Why not try to build an exact copy of the Great Pyramid, stone for stone, with today's tech?

Won't happen for the simple reason that it is so uneconomically feasible that no one is going to put up the money (particularly materials and labor) to build such a thing.

The ROI (return on investment) numbers would never come close to a feasible enterprise.

An intriguing thought-experiment - but nothing more. But thanks for posting - it put a smile on some faces around here...

Give me some slaves, some stone, and some time, I could rebuild the great pyramid of Giza. I'll tell you why. It's not that complex.

I know, you all want to believe it's something fantastic. There's gotta be something more to this world, right? # not working out for you to well, that's ok, there's a more fantastic world that renders this one irrelevent, right? That's why you need Jesus Christ in your life, stop wasting it seeing # that isn't there.

What is building a pyramid? Well, in its simplest form, it's moving heavy stones. Have you ever moved something heavy? Yeah, it's a really intense version of that.

Now, have we, as human beings, ever been confounded by moving heavy #? No, we haven't. We've carved statues into big mountains, we've invented things that all we have to do is step on a peddle, and we are propelled at great speeds wherever we want to go. Moving heavy #? What about the Ancient Egyptians makes you believe that they're all retarded?

www.hardcorepolitics.com...
Read it. Shut up and read it. Think it's wrong, that means you're wrong, and need to read it again while not being stupid.

hello I see you have traveled in the east!! or have you? if so... you would have recieved wages of a master ...what are those wages? or are you an imposter to our order?

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
3: there is actually no evidence that the hebrew people in egypt were enslaved, the only place where we have documentation of it is in the bible

A couple of interesting points about "Hebrew Slaves in Egypt" that nobody remembers to mention:
1: Pretty much every ancient civilization practiced slavery...The best way to gain more slaves was through war with other nations.
2: Hebrews weren't the only ethnic race represented within Egypt's slave population.

However, your mention that the vast majority of workers on the Pyramids was correct: They were free Egyptians, working for wages (mostly beer & bread, supplemented with some meat & other little bonuses besides).
I have little doubt that at least some of the hard labor (such as moving stone blocks) would have been done by slaves: Even so, people who are skilled as farmers would be considered as "unskilled" in large-scale stone building projects.
However, it had to be trained & experienced artisans who actually carved the stone blocks into the proper dimensions, dressed the stones so that they would fit properly & smoothly, figured out how to move them into such nearly-perfect positions, etc. Also, we should include a small city's worth of people who had to produce & process the food & tools that were used in the whole job: After all, you can't keep that many hands working without putting tools into those hands & food into their bellies!

Originally posted by Outrageo
Won't happen for the simple reason that it is so uneconomically feasible that no one is going to put up the money (particularly materials and labor) to build such a thing.
The ROI (return on investment) numbers would never come close to a feasible enterprise.

But as Byrd pointed out earlier, someone did figure out how to get their ROI out of it! Just take a good look in Las Vegas!

[edit on 3-12-2006 by MidnightDStroyer]

Originally posted by Telos
Besides to lift rocks that wheight 200 tons you need a huge crane and today in the world there are only 4 cranes capable of lifting such wheight.

theres loads of cranes that can lift way over 200 tons, biggest mobile crane i'v seen could lift 300tons and i'm sure theres bigger ones

JUNE 1999 CIVIL ENGINEERING MAGAZINE
Photos by Andy Ryan Craig B. Smith, P.E. A process of forensic
analysis that applied modern-day technology to bridge the chasm of
time provides some surprising answers to the question of how the
Great Pyramid at Giza was built.


The construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza is one of the marvels
of the ancient world. Originally 481 ft (147 m) high—the top 30 ft (9
m) have been lost to the ravages of time—the pyramid rests on a base
that covers an area of 13.1 acres (5.3 ha), incorporates 3.4 million
cu yd (2.6 million m3) of material, and is roughly two-thirds the
size of Hoover Dam. For centuries mankind has wondered how the early
Egyptians were able to accurately level the site, position enormous
blocks of limestone and granite—some weighing as much as 20 tons (18
Mg)—and then construct the immense structure with great precision in
terms of both its dimensions and orientation.

In addition to the construction challenges the project posed, it
required a sophisticated approach to program and construction
management. The project entailed the staging of a remarkable
construction undertaking that required the marshaling of vast amounts
of materials from all over the Egyptian kingdom; the feeding,
housing, and payment of thousands of workers; and the scheduling of
the work for timely completion—that is, prior to the death of the
pharaoh.

Working closely with leading Egyptologists in both Egypt and the
United States—most notably, Mark Lehner, an Egyptologist with the
Harvard Semitic Museum—a team of construction managers with the
international architectural, engineering, and construction management
firm Daniel, Mann, Johnson, & Mendenhall (DMJM) performed a forensic
analysis to determine the construction methods and construction
management techniques that were employed by the ancient Egyptians in
constructing the Great Pyramid. By applying modern program management
and construction management methods the project team developed a
number of interesting insights into centuries-old mysteries
concerning the size of the workforce, the duration of construction,
and the design of the construction ramp.

Khufu's pyramid, which is often referred to as the Great Pyramid, is
a structural marvel. The remains of an ancient construction ramp are
visible in the foreground. Craig Smith (at left) and noted
Egyptologist Mark Lehner stand in the remains of the workers'
village, which Lehner excavated. Program management is the science and
practice of managing large private and public projects. DMJM
functions as the program manager for projects around the globe,
managing large, complex programs for clients in both the public and
private sectors. The logistical issues—making certain everything
comes together at the right time, in the right quantity, with the
right quality—are among the greatest challenges of these projects and
become the major preoccupation of the program manager. To clearly
illustrate the complex activities undertaken by a program manager in
today's environment, DMJM sought a compelling example that would be
familiar to most people. Someone commented, "If you think managing
today's projects is complex, try building the Great Pyramid!" And
thus, our project—Program/Construction Management in 2550 b.c.:
Building the Great Pyramid at Giza—was born. Initially, our goal was
simply to identify the major steps that a hypothetical program
manager would have undertaken to construct the Great Pyramid at Giza.
We asked the team of construction managers to visualize the work that
would be required so that we could prepare logic diagrams, schedules,
and other tools of the program manager.

Read the rest here:
www.pubs.asce.org...

No aliens required!