Craftsman Builds a Miniature Great Pyramid of Giza Out of Wood to Understand Its Structural Engineering

Curious about the Great Pyramids of Giza, Canadian woodworker John Heinz of I Build It decided that he would learn about their remarkable structural engineering by building a miniature version of his own.

Heinz cut small pieces of wood and treated them as if they were made of stone in order to gain a greater understanding as to how the stones were lifted into place. Heinz also very carefully attended to the formation of the pyramid but readily admitted that no one really knows how these Great Pyramids were actually built.

What follows is the building method that I think was used to construct these massive stone structures. Of course, no one can say for certain exactly how it was done since there aren’t any verified writings from that time that describe the actual construction process.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.