Evidence for Reconstituted Limestone in the Great Pyramids Michel Barsoum, Drexel University, DMR 0503711

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Evidence for Reconstituted Limestone in the Great
PyramidsMichel Barsoum, Drexel University, DMR
0503711

• How the Great Pyramids of Giza were built has
  remained an enduring mystery. In a recent paper,
  that has caused a worldwide stir, it was shown
  that at least some of the limestone blocks in the
  Great Pyramid of Khufu were not natural. The
  evidence is compelling, multifold and includes
  the presence of
• Amorphous Si-containing areas consistent with a
  relatively rapid precipitation reaction and
  incompatible with our understanding of how
  sedimentary rocks form.
• Areas with appreciable amounts of Si in
  combination with elements, such as Ca and Mg, in
  ratios that are not known to exist in sedimentary
  rocks.
• Areas between the natural limestone aggregates,
  with chemistries reminiscent of calcite and
  dolomite - not known to hydrate in nature - that
  were hydrated.
• Submicron silica-based spheres that strongly
  suggest that, at one time, the solution was
  basic.
• An outer Ca-phosphate layer, on an inner casing
  sample - cemented by an amorphous silica phase -
  that cannot be natural.
• The sophistication and endurance of this
  ancient technology is simply astounding and has
  major ramifications to history and archeology.
• M. W. Barsoum, A. Ganguly and G. Hug, J. Amer.
  Ceramic Society, 89, 3788-3796 (2006).

100 µm
Colorized scanning electron microscope micrograph
of inner casing limestone. The red areas are
the amorphous silica cementing phase that glue
the black natural limestone aggregates together.