Gizeh pyramids revisited

ACSIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2_LhmSygBQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGZsju3a_W4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkzbmEVgKiw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyCPfQla36o

Discuss!

emnmnme

I keep hearing about how the blocks used to build the Pyramids are so well-fitted together, you can't slide a sheet of paper between them. Could we recreate the Pyramids with modern tools without any problems?

HappylilElf

High pressure water/modern saw blades/cranes are wonderful tools so without breaking a sweat, yeah, we can probably do a better job actually.

I imagine erosion over a couple millenia is a pretty good way of ensuring a giant pile of stone fits together real well plays a part too.

Richy

emnmnme wrote: »

I keep hearing about how the blocks used to build the Pyramids are so well-fitted together, you can't slide a sheet of paper between them. Could we recreate the Pyramids with modern tools without any problems?

They're all rectangular blocks, with straight edges and right angles. Getting them fitted tightly together is not difficult. Overall, the pyramids were wonders of ancient architecture not because they were complex or advanced, but because they were long and tedious to build, and because solving the architectural challenges involved using the low tech available in those days required very ingenious (but not complex nor advanced) work-arounds.

And yes, building a pyramid with modern technology is trivial, if expansive.

Thirith

What a coincidence: my girlfriend and I spent the last week in Egypt and visited the Gizeh pyramids on Tuesday.

Observation 1: The entrance to the grave chamber is narrow as hell and nearly gave me a panic attack. (I felt like scaredicat Charles Bronson in The Great Escape.)

Observation 2: I didn't get much of a feeling of mysticism from the pyramids, although they're impressive enough, but...

Observation 3: ... I kept thinking of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. Is there a fan remake of the game somewhere out there? God, that must be my third-favourite adventure (after Grim Fandango and Monkey Island 2).

Richy

Thirith wrote: »

What a coincidence: my girlfriend and I spent the last week in Egypt and visited the Gizeh pyramids on Tuesday.

Observation 1: The entrance to the grave chamber is narrow as hell and nearly gave me a panic attack. (I felt like scaredicat Charles Bronson in The Great Escape.)

Observation 2: I didn't get much of a feeling of mysticism from the pyramids, although they're impressive enough, but...

Observation 3: ... I kept thinking of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. Is there a fan remake of the game somewhere out there? God, that must be my third-favourite adventure (after Grim Fandango and Monkey Island 2).

Really? I thought they were closed to tourists now. I heard that somewhere. They were getting too much damage from thousands of people going in every year. I guess I was misinformed.

I visited Egypt decades ago, when I was 12. And I got to go inside the Great Pyramid itself, too. hi-5! I wonder how many more people around here went inside the pyramids?

Yeah, the passages were tight, but dude, the Great Hallway before the King's Chamger? That one was huge and impressive!

evilmrhenry

Thirith wrote: »

Observation 3: ... I kept thinking of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. Is there a fan remake of the game somewhere out there? God, that must be my third-favourite adventure (after Grim Fandango and Monkey Island 2).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_McKracken_and_the_Alien_Mindbenders#Fan_sequels

Elki

No.






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