Pyramids built from cut stone

[wolram]

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/04/28/2229383.htm?site=science&topic=ancient

Many of Egypt's most famous monuments, such as the Sphinx and Cheops pyramid at Giza, contain hundreds of thousands of marine fossils, according to a new study.

Most of the fossils are intact and preserved in the monument walls, giving clues to how the monuments were built.

The authors suggest the stones that make up the Giza plateau, Fayum and Abydos monuments must have been carved out of natural stone as they reveal what chunks of the sea floor must have looked like over 4000 years ago, when the buildings were erected.

[matthyaouw]

I didn't know that there was any doubt that some of the stones of the pyramids were cut stones. I'll have a full read of the original article later on to see if they've concluded that all of the stones are cut, and if so on what grounds.

they reveal what chunks of the sea floor must have looked like over 4000 years ago
Significantly over 4000 years I should think... :bugeye:

[wolram]

I didn't know that there was any doubt that some of the stones of the pyramids were cut stones. I'll have a full read of the original article later on to see if they've concluded that all of the stones are cut, and if so on what grounds.


Significantly over 4000 years I should think... :bugeye:


There was an argument that some were cast/man made.

http://www.fravahr.org/spip.php?breve258

The widely accepted theory-that the pyramids were crafted of carved-out giant limestone blocks that workers carried up ramps-had not only not been embraced by everyone, but as important had quite a number of holes.

After extensive scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations and other testing, Barsoum and his research group found that the tiniest structures within the inner and outer casing stones were indeed consistent with a reconstituted limestone. The cement binding the limestone aggregate was either silicon dioxide (the building block of quartz) or a calcium and magnesium-rich silicate mineral.