New research has concluded that a lost arm of the Nile helped the ancient Egyptians build the Pyramids of Giza, making it easier for workers to transport building materials and stones.
Archaeological discoveries suggest that the Nile had an additional tributary that flowed through the pyramids, but now that soil cores have been analyzed it has been shown that “early water bodies and high river levels” pushed the builders of the pyramids of Giza forward, writes a research team. An article published on August 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research sheds light on how the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure were raised to such great heights thanks to the now extinct Khufu tributary, which remained at high water during the reigns of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure . transportation of building materials to the pyramids of Giza.
Researchers have known for decades that Khufu’s ancient branch reached the Giza plateau in ancient times, but the new project aims to find out exactly how water levels have changed over the past 8,000 years.
In May 2019, the team excavated five cores in the Giza floodplain to reconstruct the Nile’s past. The researchers measured the amount of pollen found in different parts of the cores to determine how pollen levels changed over time.
The authors of the study wrote that periods with abundant water should contain more pollen than periods when it is dry.
Pollen analysis revealed that when the ancient Egyptians were building the pyramids at Giza, there was plenty of water for the Khufu branch to flow near the Giza pyramids.
“It was a natural aqueduct during the Fourth Dynasty when the pyramids were built,” lead author Hader Shisha, a natural geographer at the University of Aix-Marseille in France, told Live Science .
Noting that the water level was important for the construction of the pyramid, Shisha said, “Without the arm of Khufu and without a good level to provide adequate shelter for boats carrying such ships, it would be very difficult, if it is not impossible, to build the pyramids. with heavy blocks of stone.”
It is not clear when exactly the branch disappeared, but research has shown that 2400 years ago, the water level in the branch was very low, according to the researchers.
In their paper, the team noted that the findings fit well with earlier archaeological findings that revealed a port near the pyramids, as well as ancient papyrus records detailing workers bringing limestone to by boat to Giza.
Source: Life Sciences
Source: Arabic RT
