THE PYRAMIDS of the COLD • Chapter 58 How the Colossus of Djehutyhotep and all Egyptian sleds were operated into wet and hollow guide rails: the power of the groove!
Publié par Bruno Coursol dans The Pyramids of the Cold le 21/09/2025 à 06:29
The transport of heavy loads such as the Colossus represented in the tomb of Djehutihotep at El Bersheh is one of the most discussed engineering accomplishments made by ancient Egyptians: how could these guys everybody present to us as simple ‘farmers’ could have move on very long distances blocks weighing up to hundreds of tons? The answer is actually very simple and can be answered by every toddler you know who ever played with a train tracks set: they simply used tracks with grooved wooden rails and used water as a lubricant. And this is perfectly explained in the representation of the Colossus in the tomb of Djehutihotep: the wooden beam with multiple notches underneath the sledge is the rail… because the notches are about the chisel cuts that appear when you are making the groove. They didn’t represent the groove as it would have looked like, but they wanted to demonstrate how it had been made.
"Transport of a colossus, from a tomb at El Bersheh" from The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1881 - 1882. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-37f4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
THE PYRAMIDS of the COLD • Study written by Bruno COURSOL (January 2021 to September 2025)
Section J • The obsession of the ancient Egyptians for Science and Technology
What egyptologists have really missed is the real cement, but also the obsession that the ancient Egyptians had with knowledge in general, science and technology in particular: their entire civilization was entirely focused on these disciplines. In many ways, they had absolutely nothing to envy of the development that the West achieved around the beginning of the 19th century AD.
Chapter 58 • How the Colossus of Djehutyhotep and every single Egyptian sled were operated into wet and hollow wooden guide rails: the power of the groove!
In summary: the transport of heavy loads such as the Colossus represented in the tomb of Djehutihotep at El Bersheh is one of the most discussed engineering accomplishments made by ancient Egyptians: how could these guys everybody present to us as simple ‘farmers’ could have move on very long distances blocks weighing up to hundreds of tons? The key element of the Colossus in the tomb of Djehutihotep, is the sledge on which is set the statue, and that also is the big problem egyptologists failed to explain. They didn’t fail by lack of imagination, but by some kind of felling of superiority. Because if you give the same sledge as the one on the relief to any toddler you know, chances are he, or she will instantly show you how it works on their wooden train tracks set.
Of course sledges were used into tracks, grooved tracks were water was poured directly into the groove, and not wasted into sand like egyptologists claim ancient Egyptians did. Egyptologists have been fooled, because if these grooved tracks are indeed represented in the relief of the tomb of Djehutihotep, they are not at all represented the same way we would today. Egyptians didn’t represented a rail with a groove inside (which isn’t even possible because of their so characteristic style, in only two dimensions), instead they described how to make the groove in a wooden beam: by first making multiple chisel cuts.
“Statuette of Apis Bull on a Sledge”: https://egyptianmuseumcairo.eg/artefacts/statue-represented-neith/
“It wasn't aliens: Scientists finally figure out how Egyptians built the pyramids”, by News Direct: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OC-W70vsjw
58.01 The use of sledges / academic hypothesis 1: no tracks and water was poured directly onto sand
The idea that anyone could imagine ancient Egyptians would have been dumb enough to waste the gigantic quantity of water directly poured into the sand that this system would have required is totally beyond me. Are you guys serious or are you just so used to people believe anything you say that you don’t even care if what you say has no sense what’s so ever; just like blaming tourists for the salt deposits found in the Great Pyramid (because of moisture generated by their breathing), when these deposits have only been documented in the so-called Queen’s chamber and the little conduct leading to this chamber. So what, tourists only breathe there? Really?
See Section 1: the evaporative cooling passage of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
“The actual statue rests on an alabaster pedestal cut of the same block as itself. It is attached to a wooden sledge by a system of tensioning ropes drawn (originally) in brown. The before the sledge are attached four cables, for hauling it.
Two men are represented on the statue. One is on the loincloth and is clapping his hands, obviously to give the rhythm to the hauliers, he is therefore a "shantyman" whose tradition remained until our days in the construction sites in Egypt. The man below, bent forward, is pouring water from his jug in front of the shoe of the sledge. It is supposed that he waters a thick layer of silt in order to permit the mass to slide. But it may only represent a ceremonial act because the quantity of water necessary to assist in slippage would be considerable. Further in front of the statue, is located a man making another ceremonial act, holding a censer and fanning the burning incense in honour of the statue.
Under the statue is a row of six characters. Three carry yokes with goatskin bottles or vases full of water and the three following carry a large piece of wood whose top is oddly bevelled and the use of which, certainly in connection with traction, remains enigmatic. Three foremen armed with sticks follow them.” Original text by Thierry Benderitter. English translation by Jon J Hirst. Source: osirisnet.net/tombes/el_bersheh/djehoutyhotep/e_djehoutyhotep_02.htm
“Construction of The Pyramids”, by Animated History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxP46jWYglI
58.02 The use of sledges / academic hypothesis 2: tracks were used (but water has been replaced by wax)
The above representation of the use of sledges is probably pretty close to reality, but something is clearly missing: water. Because the tracks used are simple wooden beams, the author didn’t used water as lubricant (despite the fact that the representation of the Colossus in the tomb of Djehutihotep clearly indicates the important role of water), and instead mentions ‘wax’.
58.03 What is the point of having invented sledges if it is not to associate them with appropriate tracks and grooved rails?
Seriously, and I mean no disrespect to anybody, but how stupid do you think ancient Egyptians were not to use the appropriate wooden rails with their sledges? Or maybe it would have been to difficult for them to hollow out some grooves into simple wooden beams? What do you think? They used sledges but not the tracks?
58.04 Give an ancient Egyptian sledge to any toddler you know, he will probably show you instantly what to do with it without even having to think about it
Complete Wooden Toddler Train Set at https://toys4u.com/categories/building-toys/playbuild-wooden-train-set-complete-toddler-train-set-100-piece-interactive-play-learn-set-creative-wooden-train-track-design-premium-quality-ages-3-100-piece-set.html
If you really look closely at the image, you will see that this very particular beam, as well as the water that makes everything work, they are both drawn right under the sledge. ‘Right under the sledge’... precisely where is supposed to be the rail, and the water poured directly into that rail to get the rail as slippery as ice. The beam with notches is the rail because notches are about the groove of the rail... and how you make the groove in the rail.
“How to Cut a Groove in a Frame By Hand and Without a Plow Plane”. "In a nutshell, here is how to make the groove: using a regular 1/4" bench chisel I am going to make a series of chisel cuts, none particularly deep, each lifting up a bit of wood. Then, as I do multiple passes, I can easily clear the chips I have raised, and then repeat the procedure to go deeper. I have a tendency to do work in sections as I go in steady progression along the board.” From Joel's Blog at https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/blog/1028
58.05 The grooved rail and the notches: we can't see the groove in the rail but we are explained how to do it... one chisel cut after the other
It took me some time to understand the mysterious beam with notches, represented under the sledge on the above representation of the transport of a colossus. But I guess, the more I was getting used to handle the metaphors Egyptians had written all over the place, the more I was getting ready to get used to the metaphors they’ve used in drawings as well.
And this beam with notches is one of these drawn metaphors. Because one way of representing a wooden rail which would have been hollowed out to create an internal groove to accommodate sledge runners, would be to represent a simple beam with notches on it. To create the internal groove of the rail, you only need to make many notches on one side of the beam.
58.06 The endless condescending vision of an entire civilization
What is absolutely certain, is that future generations will have to sort out why ancient Egyptians have been so easily and willingly disregarded as a ‘serious’ civilization. Why no egyptologist ever wanted to look at the great pyramids, the disc of Sabu or the Dendera Light as scientific artifacts?
Personally, I don’t think it is only because their civilization was so old that it completely disappeared; which isn’t even right as we’ve already seen that every single foreign civilization probably reinterpreted in their own way the ancient Egyptian religion, and the scientific and technological accomplishments this religion so beautifully glorified (like the Jewish religion, of course).
I think the most damaging reason comes from the fact that more than 200 years ago, the very first egyptologists were French, British, Italian, German and American citizens, and that they were all full of the pretention of their time, full of the pretention of the ‘western’ ideology of the 1800s.
And maybe, because Egyptians are first of all Africans, some sort of unconscious racism was part of the problem.
“Stupid Black Men. How to Play the Race Card and Lose”, Macmillan Publishers, by Larry Elder: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781429929059/stupidblackmen
58.07 The didactic side ancient Egyptians wanted to show #1 • How to move heavy loads: the wet grooved rail
I know I’m repeating myself very often, but everyone needs to understand that ancient Egyptians really were perfect scientists and engineers. They loved to do things… but they also loved to explain it. They were teachers as well. The only thing is that this kind of knowledge, obviously wasn’t for everybody: they wanted to show it, but they also wanted to hide it.
Here, what they wanted to teach was how to move heavy loads using only wood and water by creating a wet grooved rail, but we’ve already seen in previous Sections of The Pyramids of the Cold many examples of this teaching habits with the so-called Dendera Light, the scene representing Geb, Shu and Nut which actually is all about the description of the water cycle, or the magnificent representation of a magnifying glass at Dendera, again.
There is the very famous glorification of a magnifying glass, the perfect symbol of Science, here worshipped by Thoth, known to everybody as precisely the ancient Egyptian god of Science. Unfortunately, due to the persistent loving of the 19th century ideology and romanticism still in effect today, the magnifying glass has been completely misinterpreted by the entire academic society: "The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, outer hypostyle hall in the Temple of Hathor in the Dendera Temple complex, near Dendera, Egypt: first Band west from the centre, showing the full healed moon on a pillar depicted as "Wadjet" the Eye of Horus healed by [the god of Science] Thoth, who is portrayed at the right." Photograph thanks to kairoinfo4u: https://www.flickr.com/photos/manna4u/9295311496
Illustration of a magnifying glass from the 1800s (detail from a scientific engraving glorifying the discovery of electricity): "This engraving shows Dutch mathematician and physicist Jean Henri van Swinden (1746–1823) demonstrating the generation of electricity to the Felix Meritis Society in Amsterdam. The Felix Meritis Society was founded in the late 18th century to promote the arts and sciences (Felix Meritis translates as "Happiness through Merit")". Barbiers, Pieter Pietersz., and Jacques Kuyper. Laid paper, 1800–1899. Science History Institute, Philadelphia, United States of America: https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/zg64tm573
58.08 The didactic side ancient Egyptians wanted to show #2 • How to make Science: the Magnifying glass
The ancient Egyptian god of Science Thoth (on the right part of the image), looking through a magnifying glass... or looking at the full moon, on top of a crescent moon, itself on top of a pillar... for some esoteric reason, I guess. Be sure that there is only one right answer here, but there is an extra clue: the Eye of Horus.
More about the magnifying glass in Section 45: the legend of Khufu and the magician polymath Imhotep.
58.09 A magnifying glass is meant for an eye... hence the Eye of Horus on the glass
Knowing that Thoth is in short, the god of Science, how come nobody ever suggested he was simply standing in front of a magnifying glass with a beautiful gilded wooden stand that would have looked exactly like an antique magnifying glass from the 1800’s?
And how come nobody ever suggested that there was a representation of an Eye of Horus, precisely because a magnifying glass is only meant for an eye? And this isn’t just a rhetorical question here: I’m sincerely asking how come people could have been so inclined to accept being conditioned by the "cute" stories told by egyptologists. How come people are so eager to continue believing in stories coming right from the 1800’s, especially today when everything is seen so easily as fake news, whether they really are or not?
Why is nobody seriously challenging egyptologists for the magnifying glass, the reason of the massive salt deposits in the Queen’s chamber of the Great Pyramid, or the girdle stones, or the sand filter in the Step Pyramid that nobody wants to talk about?
“Imhotep "(the one who) comes in peace" was an Egyptian chancellor to the Pharaoh Djoser, possible architect of Djoser's step pyramid, and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. Very little is known of Imhotep as a historical figure, but in the 3,000 years following his death, he was gradually glorified and deified. […] Two thousand years after his death, Imhotep's status had risen to that of a god of medicine and healing. Eventually, Imhotep was equated with Thoth, the god of architecture, mathematics, and medicine, and patron of scribes: Imhotep’s cult was merged with that of his own former tutelary god.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imhotep
Jim Hutton as detective Ellery Queen, looking through a magnifying glass, courtesy of NBC Television: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnifying_glass#/media/File:Jim_Hutton_Ellery_Queen_1976.JPG
Didactic representation of the Dendera Light explaining that it is made of a fog of microdroplets of liquid water, and that it was "produced" just like the sprayed venom of a spitting snake.
58.10 The didactic side ancient Egyptians wanted to show #3 • How to produce a fog of microdroplets: the Lotus seed 'shower head' metaphor
The lotus flower from which the Dendera Light is coming out, isn't really about the flower, but the seed pod emerging from water: the pod looks exactly like a shower head giving birth to multiple little water jets, just like the fog nozzle of the evaporative cooling passage of the Great Pyramid that produced the fog of microdroplets.
Dendera Light relief drawing on the left : please notice that what seems to be important here isn't the snake, but the spat venom of the snake. Also, you can see that the characters holding the snake are showing a double outline, the same way that the character holding (or offering) the Dendera Light does, on the right part of the drawing. The Dendera Light is produced by the snake, or as explained : by the venom of the snake. This particular relief is describing how was produced the microdroplets fog of sprayed water. Dendera Light drawing from the New York Public Library (Digital Collections). Author : Auguste Mariette, 1821-1881. Source: http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-96c4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Lotus seed pod ‘shower head by nature’, by Sarasvady Rattinavelou: https://fr.pinterest.com/sarasvady/
Geb isn't really the 'god of the earth', but the god of 'water that is on the earth', and that is water in its liquid form (water in which you can swim into). In short, Geb really is the glorification of water in its liquid phase. This is why he is often represented swimming, just like in the above image. Backstroke technique illustration: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Backstroke_(PSF).png
On the other hand, Nut isn't really the 'goddess of the sky' either, but the goddess of water that is in the sky, and that is humidity: water in its vapor phase. This is why this is Shu, the god of 'warm and dry air' who is represented supporting her: humidity is indeed supported by dry warm air. Diving drawing: https://www.mobilesport.ch/plongeon/plongeon-basics-chute/
58.11 The didactic side ancient Egyptians wanted to show #4 • How to demonstrate the water cycle
Ancient Egyptian representation of a basic fundamental principle of physics and its application for the production of evaporative cooling in the Great Pyramid of Giza: the water cycle between the two liquid and vapor phases, and the role of dry air as support for humidity. More about Geb, Shu and Nut and the water cycle in Section 3
Representation of the transport of a colossus in the inner chamber of the tomb of Djehutyhotep, the most important and the best preserved of the tombs of the site of el-Bersheh. Djehutyhotep, translates in "Thoth is satisfied", was an ancient Egyptian nomarch of the fifteenth nomos of Upper Egypt ("the Hare") during the twelfth dynasty, c. 1900 BCE. Photograph by Raymond Betz, view 46: osirisnet.net/tombes/el_bersheh/djehoutyhotep/e_djehoutyhotep_02.htm
58.12 The wooden beam with the chisel cuts and the water... just under the sledge, as it should be
In short, the whole point of the relief is to explain how things were done in order to move colossal loads:
• they explain that they used sledges powered by man force
• they explain that they used water to reduce friction
• but they also explain how to make grooves in wooden tracks to associate with the sledges, one chisel cut after the other
"Transport of a colossus, from a tomb at El Bersheh" from The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1881 - 1882. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-37f4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
58.13 About the water poured directly into the grooves of the rails
Tiny Land Wooden Train Tracks Set: https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Land-Wooden-Train-Tracks/dp/B0BNNHRWVN
58.14 A whole new perspective for future reconstitutions of construction sites
Would it be possible to imagine ancient Egyptians deal with an estimated 2.3 million blocks if they didn’t use some kind of very efficient logistical system to store, move and redirect these blocks?
“The Great Pyramid consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks. Approximately 5.5 million tonnes of limestone, 8,000 tonnes of granite, and 500,000 tonnes of mortar were used in the construction.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza
Operating diagram of the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid of Giza for evaporative cold production by flash evaporation (through production of both pressurized water and pressurized air), showing the crucial role of the composite impactor on its sledge runners and associated to the hauling Beetle with its six crewmembers and their leader.
58.14 The composite impactor was also running into its own hollow wet rails
More on the impactor's skate blades in its appropriate Chapters.
Operating diagram of the Great Pyramid of Khufu for flash-evaporative cold production, hypothetically for cooling down a Solvay-like process and the manufacturing of chemically manufacturing of 100% pure natron, the salt used by Egyptians for the mummification process.
.png){kind=link}
© 2021-2025 Copyright milleetunetasses.com. All rights reserved.
