Material scientist Michel Barsoum, then at MIT and now at Drexel University, and colleagues reported in 2006 that some Giza pyramid blocks contain an amorphous, silicon-rich binder among limestone particles. Related analyses found hydrated phases, elevated water, salt and magnetic fabric in samples. Barsoum interpreted the evidence as consistent with an early cast-in-place concrete and proposed that builders combined quarried stone with cast blocks, particularly in higher courses.
Barsoum Study Suggests Some Pyramid Blocks Were Cast Concrete
EgyptTheory
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Key facts
- Michel W. Barsoum, then at MIT and now at Drexel University, and colleagues published the paper online in 2006; it appeared in the Journal of Physical Chemistry's 2007 volume.
- The team found an amorphous, silicon-rich binder among limestone particles and interpreted it as consistent with early cast-in-place concrete, not conclusive proof that the material was a geopolymer.
- Some pyramid samples contained more water than comparison limestone and included hydrated mineral phases; hydrated minerals are not categorically absent from natural limestone.
- Salt was detected in some samples, while historical accounts describe salt in the pyramid passages. The magnetic fabric of some blocks was interpreted as consistent with formation in place.
- Barsoum and colleagues proposed that builders used both quarried stone and cast-in-place blocks, with casting potentially more useful higher in the pyramid.
Sources
NATURE report on pyramid limestone concrete - Geopolymer Institutegeopolymer.org
The paper by Michel Barsoum of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his colleagues is the latest entry in a decades-long ...
Microstructural Evidence of Reconstituted Limestone Blocks in the ...researchgate.net
Utilizing MSWIFA in construction materials has been widely researched, with geopolymer cement emerging as a promising alternative to traditional Portland cement ...
Experimental Validation of Low-Temperature Alkali Silicate ...researchhub.com
It is purported that these monuments have been made with geopolymeric binders, created by chemically altering locally available minerals rather ...
Barsoum's Geopolymer Formulageopolymerhouses.wordpress.com
Dr. Barsoum, a material scientist from Drexil University in Philadelphia, gives his recipe for pyramid blocks in the following radio interview.
Joseph Davidovits | - Atlantipediaatlantipedia.ie
Joseph Davidovits (1935- ) is a French scientist who has worked on geopolymers since the 1970s. which can be used to create cement that is economically and ...
In Sigma Xi lecture, Barsoum to focus on pyramidsnews.mit.edu
Barsoum's research into the highly controversial subject of pyramid building stems from his Egyptian heritage and his expertise in ceramic ...
Michel W. Barsoum, A Possible, Partial Solution to the Mystery ...sems.qmul.ac.uk
For about 4500 years, the mystery of how the Great Pyramids of Giza were built has endured. How did the Ancient Egyptians pull 70 ton granite ...
Don't mess with the Pyramids, people take it personnallynuit-blanche.blogspot.com
Michel Barsoum and his colleagues have found some evidence that parts of the Great Pyramids of Giza were built using an early form of concrete, ...
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