The pyramid of Djoser hid a secret: did they use hydraulic technology in Ancient Egypt?
A group of researchers believe they may have solved the mystery of a structure near the Pyramid of Djoser. It may have been part of a hydraulic lift system.
There are many theories for how the multiple pyramids in Egypt were built thousands of years ago with stone age technology. A new interdisciplinary analysis on the Step Pyramid of Djoser by a group of researchers suggests that its ancient builders may have used a hydraulic lift system.
The discovery came after they examined the nearby Gisr el-Mudir enclosure, a massive structure that had previously not had any explanation for it. The researchers, led by Xavier Landreau from CEA Paleotechnic Institute, France, believe that it may have functioned as a ‘check dam’, capturing sediment and water, which was used to feed a hydraulic elevation system.
Step Pyramid of Djoser had a possible hydraulic elevator
The topography of the area beyond the dam, according to the paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, suggests that there may have been a temporary lake. This was potentially linked to the Nile by a ‘Dry Moat’ around the Pyramid of Djoser site. This could have been used to help move the large stone blocks.
Additionally, a series of deep-trench compartments were dug into the ground in one section of the moat that may have served as a water treatment facility. They may have been used to channel sediment free water into two shafts located inside the pyramid. “The ancient architects likely raised the stones from the pyramid center in a volcano fashion,” the authors explain.
If their findings are confirmed, this would be an unprecedented discovery as such technology was not known to exist at that time in ancient Egypt. “This work opens a new research line for the scientific community: the use of hydraulic power to build the pyramids of Egypt,” write the authors.
The pyramid at Saqqara was built sometime around 2680 BCE as a funerary complex for the Third Dynasty pharaoh Djoser. It is believed to be the oldest of Egypt’s seven iconic pyramids and the first all stone structure.
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