Australian Science Illustrated — Issue 54 2017

Drones Zero in on

Drag Marks in the Desert

Scientists aim to fly drones over the desert surrounding the pyramids,

zooming in on details of the enigmatic structures.

T

he pyramids weigh millions of tonnes, but

they were still built in only a few decades.

How it was done remains a mystery, but

scientists working for the Egyptian Ministry of

Antiquities will try to find out via the

ScanPyramids project, which aims to map out the

pyramids very accurately, revealing any signs of

the ancient construction methods.

Scientists will photograph four of the largest

Egyptian pyramids using two different types of

drones. First, a fixed-wing will photograph the

surroundings of the pyramids with a degree of

accuracy of down to 5 cm. Subsequently, a

helicopter drone will take close-ups of the stone

blocks with a degree of accuracy of down to 1 cm,

and finally, a laser scanner, whose light impulses

can reach even the darkest and narrowest corners

will make an accurate 3D model of the pyramids.

7

WHAT WE KNOW

The large stones were

carried from the quarries to

the construction site by boat.

The construction was well-

designed and well-organised.

Archaeologists have

discovered an entire city which

was apparently inhabited by

construction workers. Clay

tablets illustrate the process.

WHAT WE DON'T

It remains unknown how

the stones were carried from

the boats to the construction

site. According to one theory,

the 2-15 t stones were

dragged on sledges across

wet sand, i.e. the sand was

more solid, easing the work.

Most Egyptologists think

that the Egyptians used

ramps for the construction,

but we do not know exactly

how they worked.

According to some

archaeologists, the pyramid

was built from within,

based on a core of ramps,

which zigzagged their way

up through the pyramid.

Small stones were used at

the centre, whereas larger

ones were placed on the

outside, using scaffolding.

Stone

dragging and

ramps remain

a mystery

POTENTIAL: Revealing how the Egyptians built the

pyramids using simple ancient methods.

CHALLENGE: Scientists must examine huge quantities of

material in detail to find answers.

A

A plane drone flies

over the pyramid

surroundings in search of

evidence of ramps or

construction paths.

B

A helicopter

drone hovering

above the pyramid takes

close-ups to find any

scrape marks from tools

on the stone blocks.

C A laser scanner produces a 3D

model of joints and any

shifting of the pyramid's

stone structure.

HIP INSTITUTE

J.A. PEÑAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

DASSAULT SYSTEMES//SCANPIX