Kurt Mendelssohn - The Pyramid Theory

The Pyramid Theory

Mendelssohn's pyramid theory suggests explanations to a couple of mysteries in pyramid construction:

1. Why in the time of the fourth dynasty, when all of the large Egyptian pyramids were built, there were only three Pharaohs but (with Meidum) five pyramids built.
2. According to Mendelssohn the pyramids were constructed as cenotaphs, not as tombs and did not have to coincide with a Pharaoh's lifetime.
3. Building of the Great Pyramids must have required a large workforce. Considering the state of perfection these pyramids show, a decisive amount of this workforce must have been highly trained professionals. Furthermore due to the geometrical constraints, the higher a pyramid grows, the less people are able to work on it. If the pyramids were built independently of each other and at distinct times, it would have been necessary to assemble and train the workforce for each building and lay them off as the work continued. According to Mendelssohn, as soon as a pyramid had reached about half its final size, work started on the successor to alleviate this problem.
4. The change of the angle seen at the Bent Pyramid can be explained as a reaction to a catastrophic collapse of the Meidum Pyramid, if these monuments were not constructed successively but with an overlap.