The Egyptian Drilling Technology

Joannes Richter

Abstract
Two controversial Egyptian Drilling Technologies have been documented as:
1. an ancient Egyptian Tube Drilling Technology producing spiral grooves in the drill-holes
and drill-cores.
2. an ancient Egyptian Tube Drilling Technology producing concentric grooves in the drill-
hole and the drill-core.
By a lack of describing the suitable models for realistic tool technology the common mainstream
presents the description of simple copper instruments and a handful of sand as the cutting device as
the standard tools for the ancient high technology in masonry.
This paper describes the fulgaritic tools as a suitable material to drill holes in granite, basalt and
diorite. Also the Great Pyramids of Gizeh and Teotihuacan may be considered as the manufacturing
tools for optimized fulgaritic tools.
The archaic methods for drilling holes
Studying The Story of the Enigmatic and Mysterious Tube Drills of Ancient Egypt I realized the
discovery of archaic drilling tools did not really illustrate how the ancient cultures managed to build
impressive megalithic walls and buildings, which also revealed a perfect drilling technology.
Therefore I decided to invest some time in studying what kind of tools may have been used in the
Stone Age.

The Mysterious Tube Drills of Ancient Egypt

Obviously the drilling procedure has not been understood yet. The holes and the drill cores are
carrying the groves and lines, which are etched in the materials (7:30 in the video). The top of the
cores tapers to the inward directions.
The magic of these drilling procedures is hidden behind the veil of ignorance. Obviously the
technology had been so ancient that the illustrations could not be documented in the hieroglyphic
records.
Nobody ever documented how the ancient Egyptians drilled these tubes in the rocks. Therefore the
Egyptian civilization must have been preceded by another civilized people who had known how to
drill these holes (10:00).
The first documents to these topics are composed in “The pyramids and temples of Gizeh (1883),
OCLC:79807911all editions” by Flinders Petrie (16:24).

1. Sketches from “The pyramids and temples of Gizeh (1883),

OCLC:79807911all editions” by Flinders Petrie (16:24).
The Story of the Enigmatic and Mysterious Tube Drills of Ancient Egypt suggests to study the sources:
• Petrie's documents and books available at https://archive.org
• Chris Dunn's website (with articles) http://gizapower.com
• Pennsylvania University study into Drill Cores: https://www.penn.museum/documents/pub...
• Link to Mark Lehner/PBS Nova documentary (fragment): https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=qeS5l... (“Granite Cutting and Drilling”)
The investigations of Flinders Petrie
According to the mainstream knowledge quartz is considered as the hardest material in cutting the
hard stones such as granite (19:50). The typical tool was made of bronze, which had been hardened
at typical cutting points. The cutter had to be harder than the hardest material quartz (20:37). The
hardening material is unknown, but (theoretically) could only be beryl, topaz, chrysoberyl,
corundum or sapphire and diamond.
The common solution for this problem is the assumption that a softer drill tool had to be equipped
with the hardest dust material, which may have been sand or corundum.
Flinders Petrie however proved that this assumption was invalid (21:35). The video now illustrates
a hole in diorite at 4,5 inches diameter with 17 equi-distant grooves made by the tool and in a single
cut forming a 20 feet long spiral (23:24).

2. Flinders Petrie describes the conic drill-core #7

Flinders Petrie also describes the conic drill-core #7 (23:50), which also only can be explained by a
use of fixed hardened “jewel” points. The grooves are as deep in the quartz as in the adjacent
feldspar and even rather deeper. A fixed jewel point would have compelled to plow to the same
depth in all the components (24:46).
In the video the only imagined drilling-methods were: (1) the method with the softer drilling tool,
which is hardened by a suitable powder and (2) the hardest jewels, which need to be mounted as a
fix-point cutter in a drilling tool (26:38).
Newer investigations describe drilling experiments in which the core' lines were considered as
concentric lines, which contradicts the observations of Flinders Petrie (28:00).
Also the grooves in core#7 were much deeper than in the modern experiments (29:18).
Flinders Petrie also describes the enormous pressure on the tool and the rapidity with which the tool
sunk into the stone (31:00). The cutting rate must be considered extremely high (31:45).
Christopher Dunn's confirmation of Petrie's documentation
In “Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt” Christopher Dunn comments these results at the speed rate
of 0,1 inch/revolution as “remarkable”. This sinking rate of the drilling method is 500 times greater
than a modern diamond drill (32:30).
In contrast the rotation of the drilling method may have been much slower (33:16). Petrie describes
the groove's cuts deeper through the quartz as through the weaker felspar. In conventional drilling
these results would contradict this observation.
A sure way to create the spiral seemed to be a drilling method with an oscillating tool like a
vibrating hammer drill.
Instead of discussing Petrie's descriptions most scientists around 1900 concentrated on the
implications such as the tool's specifications and the design of the tool-fixture (35:38).

3. Drill-hole at Abu-Sir from The Story of the Enigmatic and Mysterious Tube Drills of Ancient Egypt

The idea of a predecessor civilization

The idea of a predecessor civilization which had vanished without transferring the heritage of the
drilling technology to their heirs is difficult for a lack of its evidence (36:28).
This resistance against acceptance of an advanced unknown technology and a superior predecessor
civilization resulted in the claim that the grooves did not spiral, but simply represented straight
concentric circles (38:00).
The removal of the drill-core
The claim that the demonstration in the video “Granite Cutting and Drilling” (49:47) includes two iron
chisels instead of bronze chisels to break out the drill-core is not really a problematic issue as the
core could easily be removed by inserting a wooden wedge and soak it full with water. This method
has been used for removing granite obelisks from their quarry location.

The investigation of Reed and Brownlee

Reed and Brownlee claimed that the horizontal striations are found on all cores. They claimed that
the striations are genuinely connected spiral grooves (45:19). In this case Reed and Brownlee
simply tilted the relevant photograph (48:00).

The investigation of the spiral form by Christopher Dunn

Christopher Dunn wrapped a white cotton thread in the spiral groove of Petrie's core #7. Moreover
this spiral groove travels the full length of the core and any discontinuities are due to the ripping
out of the mica – a constituent of the granite – with some dislocations seen as faint lines on the latex
peel, but on the granite core they cannot be seen with the naked eye (51:57).

The contradiction between spirals and concentric lines

In an overview the spiral-based observations of Petrie & Dunn are contradicting the mainstream
theory of “horizontal” lines on the core and the primitive methods of archaic tools (55:12).

Softening the granite with heat

In a closing quotation Christopher Dunn claims that an experiment may offer a solution to soften
the granite with heat.
Does the burnished finish on the surface of Core #7, as well as the random runs between the
grooves and the proliferation of depressions where mica is removed along with the spiral
groove itself, indicate that these characteristics might be replicated if the granite was
brought close to its melting point?
This method suggests a sort of thermal lance, that sacrifices its material in the process.

vitrified surfaces
A basalt tube drill core from enlarged hole
The following basalt tube drill core from enlarged hole contains an offset between the axes 1. Basalt
commonly features a very fine-grained or glassy matrix interspersed with visible mineral grains.
By definition, basalt is an aphanitic (fine-grained) igneous rock with generally 45–53%
silica (SiO2)[7] and less than 10% feldspathoid by volume, and where at least 65% of
the rock is feldspar in the form of plagioclase. 2

Basalt has high liquidus and solidus temperatures—values at the Earth's surface are near
or above 1200 °C (liquidus) and near or below 1000 °C (solidus); these values are
higher than those of other common igneous rocks.

4. Basalt tube drill core from enlarged hole

Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historiae. Book 36, section 11 (Loeb Classical Library): "The Egyptians
also discovered in Ethiopia what is called basanites, a stone which in color and hardness resembles
iron: hence the name they have given it." This stone is now believed to have been greywacke, a
sedimentary rock unrelated to basalt.
1 Ancient Tube Drills, Part 2! More context, more Petrie, more cores, even some examples from Peru!
2 basalt
The alternative softening of granite, basalt and diorite

Crystalline igneous rocks

Usually drilling procedures are based on pure mechanical tools, which produce repetitive series of
relatively short strokes with a sharp tool.
The applied forces respectively “pulses” to cut granite, basalt and diorite are relatively high. The
hardness of the tools must be equal or exceed the hardness (~6,5) of the raw materials.
Granite is a type of crystalline igneous rock containing quartz, mica and K-feldspar. Diorite may
contain small amounts of quartz, while granite is composed mostly of quartz3.
For standard chemicals the reactions are slow respectively the application of the most powerful
chemicals (alkaloids or acids) may be very dangerous. The chemicals may offer an additional help
in the applications of suitable tools. Therefore this report does not describe these additional
methods.

Diorite
Diorite is an extremely hard rock, making it difficult to carve and work with. Its
hardness, however, also allows it to be worked finely and take a high polish, and to
provide a durable finished work. One comparatively frequent use of diorite was for
inscription, as it is easier to carve in relief than in three-dimensional statuary. The use of
diorite in art was most important among very early Middle Eastern civilizations such as
Ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, and Sumer. It was so valued in early times that the
first great Mesopotamian empire—the Empire of Sargon of Akkad—listed the taking of
diorite as a purpose of military expeditions4.

Quartz
The crystals in Quartz may be loosened by heating up to 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F). There is no need
to heat the rock up the melting point (1215–1260 °C).
Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both
of which are chiral.

The transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz takes place abruptly at 573 °C (846 K;
1,063 °F).

Since the transformation is accompanied by a significant change in volume, it can easily

induce fracturing of ceramics or rocks passing through this temperature threshold5.

3 The Differences Between Granite & Diorite | Hunker

4 Historic use Diorite
5 quartz
The fulgurites
I was looking for a suitable drilling tool with a hardness of 6.5 to drill holes in silica materials such
as granite, basalt and diorite. A suitable tool may be shaped like a rod with a length of 1 m and
diameters between 1 inch and 10 inches.
There is a biblical quotation Exodus 9:23-24 NIV referring to the “lightning flashed down to the
ground”, which causes the generation of crystalline rocks named fulgurites:
23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail,
and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt;
24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of
Egypt since it had become a nation.

There was a question in how far these fulgurites may be used as as an evidence that God and His
hold word line up with science6.
In the response John Oakes claimed two relevant issues: “the greatest concentration of Fulgurites
are in North Africa” and “It is not possible to date a fulgarite”:
In fact, the greatest concentration of Fulgurites are in North Africa. It is inconceivable
that fulgarite evidence could tell us anything one way or another about the plagues in
Egypt. It is not possible to date a fulgarite. Whether it is 1000 or 20000 years old is
nearly impossible to tell.

Another quotation in science (dated 2007) contradicts this impossibility of dating fulgarites and
even specifies the age at “roughly 15,000 years ago”, at “a time the Sahara was less arid”:
The Sahara fulgurite, the researchers report in this month's issue of Geology, formed
roughly 15,000 years ago. These findings corroborate other evidence that the Sahara
was less arid and more hospitable to plant life during this period7.

For the first time, researchers have successfully dated these unusual geological
formations, and the findings are providing a unique insight into the long-ago climate
and ecology of the Sahara desert.

5. Fulgurite (from A Spark in the Sand)

6 Are fulgurites useful evidence to support the reality of the ten plagues in Egypt? - Posted on August 28, 2015 by
John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Science and the Bible.
7 A Spark in the Sand Feb. 1, 2007 , 12:00 AM Posted in: https://science.sciencemag.org/ Chemistry
The shape of fulgurites
15,000 years ago the Sahara must have been a region with fair conditions to form fulgurites.
Fulgurites are formed when lightning strikes the ground, fusing and vitrifying mineral grains.[7]
The primary SiO2 phase in common tube fulgurites is lechatelierite, an amorphous silica glass.
The interior of Type I (sand) fulgurites normally is smooth or lined with fine bubbles, while their
exteriors are coated with rough sedimentary particles or small rocks.
Fulgurites can exceed tens of centimeters in diameter and can penetrate deep into the subsoil,
sometimes occurring as far as 15 m (49 ft) below the surface that was struck. [9]
Peak temperatures within a lightning channel exceed 30,000 K, with sufficient pressure to produce
planar deformation features in SiO2, a kind of polymorphism. This is also known as shocked quartz
[16].

6. Sand fulgurites from Algeria. On display at the San Diego County Fair, California, USA.Public
Domain - (source: fulgurite)
The classification of fulgurites
Fulgurites have been classified by Pasek et al. (2012)[17] into five types related to the type of
sediment in which the fulgurite formed, as follows:
• Type I - sand fulgurites with tubaceous structure; their central axial void may be collapsed
• Type II - soil fulgurites; these are glass-rich, and form in a wide range of sediment
compositions, including clay-rich soils, silt-rich soils, gravel-rich soils, and loessoid; these
may be tubaceous, branching, vesicular, irregular/slaggy, or may display a combination of
these structures, and can produce exogenic fulgurites (droplet fulgurites)
• Type III - caliche or calcic sediment fulgurites, having thick, often surficially glazed
granular walls with calcium-rich vitreous groundmass with little or no lechatelierite glass;
their shapes are variable, with multiple narrow central channels common, and can span the
entire range of morphological and structural variation for fulguritic objects
• Type IV - rock fulgurites, which are either crusts on minimally altered rocks, networks of
tunneling within rocks, vesicular outgassed rocks (often glazed by a silicide-rich and/or
metal oxide crust), or completely vitrified and dense rock material and masses of these
forms with little sedimentary groundmass
• Type V - [droplet] fulgurites (exogenic fulgurites), which show evidence of ejection (e.g.
spheroidal, filamentous, or aerodynamic),[3][18] related by composition to Type II and Type
IV fulgurites8

A fulgurite found at the excavations at Mt. Lykaion

An object initially believed to be a fulgurite was found within the contents of the ash altar at the
temple of Lykaian Zeus at Mount Lykaion in Greece.[32][33] However, after nearly two decades,
the "fulgurite" has not yet been analyzed or confirmed to be a fulgurite, and it has not been
described in any peer-reviewed publications. The two published reports of the excavations at Mt.
Lykaion notably omit any references to, or description of, a "fulgurite."[349][3510][3611] 12

Photographs illustrate the following quotations in one of these papers describing the ash altar at Mt.
Lykaion: 13
In the 11th century BCE. Zeus is attested in Linear B documents from Crete and the
mainland from 1400-1200 BCE; in addition, this early form of the Greek language also
includes the word for "emenos" as well as a word for "fire altar" that might describe the
ash altar at Mt. Lykaion.

It was George Davis who first identified the glassy-like substance found in the ash altar
as fulgurite. Fulgurite is formed when lightning strikes sandy soil and vitrifies. Since the
ash altar does not contain sand, it is likely that the fulgurite was brought to the altar as a
dedication.

8 Classification (source: fulgurite)

9 Romano, D. G. (2014). "Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project, Part 1: The Upper Sanctuary". Hesperia. 83
(4): 569–652. doi:10.2972/hesperia.83.4.0569.
10 Romano, D. G. (2015). "Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project, Part 2: The Lower Sanctuary". Hesperia. 84
(2): 207–276. doi:10.2972/hesperia.84.2.0207.
11 "Excavating at the Birthplace of Zeus* – Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project". Lykaionexcavation.org.
2003-07-20. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
12 In material culture (source: fulgurite)
13 "Excavating at the Birthplace of Zeus* – Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project". Lykaionexcavation.org.
2003-07-20. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
Embedding the fulgurites in a copper carrier
Fulgurites are usually fragile, making the field collection of large specimens difficult.
If the fulgurites may be as fragile as a glass-like object these cannot be used for a heavy-duty
drilling procedure of granite. In a respectable size the glassy object may be stable enough to drill
holes and to polish materials such as granite.

5. Fulgurite (from A Spark in the Sand)

The glass-like object may be integrated in a carrier, made of copper, brass or any other suitable
materials. The fulgurite may even be included in the carrier by simply laying in a casting form,
shaped as a clay cylinder containing the fulgurite and filled with melted metals such as brass or
copper. The melting temperature of the metal probably does not harm the fulgurite.
As soon as a lightning strikes the earth the sand is instantly super heated (i.e., melted and fused).
The process produces glass-like hollow tubes (Fulgurites) of a few centimeters or even meters
length and a diameter of a few up to 10-20 centimeters.
The outer surfaces sand fulgurites are often rough with adhering, unfused Quartz sand grains. The
inner surfaces and openings of the tubes are usually smooth and glassy.
Rock Fulgurites are formed when lightning strikes the surface of a rock, melting and fusing the
surface, and sometimes the interior of the rock. The melting point of Si0 2 is 2950 oF. The name
Fulgurite is from the Latin: Fulgur (lightning).14

The manufacturing of fulgurites

The manufacturing of fulgurites may have been optimized to produce the heavy duty, stable
fulgurites for drilling granite and other Si02 -materials. This may have been performed by the
pyramids, which are described as special machines to integrate the lightning in the manufacturing
process.
In an optimal process:
• The sand fulgurites should provide straight glass-like hollow tubes with a diameter of a few
up to 10-20 centimeters and 1-2 meters length.
• The outer surfaces sand fulgurites should be rough with adhering, unfused Quartz sand
grains.
• The inner surfaces and openings of the tubes should be smooth and glassy.

14 Fulgurite
The manufacturing of Sand Fulgurites in Pyramids
Successful early civilizations may have needed respectable palaces for their rulers and kings.
Initially the available building materials may have been restricted to wooden structures, concrete
stones and monoliths. In the archaic eras metallic tools still had to be invented. The standard tools
may have been equipped with pieces of quartz or suitable stones.
Polishing and drilling could be done by using sand or suitable fulgurites, which may found in the
deserts. These elements had to be collected by inspecting the sand of the desert territories.

The manufacturing of Sand Fulgurites in Egypt

In Egypt the Sand Fulgurites may have been found by a cumbersome search and digging procedure
for the glassy-like fulgurites-rods of a particular size. The striking location of the lightnings is rather
unreliable. The only hint is the preference of a shortest route to the ground water.
It may help to put a number of vertical rods in the ground, of which the highest and sharpest rod
represents the most attractive antenna to the discharging electric field.
In a large territory the harvest for the number of fulgurites-rods may be rather disappointing.
Especially in an area with increasing aridity the poor harvest for the number of fulgurites-rods may
be a good reason to build tall obelisks and pyramids, which attract the lightnings which were
supposed to discharge their energy in a sandbox full of sand.

The sandbox
This discharge in a controlled environment might form a perfect fulgurite with a perfect diameter
and length. The box (blue) may be located at the top of the pyramid and may be filled with selected
sand (yellow) from a specially chosen desert area or directly from the common soil.

7. Sandbox with a
vertical arrow

The sandbox should be equipped with a bottom conductor (earthed by a connection to the earth).
The hot electrode should be a sharpened, 1-2m wooden arrow or copper rod, which had to be placed
in the center of the sandbox.
The diameter may be chosen at 1cm, which is comparable to modern lightning rods. As a preferred
material we may choose a metallic rod with a sharp endpoint at the top, which attracts the electric
field.
The first phase of the pyramidal hill
The Victorian astronomer Richard Proctor wrote a book proposing that the Great Pyramid was first
only half-built, up as far as what became the King's Chamber floor. So, this has been regarded as
quite an important juncture. (It was then used as an observatory, he argued). He did not comment
upon its exact mathematical placement15.
The first stage of the Great Pyramid may not have been designed for an observatory, but for
manufacturing Sand Fulgurites in the sandbox, which had been installed in the open air at the
location of the king's chamber. The original sandbox may even be inspected today in the king's
chamber, although it may be labeled as the king's sarcophagus.
The corridors may have been used as a access to the sandbox and as an earthing connector to the
groundwater level in the underground cellar. This connection should be optimized for a high
electrical discharge current. The conductivity may be improved by a metallic conductor (copper,
bronze, silver, gold...) or by humidity (water ?). A shortcut may also have been designed by the
route at #12.
The size of the pyramids may be optimized for a special dimensional range of the fulgurite-rods, as
the height of the pyramid may attract a large number of discharges.
The shortcuts may also guide the discharge current in an optimized, controlled circuit to the ground.

8. First stage of the Great Pyramid (equipped with a sandbox and arrow) -
source: Kheops-coupe.jpg: MONNIER Franck derivative work: GDK (talk) – Public Domain

15 Geometry of the great Pyramid - Graham Hancock Official ...

The actual design of the Great Cheops Pyramid
The developing of an arid environment may have reduced the number of lightnings and diminished
the manufacturing output of the Sand Fulgurites. At the beginning of the copper and bronze age the
functionality of the manufacturing of fulgurites may be considered as inefficient.
At the Cheops age the pyramid might have been modernized by trying to locate a new sandbox at a
higher level, which improves the attraction of lightnings for the production of fulgurites.
In the end phase the fulgurites were to be replaced by metallic (iron) tools and the sandboxes could
be removed. The pyramid was to be adapted to a monument. The knowledge of its former
functionality had been lost.
In the meantime the knowledge of using pyramids may however have been spread around the globe.
Therefore another type of pyramid will be discussed in the next chapter.

9. Optimizing the productivity of the Great Pyramid (equipped with a sandbox and arrow)
source: Kheops-coupe.jpg: MONNIER Franck derivative work: GDK (talk) – Public Domain
The manufacturing of Sand Fulgurites in Teotihuacan

The problem in manufacturing of fulgurite-rods

A crucial problem in the manufacturing of fulgurite-rods were the irregularities in the
directions of the ionization channels. The lightning does not discharge the electrical energy
in one singular stroke, but generates a number of strokes with high amplitudes. This results
in a number of wild zigzag aberrations of the channel. This problem may be solved if the
lightning is controlled and forced to discharge its energy in one stroke. This method should
improve the generation of one single ionization channel by charging a mica capacitor, which
stores the energy of the lightning's pulses until the ionizing threshold in the sandbox is
reached.
As far as we know none of the Egyptian pyramids have ever been equipped with mica layers, but in
Teotihuacan we also may investigate the possibility of mica layers as capacitors.
The controlling circuits such as mica layers may have included various conductors between the
sandbox and the earth conductor. These controlling circuits may behave like dampening resistors or
coils.

The Pyramid of the Sun

Various sources report of mica layers at two temples in Teotihuacan. The first discovery of mica in
Teotihuacan was reported 1906 and occurred in the Pyramid of the Sun. The first sheets of mica
were found in between two of the upper levels of the Pyramid of the Sun.
The discovery occurred in 1906, when the complex was restored. But the mica was removed and
sold as soon as it had been excavated, by Leopoldo Batres, the man in charge of the project.
Graham Hancock has called Bartres's restoration of the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan
"grotesque vandalism", citing the removal and selling of a layer of sheet mica between two
of the upper levels—mined from 2,000 miles away and used for unknown purpose—
removing the outer layer to a depth of more than 20 feet, and adding a fifth stage. Hancock
argues that because scientific data might have been incorporated into many of the key
dimensions, drastically distorting the original shape and size of the pyramid had possibly
deprived posterity of some of the most important lessons Teotihuacan had to teach.[3] 16

The Mica Temple

More recently, a Mica Temple has been discovered on the site, but this time, the mica has remained
in situ. The temple sits around a patio about 300 meters south of the west face of the Pyramid of the
Sun.
According to some investigators the type of mica found at Teotihuacan indicates a type that is only
found in Brazil, more than 2000 miles away. Others claim the material is a 'locally mined mica'.

16 Leopoldo Batres
Designing the capacitor
If the great Teotihuacan pyramid have been designed as manufacturing sites for Sand Fulgurites the
mica layers may have been chosen to optimize the process of controlled melting of sand by a
lightning stroke. In this case the sandbox with two electrodes should be inserted parallel to the
capacitor between the top of the pyramid respectively the earth electrode.
In the following sketch the mica layer of the capacitor in the pyramid is colored as a black line
between:
1. the “hot” red electrode (connected to the lightning rod) and
2. the blue electrode (“earth”, connected to the ground water level).
In this sketch the “sandbox” for the fulgurites is placed outside of the pyramid. The dimensions of
the Teotihuacan pyramid may be compared to the size of the first stage of the Cheops pyramid:

10. Model of the the Teotihuacan pyramid as a variant of the first stage of the Cheops pyramid
source: Kheops-coupe.jpg: MONNIER Franck derivative work: GDK (talk) – Public Domain

The calculation of the voltage pulse, which was to be expected at the stroke of a lightning may be
calculated by the following formulas for a mica layer of 70 mm and a charge Q = 15 Coulomb:
• The electric constant ε0 = 8.85 × 10-12 (F⋅m-1)
• The Relative permittivity εr of Mica (at room temperature under 1 kHz): εr = 3–6 [2] 17
• Before 1906 the surface (in the formula “A”) of the (original 70mm) mica layer in the
Pyramid of the Sun is estimated at 80 m x 80 m = 6400 m2. The quotient A/d = ~91428 (m).
• The capacity (C = εr.ε0.A / d) of the mica layer is 2700 nF.
• A normal lightning stroke may charge the capacitor to approximately 500 kV.

17 Relative permittivity
The dielectric strength of mica is 50 to 200 kV/mm. The breakdown voltage for a 70 mm mica layer
is 3.500 kV – 14.000 kV, respectively 3.5 MV- 14 MV.
d (mica layer) Capacity Voltage (V = Q/C) Voltage (V = Q/C) Voltage (V = Q/C)
C (rounded) at Q = 15 (C) at Q = 350 (C) at Q = 700 (C)
70 mm 2700 nF (→ 2.7 μF) 500 kV 11.7 MV 23.3 MV
140 mm 1350 nF (→ 1.35 μF) 1 MV 23.3 MV 46.7 MV
280 mm 675 nF (→ 0.625 μF) 2 MV 46.7 MV 93.33 MV
Theoretical voltage level at the mica capacitor after a stroke of a lightning
The pyramids of Snofru

The Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid

The pyramids of Snofru arethe Meidum pyramid, the Red Pyramid of Snofru and the Bent Pyramid.
There is little doubt that Snofru was finally buried in the Red Pyramid, although the fragments of
human remains found inside the burial chamber are not certain to have been his. Interestingly,
during the reign of Pepi I of the 6th Dynasty, this pyramid along with its southern neighbor, the
Bent Pyramid, was considered as one estate.
Its Ancient Egyptian name for the Red Pyramid was 'The Shining One'.

The Meidum Pyramid

The pyramid at Meidum is thought to be just the second pyramid built after Djoser's[2] and may
have been originally built for Huni, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty, and continued by
Sneferu.
A collapse of the pyramid may have caused by modifications made to Imhotep's pyramid design as
well as the decisions taken twice during construction to extend the pyramid.

11. Three construction phases (E1, E2, E3) for the Meidum pyramid (with marked sections for the current
state) - public domain from MONNIER Franck – public domain (Gemeinfrei)
Glass embedded in the Meidum Pyramid
Several teardrop-shaped marks and a trace of blue glass are found at the walls at a location, which
in the video is defined as the “masonry block of the lower chamber”18.
These findings are located in the lower section of the pyramid, where we are in the neighborhood of
the ground water wells. In a building which is designed to capture a lightning's energy the
connection to the ground water well must be considered as a mayor constructive element.
Meidum belongs to the oldest generation of the pyramidal concepts and an accidental collapse of
the outer section of the pyramid may have been caused by a lightning stroke inside the interior
structure.
The large current pulses to form the Sand Fulgurites may have chosen a irregular path towards the
water source. Usually the lightning's path may follow the channel of the lowest resistance, which
may be found in the neighborhood of humid locations between the rocks. The explosive heating of
the limestone's inclusions may destroy the local limestone construction and cause shifts in the
fundamental structure of the pyramid.
The currents of lightnings are well known for their irregular behavior. In engineering the conductors
for the main lightning currents may have been guided at the outside of the building, where no harm
can be done by explosive heating. In fact the outer surface of the Great Pyramid could be shaped of
polished marble to protect the pyramid against false conductance of currents inside the pyramid.
The optimal way for guiding the main current was the thin layer of rain water at the outer surface of
the Great Pyramid.
The vertical trace of (blue) glass in a narrow split in the limestone rock may have been caused by
melting limestone or other materials in a lightning stroke. Maybe an analysis of the glass'
components is helpful in finding the source for this glass.

11. teardrop-shaped trace

18 Found in the video The Unsolved Mysteries of the Broken Pyramid at Meidum, Egypt at 30:00
The following photograph illustrates the traces of blue glass in the vertically oriented split at the
limestone wall of the “masonry block of the lower chamber”.

12 Glass embedded in the

Meidum Pyramid
The pit of the Meidum Pyramid
It is thought that the lower chambers were excavated in a trench cut into the rock, such that
the end of the passage floor is built of masonry courses founded on the rock floor, the
pavement stones of the lower chambers also rest on the rock floor of the trench. M&R say of
the pit;
“The purpose of this pit, whose walls are undressed, is unknown: however it certainly
is original and was made during the building of the pyramid.”

The pit which runs the width of the floor and is about 55cm wide, drops a vertical depth
through masonry of 2.14 metres from the pit’s northern face; at this depth it hits the floor of
the rock trench, but the pit carries on vertically for a further 78cm in the natural rock.19
The pit also connects the pyramid with the groundwater which is needed as a drainage for the
electrical currents:
“So what could be the function of the pit and the groove south of it? I suggest their
function was to protect the lower chambers from the elements. In the time that the
pyramid was erected, the climate might have been less arid than today. I recall a visit to
Giza where I was met by such a downpour of rain that would make Ireland proud. I
suspect such downpours of rain would have been a concern to the builders during
construction. A rough calculation shows that the pit would hold over 1000 litres of water
and it’s noticeable that the builders excavated into the rock a further 78cm. Today the
only visible part of the rock the visitor can see is in the shaft leading to the upper
chamber; here the stratification of the rock can be clearly seen and it looks quite porous.
I believe this extra excavation in the rock is a soakaway, to help the pit drain when
meteoric water found its way into the pit”.

19 https://www.academia.edu/32410244/The_Meidum_Pyramid
An archaic sensor for electrostatic energy
In a famous paper published at Poggendorf's Annals Werner von Siemens describes the archaic
sensor for electrostatic energy, which is caused by the chamsin, a dry, hot, sandy local wind
affecting Egypt and Israel. From the Arabic word for "fifty", these dry, sand-filled windstorms blow
sporadically in Egypt over a fifty-day period in spring, hence the name.
When the storm passes over an area, lasting for several hours, it carries great quantities of sand and
dust from the deserts, with a speed up to 140 kilometers per hour (87 mph; 76 knots), and the
humidity in that area drops below 5%. Even in winter, the temperatures rise above 45° C (113° F)
due to the storm.
During the North African Campaign in World War II, "Allied and German troops were several times
forced to halt in mid-battle because of sandstorms caused by the khamsin... Grains of sand whirled
by the wind blinded the soldiers and created electrical disturbances that rendered compasses
useless."[8]
At the top of the pyramid Werner von Siemens describes an obvious electrostatic phenomenon as a
“magical prickling sensation” and “loud crackling sparks of about 1 centimeter range”, which also
may have been experienced by the old Egyptian scientists:
In the finest weather we sailed through the Adriatic and Mediterranean, so rich in
historical associations, disembarked at Alexandria and traveled by the just opened
railway to Cairo, where we stopped a few days to give the ship Agamemnon, laden with
the cable, and which made the journey round the Cape of Good Hope, the necessary
time for arriving in Suez. I used this opportunity for an inspection of the town, which
interested me and my engineers in the highest degree by its rich historical memorials
and as the point of junction of the civilizations of Europe and Asia.

When on the 14th of April we visited the pyramid of Cheops we had the good fortune to
observe on its apex an interesting physical phenomenon, of which I subsequently gave
an account in PoggendorfF s Annalen under the title, "Description of unusually strong
electrical phenomena on the Cheops Pyramid near Cairo during the blowing of the
Chamsin.20"

During our donkey ride from Cairo to the pyramid there arose an unusually cold desert
wind, which was accompanied by a peculiar ruddy color of the horizon. During our
ascent or rather our transport by the Arabs, who always encamp by the Gizeh pyramids,
and do not allow the office to be taken from them of carrying or rather throwing the
visitors up the steps, each a yard high, the wind assumed a tempest-like force, so that it
was to a certain extent difficult to keep oneself upright on the flattened apex of the
pyramid.

The raised desert dust had now become so thick that it appeared like a white mist, and
altogether obscured the view of the ground. It gradually rose higher and higher, and
after some time wrapped even the summit on which I with my ten engineers was
standing. Then a remarkable hissing noise was heard, which could not have been caused
by the wind itself. One of the Arabs called my attention to the fact that by raising his
outstretched finger above his head a sharp singing sound arose, which ceased as soon as
he lowered his hand. I found this confirmed when I myself raised a finger above my
head; at the same time I noticed a prickling sensation in my finger.

20 Beschreibung ungewöhnlich starker elektrischer Erscheinungen auf der Cheops-Pyramide ...

 That we had to do with an electrical phenomenon appeared from the circumstance that a
slight electrical shock was felt when one tried to drink out of a wine bottle. By wrapping
a piece of damp paper round it. I transformed such a filled bottle, having a metallically
coated neck, into a Leyden jar, which was strongly charged when one held it high above
one's head. It was then possible to obtain loud cracking sparks, of about 1 centimeter
range. This established in an unequivocal manner the electrical properties of the desert
wind which had been already before observed by travelers.

In the further course of our experiments I had occasion to prove that electricity can also
be serviceable as an effective defensive weapon. The Arabs had at once observed with
manifest distrust the flashes darting from our wine bottles. They then held a brief
council, and at a signal every one of my companions was laid hold of, to be forcibly
transported down again, by the three men who had brought him there. I was standing
just on the highest point of the pyramid, a large stone cube in the center of the flattened
summit, when the sheikh of the tribe approached, and communicated to me through our
interpreter that the tribe had resolved we should immediately leave the pyramid. On
being asked the reason, he replied that we manifestly practised magic, and that might
injure the source of their livelihood, the pyramid.

When I refused to comply with his request, he made a dash at my left hand, whilst I
held the right with the well-coated bottle in a manifestly conjuring attitude - high above
my head. I had waited for this moment and now lowered the neck of the bottle slowly
towards his nose. When I touched it I myself felt a strong concussion, to judge from
which the sheikh must have received a violent shock. He fell speechless to the ground,
and several seconds elapsed, making me somewhat anxious, before with a sudden cry he
raised himself, and sprang howling down the steps of the pyramid with giant leaps.
When the Arabs perceived this, and heard the sheikh's continuous cry of "magic", they
one and all abandoned their prey and plunged after him. In a few minutes the battle was
over, and we were absolute masters of the pyramid.

Anyhow Napoleon had not such an easy "victory at the foot of the pyramids" as I had at
their summit! As the blowing of the Chamsin soon ceased, and the sun again brightly
illuminated the imperilled pyramid, the Arabs recovered from their terror, and
clambered up again so as not to lose the expected "backsheesh". Even at our peaceful
leave-taking however they evidently still regarded us with suspicion on account of our
magical powers.

Nor were there wanting some small adventures by sea during this cable-laying. The
weather was thoroughly calm and fine, as is always the case in the Red Sea, where a
rain-fall is a great rarity; only the enervating heat was inconvenient. My traveling
thermometer indicated by day nearly always 100 and by night 102 Fahr. , a temperature,
which with our northern strength is indeed borne tolerably long without difficulty, but
which in the long run becomes extremely troublesome. By day one lives in a perpetual
conflict with the sun, from whose rays head and back must be carefully protected. By
night the hoped for cooling is entirely wanting. The splendor of the starry southern
heavens with the truly Egyptian darkness of the nights is indeed imposing, but it does
not make up for the desired refreshing breeze21.

21 Source Chapter (@ page 186) “Visit To The Pyramid Of Cheops”, from Full Text Of "Personal Recollections Of
Werner Von Siemens" Of The University California Translated By W. C. Coupland (1893)
The Djed-pillar on the Pyramidion
The following pyramidion from Faiyum contains a djed-column capturing or reaching for the sun
disc. This column may represent a form for a sand-filled column, which catches a lightning stroke
to form a fulgurite. The paramydion represents the optimal location for the sand-filled column.
Ceremonies in Memphis are described where the pharaoh, with the help of the priests, raised a
wooden djed column using ropes.
The djed may originally have been a fertility cult related pillar made from reeds or sheaves[3] or a
totem from which sheaves of grain were suspended[4] or grain was piled around.[5] Erich Neumann
remarks that the djed pillar is a tree fetish, which is significant considering that Egypt was primarily
treeless.

Limestone pyramidion with a Djed-column

Licensed: CC BY-SA 4.0 by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin
FRCP(Glasg)

Curved sides, no hieroglyphic inscriptions. Relief showing arms of djed holding sun
disc. Two adoring baboons. From Gurob, Faiyum. Dynasty XIX. Petrie Museum of
Egyptian Archaeology, London.
Conclusion
Two controversial Egyptian Drilling Technologies have been documented as:
1. an ancient Egyptian Tube Drilling Technology producing spiral grooves in the drill-holes
and drill-cores.
2. an ancient Egyptian Tube Drilling Technology producing concentric grooves in the drill-
hole and the drill-core.
By a lack of describing the suitable models for realistic tool technology the common mainstream
presents the description of simple copper instruments and a handful of sand as the cutting device as
the standard tools for the ancient high technology in masonry.
This paper describes the fulgaritic tools as a suitable material to drill holes in granite, basalt and
diorite. Also the Great Pyramids of Gizeh and Teotihuacan may be considered as the manufacturing
tools for optimized fulgaritic tools.
Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................1
The archaic methods for drilling holes.................................................................................................2
The Mysterious Tube Drills of Ancient Egypt.................................................................................2
The investigations of Flinders Petrie ..............................................................................................3
Christopher Dunn's confirmation of Petrie's documentation...........................................................4
The idea of a predecessor civilization..............................................................................................4
The removal of the drill-core...........................................................................................................5
The investigation of Reed and Brownlee.........................................................................................5
The investigation of the spiral form by Christopher Dunn..............................................................5
The contradiction between spirals and concentric lines .................................................................5
Softening the granite with heat........................................................................................................5
A basalt tube drill core from enlarged hole......................................................................................6
The alternative softening of granite, basalt and diorite........................................................................7
Crystalline igneous rocks.................................................................................................................7
Diorite.........................................................................................................................................7
Quartz..........................................................................................................................................7
The fulgurites........................................................................................................................................8
The shape of fulgurites....................................................................................................................9
The classification of fulgurites......................................................................................................10
A fulgurite found at the excavations at Mt. Lykaion.....................................................................10
Embedding the fulgurites in a copper carrier.................................................................................11
The manufacturing of fulgurites................................................................................................11
The manufacturing of Sand Fulgurites in Pyramids...........................................................................12
The manufacturing of Sand Fulgurites in Egypt............................................................................12
The sandbox..............................................................................................................................12
The first phase of the pyramidal hill.........................................................................................13
The actual design of the Great Cheops Pyramid.......................................................................14
The manufacturing of Sand Fulgurites in Teotihuacan..................................................................15
The problem in manufacturing of fulgurite-rods......................................................................15
The Pyramid of the Sun............................................................................................................15
The Mica Temple......................................................................................................................15
Designing the capacitor ............................................................................................................16
The pyramids of Snofru......................................................................................................................18
The Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid.......................................................................................18
The Meidum Pyramid...............................................................................................................18
Glass embedded in the Meidum Pyramid.................................................................................19
The pit of the Meidum Pyramid................................................................................................21
An archaic sensor for electrostatic energy .........................................................................................22
The Djed-pillar on the Pyramidion.....................................................................................................24
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................25