On November 30, the Journal of the American Ceramic Society has released a very important scientific research carried out on the pyramid stones, which confirms the theory developed by Professor Joseph Davidovits on agglomerated (artificial) limestone concrete (ancient geopolymer).

The references of this paper are :

Barsoum, M. W., Ganguly, A. & Hug, G. (2006), Microstructural Evidence of Reconstituted Limestone Blocks in the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Journal of the American Ceramic Society 89 (12), 3788- 3796.

You may access the J. Amer. Ceram. Society on line site

Abstract:

Microstructural Evidence of Reconstituted Limestone Blocks in the Great Pyramids of Egypt

M. W. Barsoum (1), A. Ganguly (1) and G. Hug (2)

How the Great Pyramids of Giza were built has remained an enduring mystery. In the mid-1980s, Joseph Davidovits proposed that the pyramids were cast in situ using granular limestone aggregate and an alkali alumino-silicate-based binder. Hard evidence for this idea, however, remained elusive. Using primarily scanning and transmission electron microscopy, we compared a number of pyramid limestone samples with six different limestone samples from their vicinity. The pyramid samples contained microconstituents (μc’s) with appreciable amounts of Si in combination with elements, such as Ca and Mg, in ratios that do not exist in any of the potential limestone sources. The intimate proximity of the μc’s suggests that at some time these elements had been together in a solution. Furthermore, between the natural limestone aggregates, the μc’s with chemistries reminiscent of calcite and dolomite—not known to hydrate in nature—were hydrated. The ubiquity of Si and the presence of submicron silica-based spheres in some of the micrographs strongly suggest that the solution was basic. Transmission electron microscope confirmed that some of these Si-containing μc’s were either amorphous or nanocrystalline, which is consistent with a relatively rapid precipitation reaction. The sophistication and endurance of this ancient concrete technology is simply astounding.

(J. Davidovits, concrete, agglomerated limestone, re-agglomerated, man-made, artificial stone, geopolymer, pyramid)

(1) Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania 19104 (USA)

(2) LEM ONERA-CNRS, Châtillon, Cedex, France

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