Tommi Huhtamaki Wrote:
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> So
> > what would the "Overseer of the side of the
> > Pyramid" do? Stand around and report when
> the
> > ramp fell?
>
>
> Be in charge that the side of each course of the
> pyramid is in the right place, for example?
This is certainly possible.
But keep in mind that the pyramid is oriented N/ S which means each of the covered up sides is also oriented N/ S. This would give the overseer a triangular region from the side to the vertical centerpoint. The work in this are is not even. The north side has almost no work at all since there are no passages or chambers. Even calling this area a "side" becomes something of a misnomer since the work goes all the way to the center and relatively little work is involved in the exposed side itself. I should think that if they divided the work this way it would be an overseer of the NW corner etc and since the work isn't even it would necessitate an "overseer of ramps" for each side as well.
It's not a logical distribution of work and not a logical name for the overseer of ramps on any side. If there's one thing these people were it's very logical. Of course I do recognize that others believe in ramps and incantations and don't see this.
Just look at the scale of G1 and you can see there must have been a great deal of logic employed in its construction and planning. This much will be proven eventually.
> It doesn't need a specialist in anything other
> than construction in general, at that time. I fail
> to see the logic that people at that time would
> such specialication. The construction happens in
> phases, and a lot of people must have taken part
> in many phases.
>
> Again, there is no reason in seeing the ramp
> itself as significant, no matter how much effort
> was used to build it.
I think there is. There's also a huge difference to individuals whether they are dragging a stone up a ramp or carrying a basketful of fill for a ramp. Some men would be worthless dragging stones because they'll just lean on the ropes rather than really extend themselves. Overseers could give such men a basket and then be actually able to see how much work they did. If they didn't keep up they could be punished or fired. Some people don't have the stamina or leg strenght to drag stones and some have strong backs to carry heavy loads. There would be a very natural division of labor. Better workers might be allowed to trade back and forth on these jobs depending on how they felt on any given day.
But the more precise work of topping or siding these ramps would almost have to specialty work. It would simply require knowledge one can't gain by dragging stones around. Remember we do need to acxcount for a huge improvement in this technology over a couple centuries so it seems improbable this was a job that could be done by just anyone. Some of these ramps have valuable wood sunk right into them and this could cause havoc if not done properly. Not only might there be excessive wear on the runners but each team has to maintain the same pace or all the work is slowed.
> It's perfectly logical that each king would try to
> surpass the efforts of the former one. Each one is
> just trying to find new ways to maximise the
> workforce and effort. And the experience from
> former building projects doesn't hurt either,
> saying that it must be an increase of the
> efficiency of a ramp is too much of an
> oversimplification.
Each king is constrained by natural law and the size of the GDP. It hasn't even been shown that the first little great pyramid could have been built with ramps. This first pyramid is bigger than every single one of the pyramids that were built after the great pyramids.
Of course you're right that ramp improvements aren't the only thing that could result in greater sizes. But it's logically the means to lift the stones that was improved over time. This is based on the evidence including the larger stone sizes and the lack of evidence that there was a huge increase in GDP during this period.
> Lack of evidence does not mean there were no
> ramps, and that is what you were claiming.
No. It's not conclusive evidence but when coupled with everything else there is a preponderance of evidence, and the lack of any evidence for ramps does figure very largely in this. This lack of evidence suggests that almnost every possible ramp configuration is out. About the only one left is denied by other evidence. The fact is that all building and transportation of stone manifested in only the horizontal and vertical planes and it's virtually impossble to squeeze ramps in anywhere that fits with this.
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Man fears the pyramid, time fears man.
