
How the Great Pyramid at Giza Looked in 2560 BCE - mpweiher
https://kottke.org/19/11/how-the-great-pyramid-at-giza-looked-in-2560-bce
======
pedalpete
The article states "smooth layer of fine white limestone on the outside" and
that the current outer rough surface is due to "hundreds of years of pollution
and weathering".

It was my understanding that the outer surface was polished marble, and that
it was removed by looters, not natural degradation. But I haven't been able to
find a good source, aside from
[https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/cxgj96/what_happen...](https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/cxgj96/what_happened_to_the_marble_casings_and_gold/)

~~~
ahazred8ta
"In AD 1303, a massive earthquake loosened many of the outer casing stones,
which in 1356 were carted away by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan
to build mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo."

~~~
caf
It seems like earthquakes did for most of the other "seven wonders of the
ancient world", too. The others far more completely than the great pyramid,
though.

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cobbzilla
My favorite fun fact:

The Great Pyramid holds a record that will almost certainly never be broken:
it was the tallest human-made structure in the world for over 3800 years.

(OK technically the Tower of Jericho held the record for ~4000 years, but it
was only 28 feet (8.5m) tall; another neolithic archaeological dig could
unseat it; that’s not happening with Giza)

~~~
larnmar
If we all got quietly wiped out tomorrow, I wonder how long it would take for
the Burj Khalifa to fall down. Probably less than 3800 years. Then maybe some
older, shorter, stronger skyscraper in a geologically stable zone would take
the crown for a while.

In the long run though, I suspect the solid stone construction and ultra
stable shape of the Great Pyramid would see it regain the title and keep it
for hundreds of thousands of years until it blew away.

Interesting to speculate about, anyway. Let us hope we all live forever.

~~~
pasabagi
I think anything made of steel and concrete would crumble within a couple of
centuries, without maintenance. The rebar would rust.

Maybe the stone cathedrals would last longer?

In any case, the biggest man made structure would probably be an open-cast
mine or a slag heap.

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pesmhey
Is there any evidence that these things weren't painted? Given what we know
about statues in the classical world, and the way hieroglyphs look, it feels
like a safe assumption to make that the pyramids were sporting some artwork.

edit: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-16/egypt-unveils-one-
of-...](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-16/egypt-unveils-one-of-a-kind-
ancient-tomb/10624214)

~~~
masklinn
> Given what we know about statues in the classical world, and the way
> hieroglyphs look, it feels like a safe assumption to make that the pyramids
> were sporting some artwork.

How can you not mention egypt's own royal tombs, which were chock full of rich
artwork (somewhat we know because several KVs still have lot of artwork) e.g.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Egypt.KV62.01.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Egypt.KV62.01.jpg)
in KV62, which is considered "modest wall decorations", or
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Egypt.KV43.01.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Egypt.KV43.01.jpg)
from KV43.

~~~
throwaway_tech
>How can you not mention egypt's own royal tombs, which were chock full of
rich artwork

This is actually an interesting point by people who argue the Great Pyramid is
not a royal tomb...all other royal tombs are richly decorated, whereas the
chambers in the great pyramid are noticeably bear.

I always understood the white polished casing stones were not painted but did
have carved hieroglyphics (I think this is how they have identified some of
the reused stone in mosques for example). On the other hand, the Sphinx still
has some blue and yellow paint on it.

~~~
kanzenryu2
I find the "it's not a tomb" argument needs some work. If we also consider the
other pyramids were all tombs, and that there is evidence of undiscovered
rooms in Khufu's pyramid (scanpyramids project and others) then it seems
pretty weak.

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spodek
I wonder what future civilizations will try to guess my home Manhattan looked
like in my time and what they'll have to reconstruct it from.

If you haven't read the poems Ozymandias:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias)

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altitudinous
Hmm, I've seen a depiction like this before, except around the base it was
very green, very jungle like as the climate in the area was not desert like as
it is now. Or perhaps the Nile was utilised differently. Very hard to tell.
Our history is a distortion of the facts. We have photographs and video of
genuine moments right now, but with photoshop and deepfakes we are moving into
a new era of distortion.

~~~
nighthawk648
Wow... to think the most authentic age has been ruined by some tools that have
useful edge cases.

Maybe we can use block chain to encrypt these real moments so it can be
identifiable as real or not. Then again, some super secrete society can try
and change ledgers or propose ledgers for deep fakes that get through the
cracks.

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LinuxBender
How much would it cost and how long would it take to build an exact replica of
the original today, including all the tunnels, chambers, etc?

~~~
CobrastanJorji
I suspect the main cost would be the materials. Every block of the Great
Pyramid weighed about 2.5 tons. It has an astounding 2.3 million blocks. That
would be incredibly expensive to purchase and transport to the site, even
today. For comparison, building the Great Pyramid would require moving about
10 times the mass of a giant skyscraper like the Bhurj Khalifa.

You could probably build all of the other 6 wonders of the ancient world
today, side by side, for less than the cost of building that one pyramid. I'm
fairly confident it'd be a billion dollar project.

That said, I'm not in construction. Perhaps someone could correct me?

~~~
jbay808
It's interesting to think about how an ancient society was capable of what
would be a billion dollar project today, even with modern tools and methods.

~~~
sedatk
Slavery is hell of a stimulus package.

~~~
bretpiatt
Except the Great Pyramid wasn't built by slaves (1)

1: [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/11/great-
pyramid-...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/11/great-pyramid-
tombs-slaves-egypt)

------
walrus01
One of the interesting things to consider when playing Assassin's Creed
Origins... You can climb the great pyramid. In the time period of the game
setting, it is already 2000+ years old.

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Abishek_Muthian
This is very nice. I would love to see 'How they looked like' for other
ancient architectural wonders like Tanjore Big Temple, Taj Mahal, Leshan Giant
Buddha, Colosseum etc.

~~~
hyperdunc
Even better, I'd like to see them restored to their initial glory. Imagine
visiting something like the Temple of Karnak as it was shortly after
completion.

~~~
aedron
AR tours of the site, with the reconstructed original laid over the present
forms. You can switch the overlay on and off, or slide it in/out to study the
differences. You heard it here first.

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rfwhyte
There's also plenty of evidence that at the time of its construction it
wouldn't have been surrounded by desert, but rather a much richer and greener
savanna like landscape.

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SubiculumCode
Sounds like a restoration project just waiting to happen.

~~~
soperj
Yeah, that would be amazing. It would make them last a lot longer too.

~~~
tantalor
Are they at risk of disintegrating?

~~~
_ph_
Considering that they are 4500 years old, not anytime soon. Even without
maintenance, they would last some more millenia. But if you look at the
difference between how they look now and how they used to look, they have
suffered quite a bit. Only because they are the most robust structure ever
built by man, doesn't mean we should just watch slowly decay. Especially while
most of their structure is still close to original, it would be a good time to
restore them.

Imagine, if for example the acropolis in Athens would have been kept in
original state vs. mostly having decayed. All those wonders of the past we
decided to keep, we should preserve, while it is still possible.

~~~
afthonos
To be clear, the Acropolis did not “decay”. It was blown up by the Venetians
when they fired on the Parthenon, which at the time was used to store
gunpowder.

~~~
_ph_
Thanks, I didn't know that. But the world is full of ruins of great old
places, which we try to preserve today, but had not been kept in shape when
they were still close to their origininal state. I think old churches are one
of the few exceptions.

~~~
mcguire
" _Beeldenstorm in Dutch (roughly "statue storm"), and Bildersturm in German
("image/statue storm") are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of
religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th century, known in English
as the Great Iconoclasm or Iconoclastic Fury. During these spates of
iconoclasm, Catholic art and many forms of church fittings and decoration were
destroyed in unofficial or mob actions by Calvinist Protestant crowds as part
of the Protestant Reformation. Most of the destruction was of art in churches
and public places._"

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeldenstorm?wprov=sfla1](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeldenstorm?wprov=sfla1)

~~~
_ph_
Sure, a lot of churches also got destroyed. Yet, a lot of churches are in a
remarkably good state of preservation. They are not the only preserved
buildings, but the most obvious ones. There are also a few roman aquaeducts
preserved, like the one in Nimes, France. And if I am not mistaken, some of
the water delivery to todays Rome still uses partially roman aquaeducts. Also,
the Pantheon in Rome is in a remarkably great state.

~~~
afthonos
The sad thing about the Parthenon (and the Acropolis in general) was that it
_had_ been well preserved until then, albeit with changes. It had successively
been a church and a mosque. Unfortunately, the Acropolis was also the most
defensible position in Athens, so it was (since its inception) a strategic
outpost as well. :-(

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shotashotashota
So did it just stood there in the middle of the desert or were there cities
and busy streets near it? I can't even fathom what they were thinking when
they decided to build these massive monuments...

~~~
WhompingWindows
Pyramids and burial tombs (i.e. Valley of the Kings) had religious and
cultural significance for the ancient Egyptians. There is a detailed process
of entering the after-life, whereby you are mummified, some of organs placed
in jars, and you even get your favorite possessions and live servants buried
with you. The Pharaohs had these elaborate death monuments commissioned
decades in advance of their death...can you imagine being 10 years old and
breaking ground on your own pyramid?

If you're like the pharaohs, you need a massive protector for your body, so
your ka or "soul" can live on in eternity with your favorite items and
servants.

~~~
shotashotashota
That's why I can't fathom what they were thinking or how. They must have had a
completely bizarre and alien way of seeing life, their place in the universe
and what will become of themselves. We already have this kind of gap between
religious and non-religious; but this is on completely different level.

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markus_zhang
Magnificent, isn't it?

~~~
Florin_Andrei
What blows my mind is that this is 2500 BC.

~~~
markus_zhang
Yeah, probably huge amount of labors spent a good chunk of their life in the
project...

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Fnoord
Pyramidion [1] made of gold (thereby reflecting the sun) explains where the
idea of the Obelisk of Light [2] in the game C&C came from. My 2 ct of
nostalgia.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramidion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramidion)

[2]
[https://cnc.fandom.com/wiki/Obelisk_of_Light_(Tiberian_Dawn)](https://cnc.fandom.com/wiki/Obelisk_of_Light_\(Tiberian_Dawn\))

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Razengan
That example picture is amazing!

It would have looked even more amazing if the land was greener back then
instead of a desert as some theories speculate.

This is on the level of dinosaurs having feathers; radically changing our
perceptions of the past.

I wonder how come no fiction has depicted the pyramids like that? Or has it?

~~~
leonroy
Assassin’s Creed Origins depicts the pyramids like that. Parts of Northern
Egypt including Alexandria and the lighthouse are also depicted and
interactive.

It was praised enough that the developer introduced an education mode for
schools to use which allow walking around without missions or fighting.

Worth picking up on sale and just walking around ancient Egypt.

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Animats
A lot like the top of the Washington Monument, apparently.

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nerfhammer
iirc in relatively recent history locals would climb up and slide down the
pyramids for fun, when they were still smooth

~~~
SketchySeaBeast
According to Wikipedia the casing stones were disturbed in a massive
earthquake in 1303, many of which were carted away in 1356 to build mosques.
That stretches the definition of "recent" by a bit.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza#Casing_s...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza#Casing_stones)

~~~
nerfhammer
given that they're 3500 years old, 700 years ago is relatively recent

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dietlbomb
That's not the Great Pyramid; it's the Pyramid of Khafre.

Neat rendering though.

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caublestone
It’s a lighthouse for the ocean of sand!

~~~
Razengan
That might actually be a cool idea to use in a fictional setting like Dark
Sun. :)

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dudidu
This is really great!

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mc3
Welcome to 2019! It's blogspam of [https://www.newsweek.com/7-wonders-ancient-
world-digitally-r...](https://www.newsweek.com/7-wonders-ancient-world-
digitally-reconstructed-1421551), which is blogspam of
[https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/blog/the-7-wonders-of-the-
an...](https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/blog/the-7-wonders-of-the-ancient-
world-reconstructed.html), which is blogspam of
[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Seven-Wonders-of-the-
World](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Seven-Wonders-of-the-World)

~~~
coldtea
Hardly. It's linking to newsweek article, from where it gets the info about
Giza and the picture, but is its own thing and has nothing to do with the
supposed "original" of britannica (which is just a general piece on the 7
wonders with briefly mentions Giza, and says nothing about its surface, which
is the topic here). It also features a NatGeo video on the topic.

It's also by a well-known website that does personal curation (not mere
aggregation or mindless posting, and no shady SEO and other BS, to be worthy
of the "blogspam" title). Kottke is a one-man-brand and has been at it for 2
decades...

~~~
MoronInAHurry
The image (which is basically the whole "article") even has a Budget Direct
watermark on it.

It's still blatant blogspam, whether the person/site doing it is well-known or
not.

~~~
coldtea
You keep using this word "blogspam". I don't think it means what you think it
means. (Or "blatant" for that matter)

"Noun. blogspam (Internet) promotional material posted to a weblog, often one
specifically created for the purpose" \--
[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blogspam](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blogspam)

This definition makes it the very opposite of the post, since it's neither
promotional, nor "specifically created for the purpose" of promotion.

At worst this is a personal blog site that posts interesting links and curates
them. Don't know if you missed the whole 2000-2010 era, but that was a popular
thing back in the day.

Sorta like a non-social HN -- where a single person selects the best bits and
comments on them. Is HN "blogspam"?

Is anything that's not an original post "blogspam"?

If we were talking about automated aggregation, listicle sites, "link farms",
etc, one could agree...

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scaradim
we've just found a photo and we want to share with you...

