People have been speculating for centuries about how the ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramids. Few people have paid attention to Herodotus and his writings about Egypt's intricate canal system, but historian James V. Barr believes these played a critical role in pyramid construction. Relying on years of research, he presents the lock and canal system of construction. Barr also examines other theories of pyramid construction such as the levitation theory and the ramp theory. He explains why explanations of pyramid construction that do not focus on the canal system are wrong and why the canal and lock system makes the most sense. Barr hopes to show Egypt both as it once was and as it is today, sharing entirely new photographs, drawings, and maps. This is concise, informative primer for anyone who wants to learn more about the methods employed in pyramid construction. Discover the ingenuity of the ancient Egyptians and dig deeper into some of their greatest feats of engineering as you take a trip back in time on The Floating Stones of Egypt.

THE FLOATING STONES OF EGYPT

By James V. Barr

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 James V. Barr
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-8749-4

Contents

Chapter I The "AURA" of Egypt...................................................1Chapter II The Dawn of Egypt.....................................................21Chapter III The Conveyance of Ancient Egypt.......................................39Chapter IV The Stone Reminders...................................................47Chapter V The Floating Stones...................................................57Chapter VI The Canal and Lock Method of Pyramid Construction.....................61Chapter VII Archimedes............................................................81Chapter VIII The Sumps.............................................................85Chapter IX The Stone Harvest.....................................................99

Chapter One

THE "AURA" OF EGYPT

The Egypt, Old Egypt, Ancient Egypt, Upper and Lower Egypt and the treasures of Egypt in all the pieces of literature written about Egypt there seems to be one common denominator or opinion expressed an immense admiration of the true Egyptian's ingenuity and accomplishment portrayed during the time of the Pharaohs.

There is not on facet of the ancient Egyptian life style that eludes respect and wonder. The pyramids, the massive canal systems, and the art works are just a few areas of endeavor that are synonymous with the "used" intelligence. There are many more, early surgery, astronomy unbelievable architecture. The list goes on and on.

Every time an exhibit, such as "King Tutankhamen's Treasure", is shown outside of Egypt, the admiration of the Ancient Egyptian era is shaped by more people of our present world. When viewing the treasure of the king a strange feeling of enjoyment surrounds its viewers. Thousands of people walked through the rooms filled with the golden art work. No loud noises can be heard. Just the sound of whispering voices praising the beautiful and varied examples of art and sculptures. At the very end of the tour was the exhibit of King Tutankhamen's death mask. Viewing it seemed anticlimactic. A strange aura of respect emitted by the mask was reflected in each viewer's eyes. This aura is felt when any wonder of Egypt is seen. It creates an air of mysticism, secrecy and respect, all at once. This feeling also spurs more and more research projects to explore Egypt's mysteries each year. It is unfortunate; however, that greed, avarice, and discontent have also been created. It is certain that more complete research could be accomplished in Egypt if some explorers and archaeologists had not plundered Egypt's ancient treasures for the past decades only for personal greed. Many artifacts created by the ancient Egyptians such as obelisks tomb treasures, and sculptures have been taken from Egypt without any compensation or gratitude shown. The British and the French were probably the worst abusers of Egyptian hospitality in the past century as evidenced whenever a person visits either countries museum of archaeological collections. These museums are filled to capacity with treasures plundered and smuggled from Egypt. A stark example of disregard for Egypt was when Napoleon of France used the Great Sphinx for cannon practice, thus obliterating the face of the Sphinx. I found this a sad situation when it came to light. This is prevalent with many monument of Egyptian histories. (Plate 1a & 1b) The Great Sphinx lower section still remains buried under vast amounts of sand in the lower 1700's.

The lion-like poses, the Sphinx guard the pyramid of Gizeh.

During the last research visit to Egypt to complete the photography of Egypt's oldest structures, such as the Pyramids of Gizeh, are slowly being reduced to piles of rubble. (Plate2)

Despite the efforts of several countries to help pre-serve the monuments of Egypt, there seems to be very little cooperation from the Egyptian government itself to help these countries. Many areas of Egypt that desperately need reconstruction or renovation are sealed off to out-siders for one reason or another. One example is closed because a dynamite factory is located nearby the pyramids. Another tragic example is the Great Pyramid of Gizeh. This massive stone structure is a stark reminder of what neglect and abuse affects such monuments. The pyramids outer layer of protective limestone was supposedly stripped off by the plundering Arabs soon after the decline of ancient Egypt. The ruin caused by time and neglect is noted when looking at various pyramids of Egypt. The interior blocks of stone, which are not as durable lime stone have begun to separate and decompose considerably, leaving mounds of rubble on each tier of the pyramids. Some efforts to protect the stones has been started, the work is quite slow. The mounds of rubble have made climbing the Great Pyramid quite difficult and dangerous. While completing the photographs at Cairo for the pyramid chapter of this book, two people fell to their deaths when they attempted to climb the 400 hundred foot high structure. There are tourist police that patrol around the pyramid to stop visitors from climbing the pyramid, but the enforcement is poor. A slight money bribe to the police allows visitors to seemingly go un-noticed in their climbing endeavors. (Plates 3a, b, c, e, f, g, & 4a, b & 5 photos taken in December 1978) While discussing the decadence of the Great Pyramid, a short report on the condition of the boat resurrected in the 1950's from a boat pit near the Great Pyramid, should be dwelled upon. When the boat was discovered, it was assembled. A large shelter was constructed and the boat was reassembled and studied. . Being constructed of cedar, the boat is rapidly deteriorating in the harsh environment of Egypt. No funds seem to be available to hermetically seal the closed exhibit to the public. This is just prevent further ruin of this valuable artifact of the past. Even though the boat shelter is quite large and could accommodate sightseeing tourists, it is closed to the public. This is just another example of the disregard for preservation of Egyptian antiquities.

At this point in time, something must be done. It is hoped that this book will help the world realize some of the problems that exist in protecting the legacies of Ancient Egypt. A certain amount of funds generated by this book's profits will be set aside for hopeful restoration of some of these legacies of Ancient Egypt. These goals are: 1. to portray Ancient Egypt as it was by using new theories and opinions. 2. to show Egypt as it is now to generate and procreate the "AURA" of Egypt.

Many of the photographs, drawings, and maps used to substantiate this book are entirely new, as are some of the deductions and writings theories that are expressed within. It is hoped that the book's purpose is understood as a meaningful project, and not as a vain. Endeavor. At the base of one of the pyramids of Gizeh stands a recently constructed building that houses the reconstructed boat. Pyramids made of clay brick and sand struggle to hold their distinct shape compared to the stone predecessors in the background.

Chapter Two

THE DAWN OF EGYPT

The fertile basins that spread for miles on each side of the Nile in Lower Egypt still supply bountiful crops. Silt left from the Nile flooding annually restores the land with fresh top soil. Most of the farming and cultivation techniques used are the same they were thousands of years ago. Water is still...