Casing block joint,
& camera lens cap,
north side of
Great Pyramid.
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- They had tube drills - drill bits and the machinery to hold them steady and apply rotational torque.
- They had saws that would cut granite with ease and precision.
- They had the ability to sculpt the hardest of rocks.
- They were accomplished at finishing granite in situ - after a block had been placed in a wall or on the surface of a pyramid.
- They had the ability to cut, level and polish granite to a sophisticated degree of flatness.
- They had lathes that would turn and polish granite, schist, basalt, etc (in ways we have not duplicated).
- They had the means to cut extremely accurate parallel limestone joints with remarkable flatness over large surface areas - 35 sq.ft.or more, and apparently had mastered the technique before beginning the casing of the Great Pyramid at Giza.
- They had the knowledge and technology to consistently lift, exactly maneuver and delicately place enormous weights of stone.
- They had the means and motivation to quarry and move millions of stone blocks.
- They had the administrative skill and wealth to organize enormous multi-generational public works and all that they require:
- very long term planning and project continuity
- the commitment of many generations of craftsmen: from youthful apprenticeship through retirement from the workforce.
- the commitment of the entire family related to the craftsmen - these projects were long term and the workers must have lived nearby as part of a sizable 'pyramid construction town'
- many generations of capable personnel: from leadership through executive designers to journeymen masters, craftsmen, labourers and support staff - tens of thousands of people training for years, and working together as a cohesive workforce for many decades. The pyramid builders of ancient Egypt seemed to have achieved the implementation of the largest, most ambitious and most long term engineering and construction program in the history of mankind.
These massive projects would include all facets of civil engineering, architecture, surveying, multilevel and multifaceted personnel management, physical infrastructure, materials management, etc. Initially, they would have to have been preceded by the appearance of a leadership so effective, that the undertaking of such immense programs and all the sacrifices they entailed, would have been possible to initiate.
By what steps did they arrive at such a sophisticated political, organizational and technical stage of cultural development?
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