Category:  Pyramids & Sphinx

From AEB : Les auteurs ont conçu cet ouvrage comme une invitation à découvrir ce qu'est véritablement un complexe pyramidal, demeure d'éternité du pharaon et lieu du culte royal, en accordant une large place à l'architecture mais aussi au décor. Les statues, les parures, les bas-reliefs, encore sur place ou conservés dans les musées, sont autant d'occasions de présenter les hommes qui édifièrent ces monuments inégalés et l'activité débordante qui, bien après la mort du roi, animait ces lieux parmi les plus visités aujourd'hui en Égypte.

Reviewed by Francesca : Pyramid building, according to the author, should be placed not in the context of only Ancient Egyptian technology, but rather in that of Near Eastern technology. This book is devoted to understanding the methods used by the Ancient Egyptians to build the pyramids. Numerous illustrations and excellent evidence complete this professional, believable and backed-up discussion, which will be of much use to interested readers.

From Booklist: A specialist on Egyptian mummies, Brier relates that he receives many a missive purporting to have solved the mystery of the Great Pyramid’s construction. In one day’s e-mail, a plausible idea caught his fancy. Unlike theories that aliens lent Egyptians a helping hand, this message dwelt on the central engineering problem concerning the type of ramp the tomb’s architect used. Brier’s communication came from coauthor Houdin, a French architect who devoted years to studying the problem. Rather than immediately bowl readers over with Houdin’s proposal, Brier cleverly entices them by alternating Houdin’s quest with the trial-and-error development of pharaonic pyramids. Photos and computer-generated graphics illustrate the authors’ explanation of designs and building processes, in the course of which they describe defects in the theories that the ramp was a mile-long straightaway or an external corkscrew. Houdin adopted an inspiration of his father’s, that the ramp was indeed a corkscrew, but one that rested inside the pyramid. His search for supporting evidence, culminating in a public presentation of his theory in 2007, fills out a book to fascinate pyramid fans.