Customer Reviews

The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Complete Pyramids" is a gorgeous book, resplendent with photographs, diagrams and computer-generated images, and serves well as a near-comprehensive reference work on the pyramids of Egypt (that is, _all_ of them, not simply the Giza complex) for the layperson. The writing is less than inspiring but still serviceable, and the presentation will most definitely satisfy the "USA Today"-style at-a-glance needs of many people. For example, Lehner includes a rendered-to-scale figure of all of the pyramids of Egypt in cross-section, to give an idea of the chronology and scope of pyramid-building throughout Egyptian history. As a compendium of the conclusions and currently predominant ideas of modern Egyptology, this book probably has few peers.

Lehner often fails, however, to convey a real sense of the methodology involved in reaching these conclusions. Too often, we are told of the likely functions of specific features of the pyramids or their surrounding complexes without being told of the basis by which Egyptologists assign these functions. One notable exception to this is Lehner's treatment of recent attempts to elucidate the methods by which the pyramids were built. Perhaps this is due to Lehner's direct participation in such projects, but the relative care taken to explain the current state of knowledge regarding ancient Egyptian pyramid-building techniques stands in contrast to the lack of explication given to far too many other subjects. Thus, by comparison Paul Jordan's "Riddles of the Sphinx" is a superior work in this regard, if less focused on the pyramids.

The inclusion of such reasoning is necessary if only because the popular literature is so littered with "alternative" (most often, crank) views in which the pyramids are constructed by aliens or lost "Atlantean" civilizations of greater antiquity than Egypt. It would seem reasonable in such an atmosphere to provide the reader with the rationale for the modern archaeological view in addition to an exposition of it. Along these lines, Robert Bauval's "Orion" hypothesis for the alignment of the Giza pyramids merits a few sentences, but no substantive discussion is given to it. Perhaps my recent reading material has given me a particular bias, but even without having to answer the claims of "alternative" cranks, "The Complete Pyramids" would have benefited from more discussion of method along with the conclusions. Still, this is a fine book, and I recommend it.

Like its author, this book is completely devoted to the Pyramids of Egypt. The major premise - that the archaeological record bears witness to an evolution of pyramid design, construction and function from beginning to end of the Pyramid Age - is demonstrated brilliantly and completely. It explains without exhausting the religious significance of the conceptual Pyramid Complex, then concentrates on the `brick and mortar' aspects of its subject. An informative review of explorations at the pyramid sites throughout the ages is equally as interesting as the detailed descriptions of the pyramids themselves that follows in a section fittingly titled "The Whole Pyramid Catalogue". This catalogue, comprising fully half the volume, is a description of each individual Egyptian Pyramid Complex presented (chronologically) with such clarity of detail that it dispels all ambiguity created by several lifetimes of sensationalist and speculative journalism surrounding its subject. In its latter pages the author discusses the role of the Pyramid Complex as administrative center and landlord in later antiquity, and gracefully addresses the more controversial of topics, including the ubiquitous "how did they do it" question, along with his own speculations on some unanswered sociological questions - the size of the work force and logistics. Quite reasoned and well-informed estimates lead him to conclusions that will in their own right prove controversial. One notable unintended consequence of this volume is that many artifacts, presented elsewhere as "Art", assume their appropriate contextual venue and so now hold much more meaning for this reader. The Narmer Palate as declarative stellae in a walled courtyard at Nekhen is one example, the gilded yet austere canopied boudoir of Hetepheres is another. The text is very well written and easily read. Heavily illustrated, the photographs are appropriate, of excellent quality and are well placed; line drawings are used throughout to clarify and supplement photographs. With this volume Dr. Mark Lehner joins the ranks of Egypt's most celebrated archaeologists, and surpasses them all in understanding and presentation of the facts concerning the Pyramids.

I have read many books on the pyramids, many of the alien/atlantis ilk and these were always high on theory and very low on facts. This book however was exceptional because it present facts, diagrams, site plans, cross sections and measurements and entire histories and photographs, of just about every pyramid in Egypt, which comes to about 70. There are no fanciful theories, just plain facts and information and plenty of it. It also gives a very useful section on the history of the discovery and excavations of the pyramid sites and like many of the previous reviewers, I too regret not having known about this book before I went to Egypt, as it would have been invaluable, and I think I would have visited several other sites, as a result.

I give this 5 stars, because although some extra information could have been provided, the amount of data that has been included far surpasses anything else available, and I feel that this should be reflected in the rating.

The title of this book is so accurate! An overview of each major pyramid, replete with detailed illustrations, as well as a lot about Egyptian religion and all the excavations and explorations. If you have this book, you need no other Pyramid book! Ever!

I concur with the review below. I wish that I had this book with me when I went to Giza and Memphis. The pictures and text are beyond praise. Just an excellent resource for anyone interested in the pyramids.

I have read several books on pyramids and have found none that gives the reader the text with very accurate pictures and drawnings as "The Complete Pyramids". This book is a must for those who need a good, general reference. It will be the center piece of the archaeological section in my office.

The book delivers on what it promises. The text is intriguing and informative, and the photography is excellent. Not only does it cover the pyramids most familiar to the layman, but it also extends to the lesser-known (and less durable) Egyptian pyramids, as well as giving coverage of the efforts in Nubia to copy the Egyptian work with smaller pyramids. The level of detail was just right for a fascinated non-archeologist such as myself.

I was thinking the book would have more "secret data" about the pyramids. It doesn't. It does give the traditional thinking of the purposes of the pyramids. The pictures in the book are excellent. It is an excellent resource book.

The author who asked readers to believe people were grotesque hybrid
beings with horse heads and human bodies when the Great Pyramid was
built, and that native Egyptians had tails and feathered legs (Mark
Lehner, The Egyptian Heritage: Based on the Edgar Cayce Readings,
1974) is proposing nonsensical information about pyramid
construction. The Complete Pyramids does not ask readers to believe
the Great Pyramid was built by Atlanteans in 12,000 B.C., or that when
people were cleansed in the temples their claws changed into hands and
their tails fell away, as he did in The Egyptian Heritage. But he does
expect readers to believe information that defies scientific
methodology and the archaeological record. For brevity, I offer only
four points with hope of helping to correct the record.

First,
consider how Mark Lehner defies scientific method. He recognizes that
Giza is not known to exhibit the housing needed for the 100,000 or
more builders engineers assert were needed to build the Great Pyramid
within Khufu's reign. Lehner proposes only 25,000 men, indicating,
however, that most were miscellaneous workers.

To get his reduced
number, Lehner wrongly calculates with an averaged block weight of 2.5
tons, rather than taking into account a myriad of far larger building
units of over 15 tons. Although more study of the block weights is
warranted, Lehner fails to acknowledge that the heights of the blocks
are sufficiently documented to make better calculations than he would
have readers believe. Indeed, the heights of each course were first
measured in the 1800s and as recently as the 1970s. The published
reports of these studies match (except for the loss of some upper
tiers since the 1800s) because of accurate measurements. The charts
show that many of the heaviest blocks in the outer masonry are at the
level of the King's Chamber. Some of these blocks occupy the height of
two tiers. By calculating with an averaged weight of 2.5 tons, Lehner
rids the workforce of many thousands.

Furthermore, Lehner
incorrectly uses a calculation for moving blocks along level ground,
rather than one for raising blocks on a ramp! He thereby reduces the
workforce by many thousands.

Second, Lehner assumes that nummulitic
limestone blocks can be leveled and otherwise shaped with copper
tools. Thus, he ignores up-to-date Egyptology. For instance, Dieter
Arnold's Building in Egypt (1993) recognizes that the mines could not
furnish enough copper for cutting millions of pyramid blocks, and
Arnold shows that copper tools are unworkable on medium-hard to hard
limestone (the Great Pyramid's blocks are mostly medium-hard to
hard). In short, the strongest metal of the Pyramid Age was too soft
to cut the blocks so as to render the Great Pyramid's extraordinary
features.

Third, Lehner's estimate of the time required to quarry
blocks is useless, and his discussion of how blocks could have been
quarried is misleading. Lehner writes: "To build the Great
Pyramid in 23 years...322 cu. m (11,371 cu. ft) of stone had to be
quarried daily. How many quarrymen would this require? Our NOVA
pyramid-building experiment provided a useful comparison:...8.5
stones per day. But though they worked barefoot and without power
tools, they had the advantage of a winch with an iron cable to pull
the stones away from the quarry face. An additional 20-man team might
have been needed for the task in Khufu's day." The NOVA crew,
however, used modern steel tools! Lehner's calculation is invalid
because he utilizes the tremendous advantage afforded by steel tools
(it is incorrect for Lehner to call NOVA's tools 'iron,' although
steel is mostly iron. His use of the word iron makes NOVA's tools seem
like those of the ancient world. They are not. Furthermore, the
Egyptians did not possess iron until 800 years after the Great
Pyamid's construction, and iron does not have the capabilities of
steel). NOVA's quarrymen can be seen using steel adzes and steel pry
bars. They used heavy steel pickaxes to cut trenches to isolate
blocks. They drove steel wedges beneath blocks and hit these wedges
with steel sledgehammers. Compare Pyramid Age tools of copper, wood
and stone. If Lehner presented such methodology in the 'hard'
sciences, he would be subjected to the kind of criticism that end
careers.

Lehner adds that his "figure can be expanded further
to compensate for other advantages of iron tools." With this he
admits, in a manner too subdued to alert the average reader of his
tactics, that his estimate does not involve Pyramid Age tools. Pyramid
Age tools are inadequate for quarrying or shaping good-quality
limestone blocks. No matter how many workers are employed, if the
tools are inadequate the work cannot be completed. The very existence
of the Great Pyramid suggests that a different method was
used.

Fourth, Lehner's calculation of the number of men needed to
haul blocks from the quarry to the Great Pyramid is flawed and
misleading. He writes, "Let us assume that the stone haulers
could move 1 km (0.62 miles) per hour en route from the quarry to the
pyramid...The distance from Khufu's quarry to the pyramid, at c. 6o
slope, could probably be covered in 19 minutes by 20 men pulling a 2.5
ton block. Certainly, this was well within the capacities of the NOVA
team..." Again, Lehner uses averaged weights of 2.5 tons,
ignoring the need to address hundreds of thousands of 15-ton and
larger units. He insinuates that NOVA's experiment validates his
calculations! A front-end loader, however, hauled all blocks from the
quarry. Even the three or four one-ton stones raised manually for
NOVA's on-camera demonstration were hauled and placed onto the
mini-ramp by this machine.

Lehner mentions the front-end loader,
implying it only set stones in the lower courses of NOVA's
mini-pyramid. ....

Far from solving mysteries this book assumes there are none. The mysteries don't even get a mention. Instead we have a catalog of conventional egyptological wisdom and woe betide anyone who dares question it because within academia and the egyptological establishment the author is a widely acknowledged authority on the subject. If you are one of those people who feel safer with fabricated histories in vacuous, glossy coffee-table format then this is just the book for you.