How were the Pyramids at Giza built?

An internal ramp would work better than an external one

Question: How were the Pyramids at Giza built?
Position‹2 of 4›: The Internal Spiral Ramp Theory
Argument1 of 2›: An internal ramp would work better than an external one

The pyramids may have been built in a spiral from the inside-out. The pyramid itself was used as a ramp. This idea was invented by the architect Jean-Pierre Houdin and based on the ideas of his engineer father. Recent 3D-modelling of the pyramids has given more weight to his theory.

The argument

The Egyptians probably constructed the pyramids via a system of ramps, which would have allowed them to drag the enormous granite blocks on sleds. Most existing theories about the pyramids include the construction of enormous ramps. Any single external ramp, in order to stay at the right gradient, would have to be more than a mile long. Alternatively, a spiraling ramp would be structurally unstable. By using an internal ramp incorporated into the structure of the pyramid, these problems could be avoided. The internal ramp could easily stay at the required 7-degree gradient, and there would be no problems dealing with the increasing narrowness of the building. If the pyramids were built in a spiral, then the blocks themselves would act as a ramp without the need to construct a complicated external scaffolding. One large external ramp would have been used to make the base of the pyramid, after which the Pyramid would have been built in a spiral. Notches in the internal ramp could be used in combination with cranes to negotiate sharp corners. The inventor of the internal ramp theory, Jean-Pierre Houdin used 3D-modelling software from Dassault Systèmes, which is typically used by architects and engineers, to test his theory. The software appeared to confirm this method would allow ancient humans to successfully build a large pyramid. The internal ramp theory bypasses all the problems with the external ramp models, such as structural soundness, space around the pyramid, and the construction of the pyramid’s corners. The model was successfully tested with 3D-modelling software.

Premises

[P1]All theories involving external ramps have major problems

[P2]An internal ramp is a simple solution which does not require additional construction

[C]The pyramids were built using an internal ramp from the inside-out

Counter-arguments

Many Egyptologists have stated that the theory is excessively complicated and based on conjecture alone. Many different things have to have happened in the internal ramp model for it to have worked. There are many simpler theories which have archaeological evidence, or scientific data to back them up. If the Great Pyramid was built in this way, it would be completely different to the design of every other pyramid that we know of, which all use much simpler techniques. Some people have accused Houdin’s theory of being overly complicated. Other theories, with evidence, are simpler to explain.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The premise treats one mile-long straight ramp and an unstable external spiral as the only external options, but the position it opposes covers several external models, and simple ramps have been excavated at other Egyptian pyramid sites. Difficulties with one variant are not fatal to the family. [Rejecting P2] The internal ramp is not the simple solution the premise claims. It still requires a large external ramp to build the base, notched openings and cranes to turn the blocks at the corners, and a chamber system unlike any pyramid yet excavated — which is why many Egyptologists regard it as more complicated than the models it replaces. That the design holds up in 3D-modelling software shows the method is physically possible, not that it was the one used.