• In the stone quarries in Giza 500 blocks daily (an average of 431 blocks rounded to 500) were quarried from the wall in square formats. Using the usual methods where stones are levered with wooden beams from the bedrock a team of 8 men can lever 2 to 3 stones per hour. For the 500 stones daily you need 25 teams.
• 80 men had to make sure, that the stones fell on soft ground instead of hard rock. A bed of soft material like sand or soil is put down where the stone is likely to fall. In such a way no stones crack and no corners are chipped.
• 6 men fasten the stone to a sledge (incl. overseer and water carrier = 8 men). Calculating 4 hours to lever the stones and tighten them on the sledge a team could handle 32 stones per day. For 500 stones we need 16 teams (rounded)

Next step: Transporting the stones to the pyramid building yard

• The casing stones were primarily used during the first years of construction, so we calculate with 10 instead of 20 years. The white stones for the outer casing were made to order. The stone breakers cut the stone accurately to size and with the right inclination of 52°. The angles of the outer stones were cut here and not at the pyramid. If there were any cracks, the stone was discarded immediately. The corner stones had to meet even stricter criteria.
• This precise work was slower, so we calculate that a team (see above) required 75 minutes for breaking off a stone. The daily output was around 6.5 stones per team. If we stipulate, that the work should be finished in 10 years, 69 Tura stones should be quarried per day (assuming 290 working days per year). We calculate 11 teams (88 men), together with helpers, overseers etc. about 120 men.
• 40 men had to make sure, that the stones fell on soft ground instead of hard rock.
• The stones had to be handled with care when loading them on the sledges. The wooden levers were wrapped with straw and the cargo was specially secured. A 8-men-team probably only handled 3 stones per hour which works out to 25 stones per day. With 69 stones per day we need 3 teams of 8 men each (=24 men, rounded to 30 men).
• The stones had to be transported to the Nile. The sledges with the stones were loaded on boats and shipped to Giza. Hauling teams of 15 men [3] haul the stones down to the Nile. They can handle 6 stones daily. We calculate 12 teams of 15 men each, adding 10 men for supervising and helpers we get 190 men.

Next step: Transport to Giza on the Nile

• In the open quarries of Aswan the granite was worked as follows (more information): The stone was pried from the bedrock by inserting several wedges. First a series of holes has to be drilled. We propose, that like in the ancient quarries of Europe not an actual drill was used but a forged chisel. With the hard granite this is only possible with iron tools. The stone has to be cut along its cleavage plane, that is the structure by which certain rocks split most readily.
• A man sits on the stone holding the chisel perpendicular to the surface to where a hole is placed and three men pound on the chisel with sledge hammers by turns. After each hit the chisel is rotated by one eighth until the hole is 10 to 15cm deep. A row of holes is drilled in such a way along the cleavage. Now a pair of metal shims are inserted in each hole with a wedge between and lubricated. Each wedge in the row is pounded until a thin crack forms between the wedges and the rock can be levered apart.
• For the granite stones we need 2 teams in two shifts with one man holding the chisel and 9 men (3 times 3 men) pounding. Each half hour the shift is relieved, because this kind of work is very exhausting. An average granite stone can be cut in such a way in one day. Even calculating that it takes 20 times longer to cut a granite stone (1 block every 20 days) it was still possible to cut the required blocks in only 10 years.
• A team of 20 men is loading the granite blocks onto sledges and 25 men haul them to the harbor (1.5km away - we calculate 120 min. to haul a stone there and walk back). A team can haul 4 stones per day (with rope rolls). Still tied to their sledges the stones are shipped down the Nile to Giza.
• If one of the large 40-tons block had to be transported, additional workers from other quarries were asked to help.

Next step: Transport to Giza on the Nile

• 69 stones had to be transported daily to Giza from the Tura quarries. One ship could transport about 10 stones, so 7 ships were necessary.
• For one transport a full day was necessary (a few kilometers up the Nile, then crossing the river, the next 6-7km the barge was towed on the Nile channel, some time to unload and for the trip back). We calculate 15 men per barge.

Next step: Transport from the harbor to the pyramid building yard.

• A large river barge with a crew of about 20 men could load about 4 small granite blocks. The journey down the Nile and the Nile channels lasted at least 20 days until they reached the Giza harbor. For the journey back they needed at least as much time. We calculate 2 months per load.
• For the 500 granite blocks - for some of the larger ones you needed a ship alone - we need about 350 runs. We calculate an average of 10 stones per ship and need 10 ships to complete the task in 8 years.
• We don't know if the ships sailed on the Nile channels or if they were towed, so we add 6 teams of 30 men for towing. For maintenance we add 50 carpenters and for coordination an extra 20 men.

Next step: Transport from the harbor to the pyramid building yard.

• We think, that to transport all additional materials such as wood, ropes, food etc. we need about twice as much skippers as for transporting the Tura stones.

• To transport 500 stones daily from the three Giza quarries to the building yard at the pyramid you need 3 hauling routes (tracks for sledges) with rope rolls every 75m (= 300 meters distance). Because it is a slight slope we need 12 hauling teams of 30 men each [3]. With two shifts we double those numbers, so one team can haul while the other walks back to the starting point. One track can deliver a stone every 2 minutes, the transportation capacity of all the tracks together is one stone every 40 seconds (1 stone per minute is requested [4]).
• At the beginning of the construction, when most of the stones are required, there were probably more than 3 hauling routes in service. With the help of Löhner's rope roll the stones could be hauled up on all 4 sides of the pyramid. It seems to be logical to use larger capacities if it doesn't require much additional effort and resources.
• The sledges were used daily and had to be fixed and overhauled. For this carpenters had to be employed.

Next step: cutting the stone blocks to size

• 69 stones arriving from the Tura quarries had to be transported daily from the harbor to the building yard (= transport of all required blocks during 10 years). The stones arrived already tied to the sledges and were unloaded on special loading bays straight to the tracks.
• We need a hauling track with rope rolls every 75m (= 525m route, perhaps longer), so we need 7 hauling teams of 22 men each. We add an other team if there are additional ships landing or specially large blocks have to be moved.

Next step: Inspecting the stones

• This is the center of the whole construction site. All the work, all assignments are planned and coordinated here. The route of each stone has to be scheduled and its shape and size and its intended place on the pyramid has to be decided in advance.
• At the building yard the stones were placed in the right order to see if they fit together. This was written down on the blocks and then they were transported, still tied to the same sledge, in the correct order to the building site and up the flank of the pyramid.
• Each stone was examined by a master builder and most passed without any changes necessary. But sometimes a stone with the wrong size or shape was delivered or a flawed stone had to be replaced. At the wokshop those stones were cut to the size and shape required.
• For a standard size stone (stone blocks from the Giza quarries) a stonemason needed about 4 to 5 hours with good tools. For a casing stone (from the Tura quarries) about 8-10 hours, for a corner stone probably more like 10-12 hours. To process the 500 stones daily about 300 stonemasons were needed and as much helpers.
• An important part was played by the smiths that had to manufacture and maintain the iron tools. We calculate 100 smiths and twice as much additional helpers.

• To transport the stones from the building yard to the foot of the pyramid (about 200m) it was expedient to install tracks that could be shifted and which connected to the five tracks (minimum) that were leading up the pyramid flank.
• First we need 8 teams of 18 men each to maneuver the stones from the building yard onto the short tracks. These teams are large, because this had to be accomplished by levering each block. Then we calculate 5 teams of 15 men each [3] for hauling the stones over these tracks on even ground.
• The number of teams can be increased, if there are more than 5 tracks leading up the flank of the pyramid. Since this can considerately reduce the time needed for the whole building process, it seems logical, that there were more tracks in use. Our calculations on this page are based on the minimum of workers needed to finish the pyramid in 20 years time.

• The stones arrived still tied to the sledge and were hauled up the flank. Here at least 5 tracks were installed with pairs of rope roll stations each 35 meters. Thanks to the rope roll an average stone block could be hauled up the flank with a team of only 55 men [3].
• Because the volume of stones needed is less with every new layer, those five tracks were reduced over time first to 3 then to a single track which leads up to the very tip of the pyramid.
• For the first 35 meters we calculate 550 men to operate the five tracks (for each track two double teams = 110 men, one team hauling, one walking back). Then the tracks are reduced to 3 units. We calculate 2 pairs or 6 double teams (= 660 men). For the single track leading up to the top which has 4 rope roll stations we need 4 double teams (= 440 men).
• We calculate that a maximum of 880 men were needed, namely when there were 4 tracks in use with 2 stations a piece.
• Possibly the Egyptians built the tracks not only on the southern side of the pyramid but also on the west and east, so it was possible that more hauling teams were needed (1 double team per track per 30-37m = 110 men). Installing more tracks would of course also make a big difference in the time needed to finish building the pyramids.

• For transporting the heavy granite blocks of up to 40-50 tons, a separate track was built, because the transport was more difficult. This track went from the harbor up to the pyramid and without stopping straight up the flank of the pyramid (probably on the eastern or northern side). This track had to be specially constructed to bear more weight and with more rope rolls.
• If one of the very large granite beams arrived at the harbor, workers from other parts of the building site were recruited to help. But on the flank of the pyramid only seasoned workers were employed, because work here was more demanding.
• Since the granite blocks were made to measure in Assuan it was only necessary to slightly adjust or change them at the building yard.

• On the working plateau of the frustum, room was very limited, so each gang had its specific work allocated. Once the stones arrived on the pyramid plateau, they were hauled on movable tracks to the right place where they were levered and layed down in a specific order.
• Specially the outer casing stones had to be aligned in a precise pattern and fitted neatly to their neighbor stone. Then the outer casing stones were burnished and polished (but not bevelled - that was done at the quarry) while the next layer of stones was laid down. A team of 20 polishers could finish a surface of about 1.5m² per day.
• Over the whole construction period we calculate with an average of 4 tracks leading up, so we need 4 time 7 stone laying teams of 26 men each.

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