00:00Most people know that pyramids were built as grand tombs for the Pharaohs, designed
00:05to ensure they had a smooth journey to the afterlife.
00:09The Great Pyramid of Giza, for instance, was constructed for the Pharaoh Khufu.
00:14But what most people don't know is that this whole pyramid-building trend started
00:18right here, with the Step Pyramid of Djoser, about 4,700 years ago.
00:25This massive structure was built for Pharaoh Djoser, a ruler from Egypt's Third Dynasty.
00:31It rises seven layers high above the ground and stands about 200 feet tall.
00:36We think of it today as a phenomenal architectural project.
00:40But for ancient Egyptians, the Step Pyramid of Djoser turned out to be more like a massive
00:45experiment – a trial run, if you will – to perfect their building skills before they
00:50moved on to even more ambitious pyramids.
00:54Reaching new heights is super exciting, but the real mystery is what is going on below
00:59the ground.
01:00In this pyramid's underground labyrinth, there is a network of tunnels stretching about
01:043.5 miles long.
01:07And some researchers believe these tunnels might've been part of a sophisticated water
01:12system that could completely change what we think about pyramid construction.
01:17Let's talk about this massive complex located in Saqqara.
01:22Surrounding the pyramid, there's what's known as a dry moat – a continuous trench
01:27that is up to 164 feet wide and almost 2 miles long.
01:32It forms a sort of rectangular shape around the pyramid.
01:35This trench has an average depth of about 65 feet.
01:39Now, if you were to add up all the earth and rock they dug out to create this moat, it
01:44would be about 10 times the volume of the Step Pyramid itself.
01:49For the longest time, people just assumed this trench was nothing more than a huge quarry
01:54– a place where they dug up stone and clay to build the Step Pyramid.
01:58Makes sense, right?
02:00But when you take a closer look, it doesn't add up.
02:03The trench is too narrow and deep to be practical for mining, and its layout doesn't match
02:08anything we know about ancient Egyptian quarrying methods.
02:12Plus, some sections of the trench are actually covered with a rocky ceiling, which would've
02:18made it nearly impossible to use as a quarry.
02:22Another theory suggests that the dry moat had some kind of spiritual significance.
02:27Maybe it was a sacred place, where souls of nobles gathered to serve the late king in
02:32the afterlife.
02:33There are even niches in the walls that work as a hint at this spiritual function.
02:39But most researchers believe that this purpose likely developed much later, long after the
02:44complex was built for Djoser.
02:47So what was the moat really designed for?
02:50In 2020, a researcher came up with a pretty intriguing idea.
02:54It is possible that this trench was actually designed to collect and manage water, especially
03:00after heavy rainfalls.
03:02Now that makes sense when you consider the location.
03:05The moat sits in an area that could easily have been flooded by runoff water from nearby
03:10plains.
03:11This could also explain why the trench wasn't used for new graves until much later when
03:16the climate became drier and less prone to flooding.
03:21The story becomes even more intriguing, as this trench appears to be part of a larger,
03:26more complex hydraulic system within the Djoser complex.
03:30It is like the trench has several compartments, carefully carved out of the rock and connected
03:35by tunnels.
03:36These compartments likely served as a part of a water treatment system, where water would
03:41flow from one compartment to the next, getting cleaner as it moved along.
03:47Now here is where things start to tie into the pyramid itself.
03:51The Djoser complex has a series of underground shafts, and some researchers think that water
03:56from the moat's deep trench might've been used to power a hydraulic lift system.
04:02And this giant water-powered elevator could've been used to raise the heavy stones needed
04:07to build the pyramid.
04:09It worked like a volcano, but instead of lava, water did the heavy lifting.
04:14Imagine a big deep hole in the ground at the center of the pyramid's site.
04:19Inside this hole, there was a huge wooden platform, kind of like a giant raft that could
04:24move up and down.
04:26When the workers wanted to lift a heavy stone, they would fill the hole with water.
04:31As the water rose, the wooden platform started to float up, carrying the stone with it, almost
04:37like a giant water-powered elevator.
04:40When the stone reached the right height, the workers slid it off the platform and onto
04:44the pyramid.
04:47The idea is that water from the deep trench, after being cleaned and filtered, would flow
04:51into these shafts.
04:53A massive float, possibly made of wood, would then rise as the water filled the shaft, lifting
04:59the stones up to where they were needed for construction.
05:03Once the stone was in place, they'd let the water out, lowering the platform back down
05:08to the bottom, ready to lift the next stone.
05:12This fancy hydraulic lift system could've been a game-changer, making the whole building
05:16process a lot faster and more efficient without using a lot of workforce.
05:21It is like the ancient Egyptians were already embracing the whole idea of work smarter,
05:27not harder.
05:28But, of course, not everyone is on board with this theory.
05:33Some experts argue that the area where the step pyramid of Djoser was built couldn't
05:37have held enough water from occasional rains to maintain such a fancy hydraulic system.
05:43The main theory suggests that, in the past, there might've been some kind of lake nearby
05:49that would've filled up after a period of rain, and this lake could've supplied water
05:54to the complex's hydraulic system.
05:56But there is no mention of such a lake in any ancient Egyptian writings, so it might
06:01be more of a what-if situation than a reality.
06:06And then there's the issue of the hard work itself.
06:09Remember when I said this method could've allowed the ancient builders to raise stones
06:13with far less effort?
06:15Well, that might not be entirely true.
06:18According to some experts, just building this hydraulic device would've required a lot
06:23more heavy work than simply moving the stone blocks using good old-fashioned manpower.
06:29But let's not forget, the step pyramid of Djoser is like a baby pyramid compared to
06:34those that came later.
06:36The stones used for Djoser's pyramid weighed, on average, about 660 pounds each, which is
06:42nothing compared to the more than 2.5-ton blocks used later for the pyramid of Cephran.
06:49If this cruel water-lift theory gets completely ruled out, we still need to explain how this
06:55pyramid was built in the first place.
06:57To answer that, we need to rewind a bit and talk about the original plans.
07:02See, before Djoser's tomb became a pyramid, the idea was to construct a simple mastaba.
07:09This type of tomb was pretty common in earlier periods – a flat-roofed rectangular structure
07:15with sloping sides.
07:17But after the original mastaba was finished, they decided to expand it a bit by adding
07:22more layers on top.
07:24And then they added even more layers, until the construction reached 6 distinctive steps
07:29– each one smaller than the previous.
07:31And they probably did all this by raising those heavy stones using ramps, not a water-powered
07:37elevator.
07:38There is still so much we don't know about the step pyramid of Djoser.
07:43More research is definitely needed to fully understand how this system worked, or if it
07:48even existed at all.
07:50But the idea of using water to help build the pyramid adds a whole new layer to our
07:55understanding of Ancient Egyptian engineering.
07:57It's a powerful reminder of just how clever and resourceful those builders were, using
08:03the natural landscape and the power of water to create one of the most iconic monuments
08:08in history.
08:10That's it for today!
08:13So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:17friends!
08:18And if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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