I'm happy to hear that someone agrees with me....

I saw something similar to that Discovery Channel special - perhaps it was the same one?

It took place somewhere in SouthWestern America in a desert - and was headed by some woman doctor. I remember her inspiration was of the big wings that are sometimes found in glyphs, over pyramid and obelisk structures.

I wonder how they did actually do it, it's got to be something so simple you'd kick yourself!

It's funny that I came across this topic you folks are discussing because a visitor at our museum today was telling me all about this exact same television special!

He asked me if I thought it was credible. I told him it certainly was not.

It was absolutely not likely to have been used in any fashion in building pyramids. Were those ancient builders supposed to stand around and wait for the right wind speed to blow from the right direction every time a stone was to be placed? I think not.

In any form of construction in ancient Egypt this "wind power" theory just comes across as nonsense. For another thing, this woman evidently was using block-and-tackle in her experiment, and nothing of the sort even existed in Egypt at that time. They didn't even have pulleys.

It's an interesting concept, you can't deny that. But anyone can come up with fantastic notions and theories--that doesn't make them credible. It doesn't even make them realistic as explanations.

The simple use of good-old manpower was all the Egyptians needed. They had plenty of it, and they had honed their construction skills to an expert level that the modern engineers of today roundly admire.

And dedication to their Gods. That I think was the main reason for their success, and we really lack it in the modern era.

I have a new theory regarding the construction of the pyramids. If a theory is to stand up to scrutiny by the experts it should have at least some supporting evidence or a working knowledge by the person putting forward his ideas. I recently had correspondence with an Egyptologist regarding my theory she said it contained some golden nuggets of an idea but could not come to terms with the idea that the ankh , flail, septet and crook where just tools?
Her response was to say they were religious symbols. I replied and suggested to her that the cross that Jesus died on was a religious symbol? She agreed and said yes the cross is a religious symbol. I then said yes it is today but 2000 years ago it was a device for killing people and an advertising board saying if you don’t conform you will end up nailed to it. So what is now was not then!! Yes my theory revolves around hieroglyphs, I think have been misinterpreted. The theory ties in with writings of Herodotus regarding many machines. The hieroglyphs Djed, ankh flail septet and crook are tools to raise the building blocks. So convinced I was onto something I built a working model see it at www.djed.co.uk click the video link.

When I study such things and am presented with an interesting theory like yours, I must return always to the evidence at hand. I'm pretty conservative that way. I feel compelled to follow what the evidence tells us, like a detective investigating a criminal case. So in that light, I stick with conventional theories most of the time.

OK as a detective answer this for me. how did they load an obelisk onboard Hatshepsut’s barge

How did they get the obelisk on the barge? Well I am going to ask you something strange but all will become clear. Get a bottle of wine a length of string and a heavy object. To have your men on the dockside on solid ground and have the ability to pull the obelisk is a critical factor. So to the experiment tie string to a heavy object 3 or 4 pounds in weight will do. Hold the bottle of wine by the neck, slightly above the weight and about two feet away from it, now wrap the other end of the string around the neck of the bottle once. Pull the string towards your self and the weight will move directly towards the bottle.

What you are doing is altering the direction of pull by wrapping the string around the neck of the bottle. You can see the flare at the front of Hatshepsut’s obelisk barge; this would give you the same effect.





This flair on ancient Egyptian boats can now be explained, used as a simple method of altering the direction of pull for loading and unloading cargo. Positioned under a loading point, cargo could be hauled onto the boat. The left side flare is for lift and for lowering. The right side is for horizontal positioning from the dockside to the boat. This method of loading would ensure the cargo would be located in a central balanced position, essential if you are carrying heavy stones.