How the Great Pyramid Was Built - Hardcover

Craig B. Smith; Zahi Hawass; Mark Lehner

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158834200X ISBN 13: 9781588342003

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2004

Synopsis

Going beyond even the expertise of archaeologists and historians, engineer Craig Smith takes an in-depth look at the Great Pyramid of Giza as a massive engineering and construction project.

About this title

About the Author

Craig B. Smith is former president of Daniel, Mann, Johnson, Mendenhall, Holmes & Narver, a global engineering, architecture, and construction firm that has been involved in many major public works projects, including the renovating of the Pentagon before and after 9/11. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering from UCLA, where he was an assistant professor of engineering and assistant director of the Nuclear Energy Laboratory. His work on the Great Pyramid was featured on A&E's The Great Builders of Egypt and on PBS's Lost Cities of the Pyramids.

Reviews

Many questions regarding the Great Pyramid of Giza remain unanswered: How was a structure approximately two-thirds the size of Hoover Dam built by the ancients? How were 2.3 million blocks of limestone and granite weighing several metric tons each lifted into place? How did the ancient Egyptians manage to build such a structure with the tools and human resources at their disposal? In this rather dull book, construction engineer Smith imagines the building of the pyramid as if it were a modern construction project. He lays out the building plans (speculating based on evidence that the Egyptians had plans, scale drawings and models) and the work schedules that Pharaoh Khufu—whose burial tomb the pyramid was—would have needed. Smith examines the evolution of pyramid design to demonstrate that the builders of the Great Pyramid learned to avoid the flaws of earlier models such as the step pyramid. But like others, Smith can only take an educated guess as to how the massive stones were lifted hundreds of meters into place—with ramps. Smith's book is anachronistic in imposing modern standards and methods on an ancient building project, and the history of the Egyptian religion and culture he offers is already well known and better related elsewhere. 32 color, 50 b&w illus.
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Although how the Egyptian pyramids were constructed is unknown, there are technological and physical constraints that allow engineers to imagine how it was done (without invoking helpful aliens). First, throw out the wheel and the pulley, for the ancient Egyptians lacked these tools; second, estimate the labor force required; and third, establish a schedule that ensures the pyramid will be ready to receive the pharaonic mummy. Within these parameters, Smith, a public works engineer by profession, produces a fascinating scenario for the erection circa 2550 B.C.E. of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Smith assumes that a project manager directed affairs; he reasonably speculates that this was Khufu's vizier, Hemiunu. Smith converts material descriptions and mathematical calculations into an almost audible narrative, so that readers hear Hemiunu think aloud as he reflects on the defects of previous pyramids and plans out a monument to impress the gods and astound posterity. This impressive, accessible analysis is an absolute necessity for the basic Egyptology collection. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 158834200X
• ISBN 13: 9781588342003
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272