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Immutable laws of friction: preparing and fitting stone blocks into the Great Pyramid of Giza

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Denys A. Stocks
Denys A. Stocks*
Affiliation:
6 Greenacres Drive, Burnage, Manchester M19 1SB (Email: dstocks@ukonline.co.uk)
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Abstract

How did the pyramid builders prepare and fit large stone blocks so that they were horizontal, orthogonal and flattened to within one hundredth of an inch? The author's experiments suggest that the surfaces were prepared using basic instruments made of rods and string, while to move the blocks the immutable laws of friction were mitigated by lubricating with mud and gypsum.

Keywords

Egyptpyramidsconstructionrampsrods and string
Type
Method
Information
Antiquity , Volume 77 , Issue 297 , September 2003 , pp. 572 - 578
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2003

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