It was aliens!
Despite the endless stream of “NEW PYRAMID MYSTERY SOLVED!” headlines, Egyptologists actually have a pretty good idea how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built.
In this WIRED video, Egyptologist Professor Laurel Bestock breaks down five discoveries that help explain the process, from the enormous quarry at Giza and the ramps used to haul massive stone blocks, to the workers’ village that housed and fed thousands of people.
There’s also the Diary of Merer, a 4,500-year-old record that provides an astonishingly detailed glimpse into the transportation of limestone for Khufu’s pyramid.
And perhaps most importantly, the pyramids didn’t appear out of nowhere. Earlier projects, including the Step Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid, and the Red Pyramid, show a long process of experimentation, engineering successes, and spectacular mistakes.
So no aliens required.
Just generations of extremely determined humans, a ridiculous amount of stone, and some truly impressive organizational skills.