Communications

To The Editor:

I recently read with great interest the article titled "Building the Great Pyramid: Probable Construction Methods Employed at Giza" that appeared in the April 2003 issue of Technology and Culture. I was pleased to read James Frederick Edwards's theories concerning pyramid building. In fact they mirror, in many ways, my own extensive work along these lines. That is why I thought I should write you. I have a long trail of publications, extending back to 1976 and culminating with my recent book, Sticks, Stones, and Shadows: Building the Egyptian Pyramids, published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2001. In my work I show a strikingly similar lifting system that I fully support with the archaeological evidence. Given Dr. Edwards's thorough use of citations and my prior publications, I was surprised not to have been mentioned as an earlier source in his article.

When I began my research, I was quickly disabused of the idea that the main problem in building a pyramid was the means by which stone was elevated. It occurred to me that even if the building blocks were magically elevated, the problem remained of where to place them. A true pyramid is not simply a pile of stone that approximates the geometric form; it has four smooth faces that meet at a distant point—in the case of the Great Pyramid, some fifty stories in the sky. This is an incredibly difficult structure to build using the basic technology of the times.

I realized the generally accepted theory of the pyramid being built in completed horizontal layers could not be correct, since all would need to be perfectly square and level as they diminished in size toward the apex, the least imperfection being cumulative. The layer theory is also contradicted by existing structural evidence. Although the paving around the Great Pyramid is accurately leveled to within an inch, by only the second course it is already off by almost six inches. In fact, almost none of the courses in the pyramid are level. In a further contradiction, three subsidiary pyramids of the Great Pyramid, also true pyramids, are built on slanted ground—making the process of building in completed layers impossible.

In reality, true pyramids in various states of disrepair show structures built from the ground up in three separate building stages. The first stage is a generally pyramidal structure of large steps, or tiers, similar to the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. In the second stage, the tiers are filled with blocks, much like the present remains of the Great Pyramid. Finally, a mantle of smooth casing stone covers the small steps and brings it to a point at the apex, making it a true pyramid.

Indeed, if anything can be called an Egyptian building secret, it is the process of building in stages, each being more exact than the last. The method by which the stone may have been raised and placed into the structure, and how the pyramid was leveled and oriented, is addressed in my book, Sticks, Stones and Shadows: Building the Egyptian Pyramids.

Martin Isler

James Edwards Replies:

In response to Martin Isler's comments relating to my research note: First, allow me to set the scene. My note was written during 1999, following which it went the rounds of Egyptologists, archaeologists, historians, museums, and the BBC, prior to Technology and Culture being recommended as the most suitable vehicle for its publication. It was delivered to the Technology and Culture editorial office during the summer of 2001. As all this predated the publication of Mr. Isler's book—which was published in November 2001—I was obviously unaware of his work at that time (as were the expert referees who reviewed and commented on my research note prior to its publication) and would certainly have referred to his writings had they been published when I submitted my work.

Although Mr. Isler states that he shows a "strikingly similar lifting system," this is not so. The methodology I proposed involves the hauling teams remaining...