Dozens of Egyptian pyramids, some in Giza, sat along a branch of the Nile, study says

[Wicked Blue]

NBC
May 16, 2024, 7:54 PM EDT
By Evan Bush

The pyramids in and around Giza have presented a fascinating puzzle for millennia.

How did ancient Egyptians move limestone blocks, some weighing more than a ton, without using wheels? Why were these burial structures seemingly built in the remote and inhospitable desert?

New research — published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment — offers a possible answer, providing new evidence that an extinct branch of the Nile River once weaved through the landscape in a much wetter climate. Dozens of Egyptian pyramids across a 40-mile-long range rimmed the waterway, the study says, including the best-known complex in Giza.

The waterway allowed workers to transport stone and other materials to build the monuments, according to the study. Raised causeways stretched out horizontally, connecting the pyramids to river ports along the Nile’s bank.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/egypt-pyramids-giza-nile-branch-study-rcna152494

[Tetrachloride]

1. as the story mentions, it's easy to see the old river bed in front of the Sphinx

[tanyev]

2. Marking to read later.

[Ziggysmom]

3. Fascinating. Egypt was always on my bucket list to visit, but lately I am afraid to

travel out of the country. Maybe I'd go with a group, just not alone or with the daughter.