ISBN: 0-7509-3414-X
Description: hardback, dustjacket, 180 pp. (24x16cm), ills.
Condition: very good
Weight: 595g.

Dick Parry, Engineering the Pyramids, Sutton Publishing 2005

In Engineering the Pyramids, author Dick Parry - a civil engineer - assesses the design of the pyramids and the likely methods of quarrying, transporting and raising the stones. Basing his ideas on both the archaeological record and the basic principles of engineering - as well as the results from a series of model and full-scale tests - Dr. Parry provides a challenging answer to this mystery of the pyramids. He suggests that ramps were used and the huge stones were transported and raised by rolling them, rather than using highly inefficient sledges beloved of Egyptologists.

Engineering the Pyramids provides a rich and accessible account of the design history of the pyramids, the techniques and organisation needed to bring about these heroic feats of effort and engineering and fascinating insights into the reasons behind the pyramid design.

Dr R.H.G. Parry is an emeritus fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was involved in research and teaching in civil engineering. He was General Secretary of the International Society for soil mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering from 1891 to 1999 and has a special interest in the history of civil engineering, on which he lectures worldwide.


Preface
Acknowledgements
Origins and Purpose
Evolution in Pyramid Design
The Tomb Chambers
Basic Aids to Construction
Construction Preliminaries and Operations
Stone Sources and Quarrying
Herodotus on Pyramid Construction
Levers, Rockers and Cranes
Sleds
Rolling Stones
Ramps
The Workforce
Closing Remarks
Appendix: Sliding and Rolling:
Some Simple Mechanics
Select Bibliography
Index