pyramids

If the question is how the Egyptian pyramids were made, science has an idea: hydraulic systems

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Ancient Egypt is recognized for being one of the first hydraulic civilizations in history: they had control over irrigation canals, dams and transportation that was essential for erect and maintain a centralized kingdom for more than three thousand years in a fertile strip surrounded by desert. In the Old Kingdom period (c. 2700–2200 BC), the Egyptians built seven enormous pyramids representing approximately 25 million tons of rock cut, transported and fitted in less than 150 years. How they did it remains a mystery. In that period the pharaohs they ordered stone blocks to be moved at a rate equivalent to 50 tons per hour sustained for decades. There are several hypothesesbut none are satisfactory enough to explain that performance, especially at the beginning. The origin of everything is in Saqqara: the Step Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser It is the oldest of the great pyramids and the first built entirely of carved stone. This is precisely where a multidisciplinary team proposes for the first time that water was the driving force of its construction. The hydraulic hypothesis. What the research team led by Xavier Landreau proposes is a kind of hydraulic elevator formed by three large structures from the Zoser complex. The Gisr el-Mudir functioned as a retention dam, the southern Dry Trench was the settling tank and the twin shafts (connected by a 200 meter underground tunnel) constituted the lifting mechanism: a huge float that would have raised the blocks from inside the pyramid in cycles of filling and emptying. Water from the desert wadis was channeled and filtered before reaching the vertical wells. When filled, the water buoyantly raised a platform on which the blocks rested, allowing them to be deposited on the upper levels without the need for external ramps and with less labor effort. Why is it important. Firstly, because it provides a coherent functional explanation for three structures at Saqqara whose purpose was not entirely clear. The analysis brings together hydrology, archeology and civil engineering to integrate all these elements into a unified and logical system, possibly making the Saqqara complex the oldest hydraulic infrastructure in history. If the hypothesis is confirmed, it would leave behind the hegemonic belief of ramps and a large amount of labor as a universal solution for building pyramids. A hydraulic lifting system implies efficient management of resources, energy and logistics, by significantly reducing labor. Additionally, it involves even more advanced knowledge of hydraulics. The next question is clear: are there more pyramids in Egypt built like this? Context. Saqqara is on a limestone plateau west of the Nile. How the research team mappedto the west of the complex there was a potential watershed of 400 square kilometers linked to the wadi Taflah, an ancient tributary of the Nile already documented on 18th century maps. This point is important because although today it is a desert plateau, studies of sediments from the complex itself show that during the reign of Djoser the area received intense seasonal runoffwith enough kinetic energy to deposit sediments of water origin inside the structures. In short, there was water available and in quantity. Other historical hypotheses. The most consolidated theories about the construction of the pyramids point to ramps with different geometries combined with levers and sleds. For Giza for example, Jean-Pierre Houdin proposed an interior spiral ramp. For Saqqara, studies collected in the paper itself suggest that the Dry Pit was the main limestone quarry, with short ramps on each side as a supply mechanism. As for the twin wells, the dominant interpretation until now was funerary: the royal tomb of Djoser and the abode of his ka. As for the dry grave, it was considered a quarry or had a ritual function. How have they done it. This research team has not excavated anything: it has combined satellite images of Airbus Pléiadeselevation models from the French IGN and the QGIS GIS to reconstruct the paleohydrology of the environment. From here, they generated 3D models of the complex’s internal architecture with quite popular commercial software such as SolidWorks or SketchUp. Regarding the hydraulic mechanism, they developed their own deliberately simple numerical model to estimate the water consumption and carrying capacity of the system. Yes, but. Using existing data has been both its greatest strength and also its greatest virtue, as the team recognizes. That is, although their study integrates basin topography, hydraulics and internal architecture, they have not accessed the wells or dated the sediments directly. On the other hand, from the perspective of the study of Egypt, stating that the wells are not funerary contradicts decades of consolidated interpretation. On the other hand, it raises a structural question: if those who made the first pyramids in Egypt mastered this hydraulic technology, why are the pyramids after Giza increasingly smaller and poorer? In Xataka | China’s first pipeline network is 4,000 years old and something revolutionary: it was built without the need for kings or nobles In Xataka | What we see in Petra is a city “carved in stone”: what it really hides is an amazing water system Cover | Charles J Sharp

We believed that the pyramids of Giza did not hide any more secrets. we believed wrong

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Talk about the pyramids of egypt is to talk about the Great Pyramid of Giza. The one of Cheops is the most colossalthe best preserved, the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the only one still standing. However, it is accompanied by two other vestiges of the past: that of Mycerinos and that of Khafre. That of Mycerinos, or Menkaura, is the smallest of the three, and for years we thought it had only one entrance. We couldn’t be more wrong. The hypothesis. It seems incredible that three of the most studied monuments of human history continue to keep secrets, but what the ancient Egyptians did with these three pyramids was colossal. They follow us surprising so much on the outside as insideand from time to time, as exploration technologies advance, we discover something new. However, although the large one attracts all attention, an archaeologist had his sights set on the Mycerinos. The reason is that, on the north side, the stones that represent the entrance are perfectly aligned and appear more polished than those of the rest of the structure. However, the researcher Stijn van den Hoven He noticed that there was another set of exceptionally polished granite blocks on another face of the pyramid. And, in 2019, he hypothesized an additional entrance to the structure. Non-destructive exploration. Since science is not done alone and must be done, an international team of archaeologists from Cairo University and the Technical University of Munich they got to work to investigate Stijn’s idea. This group is part of the project ScanPyramidswho analyze the pyramids with non-destructive measurement techniques. To do this, they use techniques that are also being used in other places in the world (for example, to discover the secrets of the Mayans). Thus, the ScanPyramids team, analyzed the pyramid of Mycerinos with the latest technology non-invasive analysis: ERTor Electrical Resistivity Tomography. This detects subsurface resistivity variations that reveal cavities or materials of different density thanks to electrodes that penetrate the structures and are computed using three-dimensional inversion algorithms. GPR or georadars. Through electromagnetic waves that penetrate materials and are reflected, anomalies can be found. U.S.T. or ultrasounds. They measure the reflections of sound waves to examine the interior of structures without causing damage. Excavations have revealed these much more polished stones Air-filled anomalies. It is not the first time that this combination has been used at the site, since in 2023 a hidden corridor in the Great Pyramid of Cheops was confirmed using these techniques. And in Micerinos it has also worked. Specifically, two air-filled cavities located directly behind the area of ​​polished granite that van den Hoven observed. The Anomaly 1 It is a cavity located 1.4 meters deep from the eastern surface and would have dimensions of 1.5 meters wide by one meter high. The Anomaly 2 It starts at 1.13 meters deep and measures about 0.9 meters wide by 0.7 meters high. From the Technical University of Munich, the archaeologist Christian Grosse has stated that these techniques allow developing “very precise conclusions about the nature of the interior of the pyramid,” affirming that “the hypothesis of another entry is very plausible” and commenting that these results go in the direction of confirming said entry. The alleged cameras Next steps. Independent researchers who were not involved in the study have stated that the entrances to the pyramids from this era are located on the north face, but that further exploration will determine whether these voids are an anomaly, part of a second entrance as the ScanPyramids team suspects, or “something else.” Now, although these techniques allow us to recognize the interior very precisely, they cannot determine the extent of the cavities due to limitations in the penetration capacity of the tools. They have suggested that the next steps should go in the direction of using techniques such as infrared thermography or muon tomography with cosmic rays in order to have more precise information. Implications. In the end, all these works are supervised by the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt and by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, very interested in seeing them carried out. these discoveries (due to tourism issues) while complying with the standards of care for heritage research. Grosse comments that technology allows us to make discoveries that were unthinkable not so long ago and, when the analysis is completed and it is determined what those air-filled cavities are inside Mycerinos, it could transform the understanding we had until now of the architectural design of this 4,000-year-old monument. Images | ScienceDirect, TUM In Xataka | Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, there is one that we don’t know where it is. That makes her the most fascinating of all.

Dua Lipa closed the meadow and came out with a video. Mrbeast entered the Mayan pyramids and has come out with a demand under his arm

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The visits of Influencers With millions of followers to cultural places it has become a controversial trend. A few days ago, Dua Lipa closed the Prado Museum. A few weeks before, Mrbeast accessed to restricted stays only to researchers in some of the Most important Mayan enclaves from Mexico. None of those events has gone unnoticed For the public debatebut in the case of Mrbeast, the issue is about to take him before the courts, as he pointed out The New York Times. Mrbeast discovers the Mayan culture. What was going to be a video of Disclosure on Mayan culture of the youtuber with more followers of the platform, it has signs of becoming In a legal maze With the Mexican government. In it Video in question The popular YouTuber is shown accompanied by its usual collaborators exploring different Mayan archaeological places in Mexico. During the video, visitors access, accompanied by a guideto areas restricted to the public From Chichen Itzá and Calakmul, two of the most protected enclaves in the country. At certain moments of the video, Mrbeast himself is surprised by the visit. The youtuber assured in the video: “I cannot believe that the government allows us to do this.” During your visit to the interior of A camera in a Mayan pyramidthe guide took a Mayan funeral mask out of his ditch that delivered Mrbeast, who responded with eloquent “Why is this not in a museum? Why does a YouTuber hold this?” The controversy: the permits and nature of the recording. In a published statement In his X profileMrbeast, confirmed that the producer had all the necessary permits to record in the archaeological sites and that all measures had been met to protect the archaeological heritage. In addition, in A statement issued by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) it was confirmed that the visit and filming were carried out under supervision and with the corresponding authorizations. The INAH explained that the formal request for the recording was submitted by the Federal Tourism Secretariat and the governments of Yucatán and Campeche, and that Institute personnel accompanied the MRBASTI team throughout the recording to guarantee the protection of the heritage. In addition, INAH clarified that the mask shown in the video is a contemporary replica and not a pre -Hispanic piece. Controversial special effects. Despite the permits, the video generated discomfort between part of Mexican society and experts in historical heritage, especially for scenes in which Mrbeast seems to descend by helicopter on the pyramid of Chichén Itzá or fly a drone inside the temple located on the cusp of the structure. In that sense, INAH replied that these sequences are false and are part of the video edition and assembly, ensuring that such a descent was never made on the monument or a drone was introduced inside the pyramid. In the words of INAH: “It was clearly undergoing an extensive audiovisual postproduction and refers to events that did not occur.” The problem: the Maya do not advertise. Beyond denials and recording permits, the controversy by the video has climbed into intensity until it becomes a demand filed by the National Institute of Anthropology and History that had authorized the recording of the video. The demand has its origin in which, at a time of the video, Mrbeast and his team are shown in a camp tasting a dinner with Mayan food and dishes. At the end of dinner, Mrbeast presented one of his Feastable chocolate bars as “the only dessert approved by the Maya.” This act was interpreted as an undue commercial link between the private brand and the Mexican archaeological heritage. Touch the image to access the original message As published in Your X profile“The permit issued to the company Full Circle Media, representative of MR Beast, did not authorize the publication of false information or the use of the image of the archaeological sites for the advertising of commercial brands for private profit purposes.” The Institute stressed that the permission granted did not contemplate the commercial exploitation of the images or the promotion of private brands in these protected spaces. Argument that the content creator refuted saying: “They knew that we mentioned festable in the video, but out of respect for the sites, he filmed away from any national monument. The scene of the dinner where I made the feastable joke was not close to any Mayan temple.” She has reached the president’s ears. The impact of the Mrbeast video and the Maya has reached the political sphere and President Claudia Sheinbaum has requested an investigation About the facts. “You have to see exactly the content, but it is not that it has entered without the permission of the INAH,” said the president during Your press conference in the morning of the town. On the other hand, the governor of the state of Campeche, Layda Sansores, in which some of Mayan excavations who visited Mrbeast, He showed his full support to the creator of content and thanked his support for the Mayan culture and his contribution to improve living conditions of the population of Campeche. “We deeply move us to know that in Campeche you are not only leaving a mark on the communities that will now have water thanks to you, but you are also helping to promote archaeological exploration,” Sansores wrote. In Xataka | If the question is “how much money you can earn sleeping on Twitch”, the answer is Muroonh: $ 17,000 Image | Unspash (Elesban Landero Berriozábal), Mrbeast

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