Archaeologists may finally be a step closer to understanding how Egypt’s Great Pyramid was built thousands of years ago.

The remains of a 4,500-year-old ramp system have been unearthed in an ancient quarry in the Eastern Desert, according to Live Science.

Its design suggests the ramp was used to drag massive alabaster stones up a slope, using sleds and rope.

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The remains of a 4,500-year-old ramp system have been unearthed in an ancient quarry in the Eastern Desert. Experts say such a design would have alleviated some of the burden for the workers who had to pull these huge loads

The ancient ramp was discovered at the site of Hatnub by researchers from the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo and the University of Liverpool in England, Live Science reports.

Along its sides are two staircases lined with postholes, to which ropes were likely tied thousands of years ago to drag the huge stone blocks.

Such a design would have alleviated some of the burden for the workers who had to pull these huge loads.

‘This system is composed of a central ramp flanked by two staircases with numerous post holes,’ Dr Yannis Gourdon, co-director of the joint mission at Hatnub, told Live Science.

‘Using a sled which carried a stone block and was attached with ropes to these wooden posts, ancient Egyptians were able to pull up the alabaster blocks out of the quarry on very steep slopes of 20 percent or more,' the researcher said.

The researchers say the discovery is the first of its kind, according to Live Science, and shows clear indication that it dates ‘at least to Khufu’s reign’ – for whom the 481-foot Great Pyramid was built.

The find is just the latest in a growing body of research attempting to finally get to the bottom of the Great Pyramid's many mysteries.

Archaeologists may finally be a step closer to understanding how Egypt’s Great Pyramid was built thousands of years ago

THE PYRAMID OF GIZA The Great Pyramid, also known as Khufu's Pyramid, is the sole survivor of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World For more than 4,500 years, Egypt's pyramids have kept their secrets hidden deep within the labyrinth of passages and chambers that lie inside their towering stone structures. But the long-running row over whether the Great Pyramid of Giza is hiding a network of previously undiscovered tunnels behind its stone walls has now been answered. The researchers confirmed the find using cosmic particles known as muons to scan the Great Pyramid of Giza. They used the scans to create maps to reveal the internal structure of the 479 feet (146m) high pyramid. Last year thermal scanning identified a major anomaly in the Great Pyramid, the largest and oldest of the pyramids at Giza and one of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Those scans identified three adjacent stones at its base which registered higher temperatures than others. Those scans identified three adjacent stones at its base which registered higher temperatures than others. This led to theories that they may be hiding a secret chamber that had yet to be discovered. A team of experts then set up the ScanPyramid's project to use muons, tiny subatomic particle that are typically produced by cosmic rays smash into atoms on Earth, to peer through the pyramid's huge stone blocks, some of which weight up to 15 tons. Dr Hawass has in the past been sceptical of the usefulness of conducting such scans. He recently clashed publicly with British Egyptologists over their theory that a secret burial chamber may be hidden behind the walls of Tutankhamun's tomb in his pyramid in the Valley of the Kings. Advertisement

A study published earlier this year discovered that the famous pyramid concentrates electric and magnetic energy into its internal chambers and below its base, creating pockets of higher energy.

If this concentrating effect is able to be recreated on a nanoscale size, it could lead to a wave of new, more efficient sensors and solar cells, the researchers claim.

Despite the ongoing efforts, however, much about the pyramid and its construction remains yet to be known.