Thank you for watching and for being here! If you want to support the channel, you can become a TH-cam Member at th-cam.com/channels/scI4NOggNSN-Si5QgErNCw.htmljoin or I’m on Patreon at www.patreon.com/ancientarchitects
Ok.. Im not going to poop all over this idea, but as a simple paleontologist, lets nail your boots to the floor. The ideas of ropes and pullies seems over thunk. According to my old Egyptologiy professor, these people were much more grounded. These were people who rode boats up the nile, that is they used ores, like the Sun Boat. So, put ores in those sloats, put a few people ontop of the stone, and have them row the stone up to the next groove in the stone, use the holes on the walls as breaks to stop the stone from rolling back. Leaver the stones up is safer then a rope snap and screeming down to the start point.
You started to realise that history was a lie but you suddenly changed your mind, you are now a shill. You know our history is a lie and what the true purpose of the pyramids are and their true age
Brilliant work! What I don't understand about the counterweight system, though, are two things: 1: how does a counterweight reduce the weight of the block? Once it's moved down, it itself would have to be raised. Best case is splitting the weight of the granite blocks in half, so that on the up and downstroke always 1/2 of the weight needs to be pulled. But that hardly sounds like its worth making such an effort. 2: where is all the abrasion that would need to have happened during such extensive use? The few striations there are would support only very limited use.
The only pre-flood (Black Sea) man-made structure left on Earth. What do think about Tompkins “Secrets” book? There’s another book with the “pyramid inch,” Can’t find it.
What I like about Houdins theory the most is that he seriously takes the genius of the buiders into account. They weren't some cruel slavemasters rawhiding people to unhuman tasks, they did meticulous planning and designed every detail not only to the pinnacle of beauty but to the very core of function too. True masters of engineering.
Exactly! Their Einsteins and Newtons spent their whole lives working out how to cut, move, and stack stones, then they passed their knowledge on to the next generation of Da Vinci's and Galileis, who spent their lives doing the same. They had nothing else to do! People say we couldn't build them today, but we built the LHC and the Space Shuttle - amongst numerous other things - using the same brains they had. If we had a reason to build the pyramids again, now, using the same tools they had - if we believed we were going to starve and die if we didn't succeed - then you'd better believe our best and brightest could work it out! The point being that, yes, no doubt they had some genius in their methodology, and Houdin's theory credits them with intelligence, as you rightly point out...
@@fennynough6962later dynastic pharaohs that lost their way after nobody was around anymore to teach the old ways and greed & war plagued their minds. The pyramid was built way before their time by unknown engineers
@@fennynough6962 I was talking about the builders, not the pharaohs. As far as we know the pyramids weren't built neither by slaves nor the kings themselves. In case of Imhotep we know a building-engineer of the pyramids by name. Why is it in the Internet, that there are always some quickreaders trying to make a point by the most negative conjecture? We could improve the discussion so much by carful reading and a more positive and appreciating attitude.
If that hidden void is another Grand Gallery, perhaps the (speculative, proposed) wooden stone cart is in there still. Maybe even the same one used below, in the present Grand Gallery... and which was disassembled and rebuilt up above it, for use there. As you say, wood was precious. Also, all that work in constructing such a "dolly" would not go to waste if reused up above. All wild, hopeful speculation. I'm 66 now, and I certainly hope the hidden chamber is revealed in my lifetime. I don't want to "leave" without answers!
I Remember the first time I entered the grand gallery, and immediately got the sense that it was some sort of machine, ceremonial use did not enter my head at that time, I always imagined the blocks being hauled up the gallery on a sled and the notches having timbers in them to prevent the sled sliding backwards accidentally should something go wrong ie a rope breaking, these could of been put in place with people riding on the shed and removed again as the sled started to descend. the counter weight would run underneath the sled as the sled made its way up raised on the 2 side ledges. The counter weight could have also been a container of water which would make it easier to control the speed of the assent of the sled and needing a lot less man power, the well shaft may then have been for the drainage of the excess the water. The problem I have with this idea is how you get the water to the top of the grand gallery to fill the container. But if we look at the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway that was fully powered with water, no pump needed and I believe the only one that exists, whereas the other cliff railways such as the Babbacombe one in Torquay needed a pump to raise the water from the bottom sump back to the top. Was the subterranean chamber a sump? More food for thought. Thanks for another great video.
Honestly, I don't agree with the assertions made in these lost ancient technology videos regarding the Giza pyramids. They're just pyramids; there's nothing particularly advanced or practical about them. The reason many cultures built pyramids is because it's the simplest way to construct a large, tall stone structure without it collapsing. The inherent stability comes from the fact that 95 percent of the pyramid's total volume is solid rock. Essentially, you're just stacking rocks on top of each other. This explains why nearly all significantly tall ancient structures were pyramidal in shape, including the Sumerian ziggurats and the Egyptian pyramids. The sole exception to this pattern was the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built by the Greeks. Unlike pyramids, the Lighthouse featured floors, windows, and tiers, making it undoubtedly more advanced and practical. While the pyramids were undoubtedly impressive for their time, they weren't the pinnacle of ancient engineering. Exploring the interior of the Great Pyramid, for instance, doesn't reveal large open spaces like arches domes or vaults, highlighting their functional limitations. Even the Egyptians, after Giza, ceased constructing large pyramids, likely due to the realization that it wasn't economically sustainable and represented a significant waste of resources. What practical use does a pyramid serve anyway? It's essentially just a stack of rocks. Consequently, they shifted their focus to constructing large temples, which, despite also being religious structures, provided usable space with features like columns and halls. The Egyptians had to resort to using numerous interior columns to prevent the roof from collapsing, as they lacked the keystone arch technology. In comparison, structures like the Lighthouse of Alexandria or the Roman aqueducts are undeniably more advanced and practical than pyramids. Yet, curiously, discussions around lost ancient high technology rarely include them."
@@adriantuesta1012 also the hand-waving about "precision cuts" is just empty nonsense - its called finish, its not done when cutting, and the powder from the cutting is what is used for the finish sanding
Watched the documentary about the Architect’s internal ramp theory…Did they ever send anyone back up to “Bob’s corner”with an inspection camera to verify if it was hollow behind the block to verify the ramp? That would take an hour and it’s been like 5-10 years…
I think that a wooden deck was fitted at the height of the raised sides. You can see where this would have locked in. And a counter weight was underneath where the stairs are now. This would have been used to pull stones up the deck. The step at the top is so that a block could have been pulled directly onto rollers or a sled. The side stones in the walls are likely safety stops to avoid the stone sliding backwards
I think the gallery was ‘finished’ with some kind of decking. Stones infilled the holes in the wall (as these would be visible above the decking) but the slots in the floor just covered over.
@@AncientArchitectsit woukd make sense to be covered after, i bet the bottom secrion was greased and chipped from the counternweight so would have been best covered up. And still plenty of head room 😅😂
@@MrLikeAsatellitemy thoughts was that these are grooves to house large stone blocks that would be put in place behind the sled as it was lifted. This would work as a safety mechanism to stop the sled sliding all the way back down if a rope snapped etc
However the context is missing from the evidence. These people could cut and move blocks that dwarf the large granite blocks in the pyramid. And move them 100s of miles! They would not have needed to build the inside of the pyramid to lift a few little 70 ton granite blocks! The unfinished obelisk in the Aswan quarry would have needed to be lifted 50 feet into the air and moved over rough terrain and then 300 miles, and it weighs around 1000 tons. So why would 70 tons be a challenge. IT WOULDN'T.
@@edser_bDefinitely not a challenge, but a solution like Houdin's is 1) makes the construction quicker 2) and cheaper, as we all know, time is money, and all the workers were paid.
@@edser_b ......I would say they did all those things with devices. Devices we can no longer see or imagine. BUT I think the grand gallery is such a device. All the wood parts are gone but only the stone remains of this device. All others were made out of wood so that is why we have no proof of such machines/devices. "grand gallery lifting devices" could have been on the outside of the pyramid with the counterweights on the opposite side of the pyramid. Looking at the way they mastered stone one can only imagine the marvels they made in wood.
Nonsense. The Pyramid of Khafre and the other pyramids doesn't have those kind of "constructional elevator" like the Grand Gallery. Yet, they are build without that "so much needed constructional elevator". By all means the ideas of Houdin are naive and fringe, especially his claims of the original purpose of the shafts - "holes for construction communication"...Please. While other theories goes into other fringe territories, the ideas of Jean-Pierre Houdin are completely deprived of any esoteric drive and purpose, completely utilitarian and with that - blind.
But the later great pyramid of gaza lack a grand gallery, it feel very wasteful to build a very complicated counter wight system, if you do not "need" one.
A nice idea but one that does not make sense to me. If the purpose of the grand gallery was simply a slide or guideway for large granite stones to be raised to the height of the Kings Chamber, the efforts in its construction would seem to far outway the end result. And simply stating a 'counter-weight' mechanism was employed without showing where is was and how it worked, is a huge negative, as this is the balancing part of the whole mechanism. And did I see wheels and pulleys in the animation? So, without evidence of the counter-weight system - which would need to be opposite/in-line with the grand gallery - it remains as I said, a nice idea but one missing 50% of the evidence required. Or have I missed something? Regards from UK
The Pyramid of Khafre and the other pyramids doesn't have those kind of "constructional elevator" like the Grand Gallery. Yet, they are build without that "so much needed constructional elevator". By all means the ideas of Houdin are naive and fringe, especially his claims of the original purpose of the shafts - "holes for construction communication"...Please. While other theories goes into other fringe territories, the ideas of Jean-Pierre Houdin are completely deprived of any esoteric drive and purpose, completely utilitarian and with that - blind.
@@МаркелСосипаторыч Non permanent counter-weight contraption could have been installed anywhere (if this was their technology in the first place) doing the same job. But nothing in a permanent oversized structural instability - as what the Grand Gallery is, screams utilitarianism, quite the opposite.
I have a problem with the amount of tension that would be on those ropes lifting a 60 ton block plus the mechanism *and* the lack of pulleys to guide this rope. Suppose you had to lift some heavy blocks up 10ft. You throw a large hemp rope over a tree branch above and attempt to lift it with the rope. If it was a 1 lb weight it wouldn't matter but if it is 100 lbs it will create excessive friction and be very difficult to move. This is why we have pulleys.
I find it difficult to believe they didn't have pulleys. It is known that the Egyptians knew about wheels even if they didn't employ them en-mass, so it seems logical a wheel was used to reduce friction. You have to remember that they did not have decent bearing technology which made vehicles using wheels impractical, but this WOULD have been a practical use of a wheel, probably needing replacement frequently.
having basic pullies is one thing the idea they could make advanced pullies able to deal with such weights is another thing entirely the idea they could make pullies that could endure such a lifespan of work is crazier yet again i can understand them managing to make a pully that might of worked a handful of times but 100'000s of times is nuts @@knurlgnar24
The Rhind Papyrus (ca. 1650 BC) gives us insight into the mathematics of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians calculated the area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for π....almost a 1000 years after they are built...I speculate that they knew circles well before this time period thus the knowledge to construct the pulley...there is still more to the puzzle...@@knurlgnar24
The builders did have what were called "protopulleys" which were solid, pulley-like devices that lacked movable rollers but still guided the rope and reduced friction.
This makes so much more sense then huge Earthen ramps being installed and removed. I recently toured the Hoover Dam and their are many examples like this of construction structures that were removed after their use was over.
Do we have any idea how the ropes of that length were made? The stretch on the ropes over that length given what they were hauling up would have been colossal.
The method of making rope well documented with lots of twisting & pulling and you need a really long, relatively flat, straight area to do it. It's possible the causeway from the Nile served a dual purpose besides a ramp for moving stone.
Wouldn't the friction from that grove destroy the ropes? I can buy the rope thing if they could manucfacture ropes that could withstand that kind of weight IF they were airborne in the contraption but touching that grove on the top? Sceptic.
Great video! The Grand Gallery is absolutely the most fascinating structure in the pyramid. I too like Houdin's overall conjecture about the GG, but it doesn't fully address the function of the niches. They still seem functionally unnecessary. The groove seems inadequately explained, as well. There is so much left to discover!
Great work Matt! There is a major issue with this theory: if they had the force & knowledge to build the Grand Gallery, why didn't they just simply built the King's Chamber? Seemingly the Grand Gallery is a far larger and in many ways even more complicated structure than the King's Chamber on its own... how did they build the Grand Gallery then? If they were capable to pull up those huge granite blocks to build the Grand Gallery, it does not make any sense to use it to build an even smaller structure. Secondly: if they used it as a counterweight system (which there are strong evidences for) and it was a functional part of the Great Pyramid, why didn't they stop at the minimum height they needed to pull up blocks (let's say one metre high or similar). What sense does it make to build it up to almost 9 metres high. Would you build a massive granite "chute" for a counterweight system in 47 metres length to build a 5 x 10 metre size chamber with some relieving chambers on top? Has anyone ever calculated how many m3 of granite was used to build the Grand Gallery? Is it more than what they used for building the King's Chamber? I think so. I am not aware of the sizes of the Grand Gallery's granite blocks but seemingly they are huge and I think they are even larger than the ones they used for the King's Chamber... or they build only the lower part to use it to pull up granite blocks and then they thought: guys, why don't we finish our counterweight system in a crazy way: let's build a 9 metre tall very complicated ceiling! What a great idea... sorry, do not mean to be over sarcastic but it is just not a realistic thing to do. Would you build a 9 metre tall inclining ceiling structure for a no longer needed "chute"? They could have narrowed this with limestone blocks, forming a similar passage way than the others and case closed. I do not mean to be disrespectful but for me this simply does not seem to be logical.
I considered this too. Why wasn't it filled in after it became defunct. My guess is that lowering stone is quite hard so it was just easier to cover it over, hence the narrowing. Only the biggest granite blocks are used to cover chambers as they are probably the hardest to cut, move and position.
In general, I absolutely agree with you. But I should note that the Grand Gallery is entirely built of limestone, there is not a single granite block. And I also want to note that if a counterweight was used to lift the blocks, then after each lifting cycle it was also necessary to raise the counterweight to its original position. And that required a lot of power.
You are right, my mistake, it is limestone. One reason more to bury it back / form a "normal" passage way.... It is just simply does not match the other structures in the pyramid and clearly no one would build such an enormous structure with no reason. If they were able to bring 50-70 tonnes granite blocks from Aswan, this last 100 m needed a complicated counterweight system to be built? We are fabricating theories because the Grand Gallery is THERE. I think where ever the Nile was 5000 years ago, it must have been an equally complicated job to bring the granite block from the harbour close to the pyramid but they did it, not to mention moving the blocks from the quarry to Giza plateau.... but we do not really care because there are no enigmatic buildings on the way....@@vladimira6999
Yep, and one must not forget to compare that to the other pyramids. They all should have a similar feature. But in some the corbelled spaces are just horizontal, or not there.
Matt, your stuff is always spectacular. I've been a fan of JP Houdin fr years now. Thanks for another exceptional installment in the never ending mystery of The Great Pyramid. Best!
Jean Pierre Houdin work is simply fantastic. Definitely, the best explanation so far about the construction of the Great Pyramid. The documentary about his studies and the model he developed is unmissable.
The only problem with his idea is that it is overly complex. He sees the grand gallery as the counterweight system for dragging granite stones up a SECOND ramp on the other side of the pyramid. The Egyptians would not have wasted human effort to build a second, even steeper ramp that would have made the area at the top even smaller for the movement of heavy granite stones and required even more effort to fill in afterward. Rather, they almost certainly would have built just the ONE ramp needed to lift the heavy weight they had to lift, instead of having to pull the huge counterweight up to the top over and over. Especially, if they could leave MOST of the ramp, UNFILLED, because it would be concealed by the pyramid itself. The most likely explanation is that the grand gallery itself IS the primary ramp for 90% percent of the construction and that it is, today, incomplete. That is the only reason it would need to align with the rest of the ascending passage…which originally was a continuation of the grand gallery that was then filled in once the stones were raised. The two shelf’s with all the sockets are obviously the guide rails for a sledge, with the slots made to accept braking brackets. The thing is, leverage is the trading of distance for power. And for the heaviest stones of the pyramid each of those 27 sockets likely represented the distance of a single lifting effort. The simplest means would have been with ropes and pulleys rove to high advantage and by simply having a chain of men running continuously to the top of the level of the top of the grand gallery ramp, while the riggers reset the ropes, and then having a couple hundred men grab loops on the rope ends and baskets full of stone tailings from workmen fitting stones, and literally stepping off the smooth side of the pyramid and dragging the ropes down the height of the kings chamber floor that would pull the sledge up to the next braking notch and the blocks set there to hold it for re-setting the ropes. The number of men for each lift would be determined by the weight of the stone being lifted… and ordinary 2 ton and under filling stones could likely be lifted ten or 15 at a time, or rigged to use the same number of men, with fewer sheaves to perhaps pull the lighter sledge loads up two of three braking sockets at a throw. If you simply continue the line of the ascending passage and grand gallery to daylight, it ends up just enough above the ground to meet a small ramp that would take the stones over the lip of the plateau to the ramp that must have been built from the canal at which the granite was unloaded. The radiometric survey that revealed what appears to be a second grand gallery above the first makes this being the remnant of the primary ramp even more likely, as the grand gallery lifted stones to the height of the kings chamber, but they would have needed a second ramp to lift the relieving chamber and gable stones to the top of the kings chamber. So they would have lifted most of the granite to the level of the Kings chamber floor and started building the walls and surrounding filling stone from there while filling in and roofing over the grand gallery and staging the granite for higher up over where the base of the second gallery would be formed. The thing about this idea is that the grand gallery is usable from day one, if it is the remnant of the primary lifting ramp. That is, as the pyramid is being built, the vast majority of stone is run up the grand gallery, even while it is still open to the sky on top. As the pyramid rises around it, it gets refined to be prepared for the heavier stones to come. The corbeling might even have been added later, as the size of the stones to be lifted grew smaller. Imagine it open to the sky the entire way to the kings chamber. Eventually corbeled from the lower end, up. To support the base of the second gallery.
I remember when I was there and I was the only one in the king's chamber for five/seven minutes and it was a profound experience I will never forget, the history just consume you, the famous ppl who's stood in that place and chufu him self, lying down in the sarcophagus with no one else around was just crazy and something very special, I made sure I didn't harm anything I took my trainers of and carefully laid down and the goosebumps was crazy, that place is so magical
Excellent hypothesis. But... why is the gallery so high and why tapered inward. Is this simply to enhance stability of the structure within the pyramid or is there a further function that is being missed?
Yeah, there sure is a lot of detail and precision on what is being proposed as work surfaces. Doesn't make sense to me, but I'm sitting here in a chair in San Diego. So who knows.
Has me scratching my head too. But I don’t understand how the relieving chambers relieve anything, either. I suspect it has something to do with the semi-rubble fill?
Tapered inwards: is believed to be a stabitlity feature. Straight walls at the maximum width, with a limestone covering the top, would not last with the weight of the stones on top of it. It would crack and collapse otherwise. Alternatively you could try to use harder stone, like granite and add stress releaving chambers on top of it (like what they did with the kings chamber). "But I don’t understand how the relieving chambers relieve anything" -> They remove weight from the inner area, which would otherwise create a force at the center of the chamber roof, at its weakest spot. And direct this force to the outer "walls", which are sitting on top of massive, non-void-below stone. But the relieving system is over-engineered in this case (for the kings chamber); only one or two relieving chambers would have been required. It is unknown, why they added a couple more. It is possible, that they didn't know exactly, how many are actually needed, or they got nervous, because one of the largest granite roof stones received a crack during construction phase. So maybe they were worried and added more relieving chambers, to "rescue" (or protect) the cracked stone. It is possible, that the grand gallery has relieving chambers on top of it too. And maybe that's what the scan pyramid project revealed. But we will find out soon.
Very interesting video as always. I always watch everything related to the Great Pyramid. Your efforts are very much appreciated. Using concrete to "patch" up holes is exactly like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. Pure blasphemy.
what if the trolly was filled with water and not stones. the water could be removed at the bottom and returning the trolly to the top would take way less people and effort. just a thought. 8.43 lbs per gallon.
The holes for the beams which support the bridge having a deeper hole on one side! This had to be - so that a beam could be fitted across the with of the Grand Gallery. Without one of the holes being deeper - it would be impossible to fit the beams across. The evidence is very compelling- the best explanation I have ever seen!
Hi Matthew! Another amazing video! I like the theory presented by Houdin a few years ago and it seems to bring new concepts to the immense engineering challenge of building a huge structure with supposedly rudimentary tools. However, there is still a lot to be analyzed and considered. The second gallery is plausible because with just the large gallery that we know it would still be a colossal task as it would require suspending the immense slabs for the stress relief chambers. I would still like to find some study on how it was possible to suspend huge blocks of stone with the supposed ropes available at the time along with systems of pulleys, rollers, cranes... Hundreds of meters of extremely resistant cables would be needed...
I think the friction alone on the wooden sleds would wear the sliders out too quickly.the friction alone would make it heat up expand and get stuck in the stone runners ,especially if the tolerances were tight. Was just a thought and awesome video 👍
What wood were the runners made from? Did the builders know nothing about friction? Could they have used some form of grease or even water to lubricate the runners? Did none of this cross your mind before you posted?
If you watched the video like the rest of us, the hypothesis and demo videos demonstrate use of roller logs, not sliding at the bottom but rolling. The edge guides would slide though and need lubrication and occasional attention/maintenance, but wouldn't be supporting the bulk of the weight.
Imagine if the upper void still has everything intact from the counter weight system?!?! They could have pulled the wood from the grand gallery and used it above, and when they were done with it, just filled it all in.
Being just 6 minutes in, a theory that I could point out for those niches going up the grand gallery, is to use them as a sort of early design of a Pawl on a winch or ratchet, in order to lock something in place while they hoisted it up to the Kings chamber.
Nice - I think Houdin is right that it was used to aid construction, but maybe there are other ways to interpret the evidence as to exactly how it functioned
I was thinking the same thing as I was watching it. It could have been a bracing mechanism to keep it from sliding backwards or to shorten the distance required with each pull up.
I imagine some sort of brake would be a necessity for the case where pulling ropes broke or other failure. Hook and pawl is by far the easiest solution and just needs an axe to make it
Totally agree, and it would be a relatively simple design to slot in and pull out easy. A shallow wedge with the back facing down the Gallery would do it.
Right. The counterweight sliding down the ramp pulled large blocks up the other side of the pyramid, but then you have the counterweight at the bottom and it needs to go back to the top to pull another stone and you then have the same problem of how do you drag it back up there? Lever and ratchet system that would need long levers to deliver enough force need height to swing through each step until the ratchet engages to hold the weight so the levers can be lowered back down to take another 'bite' from the next notch. That way only a small number of men would be able to exert great force to raise the counterweight which then would do it's job and pull up another outer stone. That's pretty clever of them and from what I've seen....the best explanation for the details found in there today. Really they need to get into the upper 'void' and see what's there as it would likely be pristine just as it was left after construction and before millennia of people slowly defaced it. After Mamun got inside these generations of visitors could have stripped any and all wood in the Grand Gallery leaving nothing for us to find today. Fascinating stuff!!!
Right? I've got a feeling we'll never know. That's not to say that Egypt's antiquities department won't eventually get inside somehow and figure it out, but I very highly doubt the general public ever will. I think a great sign that they've finally managed to get inside the void would be the complete shutdown of the Giza complex to the public. If people suddenly aren't allowed anywhere near it, something was clearly discovered.
I guess the Egyptian authorities don't allow anyone to do it in the first place? Idk how all that works. Who does one get permission from to try to discover what's in there?
Ainda olhando esta simulação do trenó no interior da grande galeria ... Bom , e qual mecanismo foi utilizado para elevar as pedras que compõe a própria galeria ? Antes da instalação do sistema de contra peso ... O mecanismo não estaria presente em todas as etapas onde existem pedras de grande volume também . Sem contar que a grande galeria está abaixo da cobertura do teto da câmara do rei e as câmaras de alívio superiores . Não seria aplicável as pedras de cobertura da câmara da rainha ... Ótimo , não temos a resposta !!! Parabéns pelo vídeo , sucesso sempre !!!
Cant remember if I commented this here already, but if the void is a 'second grand gallery' and it is lined up above the grand gallery then the stones below it will have to be clearly purpose built for supporting more than just the gallery. It would have to clearly divert pressure around the 1st grand gallery, whereas if it was just a passage it could possibly get away with no further structural support. Anyways with these graphs its difficult to get a 3d picture, what I said only applies if the 2nd gallery really is right above the grand gallery. If it is offset by a couple meters then they could support it straight down like any other space.
The irregular spacing of the slots in the gallery would imply the wheel spacing of the trolley was not even. So instead of having wheels at equal distances the wheels were instead at irregular distances. If the wheel spacing was not equal then the slots would also need to be irregular so you could stop the trolley at any point in the gallery. For example so you have put three wheels on one side of the trolley then on the other side of the trolley you put four wheels. This would spread weight out in a irregular distribution. I am not sure what advantage that would give you.
As coisas podem ser muito mais simples práticas e funcinais do que se pensa , não é necessário complicar ainda mais o mistério que envolve as pirâmides ... Video fantástico abaixo : L'énigme des Pyramides résolu par Hérodote Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
Im far from any kind of expert (even as a student layperson), but find Houdin's hypothesis the most compelling. Not only does it solve turning the problem of the blocks turning the corners, but does so in the most elegant and least labor intensive way (Occam's Razor), -at least compared with other methods Ive seen suggested.There are also marks in the stone the ropes and sleds would have left.
I know it’s not important at all, but I noticed at 8:03, I have that same dehumidifier! Was a great purchase after my house flooded. Anyone ever needs one that brand makes them really well!
Ola , bom dia , Simplesmente fantástico vídeo , fascinante a riqueza de detalhes ! Muito importante evidenciar os detalhes , principalmente aquilo que foi "apagado" pelas restaurações ao longo do tempo , isso contribui para um possível esclarecimento sobre a grande pirâmide . Parabéns !!! Gostaria muito da sua opinião sobre este outro vídeo a construção da grande pirâmide : Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops . Ótimo trabalho ! Sucesso sempre !
Thank you for this fine video. Makes a lot of sense. A bit weird that Egyptian authorities are so protective of their ancient heritage - rightfully so - but maybe damaged one of the most important stones in the whole pyramid: the great step.
As a nobody with an opinion, the grand gallery ramp always looked like a rock elevator/slide system to me. If it was a stairway, there would be steps. The worn stone at the top of the ramp is where the rope slides. The holes in the walls look like a support structure anchor. The big void will turn out to be the other, as yet undiscovered elevator for the stones at the top of the pyramid.
Ancient Egyptians rarely build incline tunnels or incline structures with steps. Most inclining tunnels or passages into pyramids, tombs and whatnot, were build without any steps. They either added them through additions (like wooden staircases), that were later removed (or lost) or never used them in the first place and instead just added a couple of wooden beams at some spots, to give people some kind of safe way for going in and out.
Your passion for this topic is inspiring. Thanks for the excellent work. I think I saw the issue with the "repaired" step on a History for Granite video. Can't imagine the thinking process involved with that decision.
Has anyone built a physical )not digital) scale model of this to see how well it would work? Say 1/8 scale with blocks 1/8 weight with 1/8 human strength. Finding or making a grease that would be appropriate may be difficult.
@fennynough6962 hemp ropes are stronger/ more durable than steel cables, they have a higher breaking strength and less prone to snapping due to tension
Possibly the grand gallery was the sight of a geared pulley, sort of resembling a heavy wagon wheel with no rim, and the spokes spaced to go into the niches. . The niches were there to lock in the base of a rolling pulley/gear. The top would've been pulled downward along the gallery, the bottom would have "Teeth" that would go into the niches, and the center would have a spool to pull some sort of heavy rope. it would have an incredible mechanical advantage
I’m no architect so this is just a question: Couldn’t the newly discovered chamber act as the opposite end of the pulley so the workers pulled from the same side as the entrance? There already are 3 rollers in the antechamber and more could have been placed above towards the void. There wouldn’t be a need for “backdoor” passages in the king’s chamber.
The short and long grooves sounds like it was used to use as beam pulleys to pull a large rope in between them, spreading the weight on the beams instead of fully straight up.
Don’t forget Matt that the gallery walls you saw have been cleaned, since I was there so my ‘bit’ retains the original surface. The pictures pre 1990 show a much darker and flaky surface on the walls of the gallery. Mart.
A ramp with a 6% incline leading up to the Pyramid? You have no idea how big that would be. It would be a construction on par with the great pyramid and there would be massive evidence.
Given that this ramp is not supposed to go all the way up, but only to a height of ca. 50 meters, such a ramp would be 478 meters long. This ramp would also go to the center of the pyramid, while the half the pyramid width would also cover this ramp. So the ramp would ultimately only be 363 meters long outside of the pyramid. Not impossible.
@@dnocturn84Francamente ... fantasioso e fabuloso de mais . Uma bonita simulação pra encher os olhos , mais na prática insustentável . A manipulação dos 3 plug's já é por si só um grande enigma . Na realidade a melhor explicação que já vi sobre isso é o vídeo abaixo : Simples prática e perfeitamente possível . Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops . Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
@@jgzambel5261 Oh, I'm not saying that the ramp-theory is actually true, nor am I supporting this idea. I am only saying, that a ramp like this isn't impossible and won't result in being too large, like the original comment claimed it to be. And I guess it is also important to mention, that I am refering to a ramp in addition to what is shown or proposed in the video. Older "ramp-only" theories (or some of them, at least) will actually result in extremly large ramps, which would be unrealistic indeed. Thank you!
11:06 The depiction of a colossal statue being pulled on a sledge from the tomb of Djehutihotep shows only about 200 workers. Also, a few hundred people simply pulling on a rope hardly require much coordination.
hundreds of workers just pulling on ropes is just an excuse and make NO sense. Pulling where to, up a ramp with incline? up to what ? an unrealistic fictious 'ramp' corkscrewing around the pyramid? Absolutley doesnt work. No egyptologist has ever explained the main building features correctly, it takes a real engineer/architect to understand and explain every feature.
I think the niches must have had a very important function because they are the only places in the entire pyramid where it looks like perhaps the original idea didn’t quite work and they had to chisel out some extra stonework and infil later. That’s the feeling I get looking at them. I too believe there could well have been a horizontal passage across from the entrance. Perhaps now filled in with blocks. The one less corbel on the North wall is one piece of evidence (I just learnt this, thanks) as is the thin block, the thinnest in the grand gallery? That sits just below the lowest corbel on the north wall there.
There are those who see a large massive object and think …impossible to move. There are those who see a large massive object and think…where’s the balance point. Ancient Egyptians developed a relationship with stone which allowed them to more or less manipulate them at Will. So it makes perfect sense that they understood the value of Force Multiplication. A clue to this comprehension is the angle of the Gallery Ramp.
Since hearing the hypothesis from J-P Houdin, I’ve became a believer that the grand gallery was a ramp and shaft for some counter weight contraption. The slots for some sort of attachment, the scratch marks, etc made total sense and is a simple explanation. I just struggle to think such engineering was only to carry the granite stones for the kings chambers. This gallery could be the machinery to build the whole thing. Maybe not just one gallery but 2 or 3. Maybe others still hidden? With the counter weight and pulleys they could simply lifts the counter weight with few men, a long rope, then release the counter weight to lift heavy stones with a short rope. Makes total sense and it is very plausible
Then it does not need to be a pulley as today, wood logs would suffice. Just need to rope to have several loops and you divide the force. The you have the counter weights to pull stone without loops, just a straight rope.
The “braking” system could be used to block the counter weight the time they attache the stone block to a straight rope, then the would release the counter weight and just control its descent with the pulleys system. Amazing that the “professional” archeologists have not proposed a model like this, based on the evidence
Francamente ... fantasioso e fabuloso de mais . Uma bonita simulação pra encher os olhos , mais na prática insustentável . A manipulação dos 3 plug's já é por si só um grande enigma . Na realidade a melhor explicação que já vi sobre isso é o vídeo abaixo : Simples prática e perfeitamente possível . Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops . Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
Wow this makes sense more than anything! With block and tackle and the right rigging this explains so much as to how they moved some of the biggest stones and I am sure it was pure genius at work
One of the best videos I about pyramid construction I've seen so far 👌 Grand gallery as some kind of inner ramp instead of a giant outdoor ramp, I estimate that not unlikely, makes sense. 😀 Thanks for sharing this interesting content 👍 My respect for the ancient architects (both!)
The little niches along each side of the grand gallery's base were used as Emergency BRAKES. If the heavy weight were to break the rope or side out of control, the stones or wooden board would only catch it within a few meters. This would stop run away granite blocks from crushing workers pulling from the other side.
@@brucebowers-c5y They used a weighted sled, along with a pulley system to move the heavy granite up the exterior of the pyramid. On the sled, they had built wooden beams that would be raised and lowered to give control of this heavy weight.
All very ingenious. I went to the VR simulation thing 'Horizon of Khufu' the other day, that takes you into the pyramid virtually. The Grand Gallery definitely struck me as something that accommodated a mechanism of some sort, with something sliding up and down those slots. A funicular kind of arrangement to assist with the lifting of the massive megaliths to cap the King's chamber certainly makes sense. I wondered what was done with the weights in the hypothetical device, and how they were gotten out and those doubling as the plugging stones would be very clever as a solution. That still leaves the problem of how they were gotten in in the first place, of course.
@@AncientArchitectsI would love to hear more about these pulley mechanisms. I know that there are some hieroglyphics that kinda look like an overhead pulley system but I cannot remember where I saw it. I will look for it and share it with you when I find it. I have always wondered about it but never heard it mentioned anywhere.
I personally don't need any more evidence than the shape of the Great Step to know that there was indeed a sled running up and down the gallery. Anyone who's ever done any work with cables or ropes knows that abrasion pattern.
Hi Matt, I did some research on the length vs. weight of modern ropes. In Houdins model (at 12:22) - in the pulley-system - he applies ropes that have to be at least 200 meters long. Modern nylon rope of 6 cm thickness weighs 10 kg per meter. So rope used by Egyptians must have been at least the same weight or more. So a rope of 200 meters weighs at least 2 (!) tons on its own. So please ask Houdin when you talk to him, how that is practical to use ropes that are so long and so heavy. It doesn't make any sense when you do the math. Looking forward to Houdins answer!
I watched a documentary about the great Pyramid as a youngster and the great step was featured and it was suggested that ropes to haul the stones into the pyramid had worn out the great step into a smooth v shape and an old black and white photo of the great step with the wear was extremely convincing because it was so worn that it looked shiny smooth !
Jepp! To lift a 60 tonne block you would need a hemp rope of about 90 mm diameter or 3.5 inches. On a thirty degree slope that would be reduced to about 65 mm or 2.5 inches. Way to big for pulling by hand! Now imagine that 1000 tonne stone left in the quarry! Got go have a lot of ropes to pull that one up!!!!😊
hi, Matt! very interesting! and, so far, the best hypothesis i've heard. those ancient Egyptians were well versed in their construction methods....so this is not surprising, to me. sure would be cool if this can be confirmed in my life time! you keep making these vids and i'll keep watching......ok?!?! next time, dude
Very interesting indeed, and sounds like a good starting hypothesis. May need to fully investigate all unexplored areas because who knows if they are crucially interrelated. For a start the Void needs to be looked into - - - WAY before stuff like restoration. Expert consolidation of crumbling areas to prevent further disintegration might be OK, but restoration should NEVER be done on any original artifact still being studied, it's like tidying up the furniture at a crime scene.
I think the Grand Gallery is a counterweight elevator shaft to help lift large stones during the middle part of construction. There is a perimeter ramp to finish the top part of construction.
Thanks Matt! I have been revealing Grand Gallery 2 in my work also. The area where my channel differs from you and Douglas and others is that I look for the symbolic - and most important - meaning of the structure. Just as you said that any physical explanation for the structure must take into account all the various dimensions and niches, the same is true for a symbolic interpretation. And nobody - mainstream Egyptologists, history buffs like you, and esoteric thinkers have even held a candle to its symbolic interpretation. Let us remember that this structure - this Wonder of the World - came from a society fixated on making it to Heaven, in preparing a tomb and mummification for the next life. They did not build their theology on mechanics, counterweights, or wooden rollers. I have an overarching religious motif that fits almost all the pieces of the puzzle. It is more than a feat of engineering. It is truly scripture in stone, with a message for the ages worthy of its largesse. Thanks again for a great video, presented with the usual professionalism.
Houdin must be correct as to the mechanical function of the Grand Gallery and his scheme has plausibility. However, the Ascending Passage couldn't act as both entry to the pyramid AND simultaneously the housing for the counterweight blocks I believe are now at the bottom of this 'passage' or the ingenious roller mechanism shown in the video. So the problem really becomes that of accepting the TRUE entry to the pyramid which was the so-called Abandoned Entry on the north face to complete the puzzle, where people both entered and exited the pyramid, standing upright and walking on the level and not having to crouch to enter and go up a long 'ascending passage' which is actually the shaft housing some sort of mechanical counterweights. The abandoned entry is where construction materials - including the massive granite beams and don't forget people and goods - were hauled into the pyramid straight on up a ramp from the desert floor. The camera snaked behind this entry and found a corridor like room, and closed off at one end which if extended abuts the North Face of the Grand Gallery at the top of the header going over the ascending passage. This is where the granite beams entering the pyramid were pulled straight through the entry corridor and THEN onto the waiting trolly for transportation to the King's Chamber. The V in the landing could have been deliberately carved to assist the efforts to drag the beams off the trolley or if not deliberately carved could have worn the landing in that area by continuous off loading, or it could have accommodated the rope that was the part of the mechanism. By the way the Ascending Passage was reinforced at intervals with granite framing; I believe that this was to make sure that the heavy granite beams coming through the corridor above did not distort and bind the three granite blocks in their function as traveling counterweights (they were not really designed to seal entry to the structure). When the pyramid was formally closed the trolley was indeed dismantled and the north face of the Grand Gallery closed off and filled in with about 100 feet of rubble, all under the double chevroned structural beams roofing the whole corridor and signified by the double chevrons over the main entry as seen on the front of the pyramid. And this 'Abandoned' entry is where the final human parties exited the pyramid when it was closed. OUT THE GREAT BIG FRONT DOOR. One of the most frankly slack-jawed stupid theories I have ever heard making the rounds is the answer to the question how did the work and funeral parties get out of the structure if the 'ascending passageway' was plugged with granite blocks by these 'brilliant engineers' ? Answered variously as 'They must have crawled out the well tunnel!' 'There must be a hidden circuit of exit passageways extending from Khufu's Chamber (that do not appear in the muons)'. The entry corridor, by contrast DOES appear in the muon scans. That corridor solves the problem! Accept the 'Abandoned Entry' as the answer if one wanted to leave in dignity out the the Big Front Door out of the pyramid on the north face, and down the ramp to the plateau. This not to mention the stupendous problem of hauling everything into the pyramid by forcing things up the ceiling of the descending passage once it supposedly entered the pyramid in the currently accepted entry extending into the structure in the hatch under the Abandoned entry - this lower entry was the TRUE abandoned entry to the structure. Bring everyone and everything through the big front door! Getting back to the trolley, this mechanism was used when the granite beams had been pulled to their staging area at the junction of the Grand Gallery with the entry corridor. People stood at the same location. The trolley appears to have solved the problem of easily hauling heavy granite up the structure but it had to have multiple functions, accomodating people and goods as well as granite. But in this scheme not only are there no exits for people but no apparent entries in the pyramid. It is not even clear how they get higher up into structure to begin with except up the Grand Gallery on the elevator. Because the muons did NOT reveal any further spaces or the famous ramps posited to be part of the construction scheme for the pyramid, Houdin has run out of ways to bring people and goods into the structure except by the Big Front Door. So quit dodging the entry issue because without it there is no other sensible route that makes this structure work architecturally. SZ BA MA Art History and Architecture.
Great video and the transport ramp with brake system was the way my thoughts where going after a few minutes. Great idea at the end with the newly discovered void also being a transport chute. But why would you build it directly above the other one? Surely it would be better to have it going off at a different 90° direction to avoid having it directly above the lower one and a potential weakness. Might be possible that the long groove half way up the chamber was where a second floor was built in for the workers to walk up and down. Only needs to be a thin wooden floor if just for people.
Francamente ... fantasioso e fabuloso de mais . Uma bonita simulação pra encher os olhos , mais na prática insustentável . A manipulação dos 3 plug's já é por si só um grande enigma . Na realidade a melhor explicação que já vi sobre isso é o vídeo abaixo : Simples prática e perfeitamente possível . Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops . Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
Matt, when you were in the pyramid in September '23, could you get into the Queen's Chamber? The gate was padlocked shut when I was there in July '23, June '22 and May '11.
![CAMPปลิ้น | EP.82[2/2] เมาท์มอยกับ 3 สาวเพื่อนซี้ ที่พร้อมขยี้พ่อหมีได้ทุกเมื่อ](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wwn7WnylNtQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for watching and for being here! If you want to support the channel, you can become a TH-cam Member at th-cam.com/channels/scI4NOggNSN-Si5QgErNCw.htmljoin or I’m on Patreon at www.patreon.com/ancientarchitects
Ok.. Im not going to poop all over this idea, but as a simple paleontologist, lets nail your boots to the floor. The ideas of ropes and pullies seems over thunk. According to my old Egyptologiy professor, these people were much more grounded. These were people who rode boats up the nile, that is they used ores, like the Sun Boat. So, put ores in those sloats, put a few people ontop of the stone, and have them row the stone up to the next groove in the stone, use the holes on the walls as breaks to stop the stone from rolling back. Leaver the stones up is safer then a rope snap and screeming down to the start point.
You started to realise that history was a lie but you suddenly changed your mind, you are now a shill. You know our history is a lie and what the true purpose of the pyramids are and their true age
Brilliant work! What I don't understand about the counterweight system, though, are two things:
1: how does a counterweight reduce the weight of the block? Once it's moved down, it itself would have to be raised. Best case is splitting the weight of the granite blocks in half, so that on the up and downstroke always 1/2 of the weight needs to be pulled. But that hardly sounds like its worth making such an effort.
2: where is all the abrasion that would need to have happened during such extensive use? The few striations there are would support only very limited use.
The only pre-flood (Black Sea) man-made structure left on Earth. What do think about Tompkins “Secrets” book? There’s another book with the “pyramid inch,” Can’t find it.
Drilling stone like this? th-cam.com/video/bS4_K5_tHbg/w-d-xo.html
Last time I was this early, the Pyramids were still covered in casing stones!
😂
lol!!
lol.
Excellent. If you can remember your age. Maybe we can work out how old they really are.
Neat. What was jesus like? I heard he was kind of a dick.
What I like about Houdins theory the most is that he seriously takes the genius of the buiders into account. They weren't some cruel slavemasters rawhiding people to unhuman tasks, they did meticulous planning and designed every detail not only to the pinnacle of beauty but to the very core of function too. True masters of engineering.
Exactly! Their Einsteins and Newtons spent their whole lives working out how to cut, move, and stack stones, then they passed their knowledge on to the next generation of Da Vinci's and Galileis, who spent their lives doing the same. They had nothing else to do! People say we couldn't build them today, but we built the LHC and the Space Shuttle - amongst numerous other things - using the same brains they had. If we had a reason to build the pyramids again, now, using the same tools they had - if we believed we were going to starve and die if we didn't succeed - then you'd better believe our best and brightest could work it out! The point being that, yes, no doubt they had some genius in their methodology, and Houdin's theory credits them with intelligence, as you rightly point out...
What are you talking about? The Pharaoh's of Egypt were some of the cruelest & manipulative, Despots, to ever have existed.
@@fennynough6962later dynastic pharaohs that lost their way after nobody was around anymore to teach the old ways and greed & war plagued their minds. The pyramid was built way before their time by unknown engineers
@@fennynough6962 I was talking about the builders, not the pharaohs. As far as we know the pyramids weren't built neither by slaves nor the kings themselves. In case of Imhotep we know a building-engineer of the pyramids by name.
Why is it in the Internet, that there are always some quickreaders trying to make a point by the most negative conjecture? We could improve the discussion so much by carful reading and a more positive and appreciating attitude.
The "egyptians" did NOT build the pyramids of giza to think they did is just ridiculous
If that hidden void is another Grand Gallery, perhaps the (speculative, proposed) wooden stone cart is in there still. Maybe even the same one used below, in the present Grand Gallery... and which was disassembled and rebuilt up above it, for use there. As you say, wood was precious. Also, all that work in constructing such a "dolly" would not go to waste if reused up above.
All wild, hopeful speculation. I'm 66 now, and I certainly hope the hidden chamber is revealed in my lifetime. I don't want to "leave" without answers!
th-cam.com/video/cb_Vs1UINRw/w-d-xo.html
Why?
I Remember the first time I entered the grand gallery, and immediately got the sense that it was some sort of machine, ceremonial use did not enter my head at that time, I always imagined the blocks being hauled up the gallery on a sled and the notches having timbers in them to prevent the sled sliding backwards accidentally should something go wrong ie a rope breaking, these could of been put in place with people riding on the shed and removed again as the sled started to descend. the counter weight would run underneath the sled as the sled made its way up raised on the 2 side ledges. The counter weight could have also been a container of water which would make it easier to control the speed of the assent of the sled and needing a lot less man power, the well shaft may then have been for the drainage of the excess the water. The problem I have with this idea is how you get the water to the top of the grand gallery to fill the container. But if we look at the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway that was fully powered with water, no pump needed and I believe the only one that exists, whereas the other cliff railways such as the Babbacombe one in Torquay needed a pump to raise the water from the bottom sump back to the top. Was the subterranean chamber a sump? More food for thought. Thanks for another great video.
Honestly, I don't agree with the assertions made in these lost ancient technology videos regarding the Giza pyramids. They're just pyramids; there's nothing particularly advanced or practical about them. The reason many cultures built pyramids is because it's the simplest way to construct a large, tall stone structure without it collapsing. The inherent stability comes from the fact that 95 percent of the pyramid's total volume is solid rock. Essentially, you're just stacking rocks on top of each other. This explains why nearly all significantly tall ancient structures were pyramidal in shape, including the Sumerian ziggurats and the Egyptian pyramids. The sole exception to this pattern was the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built by the Greeks. Unlike pyramids, the Lighthouse featured floors, windows, and tiers, making it undoubtedly more advanced and practical.
While the pyramids were undoubtedly impressive for their time, they weren't the pinnacle of ancient engineering. Exploring the interior of the Great Pyramid, for instance, doesn't reveal large open spaces like arches domes or vaults, highlighting their functional limitations. Even the Egyptians, after Giza, ceased constructing large pyramids, likely due to the realization that it wasn't economically sustainable and represented a significant waste of resources. What practical use does a pyramid serve anyway? It's essentially just a stack of rocks. Consequently, they shifted their focus to constructing large temples, which, despite also being religious structures, provided usable space with features like columns and halls. The Egyptians had to resort to using numerous interior columns to prevent the roof from collapsing, as they lacked the keystone arch technology.
In comparison, structures like the Lighthouse of Alexandria or the Roman aqueducts are undeniably more advanced and practical than pyramids. Yet, curiously, discussions around lost ancient high technology rarely include them."
@@adriantuesta1012 also the hand-waving about "precision cuts" is just empty nonsense - its called finish, its not done when cutting, and the powder from the cutting is what is used for the finish sanding
You can use an Archimedes screw to transport water upwards
@@360ODYSY
Archimedes was the inventor.
He lived 2000 years later.
@@adriantuesta1012 fully agree.
Watched the documentary about the Architect’s internal ramp theory…Did they ever send anyone back up to “Bob’s corner”with an inspection camera to verify if it was hollow behind the block to verify the ramp? That would take an hour and it’s been like 5-10 years…
What's this notification... new Ancient Architect's video. Don't mind if I do, made my evening.
Enjoy!
Made my morning 😂
I think that a wooden deck was fitted at the height of the raised sides. You can see where this would have locked in. And a counter weight was underneath where the stairs are now. This would have been used to pull stones up the deck. The step at the top is so that a block could have been pulled directly onto rollers or a sled.
The side stones in the walls are likely safety stops to avoid the stone sliding backwards
I think the gallery was ‘finished’ with some kind of decking. Stones infilled the holes in the wall (as these would be visible above the decking) but the slots in the floor just covered over.
@@AncientArchitectsit woukd make sense to be covered after, i bet the bottom secrion was greased and chipped from the counternweight so would have been best covered up. And still plenty of head room 😅😂
@@AncientArchitects But what about the grooves 5:39? Those had been made after filling the holes and would have been visible after the floor was laid.
@@MrLikeAsatellitemy thoughts was that these are grooves to house large stone blocks that would be put in place behind the sled as it was lifted. This would work as a safety mechanism to stop the sled sliding all the way back down if a rope snapped etc
I alwayss return to your channel...
Great respect for all u do,
Thanks for taking us with u on your journey all these years and keep an open mind.
❤
This is an elegant and beautiful explanation of the purpose of the grand gallery! It makes total sense given the evidence presented.
However the context is missing from the evidence. These people could cut and move blocks that dwarf the large granite blocks in the pyramid. And move them 100s of miles! They would not have needed to build the inside of the pyramid to lift a few little 70 ton granite blocks! The unfinished obelisk in the Aswan quarry would have needed to be lifted 50 feet into the air and moved over rough terrain and then 300 miles, and it weighs around 1000 tons. So why would 70 tons be a challenge. IT WOULDN'T.
@@edser_bDefinitely not a challenge, but a solution like Houdin's is 1) makes the construction quicker 2) and cheaper, as we all know, time is money, and all the workers were paid.
@@edser_b ......I would say they did all those things with devices. Devices we can no longer see or imagine. BUT I think the grand gallery is such a device. All the wood parts are gone but only the stone remains of this device. All others were made out of wood so that is why we have no proof of such machines/devices. "grand gallery lifting devices" could have been on the outside of the pyramid with the counterweights on the opposite side of the pyramid. Looking at the way they mastered stone one can only imagine the marvels they made in wood.
Nonsense.
The Pyramid of Khafre and the other pyramids doesn't have those kind of "constructional elevator" like the Grand Gallery. Yet, they are build without that "so much needed constructional elevator". By all means the ideas of Houdin are naive and fringe, especially his claims of the original purpose of the shafts - "holes for construction communication"...Please.
While other theories goes into other fringe territories, the ideas of Jean-Pierre Houdin are completely deprived of any esoteric drive and purpose, completely utilitarian and with that - blind.
But the later great pyramid of gaza lack a grand gallery, it feel very wasteful to build a very complicated counter wight system, if you do not "need" one.
A nice idea but one that does not make sense to me. If the purpose of the grand gallery was simply a slide or guideway for large granite stones to be raised to the height of the Kings Chamber, the efforts in its construction would seem to far outway the end result. And simply stating a 'counter-weight' mechanism was employed without showing where is was and how it worked, is a huge negative, as this is the balancing part of the whole mechanism. And did I see wheels and pulleys in the animation? So, without evidence of the counter-weight system - which would need to be opposite/in-line with the grand gallery - it remains as I said, a nice idea but one missing 50% of the evidence required. Or have I missed something? Regards from UK
The Pyramid of Khafre and the other pyramids doesn't have those kind of "constructional elevator" like the Grand Gallery. Yet, they are build without that "so much needed constructional elevator". By all means the ideas of Houdin are naive and fringe, especially his claims of the original purpose of the shafts - "holes for construction communication"...Please.
While other theories goes into other fringe territories, the ideas of Jean-Pierre Houdin are completely deprived of any esoteric drive and purpose, completely utilitarian and with that - blind.
@@МаркелСосипаторыч Non permanent counter-weight contraption could have been installed anywhere (if this was their technology in the first place) doing the same job. But nothing in a permanent oversized structural instability - as what the Grand Gallery is, screams utilitarianism, quite the opposite.
I have a problem with the amount of tension that would be on those ropes lifting a 60 ton block plus the mechanism *and* the lack of pulleys to guide this rope. Suppose you had to lift some heavy blocks up 10ft. You throw a large hemp rope over a tree branch above and attempt to lift it with the rope. If it was a 1 lb weight it wouldn't matter but if it is 100 lbs it will create excessive friction and be very difficult to move. This is why we have pulleys.
The "tree branch" rotated in the sockets.
I find it difficult to believe they didn't have pulleys. It is known that the Egyptians knew about wheels even if they didn't employ them en-mass, so it seems logical a wheel was used to reduce friction. You have to remember that they did not have decent bearing technology which made vehicles using wheels impractical, but this WOULD have been a practical use of a wheel, probably needing replacement frequently.
having basic pullies is one thing
the idea they could make advanced pullies able to deal with such weights is another thing entirely
the idea they could make pullies that could endure such a lifespan of work is crazier yet again
i can understand them managing to make a pully that might of worked a handful of times but 100'000s of times is nuts
@@knurlgnar24
The Rhind Papyrus (ca. 1650 BC) gives us insight into the mathematics of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians calculated the area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for π....almost a 1000 years after they are built...I speculate that they knew circles well before this time period thus the knowledge to construct the pulley...there is still more to the puzzle...@@knurlgnar24
The builders did have what were called "protopulleys" which were solid, pulley-like devices that lacked movable rollers but still guided the rope and reduced friction.
Loving your videos! Keep doing what you do! Much appreciated!
Amazing! Thanks for the presentation, thank you to Jean Pierre as well
I have been a long time subscriber... this video was the best in a long time -- and they are all good. Thanks for the details.
This makes so much more sense then huge Earthen ramps being installed and removed. I recently toured the Hoover Dam and their are many examples like this of construction structures that were removed after their use was over.
It reminds me of the slides found in deep level bunkers. Supplies and stretchers with casualties on would be lowered and pulled up with a winch.
The "how it was done", is fascinating. The "why it was done ", is mystical, and will forever be speculative.
power plant
Do we have any idea how the ropes of that length were made? The stretch on the ropes over that length given what they were hauling up would have been colossal.
The method of making rope well documented with lots of twisting & pulling and you need a really long, relatively flat, straight area to do it. It's possible the causeway from the Nile served a dual purpose besides a ramp for moving stone.
After finishing the master Design , in paper, With all the mathematics involved, the ropes were not a challenge
Diameter x diameter is your rope strength for fibre rope. Must be some massive ropes or alot of ropes to haul granite blocks up a shaft.
That was my first thought watching the videos is thinking what kind of rope they had back then that would withstand that kind of weight.
Wouldn't the friction from that grove destroy the ropes? I can buy the rope thing if they could manucfacture ropes that could withstand that kind of weight IF they were airborne in the contraption but touching that grove on the top? Sceptic.
Great video! The Grand Gallery is absolutely the most fascinating structure in the pyramid. I too like Houdin's overall conjecture about the GG, but it doesn't fully address the function of the niches. They still seem functionally unnecessary. The groove seems inadequately explained, as well. There is so much left to discover!
Great work Matt! There is a major issue with this theory: if they had the force & knowledge to build the Grand Gallery, why didn't they just simply built the King's Chamber? Seemingly the Grand Gallery is a far larger and in many ways even more complicated structure than the King's Chamber on its own... how did they build the Grand Gallery then? If they were capable to pull up those huge granite blocks to build the Grand Gallery, it does not make any sense to use it to build an even smaller structure. Secondly: if they used it as a counterweight system (which there are strong evidences for) and it was a functional part of the Great Pyramid, why didn't they stop at the minimum height they needed to pull up blocks (let's say one metre high or similar). What sense does it make to build it up to almost 9 metres high. Would you build a massive granite "chute" for a counterweight system in 47 metres length to build a 5 x 10 metre size chamber with some relieving chambers on top? Has anyone ever calculated how many m3 of granite was used to build the Grand Gallery? Is it more than what they used for building the King's Chamber? I think so. I am not aware of the sizes of the Grand Gallery's granite blocks but seemingly they are huge and I think they are even larger than the ones they used for the King's Chamber... or they build only the lower part to use it to pull up granite blocks and then they thought: guys, why don't we finish our counterweight system in a crazy way: let's build a 9 metre tall very complicated ceiling! What a great idea... sorry, do not mean to be over sarcastic but it is just not a realistic thing to do. Would you build a 9 metre tall inclining ceiling structure for a no longer needed "chute"? They could have narrowed this with limestone blocks, forming a similar passage way than the others and case closed. I do not mean to be disrespectful but for me this simply does not seem to be logical.
Thanks for thinking!
I considered this too. Why wasn't it filled in after it became defunct. My guess is that lowering stone is quite hard so it was just easier to cover it over, hence the narrowing. Only the biggest granite blocks are used to cover chambers as they are probably the hardest to cut, move and position.
In general, I absolutely agree with you. But I should note that the Grand Gallery is entirely built of limestone, there is not a single granite block. And I also want to note that if a counterweight was used to lift the blocks, then after each lifting cycle it was also necessary to raise the counterweight to its original position. And that required a lot of power.
You are right, my mistake, it is limestone. One reason more to bury it back / form a "normal" passage way.... It is just simply does not match the other structures in the pyramid and clearly no one would build such an enormous structure with no reason. If they were able to bring 50-70 tonnes granite blocks from Aswan, this last 100 m needed a complicated counterweight system to be built? We are fabricating theories because the Grand Gallery is THERE. I think where ever the Nile was 5000 years ago, it must have been an equally complicated job to bring the granite block from the harbour close to the pyramid but they did it, not to mention moving the blocks from the quarry to Giza plateau.... but we do not really care because there are no enigmatic buildings on the way....@@vladimira6999
Yep, and one must not forget to compare that to the other pyramids. They all should have a similar feature. But in some the corbelled spaces are just horizontal, or not there.
Matt, your stuff is always spectacular. I've been a fan of JP Houdin fr years now. Thanks for another exceptional installment in the never ending mystery of The Great Pyramid. Best!
Jean Pierre Houdin work is simply fantastic. Definitely, the best explanation so far about the construction of the Great Pyramid. The documentary about his studies and the model he developed is unmissable.
The only problem with his idea is that it is overly complex. He sees the grand gallery as the counterweight system for dragging granite stones up a SECOND ramp on the other side of the pyramid. The Egyptians would not have wasted human effort to build a second, even steeper ramp that would have made the area at the top even smaller for the movement of heavy granite stones and required even more effort to fill in afterward. Rather, they almost certainly would have built just the ONE ramp needed to lift the heavy weight they had to lift, instead of having to pull the huge counterweight up to the top over and over. Especially, if they could leave MOST of the ramp, UNFILLED, because it would be concealed by the pyramid itself. The most likely explanation is that the grand gallery itself IS the primary ramp for 90% percent of the construction and that it is, today, incomplete. That is the only reason it would need to align with the rest of the ascending passage…which originally was a continuation of the grand gallery that was then filled in once the stones were raised. The two shelf’s with all the sockets are obviously the guide rails for a sledge, with the slots made to accept braking brackets. The thing is, leverage is the trading of distance for power. And for the heaviest stones of the pyramid each of those 27 sockets likely represented the distance of a single lifting effort. The simplest means would have been with ropes and pulleys rove to high advantage and by simply having a chain of men running continuously to the top of the level of the top of the grand gallery ramp, while the riggers reset the ropes, and then having a couple hundred men grab loops on the rope ends and baskets full of stone tailings from workmen fitting stones, and literally stepping off the smooth side of the pyramid and dragging the ropes down the height of the kings chamber floor that would pull the sledge up to the next braking notch and the blocks set there to hold it for re-setting the ropes. The number of men for each lift would be determined by the weight of the stone being lifted… and ordinary 2 ton and under filling stones could likely be lifted ten or 15 at a time, or rigged to use the same number of men, with fewer sheaves to perhaps pull the lighter sledge loads up two of three braking sockets at a throw. If you simply continue the line of the ascending passage and grand gallery to daylight, it ends up just enough above the ground to meet a small ramp that would take the stones over the lip of the plateau to the ramp that must have been built from the canal at which the granite was unloaded. The radiometric survey that revealed what appears to be a second grand gallery above the first makes this being the remnant of the primary ramp even more likely, as the grand gallery lifted stones to the height of the kings chamber, but they would have needed a second ramp to lift the relieving chamber and gable stones to the top of the kings chamber. So they would have lifted most of the granite to the level of the Kings chamber floor and started building the walls and surrounding filling stone from there while filling in and roofing over the grand gallery and staging the granite for higher up over where the base of the second gallery would be formed. The thing about this idea is that the grand gallery is usable from day one, if it is the remnant of the primary lifting ramp. That is, as the pyramid is being built, the vast majority of stone is run up the grand gallery, even while it is still open to the sky on top. As the pyramid rises around it, it gets refined to be prepared for the heavier stones to come. The corbeling might even have been added later, as the size of the stones to be lifted grew smaller. Imagine it open to the sky the entire way to the kings chamber. Eventually corbeled from the lower end, up. To support the base of the second gallery.
Another fantastic video Matt. The best explanation of the grand gallery yet !!
I remember when I was there and I was the only one in the king's chamber for five/seven minutes and it was a profound experience I will never forget, the history just consume you, the famous ppl who's stood in that place and chufu him self, lying down in the sarcophagus with no one else around was just crazy and something very special, I made sure I didn't harm anything I took my trainers of and carefully laid down and the goosebumps was crazy, that place is so magical
Excellent hypothesis. But... why is the gallery so high and why tapered inward. Is this simply to enhance stability of the structure within the pyramid or is there a further function that is being missed?
Yeah, there sure is a lot of detail and precision on what is being proposed as work surfaces. Doesn't make sense to me, but I'm sitting here in a chair in San Diego. So who knows.
Has me scratching my head too. But I don’t understand how the relieving chambers relieve anything, either. I suspect it has something to do with the semi-rubble fill?
Tapered inwards: is believed to be a stabitlity feature. Straight walls at the maximum width, with a limestone covering the top, would not last with the weight of the stones on top of it. It would crack and collapse otherwise. Alternatively you could try to use harder stone, like granite and add stress releaving chambers on top of it (like what they did with the kings chamber).
"But I don’t understand how the relieving chambers relieve anything" -> They remove weight from the inner area, which would otherwise create a force at the center of the chamber roof, at its weakest spot. And direct this force to the outer "walls", which are sitting on top of massive, non-void-below stone. But the relieving system is over-engineered in this case (for the kings chamber); only one or two relieving chambers would have been required. It is unknown, why they added a couple more. It is possible, that they didn't know exactly, how many are actually needed, or they got nervous, because one of the largest granite roof stones received a crack during construction phase. So maybe they were worried and added more relieving chambers, to "rescue" (or protect) the cracked stone. It is possible, that the grand gallery has relieving chambers on top of it too. And maybe that's what the scan pyramid project revealed. But we will find out soon.
@@SchoolforHackers it's transferring force at an angle outwards, instead of straight down.
@@the_naP As a way to lighten the load directly above the chambers? Makes sense.
Very interesting video as always. I always watch everything related to the Great Pyramid. Your efforts are very much appreciated. Using concrete to "patch" up holes is exactly like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. Pure blasphemy.
what if the trolly was filled with water and not stones. the water could be removed at the bottom and returning the trolly to the top would take way less people and effort. just a thought. 8.43 lbs per gallon.
The holes for the beams which support the bridge having a deeper hole on one side! This had to be - so that a beam could be fitted across the with of the Grand Gallery. Without one of the holes being deeper - it would be impossible to fit the beams across. The evidence is very compelling- the best explanation I have ever seen!
Spot on... those cut-outs allow full width beams be set into the stone.
the best explanation for the grand gallery Ive heard of so far!
Hi Matthew! Another amazing video!
I like the theory presented by Houdin a few years ago and it seems to bring new concepts to the immense engineering challenge of building a huge structure
with supposedly rudimentary tools. However, there is still a lot to be analyzed and considered. The second gallery is plausible because with just the
large gallery that we know it would still be a colossal task as it would require suspending the immense slabs for the stress relief chambers.
I would still like to find some study on how it was possible to suspend huge blocks of stone with the supposed ropes available at the time along
with systems of pulleys, rollers, cranes... Hundreds of meters of extremely resistant cables would be needed...
I think the friction alone on the wooden sleds would wear the sliders out too quickly.the friction alone would make it heat up expand and get stuck in the stone runners ,especially if the tolerances were tight. Was just a thought and awesome video 👍
What wood were the runners made from? Did the builders know nothing about friction? Could they have used some form of grease or even water to lubricate the runners? Did none of this cross your mind before you posted?
@@DoogukAll right calm down.
@@mw5360 And you are?
If you watched the video like the rest of us, the hypothesis and demo videos demonstrate use of roller logs, not sliding at the bottom but rolling. The edge guides would slide though and need lubrication and occasional attention/maintenance, but wouldn't be supporting the bulk of the weight.
I totally agree, those "score marks" are irrefutably formwork impressions!
Imagine if the upper void still has everything intact from the counter weight system?!?! They could have pulled the wood from the grand gallery and used it above, and when they were done with it, just filled it all in.
Being just 6 minutes in, a theory that I could point out for those niches going up the grand gallery, is to use them as a sort of early design of a Pawl on a winch or ratchet, in order to lock something in place while they hoisted it up to the Kings chamber.
Nice - I think Houdin is right that it was used to aid construction, but maybe there are other ways to interpret the evidence as to exactly how it functioned
I was thinking the same thing as I was watching it. It could have been a bracing mechanism to keep it from sliding backwards or to shorten the distance required with each pull up.
I imagine some sort of brake would be a necessity for the case where pulling ropes broke or other failure. Hook and pawl is by far the easiest solution and just needs an axe to make it
Totally agree, and it would be a relatively simple design to slot in and pull out easy. A shallow wedge with the back facing down the Gallery would do it.
Right. The counterweight sliding down the ramp pulled large blocks up the other side of the pyramid, but then you have the counterweight at the bottom and it needs to go back to the top to pull another stone and you then have the same problem of how do you drag it back up there? Lever and ratchet system that would need long levers to deliver enough force need height to swing through each step until the ratchet engages to hold the weight so the levers can be lowered back down to take another 'bite' from the next notch.
That way only a small number of men would be able to exert great force to raise the counterweight which then would do it's job and pull up another outer stone. That's pretty clever of them and from what I've seen....the best explanation for the details found in there today. Really they need to get into the upper 'void' and see what's there as it would likely be pristine just as it was left after construction and before millennia of people slowly defaced it. After Mamun got inside these generations of visitors could have stripped any and all wood in the Grand Gallery leaving nothing for us to find today. Fascinating stuff!!!
8:04 this strikes me as the kind of damage that may be caused whilst trying to remove a large plug-stone in order to get leverage on it.
HOW do we STILL NOT KNOW what’s in the Great Void?!? Sooooooo annoying.
Right? I've got a feeling we'll never know. That's not to say that Egypt's antiquities department won't eventually get inside somehow and figure it out, but I very highly doubt the general public ever will. I think a great sign that they've finally managed to get inside the void would be the complete shutdown of the Giza complex to the public. If people suddenly aren't allowed anywhere near it, something was clearly discovered.
I guess the Egyptian authorities don't allow anyone to do it in the first place? Idk how all that works. Who does one get permission from to try to discover what's in there?
That's where all the treasure is and the king sarcophagus down the hallway of the great void to the real Kings chamber
@@aceloco817They tightly control everything.
Ainda olhando esta simulação do trenó no interior da grande galeria ...
Bom , e qual mecanismo foi utilizado para elevar as pedras que compõe a própria galeria ?
Antes da instalação do sistema de contra peso ...
O mecanismo não estaria presente em todas as etapas onde existem pedras de grande volume também .
Sem contar que a grande galeria está abaixo da cobertura do teto da câmara do rei e as câmaras de alívio superiores .
Não seria aplicável as pedras de cobertura da câmara da rainha ...
Ótimo , não temos a resposta !!!
Parabéns pelo vídeo , sucesso sempre !!!
Best video so far, I really enjoyed it. Congrats on the 1/2 million subs, your hard work has paid off 👍👍
Thank you 🙏
@@AncientArchitects thank you for confidently updating your knowledge every video, learn every day takes an open mind and common sence 🙏
Cant remember if I commented this here already, but if the void is a 'second grand gallery' and it is lined up above the grand gallery then the stones below it will have to be clearly purpose built for supporting more than just the gallery.
It would have to clearly divert pressure around the 1st grand gallery, whereas if it was just a passage it could possibly get away with no further structural support.
Anyways with these graphs its difficult to get a 3d picture, what I said only applies if the 2nd gallery really is right above the grand gallery. If it is offset by a couple meters then they could support it straight down like any other space.
It’s much older than 5000 years.
15666bc
The irregular spacing of the slots in the gallery would imply the wheel spacing of the trolley was not even. So instead of having wheels at equal distances the wheels were instead at irregular distances. If the wheel spacing was not equal then the slots would also need to be irregular so you could stop the trolley at any point in the gallery. For example so you have put three wheels on one side of the trolley then on the other side of the trolley you put four wheels. This would spread weight out in a irregular distribution. I am not sure what advantage that would give you.
Houdans explanation makes a great deal of sense
I agree
It implies stone blocks were scratched by wooden planks. What sort of "making sense" are we talking about?
As coisas podem ser muito mais simples práticas e funcinais do que se pensa , não é necessário complicar ainda mais o mistério que envolve as pirâmides ...
Video fantástico abaixo :
L'énigme des Pyramides résolu par Hérodote
Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
Im far from any kind of expert (even as a student layperson), but find Houdin's hypothesis the most compelling. Not only does it solve turning the problem of the blocks turning the corners, but does so in the most elegant and least labor intensive way (Occam's Razor), -at least compared with other methods Ive seen suggested.There are also marks in the stone the ropes and sleds would have left.
I know it’s not important at all, but I noticed at 8:03, I have that same dehumidifier! Was a great purchase after my house flooded. Anyone ever needs one that brand makes them really well!
Ola , bom dia ,
Simplesmente fantástico vídeo , fascinante a riqueza de detalhes !
Muito importante evidenciar os detalhes , principalmente aquilo que foi "apagado" pelas restaurações ao longo do tempo , isso contribui para um possível esclarecimento sobre a grande pirâmide .
Parabéns !!!
Gostaria muito da sua opinião sobre este outro vídeo a construção da grande pirâmide :
Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops .
Ótimo trabalho !
Sucesso sempre !
Thank you for this fine video. Makes a lot of sense. A bit weird that Egyptian authorities are so protective of their ancient heritage - rightfully so - but maybe damaged one of the most important stones in the whole pyramid: the great step.
Shalom. I am so excited to watch this! Thank you!
Thanks
As a nobody with an opinion, the grand gallery ramp always looked like a rock elevator/slide system to me. If it was a stairway, there would be steps. The worn stone at the top of the ramp is where the rope slides. The holes in the walls look like a support structure anchor. The big void will turn out to be the other, as yet undiscovered elevator for the stones at the top of the pyramid.
Ancient Egyptians rarely build incline tunnels or incline structures with steps. Most inclining tunnels or passages into pyramids, tombs and whatnot, were build without any steps.
They either added them through additions (like wooden staircases), that were later removed (or lost) or never used them in the first place and instead just added a couple of wooden beams at some spots, to give people some kind of safe way for going in and out.
The most interesting of all the rooms.
Your passion for this topic is inspiring. Thanks for the excellent work. I think I saw the issue with the "repaired" step on a History for Granite video. Can't imagine the thinking process involved with that decision.
Has anyone built a physical )not digital) scale model of this to see how well it would work? Say 1/8 scale with blocks 1/8 weight with 1/8 human strength. Finding or making a grease that would be appropriate may be difficult.
Khufu did... :P
When a Steel cables snap on lifting a 3 TON block, do you really think a hemp rope is going to lift a 70 TON Megablock?
@@fennynough6962depends on how high you are. o_O
@fennynough6962 hemp ropes are stronger/ more durable than steel cables, they have a higher breaking strength and less prone to snapping due to tension
@@billywright7259 Sure! Must be some good herb your smoking there!
Possibly the grand gallery was the sight of a geared pulley, sort of resembling a heavy wagon wheel with no rim, and the spokes spaced to go into the niches. . The niches were there to lock in the base of a rolling pulley/gear. The top would've been pulled downward along the gallery, the bottom would have "Teeth" that would go into the niches, and the center would have a spool to pull some sort of heavy rope. it would have an incredible mechanical advantage
Houdins explanation looks built on solid foundations.
I’m no architect so this is just a question:
Couldn’t the newly discovered chamber act as the opposite end of the pulley so the workers pulled from the same side as the entrance? There already are 3 rollers in the antechamber and more could have been placed above towards the void. There wouldn’t be a need for “backdoor” passages in the king’s chamber.
Fantastic content as always Matt, thanks for taking the time to put this together.
The short and long grooves sounds like it was used to use as beam pulleys to pull a large rope in between them, spreading the weight on the beams instead of fully straight up.
Houdin hypotheses is very complicated
So is the pyramid
Don’t forget Matt that the gallery walls you saw have been cleaned, since I was there so my ‘bit’ retains the original surface. The pictures pre 1990 show a much darker and flaky surface on the walls of the gallery. Mart.
A ramp with a 6% incline leading up to the Pyramid? You have no idea how big that would be. It would be a construction on par with the great pyramid and there would be massive evidence.
One of the visualisation videos shows a colossal ramp with vertical sides - how on earth would this retaining wall withstand the horizontal forces??
Given that this ramp is not supposed to go all the way up, but only to a height of ca. 50 meters, such a ramp would be 478 meters long. This ramp would also go to the center of the pyramid, while the half the pyramid width would also cover this ramp. So the ramp would ultimately only be 363 meters long outside of the pyramid. Not impossible.
Must have been aliens.
I’m joking. Calm down.
@@dnocturn84Francamente ... fantasioso e fabuloso de mais .
Uma bonita simulação pra encher os olhos , mais na prática insustentável .
A manipulação dos 3 plug's já é por si só um grande enigma .
Na realidade a melhor explicação que já vi sobre isso é o vídeo abaixo :
Simples prática e perfeitamente possível .
Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops .
Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
@@jgzambel5261 Oh, I'm not saying that the ramp-theory is actually true, nor am I supporting this idea. I am only saying, that a ramp like this isn't impossible and won't result in being too large, like the original comment claimed it to be.
And I guess it is also important to mention, that I am refering to a ramp in addition to what is shown or proposed in the video. Older "ramp-only" theories (or some of them, at least) will actually result in extremly large ramps, which would be unrealistic indeed. Thank you!
11:06 The depiction of a colossal statue being pulled on a sledge from the tomb of Djehutihotep shows only about 200 workers. Also, a few hundred people simply pulling on a rope hardly require much coordination.
hundreds of workers just pulling on ropes is just an excuse and make NO sense. Pulling where to, up a ramp with incline? up to what ? an unrealistic fictious 'ramp' corkscrewing around the pyramid? Absolutley doesnt work. No egyptologist has ever explained the main building features correctly, it takes a real engineer/architect to understand and explain every feature.
1:00 I think there could be a secret entrance, the top block looks different!
I think the niches must have had a very important function because they are the only places in the entire pyramid where it looks like perhaps the original idea didn’t quite work and they had to chisel out some extra stonework and infil later. That’s the feeling I get looking at them.
I too believe there could well have been a horizontal passage across from the entrance. Perhaps now filled in with blocks. The one less corbel on the North wall is one piece of evidence (I just learnt this, thanks) as is the thin block, the thinnest in the grand gallery? That sits just below the lowest corbel on the north wall there.
My favorite video yet! Thanks so much!
There are those who see a large massive object and think …impossible to move. There are those who see a large massive object and think…where’s the balance point. Ancient Egyptians developed a relationship with stone which allowed them to more or less manipulate them at Will. So it makes perfect sense that they understood the value of Force Multiplication. A clue to this comprehension is the angle of the Gallery Ramp.
Brilliant and wonderful video.. It all made so much sense mechanically.. Thank you for all your hard work! Another great video..
Since hearing the hypothesis from J-P Houdin, I’ve became a believer that the grand gallery was a ramp and shaft for some counter weight contraption. The slots for some sort of attachment, the scratch marks, etc made total sense and is a simple explanation. I just struggle to think such engineering was only to carry the granite stones for the kings chambers. This gallery could be the machinery to build the whole thing. Maybe not just one gallery but 2 or 3. Maybe others still hidden? With the counter weight and pulleys they could simply lifts the counter weight with few men, a long rope, then release the counter weight to lift heavy stones with a short rope. Makes total sense and it is very plausible
Then it does not need to be a pulley as today, wood logs would suffice. Just need to rope to have several loops and you divide the force. The you have the counter weights to pull stone without loops, just a straight rope.
The “braking” system could be used to block the counter weight the time they attache the stone block to a straight rope, then the would release the counter weight and just control its descent with the pulleys system. Amazing that the “professional” archeologists have not proposed a model like this, based on the evidence
Francamente ... fantasioso e fabuloso de mais .
Uma bonita simulação pra encher os olhos , mais na prática insustentável .
A manipulação dos 3 plug's já é por si só um grande enigma .
Na realidade a melhor explicação que já vi sobre isso é o vídeo abaixo :
Simples prática e perfeitamente possível .
Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops .
Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
Oh wow.... GREAT INTRO Matt!
Thank you 🙏
Wow this makes sense more than anything! With block and tackle and the right rigging this explains so much as to how they moved some of the biggest stones and I am sure it was pure genius at work
Great video Matt! I'm always stunned that we are talking about building that is at least 4,500 years old...
One of the best videos I about pyramid construction I've seen so far 👌
Grand gallery as some kind of inner ramp instead of a giant outdoor ramp, I estimate that not unlikely, makes sense. 😀
Thanks for sharing this interesting content 👍
My respect for the ancient architects (both!)
I wonder if anyone has ever flipped the sarcophagus from the king's chamber over to see if there's anything inscribed underneath?
Yes they did , it was written : made in China!
@@Pectoups 😂😂😂😂😂
yes, it says :"this side up"
Yes, strangly was written ...."42"
It has a middle finger inscribed
This is actually the best explanation I've ever heard and I've been crazy about Egypt my entire life, so I've heard all sorts of explanations.
great theory much to think about .
Indeed, cheers!
The little niches along each side of the grand gallery's base were used as Emergency BRAKES. If the heavy weight were to break the rope or side out of control, the stones or wooden board would only catch it within a few meters. This would stop run away granite blocks from crushing workers pulling from the other side.
Good theory. How were the brakes activated?
@@brucebowers-c5y They used a weighted sled, along with a pulley system to move the heavy granite up the exterior of the pyramid. On the sled, they had built wooden beams that would be raised and lowered to give control of this heavy weight.
Absolutely mind boggling!
Oh! it's buautiful grandioso ! I would feel nobody explains how beautiful Grand Gallery constructed, forever.
Amazing Episode. Thank you!
Thanks 🙏
All very ingenious. I went to the VR simulation thing 'Horizon of Khufu' the other day, that takes you into the pyramid virtually. The Grand Gallery definitely struck me as something that accommodated a mechanism of some sort, with something sliding up and down those slots. A funicular kind of arrangement to assist with the lifting of the massive megaliths to cap the King's chamber certainly makes sense. I wondered what was done with the weights in the hypothetical device, and how they were gotten out and those doubling as the plugging stones would be very clever as a solution. That still leaves the problem of how they were gotten in in the first place, of course.
If they had pulleys the grand gallery counter weight hypothetical equipment would make moving stones around much faster
Pulley-type objects have been found at Giza!
@@AncientArchitectsI would love to hear more about these pulley mechanisms. I know that there are some hieroglyphics that kinda look like an overhead pulley system but I cannot remember where I saw it. I will look for it and share it with you when I find it. I have always wondered about it but never heard it mentioned anywhere.
@@AncientArchitects With axle, or just a round thing?
Did they have strong enough rope though
I personally don't need any more evidence than the shape of the Great Step to know that there was indeed a sled running up and down the gallery. Anyone who's ever done any work with cables or ropes knows that abrasion pattern.
Hi Matt, I did some research on the length vs. weight of modern ropes. In Houdins model (at 12:22) - in the pulley-system - he applies ropes that have to be at least 200 meters long. Modern nylon rope of 6 cm thickness weighs 10 kg per meter. So rope used by Egyptians must have been at least the same weight or more. So a rope of 200 meters weighs at least 2 (!) tons on its own. So please ask Houdin when you talk to him, how that is practical to use ropes that are so long and so heavy. It doesn't make any sense when you do the math. Looking forward to Houdins answer!
I watched a documentary about the great Pyramid as a youngster and the great step was featured and it was suggested that ropes to haul the stones into the pyramid had worn out the great step into a smooth v shape and an old black and white photo of the great step with the wear was extremely convincing because it was so worn that it looked shiny smooth !
Must have been some strong rope.
Jepp! To lift a 60 tonne block you would need a hemp rope of about 90 mm diameter or 3.5 inches. On a thirty degree slope that would be reduced to about 65 mm or 2.5 inches. Way to big for pulling by hand! Now imagine that 1000 tonne stone left in the quarry! Got go have a lot of ropes to pull that one up!!!!😊
Thank you for another brilliant video!
Danke. ❤
🙏
Wow. Thanks for this great explanation.
very cool.
👍
The amount of forethought and planning in the giza pyramids is staggering. As impressive as their construction.
hi, Matt! very interesting! and, so far, the best hypothesis i've heard. those ancient Egyptians were well versed in their construction methods....so this is not surprising, to me. sure would be cool if this can be confirmed in my life time!
you keep making these vids and i'll keep watching......ok?!?! next time, dude
Hey floyd 👋🏼
@@lynnmitzy1643 hi, Lynn! been offline since 2. how are you?
Very interesting indeed, and sounds like a good starting hypothesis. May need to fully investigate all unexplored areas because who knows if they are crucially interrelated. For a start the Void needs to be looked into - - - WAY before stuff like restoration. Expert consolidation of crumbling areas to prevent further disintegration might be OK, but restoration should NEVER be done on any original artifact still being studied, it's like tidying up the furniture at a crime scene.
I think the Grand Gallery is a counterweight elevator shaft to help lift large stones during the middle part of construction. There is a perimeter ramp to finish the top part of construction.
Thanks Matt! I have been revealing Grand Gallery 2 in my work also. The area where my channel differs from you and Douglas and others is that I look for the symbolic - and most important - meaning of the structure. Just as you said that any physical explanation for the structure must take into account all the various dimensions and niches, the same is true for a symbolic interpretation. And nobody - mainstream Egyptologists, history buffs like you, and esoteric thinkers have even held a candle to its symbolic interpretation. Let us remember that this structure - this Wonder of the World - came from a society fixated on making it to Heaven, in preparing a tomb and mummification for the next life. They did not build their theology on mechanics, counterweights, or wooden rollers. I have an overarching religious motif that fits almost all the pieces of the puzzle. It is more than a feat of engineering. It is truly scripture in stone, with a message for the ages worthy of its largesse. Thanks again for a great video, presented with the usual professionalism.
well symbolic doesnt solve the mechanics, architectural problems..the ancient egyptians still had to build it in the first place.
Very true. But the symbolism - its meaning - is far more important.
Amazing!
Enjoy
Houdin must be correct as to the mechanical function of the Grand Gallery and his scheme has plausibility. However, the Ascending Passage couldn't act as both entry to the pyramid AND simultaneously the housing for the counterweight blocks I believe are now at the bottom of this 'passage' or the ingenious roller mechanism shown in the video. So the problem really becomes that of accepting the TRUE entry to the pyramid which was the so-called Abandoned Entry on the north face to complete the puzzle, where people both entered and exited the pyramid, standing upright and walking on the level and not having to crouch to enter and go up a long 'ascending passage' which is actually the shaft housing some sort of mechanical counterweights.
The abandoned entry is where construction materials - including the massive granite beams and don't forget people and goods - were hauled into the pyramid straight on up a ramp from the desert floor. The camera snaked behind this entry and found a corridor like room, and closed off at one end which if extended abuts the North Face of the Grand Gallery at the top of the header going over the ascending passage. This is where the granite beams entering the pyramid were pulled straight through the entry corridor and THEN onto the waiting trolly for transportation to the King's Chamber. The V in the landing could have been deliberately carved to assist the efforts to drag the beams off the trolley or if not deliberately carved could have worn the landing in that area by continuous off loading, or it could have accommodated the rope that was the part of the mechanism. By the way the Ascending Passage was reinforced at intervals with granite framing; I believe that this was to make sure that the heavy granite beams coming through the corridor above did not distort and bind the three granite blocks in their function as traveling counterweights (they were not really designed to seal entry to the structure). When the pyramid was formally closed the trolley was indeed dismantled and the north face of the Grand Gallery closed off and filled in with about 100 feet of rubble, all under the double chevroned structural beams roofing the whole corridor and signified by the double chevrons over the main entry as seen on the front of the pyramid.
And this 'Abandoned' entry is where the final human parties exited the pyramid when it was closed. OUT THE GREAT BIG FRONT DOOR. One of the most frankly slack-jawed stupid theories I have ever heard making the rounds is the answer to the question how did the work and funeral parties get out of the structure if the 'ascending passageway' was plugged with granite blocks by these 'brilliant engineers' ? Answered variously as 'They must have crawled out the well tunnel!' 'There must be a hidden circuit of exit passageways extending from Khufu's Chamber (that do not appear in the muons)'. The entry corridor, by contrast DOES appear in the muon scans. That corridor solves the problem! Accept the 'Abandoned Entry' as the answer if one wanted to leave in dignity out the the Big Front Door out of the pyramid on the north face, and down the ramp to the plateau. This not to mention the stupendous problem of hauling everything into the pyramid by forcing things up the ceiling of the descending passage once it supposedly entered the pyramid in the currently accepted entry extending into the structure in the hatch under the Abandoned entry - this lower entry was the TRUE abandoned entry to the structure. Bring everyone and everything through the big front door!
Getting back to the trolley, this mechanism was used when the granite beams had been pulled to their staging area at the junction of the Grand Gallery with the entry corridor. People stood at the same location. The trolley appears to have solved the problem of easily hauling heavy granite up the structure but it had to have multiple functions, accomodating people and goods as well as granite. But in this scheme not only are there no exits for people but no apparent entries in the pyramid. It is not even clear how they get higher up into structure to begin with except up the Grand Gallery on the elevator. Because the muons did NOT reveal any further spaces or the famous ramps posited to be part of the construction scheme for the pyramid, Houdin has run out of ways to bring people and goods into the structure except by the Big Front Door. So quit dodging the entry issue because without it there is no other sensible route that makes this structure work architecturally. SZ BA MA Art History and Architecture.
Great vid, Matt.
Thanks
Great video and the transport ramp with brake system was the way my thoughts where going after a few minutes. Great idea at the end with the newly discovered void also being a transport chute. But why would you build it directly above the other one? Surely it would be better to have it going off at a different 90° direction to avoid having it directly above the lower one and a potential weakness. Might be possible that the long groove half way up the chamber was where a second floor was built in for the workers to walk up and down. Only needs to be a thin wooden floor if just for people.
Francamente ... fantasioso e fabuloso de mais .
Uma bonita simulação pra encher os olhos , mais na prática insustentável .
A manipulação dos 3 plug's já é por si só um grande enigma .
Na realidade a melhor explicação que já vi sobre isso é o vídeo abaixo :
Simples prática e perfeitamente possível .
Le principe K . I . S . S . appliqué a la construction de la pyramide de Khéops .
Obrigado , sucesso sempre !!!
Do we actually know if such relatively long and thick and sturdy ropes existed at that time ?
Examples of thick rope have been found. There is an exhibit in the Cairo Museum (or there used to be)
ye, its almost absurd...the biggest blocks weigh like up to 800T. in the chamber just around 100T max but still.
@@AncientArchitects 100-200 meter ropes? It's...absurd
@@Dumber0The largest blocks do *NOT* weigh 800T, they don't even weigh 80T.
Matt, when you were in the pyramid in September '23, could you get into the Queen's Chamber?
The gate was padlocked shut when I was there in July '23, June '22 and May '11.