Researchers may have solved mystery of how pyramids were built

New Delhi

Pyramids are a wonder of the ancient world that has stood test of time and continues to enthrall millions across the world. Construction of pyramids must indeed have been a great endevour. Each of the main three pyramids on the outskirts of modern Cairo has been made of millions of blocks of stone, and each weighed between 2.5 and 15 tonnes.

Considering the pyramids were built more than four thousand years ago, the exact technique of construction remains a mystery and modern-day equipment was not available at the time.

It is believed that ancient Egyptians ferried the huge stone blocks on the Nile river. But today, the Nile can be found about four miles away from the pyramids. It appears to be an impossible job to take a tonne-heavy stone across the distance.

But scientists have now said that a stable branch of the Nile flowed near pyramids. The branch is no longer present today.

To detemine whether the Nile flowed very close to the pyramids, the researchers dug holes in the desert around the pyramids and searched for pollens of plants that thrived in an aquatic environment.

"It was impossible to build the pyramids here without this branch of the Nile," study author and geographer Hader Sheesh said, as quoted by The New York Times.

Findings of this research have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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