:37it works.
12:38Basically,
12:39they took
12:40a middle
12:41point
12:42which is
12:43a little
12:44taller
12:45and put
12:46the stones
12:47on top
12:48of it.
12:49Then,
12:50they used
12:51a system
12:52of levers
12:53to push
12:54the stones
12:55up.
12:56Then,
12:57they put
12:58a pole
12:59on top
13:00of it.
13:01Then,
13:02they put
13:03a weight
13:04on the
13:05other side
13:06of the pole
13:07and turned
13:08it upside
13:09down.
13:10Scholars believe
13:11that
13:12a similar
13:13system
13:14named
13:15Shaduf
13:16existed in
13:17Egypt
13:18for thousands
13:19of years.
13:20They also
13:21used this
13:22mechanism
13:23to
13:24transport
13:25stones
13:26from
13:27one place
13:28to
13:29another.
13:30This
13:31mechanism
13:32was
13:33completed
13:34in
13:35Egypt
13:36in
13:37the
13:387th
13:39century.
13:40Now,
13:41if 20,000
13:42people
13:43transport
13:44the stones
13:45one by one
13:46like this,
13:47then
13:48every
13:493 minutes
13:50a stone
13:51should be
13:52transported
13:53from
13:54one place
13:55to
13:56another.
13:57This
13:58mechanism
13:59was
14:00used
14:01to
14:02transport
14:03the
14:04stones
14:05from
14:06one place
14:07to
14:08another.
14:09This
14:10mechanism
14:11was
14:12used
14:13to
14:14transport
14:15the
14:16stones
14:17from
14:18one place
14:19to
14:20another.
14:21This
14:22mechanism
14:23was
14:24used
14:25to
14:26transport
14:27the
14:28stones
14:29from
14:30one place
14:31to
14:32another.
14:33This
14:34mechanism
14:35was
14:36used
14:37to
14:38transport
14:39the
14:40stones
14:41from
14:42one place
14:43to
14:44another.
14:45This
14:46mechanism
14:47was
14:48used
14:49to
14:50transport
14:51the
14:52stones
14:53from
14:54one
14:55place
14:56to
14:57another.
14:58This
14:59mechanism
15:00was
15:01used
15:02to
15:03transport
15:04the
15:05stones
15:06from
15:07one place
15:08to
15:09another.
15:10This
15:11mechanism
15:12was
15:13used
15:14to
15:15transport
15:16the
15:17stones
15:18from
15:19that how did the Egyptians achieve such a high level of precision?
15:22A popular theory about this is the Autumn Equinox.
15:26When the Earth's tilt is such that the day and night are exactly equal.
15:31The shadow on the ground is in a straight line in the East and West direction.
15:37If the Egyptians used this method,
15:39then the degree of error in their calculations
15:43is the same degree of error in this shadow when the Autumn Equinox happens.
15:48The second theory is about the constellations.
15:51The Egyptians aligned their design by looking at the direction of the stars in the sky.
15:58In 1989, Robert Bowell, an author and Egyptology enthusiast,
16:02made his Orion Correlation Theory.
16:05He said that the three pyramids of Giza are aligned in the straight line of the three stars of the Orion Belt.
16:13He said that the alignment was intentional and the ancient Egyptians knew about astronomy.
16:19They used to track the stars at night and study them.
16:22According to him, they used to harvest their crops at different times.
16:26Historians believe that this is a fringe theory.
16:29Fringe means that it is not mainstream.
16:31Some points against this theory are that
16:33the three pyramids were not planned at the same time nor were they made at the same time.
16:37And in 1999, when the astronomers actually tested this theory,
16:42and looked at the stars of the Orion Constellation,
16:45they found that the pyramids were not exactly aligned according to it.
16:48And the thing is that the constellation has shifted a little after thousands of years.
16:54The alignment of the stars is not the same as we see today.
16:58It is important to tell this theory here because it is a classic case
17:02where humans try to find patterns even if the patterns don't exist.
17:07When we don't have solid evidence of things,
17:10or an exact explanation,
17:12we make our ideas and if we find a link somewhere, we believe it to be true.
17:17If we take this to a new level and exaggerate it,
17:21more strange theories are created.
17:24People say that aliens have made these pyramids
17:27because it is not possible that humans did this.
17:30In my opinion, such strange theories go against scientific thinking.
17:34This is a shortcut way to find a solution when we don't have one.
17:40It is better that we acknowledge that we know these things,
17:43and we clearly put forward the things that we don't know.
17:47So that the future generations, the future archaeologists, historians,
17:51can do research on this,
17:53and provide a complete solution and explanation for these mysteries.
17:58Thank you very much.