Ancient Hydraulic Lift Systems may Have Aided Pyramid Construction

The ingenuity of ancient Egyptian engineers might have been even more advanced than previously thought. A new study proposes that an unexplained ancient structure could have been part of a water purification system, powering a hydraulic lift to raise massive stone blocks for pyramid construction.

From our perspective thousands of years later, we have lost the exact methods ancient builders used, leaving us with enigmatic monuments we can’t always explain. While some speculate that aliens were involved, this theory undervalues the advanced engineering and geometric knowledge ancient peoples possessed. New evidence now suggests that the ancient Egyptians employed a unique hydraulic lift system to construct their early pyramids.

Egypt’s Oldest Pyramid and Potential Prototype; Gisr el-Mudir Nearby Remains Mysterious

Constructed around 2680 BCE, the Step Pyramid of Djoser is the oldest surviving pyramid in Egypt and appears to have served as a trial for the techniques used in later, larger pyramids. Nearby, a square structure known as Gisr el-Mudir has remained a mystery since its rediscovery nearly 200 years ago.

In the new study, scientists suggest that Gisr el-Mudir functioned as a check dam designed to capture water and sediment. The surrounding area shows evidence of having been an ancient floodplain, and Gisr el-Mudir seems to have been built across the now-dried Abusir river.

As water flowed from west to east, it would have encountered the structure’s western wall first. Water flowing over this wall would have collected in a large basin nearly 400 meters (1,310 feet) wide. The eastern wall, at a lower elevation, allowed water to overflow into another lake, eventually feeding a network of trenches and tanks around and beneath the Step Pyramid.

System Likely Protected Structures from Floods and Purified Water

The team suggests that this system would have not only protected downstream structures from floods but also purified the water. A reservoir before the western wall would have trapped heavier gravel, while the basin created by Gisr el-Mudir allowed coarse sand to settle out. The trenches and tanks align with other ancient water treatment methods.

Moreover, the team discovered evidence of the water being used for an unexpected purpose.

The Step Pyramid features a vertical shaft approximately 28 meters (92 feet) tall, connected by a long pipe to the trenches. This shaft seems designed for on-demand filling and draining, likely to raise and lower a wooden float. Workers could place stone blocks on the float at ground level, flood the shaft to lift the platform to the needed height, then remove the blocks for pyramid construction.

After the pyramid was built, the shaft was sealed and left empty, while the trenches might have continued to serve in water purification. The team acknowledges that this idea is intriguing but requires further research for a better understanding.

“The collaborative effort between the newly founded Paleotechnic research institute and several national laboratories (INRAE, University of Orléans) has resulted in the discovery of a dam, a water treatment facility, and a hydraulic lift, which would have facilitated the construction of the Step Pyramid of Saqqara,” said the authors. “This research introduces a new avenue for scientific inquiry: the application of hydraulic power in the construction of Egypt’s pyramids.”

Read the original article on: New Atlas

Read more: Tiny-Brained Ancestor May be History’s First Gravedigger and Artist