Many conspiracy theories have circulated for years, mostly focusing on aliens.
Researchers believe they have the most compelling explanation for how the ancient pyramids were constructed – and we are eager to hear it.
The Egyptian pyramids have puzzled people for many years – seriously, how were they built?
We know that most of the 100 pyramids were built as tombs for Egypt's pharaohs, with the first one constructed around 2780 BCE near the ancient city of Memphis.
Since then, we don't really know much else.
The ancient pyramids are thought to be around 4,000 years old. (Getty Stock Images)
Physicists from the University of Amsterdam started studying an ancient wall painting from Djehutihotep's tomb, which dates back to about 1900 B.C.
Researchers in a 2014 report, printed in Physical Review Letters, suggested that building the pyramids could have been relatively easy.
The picture displays 172 ancient Egyptians handling and transporting large stones.
A worker is pouring water onto the sand in front of a sled carrying a huge statue.
The sleds were actually more than just big pieces of wood.
The painting in question. (A. Fall, B. Weber, M. Pakpour, N. Lenoir, N. Shahidzadeh, J. Fiscina, C. Wagner, and D. Bonn Phys. Rev. Lett)
Physicist Daniel Bonn informed The Washington Post that Egyptologists had been interpreting the water as a component of a cleansing ceremony.
“And had never sought a scientific explanation.
Friction can be quite complex. For example, wet sand is more difficult to build with than dry sand, which makes predicting friction challenging.
He mentioned that the experiment not only unraveled ‘the Egyptian mystery, but also demonstrated that the stiffness of sand is closely linked to the friction force'.
Sorry folks, no aliens this time.
“We show experimentally that the sliding friction on sand is greatly reduced by the addition of some—but not too much—water,” the study reads.
The formation of the pyramids are apparently ‘quite simple'. (Getty Stock Images)
“The formation of capillary water bridges increases the shear modulus of the sand, which facilitates the sliding.
“Too much water, on the other hand, makes the capillary bridges coalesce, resulting in a decrease of the modulus; in this case, we observe that the friction coefficient increases again.
“Our results, therefore, show that the friction coefficient is directly related to the shear modulus; this has important repercussions for the transport of granular materials.
“In addition, the polydispersity of the sand is shown to also have a large effect on the friction coefficient.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
