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Let’s Ditch the Idea That the Pyramids Were Built By Slaves
It’s 2021 and I still occasionally hear people say that the pyramids and other Egyptian monuments were built by “slave labor.”
We have lots, and lots of evidence that this is not, in fact, true. While it is possible that some slaves did indeed work on the monuments or in the workman’s camps, the majority of the work was done by free men.
Craftsmen, Masons, and Experts
A portion of the men (mostly) who built the pyramids would have been masons and other expert artisans. They would have done the mentally hard work of measuring, cutting, and ensuring that everything was built to the architect’s plan…just like construction workers today.
These people were well paid and well respected. In the towns that supported the pyramids, metalworkers also labored, working copper (which was used to quarry and dress the stone).
They were well fed. We have found huge ovens were large quantities of bread were made, we have found evidence of lots of cattle bone, with cattle being driven in from ranches in the hinterland.
These experts would have worked full time on projects such as these; if there wasn’t a major public work then they were no doubt busy building houses.