The Great Pyramid of Giza may be older than academic science currently believes.
Italian engineer Alberto Donini came to this conclusion after using a new method for dating stone structures, writes a Belnovosti correspondent, citing a MIR24 publication .
Traditional Egyptology dates the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza to the 26th century BC, but the researcher suggests that the monument appeared tens of thousands of years earlier, during the Late Paleolithic era.
Donini bases his calculations on the REM method, which allows one to estimate the age of stone surfaces based on their degree of erosion. He noted that the pyramid was originally clad in smooth limestone blocks.
After the devastating earthquake of 1303, many of these were dismantled by local residents and used in construction. This means that some surfaces at the base of the pyramid have been exposed to influence for only a few centuries, while others have been exposed since the structure's construction.
By comparing the degree of erosion in different areas, the engineer attempted to determine how long the exposed surfaces had been exposed to the environment. An analysis of twelve points at the base of the pyramid revealed that weathering processes could have lasted between twenty and forty thousand years.
The average, according to his calculations, indicates an age of about 24,900 years, which corresponds to about 22,900 BC.
Donini estimates a greater than 68 percent probability that the pyramid was built between 9,000 and 36,000 BC. However, he emphasizes that these conclusions are preliminary and require further clarification.
The rate of erosion could have been influenced by past climate patterns, including wetter periods, as well as modern acid rain, according to the University of Bologna, where the researcher presented his work.
The data obtained sharply diverges from the generally accepted chronology of Ancient Egypt, based on archaeological finds, radiocarbon dating, and historical sources. According to the traditional version, Khufu reigned during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, and the pyramid was built during his reign.
Donini admits that the monument could have existed long before the reign of the pharaoh and was later adapted for his burial complex.
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