Wonders that aren't wonderful?

[Commander Bello]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov


Ramps and levers. Again, basic technology.

This is the theory you read in popular books and which sounds to be logical.

Yet, ramps and levers do work at the lower levels of a pyramid, but no longer after having reached a certain height.
Cheops' pyramid is something around 150 mtr in height, which makes for quite a number of levels. Let's assume any of those stones comes with a height of 2 mtrs (they are less, afaik), then you have to have 75 levels.
For the first 10 levels, everything may be "easy" since you just have to move some 1000 tons of earth and to build a ramp, as Boris said.

But, what do you do when having reached a height of 80 mtr? Have you ever calculated how much earth you would use for any ramp to be both: not too steep to be able to push those stone (weight ~ 1000 kg each) upwards AND strong enough to hold the weight of the stones, the men and of its own weight?

Ramps may have been used, but not for the complete pyramid. In fact, they only could be used for a mere 30%. Anything else had to be done by other means, about nowadays we know almost nothing.

Levers and cranes only work, if you have a solid base for them. But where is that base to be found when you are at a height of 80mtrs? And when on that same base other workers are pushing other stones around?

This problem typically is called "the problem of the last stone".
For any first stone up to the one being half of the total you may find an easy solution. For stones (half +1) up to the final stone, those solutions typically don't work anymore.

And finally: how would they have lifted / manouvred /whatever the last 100 stones to a height of 150 mtrs?

The pyramids most probably are the most impressive building ever done by man and we know almost nothing about how they were done.

[Lancer]

"done by man"

Aliens built the pyramids.