how old are the pyramids

8/17/2019 How Old Are the Pyramids

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HOW OLD ARE THE PYRAMIDS

Archaeologists believe Egypt’s large pyrai!s are the "or# o$ the Ol! %i&g!o society that rose toproi&e&ce i& the 'ile (alley a$ter )*** +,-, Historical a&alysis tells .s that the Egyptia&s b.ilt the

/i0a Pyrai!s i& a spa& o$ 12 years bet"ee& 3214 a&! 32*5 +-,

I&terest i& Egyptia& chro&ology is "i!esprea! i& both pop.lar a&! scholarly circles, We "a&te! to .sescie&ce to test the accepte! historical !ates o$ several Ol! %i&g!o o&.e&ts,

Previous estimates

O&e ra!ioactive6 or .&stable6 carbo& isotope is -756 "hich !ecays over tie a&! there$ore provi!esscie&tists "ith a #i&! o$ cloc# $or eas.ri&g the age o$ orga&ic aterial,

The earliest e8perie&ts i& radiocarbon dating "ere !o&e o& a&cie&t aterial $ro Egypt, Willar! 9,Libby’s tea obtai&e! acacia "oo! $ro the )r! Dy&asty Step Pyrai! o$ D:oser to test a hypothesis

they ha! !evelope!,

Libby reaso&e! that si&ce the hal$;li$e o$ -75 "as 22


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%cientists have calculated the rate at which C14 decays. &y measuring how much C14remains in a sample of organic material, we can estimate its age within a range of dates.

%amples older than '(,((( to )(,((( years are not useful for radiocarbon testing becauseby then, the amount of C14 remaining is too small to be dated. &ut material from the timeof the pyramids lends itself well to radiocarbon dating because they fall into the *'+'!1)4(

date range.

adiocarbon technicians prefer to test wood and wood charcoal because their highmolecular weight mitigates material loss during the rigorous pretreatments re-uired forradiocarbon testing. e focused our collection efforts on tiny pieces of these materials,along with reed and straw left by the ancient builders.

1984

Pro:ect ebers collect saples

I& 7415 "e co&!.cte! ra!iocarbo& !ati&g o& aterial $ro Egyptia& Ol! %i&g!o o&.e&ts>$i&a&ce! by $rie&!s a&! s.pporters o$ the E!gar -ayce 9o.&!atio&?, We the& copare! o.r res.lts"ith the i!;poi&t !ates o$ the #i&gs to "ho the o&.e&ts belo&ge! >-abri!ge A&cie&t History6)r! e!,?,

The average ra!iocarbo& !ates "ere )5 years earlier tha& e8pecte!,

I& spite o$ this !iscrepa&cy6 the ra!iocarbo& !ates co&$ire! that the /reat Pyrai! belo&ge! to thehistorical era st.!ie! by Egyptologists,

1994-1995

I& 7445;7442 the Davi! H, %och 9o.&!atio& s.pporte! .s $or a&other ro.&! o$ ra!iocarbo& !ati&g,

We broadened our sampling to include material from:

• The 7st Dy&asty tobs at Sa@@ara >343*;3* +-?,• The D:oser pyrai! >3353*5*;75th Dy&asty?6"here "e !iscovere! t"o largely i&tact ba#eries i& 7447, A&cie&t ba#i&g le$t !eposits o$ ash a&!

http://www.aeraweb.org/projects/gpmp/http://www.aeraweb.org/projects/gpmp/


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charcoal6 "hich are very .se$.l $or !ati&g,

The 7442 set o$ ra!iocarbo& !ates te&!e! to be 7** to 3** years ol!er tha& the Cambridge Ancient istory !ates6 "hich "as abo.t 3** years yo.&ger tha& o.r 7415 !ates,

Comparison 19841995

The &.ber o$ !ates $ro the t"o pro:ects "as o&ly large e&o.gh to allo" $or statistical copariso&s$or the pyrai!s o$ D:oser6 %h.$.6 %ha$re6 a&! Mea.re,

There are t"o stri#i&g res.lts,

9irst6 there are sig&i$ica&t !iscrepa&cies bet"ee& the 7415 a&! 7442 !ates $or %h.$. a&! %ha$re6 b.t&ot $or D:oser a&! Mea.re,

Seco&!6 the 7442 !ates vary "i!ely eve& $or a si&gle o&.e&t, 9or %h.$.’s /reat Pyrai!6 theyscatter over a ra&ge o$ abo.t 5** years,

!ate agreements

We have $air agreee&t $or the 7st Dy&asty tobs at 'orth Sa@@ara bet"ee& o.r historical !ates6previo.s ra!iocarbo& !ates6 a&! o.r ra!iocarbo& !ates o& ree! aterial,

We also have $air agreee&t bet"ee& o.r ra!iocarbo& !ates a&! historical !ates $or the Mi!!le%i&g!o, Eight calibrate! !ates o& stra" $ro the pyrai! o$ Se&"osret II >714;711 +-? ra&ge!$ro 7*) years ol!er to 1 years yo.&ger tha& the historical !ates $or his reig&,

9o.r o$ the Se&"osret II !ates "ere o&ly o$$ by )*6 356 756 a&! three years, Sig&i$ica&tly6 the ol!er !ate"as o& charcoal >see Bol!;"oo! probleC belo"?,

"est results from #iddle $ingdom p%ramid &'en(osret ))*+

"he old-(ood problem

A&cie&t Egypt’s pop.latio& "as restricte! to the &arro" co&$i&es o$ the 'ile (alley "ith6 "e ass.e6 asparse cover o$ trees, It is li#ely that6 by the pyrai! age6 the Egyptia&s ha! bee& i&te&sively e8ploiti&g


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"oo! $or $.el $or a lo&g tie,

+eca.se o$ the scarcity a&! e8pe&se o$ "oo!6 the Egyptia&s "o.l! re.se pieces o$ "oo! as .ch aspossible, Soe o$ this recycle! "oo! "as b.r&e!6 $or e8aple6 i& ortar preparatio&, I$ a piece o$"oo! "as alrea!y ce&t.ries ol! "he& it "as b.r&e!6 ra!iocarbo& !ates o$ the res.lti&g charcoal "o.l!be ce&t.ries ol!er tha& the ortar $or "hich it "as b.r&e!,

We tho.ght that it "as .&li#ely that the pyrai! b.il!ers co&siste&tly .se! ce&t.ries;ol! "oo! as $.eli& prepari&g ortar, The 7415 res.lts le$t .s "ith too little !ata to co&cl.!e that the historicalchro&ology o$ the Ol! %i&g!o "as "ro&g by &early 5** years6 b.t "e co&si!ere! this at least apossibility,

Alter&atively6 i$ o.r ra!iocarbo& estiatio&s "ere i& error $or soe reaso&6 "e ha! to ass.e thata&y other !ates obtai&e! $ro Egyptia& aterials "ere also s.spect, This propte! the seco&!6larger6 7442 st.!y,

,ld $ingdom problem

I$ the Mi!!le %i&g!o ra!iocarbo& !ates are goo!6 "hy are the Ol! %i&g!o ra!iocarbo& !ates $ro

pyrai!s so probleatic

The pyrai! b.il!ers o$te& re.se! ol! c.lt.ral aterial6 possibly o.t o$ e8pe!ie&ce or to a#e aco&scio.s co&&ectio& bet"ee& their pharaoh a&! his pre!ecessors,

+e&eath the )r! Dy&asty pyrai! o$ pharaoh D:oser6 early e8plorers $o.&! ore tha& 5*6*** sto&evessels, These vessels i&cl.!e! i&scriptio&s o$ ost o$ the #i&gs o$ the 7st a&! 3&! Dy&asties6 b.tD:oser’s &ae occ.rre! o&ly o&ce, Di! D:oser gather a&! re.se vases that "ere alrea!y 3** years ol!$ro tobs at 'orth Sa@@ara

I& the 73th Dy&asty6 Ae&ehet I >7447;74i&cl.!i&g those o$ the /i0a Pyrai!s?a&! !.pe! the i&to the core o$ his pyrai! at Lisht,

"est results from 5th !%nast% p%ramid &'ahure*+

Three o$ the eight ra!iocarbo& !ates $ro saples ta#e& at o.r e8cavatio& at the Lost -ity are alost!irect hits o& Mea.re’s historical !ates 32)3; 32*5 +-, The other $ive ra&ge $ro )2* to 7** years


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ol!er,

O.r ra!iocarbo& res.lts $ro the Lost -ity site s.ggest that the !ates o& charcoal scatter "i!ely6 li#ethose $ro the pyrai!s6 "ith a&y !ates ol!er tha& the historical estiate, The i&habita&ts "ere veryli#ely recycli&g their o"& settlee&t !ebris !.ri&g the 12 or so years that they "ere b.il!i&g pyrai!s,

ConclusionsIt ay have bee& preat.re to !isiss the ol! "oo! proble i& o.r 7415 st.!y, Ra!iocarbo& !ati&gca& o&ly tell .s "he& a tree !ie!6 &ot "he& it "as last .se!, Woo! ay lay aro.&! $or ce&t.ries be$orebei&g b.r&e!6 especially i& a !ry cliate li#e Egypt,

Also6 a&y livi&g $orest or sta&! o$ trees "ill have ol! trees a&! very yo.&g shoots, A&y i&!ivi!.al tree"ill have ol! parts >the i&&er ri&gs? a&! very yo.&g parts >the o.ter ri&gs a&! sall bra&ches?,

Do o.r ra!iocarbo& !ates re$lect the Ol! %i&g!o !e$orestatio& o$ Egypt

Di! the pyrai! b.il!ers e8ploit "hatever "oo! they co.l! harvest

Or !i! they have to scave&ge $or "oo! to b.r& to&s o$ gyps. $or ortar6 to $orge copper chisels6 a&!

to ba#e brea! $or tho.sa&!s o$ asseble! laborersThe gia&t sto&e pyrai!s i& the early Ol! %i&g!o ay ar# a a:or !epletio& o$ Egypt’s e8ploitable"oo!, This ay be the reaso& $or the "i!e scatter a&! history;.&$rie&!ly ra!iocarbo& !ati&g res.lts$ro the Ol! %i&g!o,

While the .ltiple ol!;"oo! e$$ects a#e it !i$$ic.lt to obtai& pi&poi&t age estiates o$ pyrai!s6 theDavi! H, %och Pyrai!s Ra!iocarbo& Pro:ect &o" has .s thii&g abo.t $orest ecologies6 site$oratio& processes6 a&! a&cie&t i&!.stry a&! its e&viro&e&tal ipactFi& s.6 the society a&!eco&oy that le$t the Egyptia& pyrai!s as hallar#s $or all later h.a&ity,

how old are the pyramids

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