Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking revelation within Egypt's Great Pyramid, debunking the myth that slaves built the ancient edifice 4,500 years ago, according to MailOnline.
The astonishing find by famed Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass and his team indicates that the pyramid was not the work of 100,000 slaves as once suggested by Ancient Greek historians, but rather constructed by a workforce of skilled, compensated laborers under stringent oversight.
"These findings confirm that the builders were not slaves. If they had been, they would never have been buried in the shadow of the pyramids," Dr. Hawass stated on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast. "Slaves would not have prepared their tombs for eternity, like kings and queens did, inside these tombs."
The inscriptions were located in hard-to-reach areas, suggesting that only those with advanced knowledge could decipher them. "They were found in chambers that are difficult and dangerous to access, and they use writing styles that only trained Egyptologists can accurately interpret," Dr. Hawass said.
"It's nearly impossible that someone in recent times could have forged something like this. You must climb about 45 feet and crawl through tight spaces to even reach those chambers."
The team's exploration south of the Great Pyramid unearthed more than just graffiti; they found the final resting places of the laborers who built the pyramid, complete with tools like flint instruments and pounding stones, and statues that immortalize the workers heaving huge stone blocks. Some tombs even bore titles such as "overseer of the side of the pyramid" and "craftsman."
Dr. Hawass has also shed light on the actual construction methods of the pyramid, revealing that the limestone was sourced a mere 1,000 feet away. The materials were transported using a system of ramps made from rubble and mud, traces of which were discovered southwest of the monument.
"The ramp had to come from the southwest corner of the pyramid and connect to the quarry," Dr. Hawass explained. "We excavated this area, and in the site labeled C2, we found remnants of the ramp, stone rubble mixed with sand and mud. When the ramp was dismantled, they didn't remove every trace, and what was left behind is what we uncovered."
The Great Pyramid of Giza, erected under Pharaoh Khufu during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, stands as the largest among the trio on the Giza Plateau and continues to be one of humanity's most astonishing architectural achievements. Despite its fame, many details of its construction have been enigmatic-until these recent discoveries.
"There's a popular myth that the workers ate only garlic, onions, and bread, but we found thousands of animal bones at the site," Dr. Hawass disclosed. "An expert from the University of Chicago analyzed them and found that the Egyptians slaughtered 11 cows and 33 goats every day to feed the laborers. This diet was enough to support around 10,000 workers per day."
From folklore to fact, these recent discoveries are dramatically reshaping our understanding of how the Great Pyramid was constructed - and by whom.
