Cement Pyramids & Seashells
There has been a lot of buzz in the news recently about the pyramid containing blocks made from cement. First made public by Davidovits, the theory has more recently received support from material scientists such as Michael Barsoum who’s article appeared in the scientific magazine Nature vol. 444 in December 2006. Now Linn Hobbs, professor of materials science and engineering and professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT University is testing the theory by building a pyramid with his students.
Now the cement theory has once again received a response from critics of the theory. Ioannis Liritzis and his colleagues from the University of the Aegean and the University of Athens have released the results of their study carried out on materials collected from a range of sites in Egypt. Their findings are to be published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage.
“The study’s authors suggest that the stones that make up the examined monuments at Giza plateau, Fayum and Abydos must have been carved out of natural stone since they reveal what chunks of the sea floor must have looked like over 4,000 years ago, when the buildings were erected.”
“Liritzis and his team argue that since the fossils are largely undamaged and are distributed in a random manner within the stone, in accordance with their typical distribution at sea floors, the large building stones used to construct the monuments must have been carved out of natural stone instead of cast in molds.
To further their argument, the scientists say the X-ray patterns detected no presence of lime, which would be expected along with natron, a salt found in early cast materials. They also point out that no references about molds, buckets or other casting tools exist in early Egyptian paintings, sculptures or texts.
Joseph Davidovits, professor and director of France’s Geopolymer Institute, formulated the theory that natural limestone was cast like concrete to build the pyramids of Egypt.
Davidovits told Discovery News that Liritzis and his team “should have taken into account the scientific analysis” conducted by himself and other researchers before backing the carved-not-cast theory.”
Read the full article: Egypt’s Pyramids Packed With Seashells
Read more about the Cement Pyramid Theory
Tags: Giza, Khufu, News, theory
