A great deal is known about Egyptian pyramid quarry sites, tools used in their construction, tran... more A great deal is known about Egyptian pyramid quarry sites, tools used in their construction, transportation of stones from the quarries to the pyramids, and the leveling of stones. However, there is a dearth of information concerning the process of lifting of the blocks from the ground onto the pyramid’s superstructure. While ramps are the most widely accepted method, it is an incomplete approach because ramping cannot lift the blocks at the top of the pyramid. Most Egyptologists suggest that a form of a levering device should accompany ramps to form an amalgamated method. Unfortunately, there are no experimental tests demonstrating that a levering device, composed of materials and technology available to the pyramid builders, can function to lift a block in the limited space available at the top of the superstructure. My study involved a levering device designed to work with ramps to construct the top of the pyramid. My objective was to construct and build a working lever, by encasing its design within the framework of technologies and materials available to the ancient xiii Egyptian pyramid builders. Testing this lever entailed the fabrication of many models; tests with weights greater than 5560 pounds; and a large-scale experiment that raised a 2530-pound block up one tier in under a minute.
Resolving Historical Contentions through Archaeology. Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Conference of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), Vancouver, Canada., 2017
Invited paper at the Twentieth Annual Moroccan Studies Symposium for U.S. Fulbright Grantees, Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE), Rabat, Morocco., 2013
A great deal is known about Egyptian pyramid quarry sites, tools used in their construction, tran... more A great deal is known about Egyptian pyramid quarry sites, tools used in their construction, transportation of stones from the quarries to the pyramids, and the leveling of stones. However, there is a dearth of information concerning the process of lifting of the blocks from the ground onto the pyramid’s superstructure. While ramps are the most widely accepted method, it is an incomplete approach because ramping cannot lift the blocks at the top of the pyramid. Most Egyptologists suggest that a form of a levering device should accompany ramps to form an amalgamated method. Unfortunately, there are no experimental tests demonstrating that a levering device, composed of materials and technology available to the pyramid builders, can function to lift a block in the limited space available at the top of the superstructure. My study involved a levering device designed to work with ramps to construct the top of the pyramid. My objective was to construct and build a working lever, by encasing its design within the framework of technologies and materials available to the ancient xiii Egyptian pyramid builders. Testing this lever entailed the fabrication of many models; tests with weights greater than 5560 pounds; and a large-scale experiment that raised a 2530-pound block up one tier in under a minute.
Resolving Historical Contentions through Archaeology. Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Conference of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), Vancouver, Canada., 2017
Invited paper at the Twentieth Annual Moroccan Studies Symposium for U.S. Fulbright Grantees, Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE), Rabat, Morocco., 2013
Uploads
PhD Dissertation
Master's Thesis
My study involved a levering device designed to work with ramps to construct the top of the pyramid. My objective was to construct and build a working lever, by encasing its design within the framework of technologies and materials available to the ancient xiii Egyptian pyramid builders. Testing this lever entailed the fabrication of many models; tests with weights greater than 5560 pounds; and a large-scale experiment that raised a 2530-pound block up one tier in under a minute.
Talks
Papers
My study involved a levering device designed to work with ramps to construct the top of the pyramid. My objective was to construct and build a working lever, by encasing its design within the framework of technologies and materials available to the ancient xiii Egyptian pyramid builders. Testing this lever entailed the fabrication of many models; tests with weights greater than 5560 pounds; and a large-scale experiment that raised a 2530-pound block up one tier in under a minute.