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Understand who were the people involved in the creation of ancient Egyptian monuments, and understand the techniques used to quarry stone blocks and transport monuments.
Whenever possible, blocks were toppled from a higher elevation onto the sled.
Workers then poured water onto the clay at the front of the sled, creating a slick surface to more easily move the load.
It wasn't until the New Kingdom that animals were used to tow the burden.During flood season, the Nile was at its largest and deepest, which allowed the transportation of the heaviest and biggest loads. Quarries close to the river had troughs dug out to deliver the stones to the shoreline. Harbors and wharfs situated at the river's edge allowed the transfer of materials and supplies. Harbor warehouses accommodated additional stocks of stone so that they were available for the winter sailing season.
The Ouadi el-Jarf papyri detail a limestone load intended for the Khufu pyramid that weighed in at 70-80 tons, or thirty blocks. One papyrus is a fragment from a foreman's notes taken while working on the Great Pyramid. It details the transportation of limestone blocks from the Tura quarries to the construction site of the pyramid. The other papyri are shipping logs containing archives of the sailors assigned to sail the Red Sea and the Nile.
Stone cargo generally weighed 15 tons per boat, amounting to roughly six or seven blocks per trip. For heavier Loads such as obelisks, monolithic pillars or gigantic statues, larger boats were used. These transports are the ones typically showcased on temple walls.
River transportation was the most efficient way to ferry stone blocks between the quarry and the construction site. Blocks were transported by flotillas of several types of boats. The most detailed illustration of transport by river is a relief of Queen Hatshepsut's barge with an accompanying flotilla.
