Speaker: Don Knebel, JD, Senior Advisor and Adjunct Professor, Maurer School of Law, IU at Indianapolis, Scientech Club member
Introduced By: Linda Karwisch
Attendance: NESC: 97, Zoom: 45
Guest(s): Portia Musgrave, Fred Green, Judy Hanna, Larry Daly, Missy Dille, Diane
Scribe: Ruth Schmidt
Editor: Bill Elliott
View a recording of today’s Zoom presentation at:
Today's Program 012924
Don Knebel, a Scientech member, is a retired lawyer, having retired from Barnes & Thornburg LLP in 2013. He is now Senior Advisor and Adjunct Professor at the Center for Intellectual Property Research of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He speaks frequently on a variety of topics, including international travel and comparative religion and writes a column on travel for the Current newspapers.
Having recently returned from Egypt, Don Knebel combined three of his favorite topics: history, travel, and engineering to create a great slide show using his photos. He discussed how the pyramids were built, why they were built and who built them. Here is a summary of this speech about building the pyramids on the Giza Plateau, near Cairo Egypt.
What pyramids are on the Giza Plateau? The Great Pyramid was built for the Pharaoh Khufu before 2500 B.C. (The biblical exodus was about 1200 B.C.). The 481 foot tall Great Pyramid,
weighing 2.5 million tons, occupies 13 acres. It was the tallest and most massive structure made by man for 4000 years. Its 2.3 million blocks lined up could stretch for 2000 miles. The Great Pyramid alignment to true north and perfect square formation deviates by less than 1 part in 1000 leading some to say: aliens built it. Estimates are that this pyramid took 27 years to build and involved between 20,000 and 300,000 workers paid by the Pharaoh.
Why did the Pharaohs build pyramids? Pharaohs wanted to ensure their afterlife as gods in Aaru (heaven) translated as “field of reeds” and ruled by Osiris the mythical first king of Egypt. Khufu wanted the biggest pyramid to ensure greater protection from desecration that would rob him and his people of his ka (soul), his possessions buried with him, and his eternal life as a god.
Who built pyramids? The earlier pharaohs built mastabas (flat buildings) to preserve their ka and ensure an afterlife in Aaru. Pharaoh Djoser’s architect Imhotep, in 2780 B.C., designed his “steppingstones to heaven” as a structure of six stacked mastabas each of increasingly smaller size. Pharaoh Snefru built the first “true pyramid” with smooth sides and a constant angle known as the red pyramid for the base stone color. Some polished white limestone remains on this pyramid. (Later, much of the limestone was taken from the pyramids on the Giza Plateau to build or decorate buildings in Cairo.) This is the third largest pyramid. Khufu’s son, Kafre, built the second largest pyramid. After Kafre, pyramids and other burial chambers were much smaller. Was this to cut costs or to avoid pyramid robbers? Around 1500 B.C., burials of pharaohs were relocated to the Valley of the Kings, and by 500 B.C. these burials ceased.
How were the pyramids built? 4500-year-old logbooks describe canals and overland transportation by sleds of limestone blocks from the quarries at Tura. These methods may have been used to build the earlier pyramids. An earthen ramp remains at the Karnak Temple in Luxor Egypt. It is surmised that similar earthen ramps were used together with pulley systems to raise the blocks to each level. Copper tools were available. Perhaps methods of splitting the rock were used. The last step was to cover the pyramid with polished white limestone and a shining golden cap to honor the sun god. How was the alignment made to true north? To align the pyramids the Egyptians may have observed the path of the sun on the solstice from east (resurrection) to west (death). This puts the other cardinal points at north and south.
Now you know more about how, why, and who built the pyramids. Additional information is available at:
Pyramids link for more information
Don Knebel
