Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Based on the wear found on the stone blocks, the author of a new study has made a controversial chronological reinterpretation of the age of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which refutes the commonly accepted theory.
A Great Pyramid of Giza is once again at the center of scientific debate, after the publication of a study that questions its antiquity. , available for consultation at Zenodoargues that the monument could be thousands of years older than traditional archeology maintains.
The investigation was led by engineer Alberto Doniniresearcher at the University of Bologna, and is based on a detailed analysis of the erosion of stone blocks of the Pyramid.
Based on this wear and tear, the author proposes a chronological reinterpretation that moves away from classical datingsituated around the reign of Pharaoh Cheops.
“We measured the surface erosion of the stones that had been covered by the coating and compared it with that of the adjacent stones, which had remained exposed to atmospheric agents since they were laid at the time of the monument’s construction”, explains Donini in the study.
The hypothesis is not new in the popular imaginationbut the method used by Donini had never been applied. Unlike speculative theories, Donini bases his proposal on physical measurements and statistical modelswhich generated media interest, although also a strong critical response in the scientific community.
The study compares block erosion which remained protected by the ancient limestone coating like those exposed for centuries to atmospheric agents. According to Donini, “the volume of disintegrated material must be proportional to the duration of exposure to erosion processes”.
Based on this principle, the researcher maintains that “comparing both types of erosion Is it possible to calculate a plausible construction date“.
The results obtained place the origin of the pyramid in an extremely wide temporal interval, with a supposed statistical probability of 68.2% whatever much earlier than the official chronologynote or .
According to Donini’s statistical model, the Great Pyramid of Giza was built between 8954 BC and 36,878 BC, which places the midpoint of the interval at 22.916 a.C. — value far removed from that currently accepted by the scientific community, which points to a range between the years 2,580 BC and 2,560 BC., that is, during the IV Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.
“Although the resulting date ranges are wide, the conclusions indicate a low probability for official archaeological dating from 2560 BC. For these reasons, it is likely that the pyramids of Akhet Khufu date back to approximately 23,000 BC,” writes Donini.
The conclusions contradict decades of archaeological studies.
In an interview with , the Egyptologist Mark Lehner remember that the pyramids were dated “for its position within the development of architecture and Egyptian material culture over 3,000 years”, based on ceramics and remains consistent with the IV Dynasty.
Furthermore, the carbon-14 dating reinforced this temporal framework more than a decade ago. At the time, the archaeologist Thomas Higham explained that “the analysis of seeds and plant remains from well-dated contexts confirms the traditional dates”.
The study is apparently an interesting exercise in searching for a new dating method, but unless peer review and additional studies reach the same conclusions, refuting much more reliable methodsit is not likely that a new date for the construction of the pyramids has been found.
