Joseph Davidovits
Encyclopedia
Joseph Davidovits is a French
materials scientist who has posited that the blocks of the Great Pyramid
are not carved stone but mostly a form of limestone concrete
. He holds the Ordre National du Mérite
, is the author and co-author of more than 130 scientific papers and conferences reports, and holds more than fifty patents.
, France, and his archaeological studies.
on the south of the Giza plateau. It was then dissolved in large, Nile
-fed pools until it became a watery slurry. Lime
(found in the ash of ancient cooking fires) and natron
(also used by the Egyptians
in mummification
) was mixed in. The pools were then left to evaporate, leaving behind a moist, clay-like mixture. This wet "concrete" would be carried to the construction site where it would be packed into reusable wooden molds. In the next few days the mixture would undergo a chemical hydration reaction similar to the setting of cement.
Using Davidovits' theory, no large gangs would be needed to haul blocks and no huge and unwieldy ramps would be needed to transport the blocks up the side of the pyramid. No chiseling or carving with soft bronze tools would be required to dress their surfaces and new blocks could be cast in place, on top of and pressed against the old blocks. This would account for the unerring precision of the joints of the casing stones (the blocks of the core show tools marks and were cut with much lower tolerances). Proof-of-concept experiments using similar compounds were carried out at Davidovit's geopolymer institute in northern France. It was found that a crew of ten, working with simple hand tools, could build a structure of fourteen, 1.3 to 4.5 ton blocks in a couple of days. According to Davidovits the architects possessed at least two concrete formulas: one for the large structural blocks and another for the white casing stones. He argues earlier pyramids, brick structures, and stone vases were built using similar techniques.
Although his ideas are not accepted by mainstream Egyptologists, in December 2006 Michel Barsoum, Adrish Ganguly, and Gilles Hug published a peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society stating that parts of the pyramid were cast with a type of limestone concrete. Dipayan Jana, a petrographer, made a presentation to the ICMA (International Cement Microscopy Association) in 2007 and gave a paper in which he concludes "we are far from accepting even as a remote possibility of a 'manmade'
origin of pyramid stones."
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
materials scientist who has posited that the blocks of the Great Pyramid
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact...
are not carved stone but mostly a form of limestone concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. He holds the Ordre National du Mérite
Ordre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
, is the author and co-author of more than 130 scientific papers and conferences reports, and holds more than fifty patents.
Career
Davidovits graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie, Rennes, France, in 1958 with a diploma in chemical engineering. His doctorate was from the University of Mainz. Initially researching organic polymers for the textile industry in France, his interest in geopolymers developed from the need to improve the fire-resistance of these materials. From 1982 his career encompassed academic research in universities in both Europe and America; the promotion of geopolymers in industry, through his Geopolymer Institute in the textile center of Saint-QuentinSaint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
, France, and his archaeological studies.
Archaeological theories
Davidovits was not convinced that the ancient Egyptians possessed the tools or technology to carve and haul the huge (2.5 to 15 ton) limestone blocks that made up the Great Pyramid. Davidovits suggested that the blocks were molded in place by using a form of limestone concrete. According to his theory, a soft limestone with a high kaolinite content was quarried in the wadiWadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
on the south of the Giza plateau. It was then dissolved in large, Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
-fed pools until it became a watery slurry. Lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
(found in the ash of ancient cooking fires) and natron
Natron
Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate and about 17% sodium bicarbonate along with small quantities of household salt and sodium sulfate. Natron is white to colourless when pure, varying to gray or yellow with impurities...
(also used by the Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
in mummification
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
) was mixed in. The pools were then left to evaporate, leaving behind a moist, clay-like mixture. This wet "concrete" would be carried to the construction site where it would be packed into reusable wooden molds. In the next few days the mixture would undergo a chemical hydration reaction similar to the setting of cement.
Using Davidovits' theory, no large gangs would be needed to haul blocks and no huge and unwieldy ramps would be needed to transport the blocks up the side of the pyramid. No chiseling or carving with soft bronze tools would be required to dress their surfaces and new blocks could be cast in place, on top of and pressed against the old blocks. This would account for the unerring precision of the joints of the casing stones (the blocks of the core show tools marks and were cut with much lower tolerances). Proof-of-concept experiments using similar compounds were carried out at Davidovit's geopolymer institute in northern France. It was found that a crew of ten, working with simple hand tools, could build a structure of fourteen, 1.3 to 4.5 ton blocks in a couple of days. According to Davidovits the architects possessed at least two concrete formulas: one for the large structural blocks and another for the white casing stones. He argues earlier pyramids, brick structures, and stone vases were built using similar techniques.
Although his ideas are not accepted by mainstream Egyptologists, in December 2006 Michel Barsoum, Adrish Ganguly, and Gilles Hug published a peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society stating that parts of the pyramid were cast with a type of limestone concrete. Dipayan Jana, a petrographer, made a presentation to the ICMA (International Cement Microscopy Association) in 2007 and gave a paper in which he concludes "we are far from accepting even as a remote possibility of a 'manmade'
origin of pyramid stones."
Summary of evidence
Davidovits cites primarily evidence related to his profession as a materials scientist, re-interpreting the observations of conventional Egyptology within this light. Briefly, his points include:- The thin layer of 'mortarMortar (masonry)Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
' found at the top of casing blocks is actually the result of settling and water percolatingPercolationIn physics, chemistry and materials science, percolation concerns the movement and filtering of fluids through porous materials...
to the top of the block while drying; the layer found would be too weak to bind the massive blocks together - The humidity inside the pyramids is much higher than would be expected in a desert environment; this is caused by the moisture released into the halls and galleries while the blocks cure
- The arrangement of fossilFossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s within the blocks is jumbled, rather than stratifiedStratumIn geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
, pointing to the blocks being crushed, then poured while casting rather than deposited in layers as would conventional sedimentary rockSedimentary rockSedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution.... - Certain blocks have elongated air pockets, caused by the cement hardening while air bubbles were in the process of rising to the top
- Ancient descriptions of the pyramids being built featured the use of short blocks of wood, conventionally seen as levers or cranesCrane (machine)A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
; Davidovits suggests their use as frames to moldMolding (process)Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....
the blocks - Lines were also found on the blocks; the lines are wavy (characteristic of most types of concrete) and not horizontal (characteristic of natural limestone)
See also
- Great Pyramids of Giza
- Pyramids
- Egyptian pyramid construction techniquesEgyptian pyramid construction techniquesThere have been many hypotheses about the Egyptian pyramid construction techniques. These techniques seem to have developed over time; later pyramids were not built the same way as earlier ones. Most of the construction hypotheses are based on the idea that huge stones were carved with copper...
External links
Pro-Davidovits
- Are Pyramids Made Out of Concrete?
- Concrete Blocks Used in Great Pyramids Construction
- The Surprising Truth Behind the Construction of the Great Pyramids