The Great Pyramid at Giza is a massive structure. It stands 450 feet high and its base covers about 13 acres -- roughly equivalent to 16 football fields. The pyramid consists of 2.5 million limestone blocks, each weighing between two and thirteen tons. Evidence shows that it was built over a 23 year period during the reign of reign of Pharaoh Khufu.
Is it possible that people with no machines and no advanced tools were able to hoist the tremendously heavy blocks 450 feet high and complete the project in 23 years? Pyramid scholar Evan Hadington calculated that to accomplish this feat, workers would have to place a block every two minutes during a ten hour work day, 365 days a year.
Aside from the staggering manpower needed to build the pyramids, Egyptians would have had to employ precise mathematical skill. Egyptologists note that the exterior blocks are placed so perfectly and cut so exactly that the blade of a knife can’t be wedged in most joints. In addition, the pyramids at Giza are precisely aligned to certain astronomical configurations. In light of the remarkable precision, the astronomical accuracy and the sheer mass of effort required to construct the pyramids, some have postulated that it was impossible for ancient man to complete the task -- without help.
Little Green Men
Because of the tremendous difficulty of pyramid construction, many people suspect that an alien intervention made it possible. It is speculated that aliens supervised the projects, provided the necessary knowledge to complete them or built the pyramids themselves. Most of the supporting evidence for these claims involves pointing out that to build them using manpower alone would have been tricky.
Alien-intervention theories were bolstered in 1976 when the NASA satellite Viking photographed a site on Mars called Cydonia. The photographs revealed pyramid-like structures on the red planet’s surface that some claim could not have occurred naturally. Imaginations were further excited when a feature of Mars’ surface near the Cydonia ‘pyramids’ resembled a human face. Although some believe this is an intentional sign left by alien life, researchers at Arizona State University note that the highly publicized image of the ‘face’ on Mars was filtered and doctored to make it more compelling.
Other facts used to bolster the theory that aliens were involved in pyramid construction are similarly questionable. One source notes that the Great Pyramid is 481 feet tall, which is exactly 1 billionth of Earth’s distance from the sun. The true height of the pyramid is about 450 feet, and Earth’s distance from the sun is between 91 and 93.5 million miles depending on its position along the orbit. Regardless of these inconsistencies, such facts are commonly quoted.
Do Complex Names Mean Irrefutable Theories?
What could aliens have been trying to tell us by building the pyramids? Some believe that the alignment of Mars’ Cydonia ‘pyramids’ communicate advanced mathematical principles. The angles and distances allegedly reveal trigonometric functions and mathematical constants such as Pi and E. It has been claimed that these coded messages lead to more groundbreaking realizations about the Cydonia ‘pyramids’.
As mathematical analysis gives way to pseudo-scientific speculation, some claim that when inscribed inside a spinning sphere, the pyramid shape can be used to harness some unseen power source. Called ‘Hyperdimensional Energy,’ the mysterious power is allegedly evidenced by patterns of volcanic activity on Earth, Venus and Mars. The energy is believed to originate in another dimension and can be pinpointed using pyramid-based geometry coded in the arrangements of the Cydonia ‘pyramids.’
According to some, it is possible that knowledge of this power source is being suppressed in an effort to avoid drastic changes to industry and government. According to others, the idea suppresses itself by virtue of its being ridiculous. Astronomer Phillip Plait has called these claims “garbage,” noting that they “promote uncritical thinking.” Plait added that the alleged mystical pyramids on Mars are just rocks.
Sources Used
Irkam, Salima. "Egypt, Ancient." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. 26 April, 2006.
Dittmar, Allen. "Pyramids Without Wheels." Inventor's Digest. 26 April, 2006. http://members.aol.com/aditt48670/pyramid.html.
"Who Built the Pyramids?" NOVA. 1997. 26 April, 2006. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/builders.html.
Whitehouse, David. "Pyramids Lined Up With the Stars." BBC. 2006. 26 April, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1024779.stm.
Britt, Robert Roy. "Scientist Attacks Alien Claims on Mars." CNN. 2005. 26 April, 2006. http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/17/alien.debunk/index.html.
Mercieca, JJ. "Hyperdimensional Physics." Malta U.F.O. Research. 2000. 26 April, 2006. 
