Tools Used for Building Pyramids
Pyramids are truly impressive structures. Thousands of years ago, machinery and power tools didn't exist. Pyramids were built by hand, using only primitive tools. Despite this, workers were able to build huge monuments with superior craftsmanship. Since stone is almost an indestructible material, in 2011 many of the pyramids are still standing.
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Rope
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The most basic tool used was rope. Hieroglyphics found in the pyramids depict thousands of workers pulling on ropes attached to stone blocks. Achaeologists Rodolfo Fattovich and Kathryn Bard found coiled samples of rope near the Red Sea port of Marsa Gawasis in 2005. The rope was 4,000 years old. The pyramids of Egypt were built round 3,200 B.C. Hence, rope was invented at least 800 years before the building of the pyramids. Surprisingly, the ropes look exactly like modern twisted rope.
Plumb Bob
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A plumb bob is a very simple tool. It is a weight tied to a string. When suspended, the string forms a perfectly vertical line, and measurements can be taken from that line. The Cairo Museum has examples of plumb bobs tied to frames. These were ancient Egyptian levels, and the pyramid builders used them extensively.
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Set Square
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A set square is another simple tool, also on display at the Cairo Museum. It is simply two straight sticks of wood, made into a capital "L." Since the angle is 90 degrees, this tool was used to shape the blocks square. If a block was out of square, the sides would not evenly touch to the next block. The offending sides were shaved down until all the block's sides met at right angles.
Dolerite Pounding Stone
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A dolerite pounding stone was used to shape granite blocks. One stone on display is about the size of a football. Dolerite is harder than granite, so it could pound granite smooth. This was a very laborious process, pounding one rock against another to achieve the correct surface.
Copper Saw
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Copper was used extensively to make tools, and marks on a basalt stone indicate a copper saw was used. The saw did not do the cutting. Sand was poured into the slot. Since sand is harder than basalt, the action of it rubbing against the saw and rock would cut the rock.
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