Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Did the Egyptians Invent Concrete?

New theory on the Pyramids: 'less sweat and more smarts'

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 22, 2008 1:25 PM CDT
Email

(Newser) – The Egyptians may have used concrete to build the pyramids, an MIT professor suggests, and he's using materials available at the time (and students as his slave labor), to test the theory on a small mock-up of a pyramid, reports the Boston Globe. "It could be they used less sweat and more smarts," says Linn Hobbs, a materials science prof, by casting in place blocks on the upper reaches of the pyramids using wooden molds.

If so, it would have saved millions of man-hours, the Globe notes, and pushed back the invention of concrete 2,000 years before the Romans used it in their structures. Egyptologists and archaeologists are almost universally opposed to Hobbs' theory, pointing out that there is simply no evidence to support it.

Las pirámides de Egipto
Las pirámides de Egipto   ((c) Silviavk)
A MIT professor suggests that the ancient Egyptians were the first to use concrete.
A MIT professor suggests that the ancient Egyptians were the first to use concrete.   ((c) ninahale)
Tourists ride rented horses and camels at the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt.
Tourists ride rented horses and camels at the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt.   (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

These ideas have been floating around for a while
New York Times

 
Boston • MIT • Pyramids • ancient Egypt • concrete • Linn Hobbs

More Newser Stories

Lost Pyramids Spotted From Space

Pyramids Not Built by Slaves: Scientists

Suit Stops Hackers From Showing Subway Flaw

Lost Pyramid Found in Egypt

Egypt to 'Copyright' Sphinx™
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne