Nile waterscapes facilitated construction of the Giza pyramids
New palaeoecological analyses have shown that the waterscapes and higher water levels of the Nile River around 4,500 years ago helped Egyptian engineers in the construction of the Giza pyramid complex.
Egyptologists have known for some time that the pyramids on the Giza Plateau originally overlooked a now defunct arm of the Nile River. This fluvial channel, called the Khufu Branch, allowed river craft to navigate to the pyramid harbour complex and deliver materials to the building site. However, its precise environmental history was unclear.
To fill this knowledge gap, an international team of scientists studied pollen-derived vegetation patterns to reconstruct 8,000 years of fluvial variations on the Giza floodplain.
The findings of their study are published as “Nile waterscapes facilitated the construction of the Giza pyramids during the 3rd millennium BCE” in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Their analysis shows that the Khufu Branch remained at a high-water level (~40% of its Holocene maximum) during the reigns of the Fourth Dynasty (ca.2575–2465 BC) pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, facilitating the transportation of construction materials to
