The Great Pyramids of Giza - Essay Example

? The Great Pyramids of Giza were constructed in ancient Egypt around 2589 BC and 2504 BC. The pyramids were believed to be built for the pharaoh Khufu, his son and grandson to serve as their tombs. The buildings are from 218 to 471 feet high. They are one of the Great Wonders of the World. For centuries, scientists and archaeologists have tried to find an explanation on how the ancient Egyptians were able to lay 70-ton granite slabs on top of each other with seemingly perfect symmetry. Supposedly each piece of rock fits with the other so well that a piece of hair cannot be passed between two rocks. Another mystery scientists are trying to explain is how the Egyptians managed to hoist the heavy pieces of granite upward without the technological advances of this age. Khufu’s pyramid alone which is the biggest of the three is made up of about 2,500,000 blocks and covers 13 acres. If each block weighs about 2 tons, then moving it up one step on a staircase is already taxing. One frequently visited theory is of another species more highly developed cognitively than the ancient men. There are many stories that pop scientists claim to be the reason behind the Great Pyramids of Giza. One common tale is that the pyramids are signals to another world in the sky. They are supposedly a beacon made by extra-terrestrials who had helped construct the buildings. Basically, popular scientists are saying that a higher being more intellectually advanced than ancient men were responsible for the pyramids because stone- age men were just not that smart. Some pop scientists find it curious how the pyramids seem to be lined up in the desert since their positioning closely resembles the placement of the stars in Orion’s belt. Robert Bauval, a Belgian engineer, proposed that the pyramids may have been built this certain way since the Egyptians believed in the god Osiris. Another feature that piqued Bauval’s interest was how the southern airshaft in the pyramid would be pointed to Orion in 2500 BC, leading to the theory that this might have been a way to send the Pharaoh Khufu’s soul to Orion. Using an astronomical program to find out how the stars appeared in the sky through history, writers Graham Hancock and Bauval claim that the only time the stars in Orion’s belt could reflect the alignment of the pyramids of Giza would be in 10500 BC. This is also when the Sphinx, following its gaze to the horizon, would be looking at the constellation Leo. Since this was even before the recorded and supposed dates of archaeologists studying the pyramids, Bauval and Hancock suggest that a lost civilization more ancient than the one in Egypt during the time the pyramids were built should be credited for the structures. Aliens have been one of the most common and popular reasons for the construction of a number of enormous wonders around the world such as the pyramids and Stonehenge, a group of large and tall stones arranged in a circular manner surrounding other stones found in England. Popular scientists suppose that our ancestors from thousands of years ago lacked the mental ability to design or build wonders like Stonehenge and the Giza pyramids. During the time these wonders were built, popular scientists maintain that men on Earth were primitive and did not have the necessary physical or mental ability to execute such feats. With these said, popular scientists propose another culture altogether had come to Earth and had constructed these great structures. Professionals in the field of construction and building say that in constructing buildings of today the acceptable settling rate is 6 inches in 100 years. The Great Pyramid of Giza surprises them since it has only settled less than half an inch in 5,000 years even when it weighs 13 billion pounds. Another amazing feature is how the sides of the pyramids align north-south, east-west. At an aerial view, the biggest pyramid manifests an angle of exactly 45 degrees. Mainstream scientists explain that the pyramids are indeed tombs for the pharaohs and that there are two theories on how the ancient Egyptians managed to bring the massive stones to the site and pull them up level by level. The log-roller theory provides that thousands upon thousands of men levered the stones, placed them on the log-rollers and transported them to the site. Others used barges if the stone quarry, where the slabs of stones were made, was far. Upon reaching the base, Egyptians would then use the lever to hoist up the stones, where waiting workers pushed them into place. Popular scientists dispel this theory, though, claiming that Egypt did not have that many trees to supply the logs needed or that the only trees present that time were date trees. Thus, Egyptians would not be motivated to cut their source of food just to make log-rollers to use for the pyramids. Moreover, they argue that the mere weight of one slab of stone would crush the logs underneath it so the log-roller theory was not really plausible. The Pyramids of Giza are also associated with the discovery of a face and pyramid-looking structures on the surface of planet Mars in 1976. Although NASA did not play up these findings as alien-related, popular scientists continue to search for clues on Mars in the hopes of finding a stronger connection between these structures and the pyramids. Mainstream scientists, on the other hand, continue to check Mars for signs of life. Popular scientists differ from mainstream scientists because they use the calculations and obvious facts to describe why ancient men could not have built the pyramids. Mainstream scientists, however, try to explain the mysteries by giving answers based on research, possible calculations and formulas. Like any explanation that refers to aliens as the source of mysteries, popular scientists’ theories regarding the pyramids have been met both with disbelief and curiosity. For non-believers, it is easier to applaud and stand in awe at their ancestors’ accomplishments than to acknowledge that wonders like the Giza pyramids may have actually been made by non-human beings. It would also be more convenient for men to accept probable reasons for how the Giza complex was built than to keep wondering if there are other intelligent beings aside from men. Popular scientists’ opinions, although bordering on weirdness at times, have gained followers. People such as those mentioned above who are the experts in constructing and buildings tend to agree with popular scientists due to lack of scientific explanations on details their knowledge and training tell them are impossible. Another group are the people who had believed in the existence of aliens even before the Giza mystery. The group does not find it hard to support popular scientists’ theories on the pyramids simply because they are already convinced there are aliens. With regards to the explanation that the pyramids were built to contain the pharaohs’ mummies, it said that until today no evidence has been actually discovered to prove the remains. Indeed, there are chambers inside the pyramids that are supposed to house the dead pharaohs and those that were buried with them, may these be persons or belongings. However, an actual mummified being has yet to be unearthed by archaeologists. Society may never truly know how the Giza pyramids were really built or who actually built them. It is indeed an amazing discovery and those responsible for creating them, men or alien, should be rightfully praised. Nevertheless, until the research on the existence of sentient life forms other than men is conclusive, it would be better for the public to just continue appreciating the beauty of the Giza pyramids while the mystery of their existence remains unsolved. Works Cited: “Giza Pyramids.” Sacred Destinations. 30 July 2010. Web. 19 November 2012. Rome, John. The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. Spinney, Laura. “Secret chamber may hold key to mystery of the Great Pyramid.” The Guardian. 30 August 2004. Web. 19 November 2012. Read More