Religions, Evolution and related Sciences

[fourfive8]

From perplexity, hope this helps.

how were the pyramids built​

The pyramids were built by highly organized Egyptian work crews, not by magic or aliens. The best-supported explanation is that stone blocks were quarried, moved by sledges and boats, then hauled up ramps and placed with ropes, levers, and skilled planning.

How it worked​

• Quarrying: Workers cut limestone with copper tools; harder stones like granite were broken out with heavier pounding stones and abrasives.
• Transport: Blocks were moved on sledges, sometimes over wetted ground to reduce friction, and brought by Nile boats or canals when possible.
• Lifting: Most evidence points to some kind of ramp system, likely straight, zig-zag, spiral, or a mix, used to drag blocks upward as the pyramid rose.
• Placement and leveling: Builders carefully leveled the base, aligned the pyramid to the cardinal directions, and finished the outer casing stones near the top down.

What is still debated​

The exact ramp design is still uncertain, because no single method explains every pyramid perfectly. But the core idea is consistent: a large, organized labor force using simple tools, clever engineering, and lots of planning.

The pyramids were mainly royal tombs for pharaohs, built to support the ruler’s journey into the afterlife. They were also meant to express divine kingship, religious beliefs about rebirth, and the pharaoh’s power and wealth.

Religious meaning​

Ancient Egyptians believed the pharaoh could become a god after death, so the pyramid was part of a funerary complex designed for burial rituals and eternal life. The shape may have symbolized a stairway to the heavens, the primordial mound of creation, or sun rays reaching down to earth.

More than a tomb​

The pyramids were not isolated structures; they were part of larger complexes with temples, chapels, walls, boats, and other burial-related features. So their purpose was both practical and symbolic: to house the dead king, protect the burial, and project royal power.

Why they matter​

Even though the bodies were often robbed or moved, the pyramids still preserved the names and stories of the kings who built them. That is a big part of why they remain so important

Interesting that the sarcophagus meant for Khufu in the great pyramid at Giza, may have never held the mummy nor was it ever intended to. No interior art nor anything common to other burial crypts for that purpose in Egypt. What’s up with that? It’s a presumption we were all taught but turns out to be incorrect or misunderstood history.
Maybe some things should remain a mystery. There exist, but not in Egypt, 1000-1500 ton cut stone blocks that were moved by people, “presumed” Roman +/- 2000 years ago … the Baalbek stones in Lebanon. No one has a clue how they were moved or placed but many now claim to know. IMO They are guessing.

 

[Aaron N]

Interesting that the sarcophagus meant for Khufu in the great pyramid at Giza, may have never held the mummy nor was it ever intended to. No interior art nor anything common to other burial crypts for that purpose in Egypt. What’s up with that? It’s a presumption we were all taught but turns out to be incorrect or misunderstood history.
Maybe some things should remain a mystery. There exist, but not in Egypt, 1000-1500 ton cut stone blocks that were moved by people, “presumed” Roman +/- 2000 years ago … the Baalbek stones in Lebanon. No one has a clue how they were moved or placed but many now claim to know. IMO They are guessing.

Looks like the larger stones didn’t end up moving far, or even get totally extracted. Fascinating what slave labour and ingenuity got you in ancient times.

The remaining three are Roman monoliths, not part of a larger structure, conventionally known as the "Stone of the Pregnant Woman" (estimated at 1,000 t), the "Stone of the South" (est. 1,242 t), and the "Forgotten Stone" (est. 1,650 t). These are the first, third, and tied fifth largest known stones ever quarried in human history. They are believed to have been intended for the nearby Jupiter Baal complex, possibly as an addition to the Trilithon; but, they were never removed from their quarry. They have not been used since their extraction - some only partially extracted - in ancient times.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones#cite_note-4"><span><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></span></a>

 

[BigSteve57]

I came across this...
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/new-testament-manuscript-00102733

Apparently "what the lost pages reveal" shows that there are some differences in the earliest and "modern" biblical texts.

 

[rookhawk]

More new evidence for the younger dryas catastrophe. I’m a strong believer that this epoch from 11,000 years ago is the basis for the genesis flood, an event recorded in almost every ancient civilization we know about today.

This time, they did core samples from the deepest ocean trenches and found all the marine life silted over and exterminated near instantly from a major surface catastrophe that was occurring.

During the younger dryas, we now know of three catastrophic civilization ending events that occurred in roughly 1000 years. The best evidence is that Jupiter’s gravity pulled asteroids out of their typical orbit (the June Taurid meteor showers) and those meteor strikes super heated glaciers and caused massive flooding. We lost virtually all mega fauna during these times. Evidence previously looked at the scablands, massive water erosion in Minnesota, and other European sites. This new research is triangulating the events from the deepest sea floors.

Article below:

A miraculously preserved deep-sea sediment core discovered in the Pacific Midnight Zone is giving scientists a rare look at the true apocalyptic reality of Earth's deadliest sudden abyssal suffocations.
The Clarion-Clipperton abyssal site, perfectly dating back 11,000 years, contains the fossilized remains of ancient deep-sea "dark taxa" that were buried alive in a massive blanket of toxic, oxygen-starved ocean mud. It is believed to be the only site on Earth that physically records the exact decades immediately following a catastrophic, localized collapse of the deep-ocean food web.
Marine eDNA beds capturing the precise, decade-by-decade timeline of a sudden abyssal biological obliteration are extremely rare.
Because the anoxic sediment layers have microscopic, perfectly preserved environmental DNA (eDNA) of ancient colossal cephalopods lodged in their dense clay, finding this site proves they absorbed the lethal, shifting ocean currents just moments before a massive surge of stagnant, suffocating water buried the deep-sea giants forever.
During the end of the Pleistocene epoch, much of what is now a freezing, lightless midnight zone was violently suffocated by a shifting deep-sea conveyor belt reacting to a rapidly warming surface climate.
Well-preserved disaster sites like this provide valuable data on the immediate physics of deep-ocean anoxia, the terrifying speed of abyssal extinction, and the exact moment the ocean's most elusive leviathans were pushed to the brink.
Even a single microscopic strand of ancient eDNA can reveal details about a terrifying, ocean-choking dead zone on a scale almost impossible to imagine today.
Source: Marine biological and geochemical deep-ocean coring surveys (Pacific Ocean)
Evidence Level: Strong (physical environmental DNA (eDNA) of ancient cephalopods lodged in anoxic clay)

 

[rookhawk]

Looks like the larger stones didn’t end up moving far, or even get totally extracted. Fascinating what slave labour and ingenuity got you in ancient times.

The remaining three are Roman monoliths, not part of a larger structure, conventionally known as the "Stone of the Pregnant Woman" (estimated at 1,000 t), the "Stone of the South" (est. 1,242 t), and the "Forgotten Stone" (est. 1,650 t). These are the first, third, and tied fifth largest known stones ever quarried in human history. They are believed to have been intended for the nearby Jupiter Baal complex, possibly as an addition to the Trilithon; but, they were never removed from their quarry. They have not been used since their extraction - some only partially extracted - in ancient times.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones#cite_note-4"><span><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></span></a>

The Baalbek trilothon can be hoisted today using 46 of the largest cranes ever invented. There is nothing in the Roman catalog with such capabilities. It is likely those stones were placed by the ancients and the Roman structure is simply borrowing an existing foundation. The Roman stones all have signature marks from hoisting techniques of the Roman’s, the largest stones do not have the Roman hallmarks.

 

[rookhawk]

I came across this...
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/new-testament-manuscript-00102733

Apparently "what the lost pages reveal" shows that there are some differences in the earliest and "modern" biblical texts.

That’s actually not the case at all, but the mainstream journalists are trying to create a hook for their pieces.

The uncovered manuscripts used as bindings show complete fidelity to the other known manuscripts.

The novel discovery was how the scribes opted to adjust paragraphs and verses to aid the reader. All English bibles today use the same arbitrary verse systems so regardless of the translation, we know the words that comprise John 3:16. That is a medieval and arbitrary numbering system of the New Testament, but the words beneath have been consistent.

 

[rookhawk]

I was watching the Shawn Ryan podcast today and Jeremiah Johnson presented him with a facsimile of one of the oldest complete Bibles in the world. It was autographed by Pope JP2 (I'm a Protestant fan of JP2).

This book was from within 30 years of Constantine. Codex Vaticanus. It is nearly complete. It stops at the book of Hebrews but it is likely that the remainder was lost during transcription, but thankfully we have other copies that substantiate the subsequent books of the New Testament.

That's how old the documents that support the New Testament actually are.

P.S. - The remaining New Testament books are

• James
• 1 & 2 Peter (1 Peter, 2 Peter)
• 1, 2 & 3 John (1 John, 2 John, 3 John)
• Jude
• Revelation (the final book) [1, 2, 3]

 

[fourfive8]

Looks like the larger stones didn’t end up moving far, or even get totally extracted. Fascinating what slave labour and ingenuity got you in ancient times.

The remaining three are Roman monoliths, not part of a larger structure, conventionally known as the "Stone of the Pregnant Woman" (estimated at 1,000 t), the "Stone of the South" (est. 1,242 t), and the "Forgotten Stone" (est. 1,650 t). These are the first, third, and tied fifth largest known stones ever quarried in human history. They are believed to have been intended for the nearby Jupiter Baal complex, possibly as an addition to the Trilithon; but, they were never removed from their quarry. They have not been used since their extraction - some only partially extracted - in ancient times.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones#cite_note-4"><span><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></span></a>

I know one of the theories about moving these and other large stones in other parts of the world states in general terms that the builders simply added a bunch of slaves to a bunch of ropes and pulled them. The distance at Baalbek was something like a half mile. Modern riggers and engineers attempting to reenact this method, even at smaller scales, quickly determine it doesn’t work. The only thing that happens is broken ropes. Substitute thousands of slaves with modern machinery to apply equivalent force and prevent injury. Roller beds of wood rails and logs are simply crushed under the weight or are embedded into the substrate thus don’t decrease friction. Same result…a bunch of broken ropes. Assuming that somehow moved to site, lifting to place becomes another hurdle. Even today, how would we lift and place a 1000 ton stone?

 

[mark-hunter]

Even today, how would we lift and place a 1000 ton stone?

Heavy lift machinery, diesel powered.
We solved that problem.
But, it does not solve the question of how pyramids were built, then.

 

[VertigoBE]

Heavy lift machinery, diesel powered.
We solved that problem.
But, it does not solve the question of how pyramids were built, then.

The lifting is one thing, trying to move 1000 ton blocks over gravel roads for sometimes 100’s of miles is another problem that you cannot solve by just adding more manpower.

 

[rookhawk]

I know one of the theories about moving these and other large stones in other parts of the world states in general terms that the builders simply added a bunch of slaves to a bunch of ropes and pulled them. The distance at Baalbek was something like a half mile. Modern riggers and engineers attempting to reenact this method, even at smaller scales, quickly determine it doesn’t work. The only thing that happens is broken ropes. Substitute thousands of slaves with modern machinery to apply equivalent force and prevent injury. Roller beds of wood rails and logs are simply crushed under the weight or are embedded into the substrate thus don’t decrease friction. Same result…a bunch of broken ropes. Assuming that somehow moved to site, lifting to place becomes another hurdle. Even today, how would we lift and place a 1000 ton stone?

The romans were very clever. You can see their brilliance at Baalbek. They would notch a cavity in each stone, sometimes in multiple places. The notch would look kind of like a trapezoid. Their crane rigging would then get inserted in pieces into that notch so the large stone could be hoisted and the rigging cannot slip out because when assembled.

All good stuff, except that the Trilothan, the very biggest of the stones that are the foundation stones, DO NOT have the Roman notches for rigging them. Add to that, of course the Romans had no known way to move stones of such size.

 

[cwpayton]

That’s actually not the case at all, but the mainstream journalists are trying to create a hook for their pieces.

The uncovered manuscripts used as bindings show complete fidelity to the other known manuscripts.

The novel discovery was how the scribes opted to adjust paragraphs and verses to aid the reader. All English bibles today use the same arbitrary verse systems so regardless of the translation, we know the words that comprise John 3:16. That is a medieval and arbitrary numbering system of the New Testament, but the words beneath have been consistent.

IT is my understanding that the Hebrew writers used no periods . commas, or paragraph markers and read from right to left. in other words they wrote alot like me.

 

[cwpayton]

More new evidence for the younger dryas catastrophe. I’m a strong believer that this epoch from 11,000 years ago is the basis for the genesis flood, an event recorded in almost every ancient civilization we know about today.

This time, they did core samples from the deepest ocean trenches and found all the marine life silted over and exterminated near instantly from a major surface catastrophe that was occurring.

During the younger dryas, we now know of three catastrophic civilization ending events that occurred in roughly 1000 years. The best evidence is that Jupiter’s gravity pulled asteroids out of their typical orbit (the June Taurid meteor showers) and those meteor strikes super heated glaciers and caused massive flooding. We lost virtually all mega fauna during these times. Evidence previously looked at the scablands, massive water erosion in Minnesota, and other European sites. This new research is triangulating the events from the deepest sea floors.

Article below:

A miraculously preserved deep-sea sediment core discovered in the Pacific Midnight Zone is giving scientists a rare look at the true apocalyptic reality of Earth's deadliest sudden abyssal suffocations.
The Clarion-Clipperton abyssal site, perfectly dating back 11,000 years, contains the fossilized remains of ancient deep-sea "dark taxa" that were buried alive in a massive blanket of toxic, oxygen-starved ocean mud. It is believed to be the only site on Earth that physically records the exact decades immediately following a catastrophic, localized collapse of the deep-ocean food web.
Marine eDNA beds capturing the precise, decade-by-decade timeline of a sudden abyssal biological obliteration are extremely rare.
Because the anoxic sediment layers have microscopic, perfectly preserved environmental DNA (eDNA) of ancient colossal cephalopods lodged in their dense clay, finding this site proves they absorbed the lethal, shifting ocean currents just moments before a massive surge of stagnant, suffocating water buried the deep-sea giants forever.
During the end of the Pleistocene epoch, much of what is now a freezing, lightless midnight zone was violently suffocated by a shifting deep-sea conveyor belt reacting to a rapidly warming surface climate.
Well-preserved disaster sites like this provide valuable data on the immediate physics of deep-ocean anoxia, the terrifying speed of abyssal extinction, and the exact moment the ocean's most elusive leviathans were pushed to the brink.
Even a single microscopic strand of ancient eDNA can reveal details about a terrifying, ocean-choking dead zone on a scale almost impossible to imagine today.
Source: Marine biological and geochemical deep-ocean coring surveys (Pacific Ocean)
Evidence Level: Strong (physical environmental DNA (eDNA) of ancient cephalopods lodged in anoxic clay)

Sounds almost like the bible is validating lately come science. ' THE FOUNTAINS of the deep were broken up, GEN. 7-11

 

[rookhawk]

IT is my understanding that the Hebrew writers used no periods . commas, or paragraph markers and read from right to left. in other words they wrote alot like me.

Correct. Punctuation was not present in the earliest Hebrew manuscripts, punctuation evolved later in the Hebrew written language. The verse numbering system came later as well. The novel discovery referenced above is a 6th century manuscript and how it was parsed into chapter/verse/paragraph gives insights into the way that was done in 6th century which is not the same standard decide upon for consistency in the middle ages.