Why didn't Roman Emperors build Pyramids?

[@toldinstone]

Use the code C730 to get $30 off the C7 Max ergonomic chair: bit.ly/4ijH5wv

[@mrcat5508]

Face reveal?

[@derrickstorm6976]

​@@mrcat5508 already had it

[@allangibson8494]

The Egyptians didn’t use copper chisels for working stone - stone chisels worked better (effectively a stone version of modern ceramic (tungsten carbide) tipped tools), along with garnet covered copper and bone saws.

[@ScallopHolden]

That chair isn’t good

[@t16205]

@@jjtt248 Why would you? This channel is great

[@johnladuke6475]

I have no need for an office chair, but I watched the entire sponsor pitch because the chapter name was "I talk about office chairs." Some channels try to pull the wool over your eyes with euphemistic chapter titles for ad spots, but the doc is delightfully honest.

[@jeffreywilliams3421]

I cracked up when I heard a Roman describe absolutely anything as "megalomaniacal"

[@derrickstorm6976]

Since most Romans weren't megalomaniacs..

[@garryferrington811]

Generalizing is fun. Inaccurate, but fun.

[@histguy101]

Spending your entire life and thousands of workers building the largest structure on earth for one single person when they're not living anymore would be considered megalomaniacal for any responsible Roman

[@scoon2117]

...says an American... 😂

[@Dorgpoop]

Tbf most of Rome's megaprojects were things that were useful to the public like aqueducts, roads and amphitheatres. They did have their fair share of obscenely ostentatious villas, but at least people get to enjoy those when they're alive lol.

[@HistoryforGRANITE]

This was a fun video. It's interesting that only the pharaohs of the largest two pyramids had poor reputations owing to their construction by the time of Greece and Rome. I'm sure there's a lot ancient Rome can teach us about ancient Egypt and the social order around monuments like the pyramids.

[@toldinstone]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks again for your suggestions on the script.

[@acjdz]

The Roman’s couldn’t build the pyramids the Ancient Egyptians were on another level of advanced

[@omnijack]

Unsung legendary collaboration right here

[@Quickshot0]

@@acjdz Saying the Romans can't shape or move rocks is silly. They have structures in various parts of their Empire using rocks that big. There pyramids are a large pile of stones, the only question thus would be if they could be bothered to expend the vast amount of treasure it would take to build one thus.

[@Intranetusa]

This is why the claims by some people in the media and online that the Egyptians didn't build the pyramids because the Old Kingdom Egyptians were too "primitive" to have built them make no sense. The Romans, Greeks, and later New Kingdom Egyptians were carving and moving stone blocks that were much bigger than the stones found in the Great Pyramids at Giza. Their structures were just as sophisticated if not more so than the Great Pyramids of Giza, and they had access to similar tools - cranes, levers, pulleys, chisels, hammers, etc. The Obelisks of the New Kingdom use stones that are 200-500+ tons, which are far bigger than the 1-5 ton blocks that make up most of the Great Pyramids (which has a few stone blocks reaching a max of 50-60 tons). The Greeks and Romans were also using 50-60 ton blocks to build the colloseum and acropolis, and the Romans were capable of carving and moving 500+ ton stone blocks. The New Kingdom Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, etc. had the skills and technology to build the great pyramids but didn't have the reason or political will or (in the case of Greeks) resources to do so.

[@jackboomslang5646]

Here's one interesting comparison: The volume of Hadrians wall is about half the volume of the greatbpyramid.

[@shriekingbushpigshrieking]

please show the data.

[@RegrinderAlert]

@@shriekingbushpigshriekingIt’s 5th class math

[@jackboomslang5646]

Theres different estimates, but I've read 1 million cubic meters of stone for Hadrians Wall, and 2.3 million cubic meters of stone for the Great Pyramid IIRC.

[@Tom_Quixote]

The difficult thing about building a pyramid is not so much to source a lot of stone, but to build it up to great height while at the same time maintaining geometrical precision. And that's before we start talking about designing and constructing all the interior chambers and passages. Building a wall is child's play in comparison.

[@jackboomslang5646]

​@@Tom_QuixoteI would argue that building a +100km long aqueduct requires a lot more complex engineering. Would be interesting to see some numbers about those..

[@neoclassic09]

It's wild that those Romans were closer to us in time than they were to the building of the pyramids

[@Briley-gc8wn]

They too thought they were ancient, it’s mind boggling

[@brick6347]

The Victorians actually came close to building one. There was a slightly unhinged plan to build the Metropolitan Sepulchre, a 90 storey granite pyramid in Primrose Hill, with space for 5 million bodies. There were a lot of bodies in Victorian london. In the end they built cemeteries around the city - and even a necropolis railway to serve one of them. I'm pretty sure a 90 storey granite pyramid full of deceased Victorians would've become one of the seven eyesores of the world, so probably for the best they gave up on the idea.

[@garryferrington811]

You seem to believe the "Victorians" were some kind of hivelike monomind, like ants or bees.

[@b1laxson]

And then there would be the smell

[@b1laxson]

And then there would be the ooze that comes out when it rains

[@johnladuke6475]

"Hmmm, Victorian London is already polluted, filthy, and everything stinks. There's an oppressive and grim atmosphere about everything. Now how can we make that _much, much worse?"_

[@neutronalchemist3241]

At proposed 500m height, it would still be by far the tallest building in London, and unbeaten in the world until the 2004 Taipei 101. In reality I don't think it was technically possilbe to build it in concrete and/or stone.

[@jeff__w]

I love how the wide angle lens you use 0:10 makes you look gigantic in relation to the people and even the Great Pyramid in the background (the exaggeration of the foreground is a well-known effect of wide angle lenses), sort of like “Let’s look as monumental as possible in covering this topic.”

[@averysahara8852]

That’s just the well known effect of forced perspective, IE something close to the viewer looks larger.

[@jeff__w]

@@averysahara8852 Well, I’m sure that contributes to the effect-but I think the wide angle lens contributes to it as well. (I’m no lens expert, though.)

[@Tom_Quixote]

I was more focused on the chick in the background.

[@averysahara8852]

@ well I am a lens expert and I’ll tell you it is the wide angle that contributes to the forced perspective not the other way around

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

It is monumental. I suggest visiting it if you can afford it.

[@eurylochus5060]

Forget the chair. Can we talk about Garrett's houseplant collection? Superb

[@Ntyler01mil]

“No Roman Emperor, however, was buried in a pyramid” - they were buried in enormous cones, however. The Mausoleums of Augustus, Hadrian, and Severus Alexander were all enormous conical structures that rivaled the average Egyptian pyramid in scale. The Mausoleum of Augustus had a diameter of 300 feet and a height of 140 feet. The Mausoleum of Hadrian (now the Castel Sant'Angelo) has a square base of 300 feet on a side. It has a stone core with a giant internal spiral ramp. The conical superstructure rose to a height of 165 feet. The Mausoleum of Severus Alexander (now called the Monte del Grano) was somewhat smaller but sill massive with a large stone and concrete rotunda at its center.

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

That's all true but a pyramid isn't Roman and being Roman is the most important thing. Culture is a powerful force.

[@crakkbone]

I think there are some tower constructions as well.

[@Ntyler01mil]

@@crakkbone - The trophies of Augustus and Trajan also come to mind.

[@GildaLee27]

​@@perceivedvelocity9914Nicely put, and most importantly, accurate. Thank you.

[@Ntyler01mil]

@@perceivedvelocity9914 - Large funerary monuments were very Roman, though. Every Roman city has a substantial necropolis. There are numerous other large funerary monuments along the Via Appia.

[@pierren___]

Step 1 : carve a mountain 2 : dig a tunnel and a room 3 : cover the mount with sculpted rocks 4 : enjoy

[@Tom_Quixote]

That's a great plan until you realise there are no mountains in your kingdom.

[@Sabrowsky]

​@@Tom_QuixoteThis is quite similar to how the Egyptian did things when the pyramids weren't in vogue

[@pierren___]

@@Sabrowsky really ? Lmao

[@Sabrowsky]

@@pierren___ yeah, farther south by the Nile, they had some pretty elaborate underground tombs. Didnt quite cover the mountainsides with bling, but they did have some pretty neat tunnels

[@pierren___]

@Sabrowsky you mean those nubian pyramids ?? I didnt know

[@jc441-i3q]

I'm surprised the Romans didn't just carve "S.P.Q.R" on the Great Pyramid when they conquered Egypt.

[@istoppedcaring6209]

they didn't usually desecrate monuments or artifacts, they took plenty of em but why desecrate what would then be theirs

[@vonroretz3307]

They could of, as the outer white casing was only stripped off after the Arabs arrived Post 7th century A.D.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

@@vonroretz3307 That's what condemned much of the "newer" pyramids. Middle kingdom piramids were quite large, but their internal was made of less solid material, to speed up construction, and they relied on the outer white casing to protect it. Once stripped, in middle age, they rapidly decayed.

[@joebloggs1356]

Unlike Islam which burned every book they found😮

[@Nylon_riot]

No, there is graffiti.

[@PomazeBog1389]

The Romans thought about taking on the pyramids, but it would have been a pointless endeavor.

[@roryross3878]

Nice one!!! 😂😂😂 Technically one obvious point, the top one.

[@mihajlobujisic2006]

Pozdrav za Njegosa!

[@SF-eo6xf]

Why pointless?

[@darthbahnsen3832]

@@SF-eo6xf the capstone was already gone so there's just no point. No actual point at all.

[@lordMartiya]

There's no need to speculate, the Romans DID build a couple pyramids courtesy of the Egypt craze under Augustus and the people buried in them having wills specifying how they were to be buried on pain of losing the inheritance. And while one of the pyramids was demolished by a Pope because it was in the way of an urban road remodeling, the Pyramid of Cestius is still around in all its concrete glory, embedded in the walls and in front of the rapid transit station Piramide (meaning, of course, pyramid).

[@Helperbot-2000]

"And while one of the pyramids was demolished by a Pope because it was in the way of an urban road remodeling" that line came at me like a jumpscare!!

[@lordMartiya]

@Helperbot-2000 And THAT is why the Pope now rules only a hill. Well, it's more complicated than that, but the short version is that during Italian unification the Papacy was offered an important place in the new state (leaving Rome out was out of the question, you can't have Italy without Rome), Pope Pius IX refused every time and made repeated provocations because the French covered him, and the last one was swiftly followed by the French recalling their garrison to fight in the French-Prussian War and then removing the treaty entirely, leading to the Italian army taking Rome.

[@Helperbot-2000]

@@lordMartiya didnt the pope also pretend italy didnt exist or something?

[@lordMartiya]

@Helperbot-2000 He did. And caused a lot of trouble for both Italy and his own successor until the Lateran Treaties established Vatican City and that Rome was lawfully part of Italy. It was big enough a headache that after the fall of Fascism they were incorporated in the Constitution, as for once Mussolini had solved an actual problem. But Pius IX's attitude is the same that got the other pyramid destroyed.

[@Helperbot-2000]

@@lordMartiya thats fascinating!!

[@xv6701]

HFG brought me here. Fantastic video. I can’t wait to binge

[@itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

Multiple Roman aquaducts are around 100 km long and a couple 270km so ya they could've made one if they felt like it

[@N.Eismann]

You don't need the same accuracy in comparison. Aqueducts mainly cosisted of underground tunneling (80-90%) which again were split up into 5 mile stretches, which were accurate enough only to connect to the next part of the aqueduct with tolerances (in height) of up to a meter.

[@itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

@N.Eismann The Great Pyramid base inaccuracy projected over 5 miles would be approx 4 meters. What is really impressive tho is how you managed to make the 10-20km of each 100km aqueduct sound unimpressive.

[@N.Eismann]

​@@itsnot_stupid_ifitworksI studied the methods employed by the Romans to built aqueducts in depth. Yes, it was ingenious, but other than that pretty straight forward. Put up three t shaped sticks into the ground and establish the slope by eyesight. Rinse and repeat. I find it fascinating though that you find the engineering challenges of a singular,super heavy structure (as much mass as the hoover dam) comparable to a series of medium sized building projects (making a tunnel of about 1,20m height out of bricks and a small concrete liner).

[@itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

@@N.Eismann Ah yes. I see now. The great pyramid is impossibly precise precisionist precision crowd, doing extensive research, has arrived. soooo everything the Romans did we have to pretend was easy. Got it.

[@itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

@@N.Eismann Ah yes. I see now. The great pyramid is impossibly precise precisionist precision crowd, doing extensive research, has arrived. soooo everything the Romans did we have to pretend was easy. Got it.

[@dakodahuber]

Toldinstone x history for GRANITE when?

[@GildaLee27]

OH YES PLEASE!❤👍

[@athena5573]

I like this video a lot, partly because I think it is a good answer to that question people who don’t think the Egyptians built the pyramids always have: ‘Why haven’t we built one since?’ Well, we could. It just wasn’t one of the aspects of any culture other than the Egyptian culture. And that’s what’s cool about the pyramids, they’re fascinating because they came from a unique moment in history.

[@intractablemaskvpmGy]

Ah. The Luxor in Las Vegas. Very Impressive. Except we did it our way

[@GildaLee27]

​@@intractablemaskvpmGy And now it's a bug-infested dump known among Vegas locals mostly as a place where people from all over come to unalive themselves.

[@garryferrington811]

So one _has_ been built recently. Question dismissed.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

Egyptians built at least 118 pyramids. Some of the ones built during middle kingdom (when the old kingdom pyramids were already "ancient") rivaled in dimension with the old kingdom ones. They are mostly in ruin because the Egyptians learnt to speed-up construction. The internal of middle kingdom pyramids was made of less solid material, and they relied on the outer white casing to protect it. Once the white casing was stripped, in middle age, they rapidly decayed.

[@haroldmorris5901]

There are pyramids across the planet.

[@Foxttellio]

9:58 yay history for granite

[@bramvermaat1453]

Absolutely great channel.

[@rogerbradbury9713]

I've never considered a Roman built pyramid, but I have wondered what a pyramid would be like inside if large arches had been used; a huge enclosed space would have been very impressive.

[@Lufu2]

We Love your work! We've been watching for a very long time. Thank you for adding a bright and thoughtful addition to our lives with your videos.

[@tonyolshansky9288]

I was thinking about History For Granite through the whole video and then boom name drop at the end, fantastic.

[@TetsuShima]

8:58 Man, it would be awesome to have a movie about Zenobi. That lady litersly took Egypt from the romans and was one of the most brilliant rulers of Ancient Middle East

[@adamski-l5w]

Congratulations. Good video. You mentioned History for Granite. So I subscribed to your channel .😊

[@3msEEv]

I really dig those hypothetical situation. A possible future video: How could the Romans reach industrialization?

[@SF-eo6xf]

I think he already did that

[@razvanfischer]

Last sentence hit hard somehow. Great video!

[@MrDidiusm]

As always, this was fascinating and unique. Thank you!

[@flamingosuites]

You my favorite KZbinr...Always enjoyable videos. Thank you !

[@graysonmichael8335]

this message is for the content creator...have you ever thought about doing a video on Roman military construction? for example: when romans conducted a seige they built seige towers and ramps for troops to clear the city walls. other battles required miles of walls, even entire garrisons. i was always amazed by the speed and scale of battlefield construction projects. if memory serves, in one battle they built a 27 mile wall in a matter of a few weeks. i realize i cant wrap my mind around what could be accomplished with 30-40,000 men. but they were career soldiers, how did they know how to build complex structures? ive searched for this specific topic on this platform, and ive looked for books. i cant find any sources on this specific subject. i may need to pull the data bit by bit from books on their military and campaigns

[@Jon6429]

As somebody raised on a farm I find it incredible they had any free time.

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

The flooding of the Nile prevented any crops being farmed so the laborers would have spare time for a short period.

[@NewOldResearch]

Interesting hypothesis!

[@cherylwood5202]

What an interesting and engaging video. Thank you for sharing!

[@QuantumHistorian]

I've given this some though, and I'm pretty sure they'd start at the bottom and then pile stones up. I don't think going top-down would have been very easy.

[@jc441-i3q]

It would be possible if you started from a pyramid shaped natural mountain...

[@dzanderallison]

finally, some good questions

[@falxnecis]

How would Romans have built a gaming chair?

[@euckb]

Great channel.

[@echopeakbicycling85]

An interesting hypothetical. Very enjoyable, Dr. Ryan.

[@fuferito]

What's even more remarkable than the Pyramid of Giza behind Garrett is that no local Egyptian "guides" are hassling him to be paid to stand in front of their pyramid.

[@WHATISUTUBE]

that chair actually looks pretty nice

[@brianmckeever5280]

Interesting idea, thank you!

[@hujiko44745278184]

Hurrah for HistoryforGranite, nice vid

[@kerryrwalton7791]

Great video! It would be interesting to discus Roman fascination with Egypt with respect to religion and how Egyptian art was incorporated into Roman

[@ittipatp1653]

I've never watch any in videos sponsor, but somehow he managed to convince me to watch it

[@TaeSunWoo]

My CK3/Imperator Rome timelines be like:

[@ProjectMkUltraGR]

Exactly lol

[@JonnoPlays]

I'm subscribed with notifications on and I had to hear about this from the Ancient Architects community post. Do better KZbin!

[@whatthefunction9140]

Ancient Egyptians were in a special time when the value of man power was never lower of an advanced society

[@derrickstorm6976]

English, please

[@t_green]

First time I've ever backed up to re-listen to an ad read 😂

[@TheHylianBatman]

The relationship between Rome and Egypt is so interesting.

[@NorthernChev]

This video should be called, “William Shatner does a chair commercial”.

[@JamieW-o7b]

Thought the title was clickbait until I saw whose channel it was!

[@WallacesMysteriesofAntiquity]

Fascinating hypothetical.

[@kaloarepo288]

Romans and the Greeks were far more practical than the ancient Egyptians - they wouldn't have even tried - all their buildings (Romans) were largely for utilitarian use and not for mere show and grandiosity that the pyramids seem to have been. Then there were geographic and logistical limitations like the Egyptians having the Nile and not only was it extremely life giving but provided a super highway with which all the stone could be transported. The rhythms of the year in Egypt allowed for labor to be used during off seasons. Even China was far more utilitarian than Egypt - the Great Wall being a far greater undertaking than the pyramids but its aim was protection and functionality. Egyptian culture is quite unique because of the geography!

[@leonardo.1024]

Uhh, what practical purpose do the many statues across Rome (esp ones like the Colossos of Nero), or the victory arches, or their massive temples, or palaces, serve?

[@kaloarepo288]

@@leonardo.1024 Much smaller dimensions, much more limited scope - the statue of Nero was diminutive compared to the massive statues like the ones of Ramses II at Abu Simbel carved out of the rock -remember the ones that had to be shifted because of the Nasser dam?? Arguably the biggest Roman construction was the Colosseum that had a strictly functional purpose - Roman temples, even the biggest, were small fry compared to the massive temple at Karnak (Luxor) one of the largest religious buildings ever. The most impressive Roman achievements were roads, Hadrian's wall in England, the aqueducts like the Pont du Gard and Segovia aqueduct, the bridges like the ones built across the Danube and other great streams. All completely functional enterprises.

[@Edward135i]

I'm sure this video has nothing to do with the new Indiana Jones game coming out tomorrow that takes place in Egypt, but timing is miraculous.

[@MM22966]

You just know some bunch of legionaries on deployment to Egypt that took a look at the things and said, "Man, I wonder what would happen if Caesar told us to build one for him..." "Dudicus, do not even joke! I'm not spending the next twenty years as a bricklayer! I'd sooner be posted to the Scottish border!"

[@danielating1316]

The Romans were too practical minded and focused on function to build pyramids.

[@AverageBrethren]

They were ignorant of the function.

[@derrickstorm6976]

​@@AverageBrethren and what was the function of a pyramid?

[@mrcrazyhair9230]

@@derrickstorm6976broo they were portals bro u gotta believe me they were sources of infinite energy

[@JewShady]

​@derrickstorm6976 Today on How They Do It : Plumbuses. Everyone has a plumbus in their home. First they take the dingle bop and they smooth it out with a bunch of schleem. The schleem is then...repurposed for later batches. They take the dingle bop and they push it through the grumbo, where the fleeb is rubbed against it. It's important that the fleeb is rubbed, becasue the fleeb has all the fleeb juice. Then, a schlami shows up, and he rubs it...and spits on it. They cut the fleeb. There's several hizzards in the way. The blamfs rub against the chumbles, and the...plubis, and grumbo are shaved away. That leaves you with...a regular old plumbus. "I always wondered how uh...plumbuses got made."

[@AverageBrethren]

Those who have the answer keep censoring my response.

[@ZachFury]

Cool topic for a video! I never considered that Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony might have moved the capital to Alexandria

[@KJ-oj6bp]

If they did, then you would have heard about it in their records. Not only that, but the same architecture would be seen wherever Rome conquered. For example, London still has ruminants of Roman architecture. No doubt a great conquering nation built the pyramids, because there were many throughout the world; but each of them are all designed differently. It almost looks like the particular architect of these pyramids is a different person then the rest.

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

Why don’t you watch the video Einstein.

[@jemoedermeteensnor88]

The Romans were too advanced to make pyramids. A pyramid is the easiest possible construction to make therefor a lot of primitive civilisations around the world build them. Give a 6month old kid 5 blocks and he will build a pyramid because stacking 3 blocks on top of each other is too hard.

[@deathsyth8888]

Could they have? Probably? Would they have? Absolutely not. At least not to that scale for just a largely ceremonial monument. It wouldn't be practical on a logistical level nor in a financial sense.

[@N.Eismann]

So how could Old Kingdom Egypt finance this if their weren't as powerful as the Roman Empire to begin with?

[@jemoedermeteensnor88]

@@N.Eismann We have all the tools and technology to build more of them with a larger size. And how many are we building at the moment? 0, because it makes no sense.

[@Intranetusa]

This is why the claims by some people in the media and online that the Egyptians didn't build the pyramids because the Old Kingdom Egyptians were too "primitive" to have built them make no sense. The Romans, Greeks, and later New Kingdom Egyptians were carving and moving stone blocks that were much bigger than the stones found in the Great Pyramids at Giza. Their structures were just as sophisticated if not more so than the Great Pyramids of Giza, and they had access to similar tools - cranes, levers, pulleys, chisels, hammers, etc. The Obelisks of the New Kingdom use stones that are 200-500+ tons, which are far bigger than the 1-5 ton blocks that make up most of the Great Pyramids (which has a few stone blocks reaching a max of 50-60 tons). The Greeks and Romans were also using 50-60 ton blocks to build the colloseum and acropolis, and the Romans were capable of carving and moving 500+ ton stone blocks. The New Kingdom Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, etc. had the skills and technology to build the great pyramids but didn't have the reason or political will or (in the case of Greeks) resources to do so.

[@85ddrummer]

While the bigger stones being used at all at any time is surely impressive I think you glossed over the fact of specifically where in the great pyramid the heaviest stones are. Above the kings chamber. So not only were these gigantic stones being used, they were also at least 160ft off the ground

[@jemoedermeteensnor88]

There are a lot of examples were hunter gatherer tribes 1000's of years before the great pyramids moved and stacked up to 40-50 ton blocks. Only the heaviest stones are hard to explain since the physical capabilities of wood and copper aren't good enough for such tasks

[@Intranetusa]

@@85ddrummer The heaviest stones in the pyramids were 50-60 tons being placed above the king's chambers is impressive, but the actual height of the king's chamber is around 40 feet tall. This means it is really only ~40 feet above a base/floor level in the lower-middle of the pyramid. And even if we take into account the king's chamber stones' ~140 feet overall elevation in comparison to the surrounding land, these feats are not more impressive than what the later Egyptian, Roman, etc. civilizations achieved.

[@Intranetusa]

@@85ddrummer For example, the Roman Pantheon's ceiling is a giant dome composed of 4,500-5,000 tons of stone and unreinforced concrete. The height of the Pantheon's ceiling from the floor to the Oculus opening is ~140 feet. The New Kingdom Egyptians built giant barges to transport 200-500+ ton obelisks hundreds of miles, and the Romans also built giant barges to steal Egyptian obelisks and transport them to Rome (eg. the 400+ ton Lateran Obelisk transported to Rome that was originally around 120 feet tall).

[@85ddrummer]

@@Intranetusa I just think if we go by the accepted timeline of construction for both its leaps and bounds more impressive with the granite blocks in the kings chamber. Especially without the use of adhesive mortar like concrete. Don’t get me wrong the Pantheon is impressive too

[@Faustobellissimo]

The Romans invented something much more ingenious: the Antikythera orrery and Hipparchus' astrolabe, the first computers ever.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

The Antikythera mechanism was already a portable version. A bigger, fixed, equivalent had been built by Archimedes of Syracuse two centuries before,and described by Roman sources.

[@Faustobellissimo]

@@neutronalchemist3241 Undoubtedly all this technological advancement began when Macedonia kickstarted hellenistic culture.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

@@Faustobellissimo Yeah. The Antikythera mechanism is a curious case. As long as Roman sources, like Cicero, DESCRIBED those mechanisms, none found it strange. As soon as the actual mechanism described had been found, it was all a sequel of "IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE!"

[@Faustobellissimo]

@@neutronalchemist3241 Yeah, but I suppose that's because Cicero was mainly a matter for literature scholars.

[@fiolettbjorn7461]

History for Granite is an investigative genius.

[@85ddrummer]

Careful. Don’t want the internet idiots calling you racist

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

There is already one a few comments down. What a turd.

[@BradleyMHM]

I’ll watch in little while when I get home. But the short answer is, maybe, but not likely.

[@trevormichel1319]

Has anyone ever told you that you sound like Baymax from Big Hero 6?

[@clappercl]

"History for Granite" sent me 👍

[@xandr13]

Was hoping for some specific projections on supply chain, labour involved and construction time/cost estimates, and got this jibberish instead. Also, son - not a single pharaoh was buried in a pyramid, just so you know.

[@Bern_il_Cinq]

That chair looks like a Roman reinterpretation of an actual chair

[@Jon77Levy]

You'd also need a Roman Emperor to last 20 years in power... not impossible, but not trivially easy.

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

Augustus could have.

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

The pyramid tomb of Cestius seems to take its form from the Nubian pyramids further south though.

[@jemoedermeteensnor88]

They both copied the Egyptian ones, but if you dont build that high you need less width.

[@aSouthFloridian]

This title will get Joe Rogan way too excited.

[@d.t.bigley7254]

A whole lot more Roman concrete is how they'd build them.

[@forkthepork]

With rock, mostly. And concrete. And garum.

[@PlomoorPlata]

This like and subscribe was brought to you by history for granite

[@kidmohair8151]

being considered megalomaniacal did not stop Nero from building the Domus Aureus. and he would be my first pick to have built a rival to the great pyramid, had he decided not to have his secretary do him in.

[@paulcashion8049]

I love Rome but i think there is a civilization much more ancient that built the pyramids. Egyptians definitely seem like the likely builders but it's very odd that there is no hyroglyphic documentation of what one could call their greatest achievmant as a people.

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

We have dated the pyramids and found plenty of evidence supporting this. thousands and thousands of bits of evidence. Stop watching BS YT videos.

[@P-Mouse]

kinda like how.. we could build the Bearing-strait tunnel. we have the technology.

[@rickdangerstorm]

No Egyptian was ever buried in a pyramid either

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

Says who?

[@MrGksarathy]

Didn't the Egyptian pharaohs themselves stop pyramid building not too long after the fall of the Old Kingdom? That alone makes it clear that the Romans probably had no practical reason to do so.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

Egyptians built at least 118 pyramids. Some of the ones built during middle kingdom (when the old kingdom pyramids were already "ancient") rivaled in dimension with the old kingdom ones. They are mostly in ruin because the Egyptians learnt to speed-up construction. The internal of middle kingdom pyramids was made of less solid material, and they relied on the outer white casing to protect it. Once the white casing was stripped, in middle age, they rapidly decayed.

[@MrGksarathy]

@neutronalchemist3241 Got it. Thanks for the info.

[@MacTX]

The claimed history of the great pyramids just rubs me the wrong way. 2 decades seems far too short a time, even with the high estimate of 100,000 workforce. Setting 315 of those blocks each day (with precision) for 20 yrs straight, during the Bronze Age. A million men workforce, working for 2 centuries with Bronze Age technology, could probably do it. 31 to 32 blocks set every day in an assembly line process is still a tall feat but seems way more plausible than the 315 blocks a day.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

To pull an average block on a sledge requires 12 to 20 men. 31-32 blocks-day could be set by a much reduced workforce. The calculated workforce needed to complete the pyramid in 20 years varies from 30.000 to 50.000 men. Of those, only a minority would have been employed in carving, moving and setting the stones, the others being support (feeding, making and repairing tools, keeping records...).

[@N.Eismann]

​@@neutronalchemist3241If everything goes smoothly. One block is offset, one accident, shortages in very primitive cutting material, maintenance of the worksite itself, the work halts. For a culture that is supposed to have worked with bronze tools and logs for transportation, it fascinates me how people refuse to work with common sense and realise that it is impossible with the toolset we know of. The Romans surely did and that is why they never have achieved the same scale and precision on a singular, concentrated cultural monument.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

@@N.Eismann It doesn't need to go that smoothly. As said, on those calculations, no more than 4000-5000 people worked at the carving-transporting-setting part of the job at any given time. The others were support. Feeding, building and repairing tools, etc. "the works halt". Why? What exactly lacks for the work to halt? Stones? Legs? You reason like, if a stone was set slightly offset, then people stood there, scratching their heads in disbelief, not knowing what to do. It doesn't work like that. Those people were professionals, and MUCH of the pyramid's stones are slightly offset. The final casing in smooth, white limestone was there also to cover the defects.

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

You are so clever. Much smarter than people who have given up their lifetimes to study this.

[@jemoedermeteensnor88]

@@neutronalchemist3241 12 man were only needed for the biggest stones for the average stone 4 should be enough.

[@rjlchristie]

Not sure if the shift from sober architectural investigation to speculative fantasy is such a good idea.

[@matthewkrager5754]

Memphis TN also has a pyramid. i thought it was a joke at first lol

[@Izumi-sp6fp]

Julius Caesar was as far removed in time from the building of the Great Pyramid as _we_ today are removed from the time of Julius Caesar.

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

Not exactly. 500 years difference

[@montdawgs]

Without watching the video, i agree with the central premise. Record keeping back then was sketchy st best, with no optical discs. The original structures may have been dismantled and rebuilt by the romans, a strong empire.

[@BaltimoresBerzerker]

Aren't there small pyramids in Greece which we don't have a certain date for its construction? I wonder who built the first stone pyramid of any size.

[@johnspencer3794]

So true, emporers would never be so frivolous as to build a pyramid. They just burned city blocks to build their pleasure palaces and created monumental artificial lakes so that they had somewhere to float their 2 mega barges. 😂

[@N.Eismann]

So they built the great pyramid seasonally - which means the 27 years of Kufu's reign was more like 20 years of actual time. Don't you ever stop and actually consider that this is actually impossible for a bronze age culture and that we are missing a big part of their toolset?

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

No we don’t. Because we have this thing called. Wait for it… science. We don’t need you big brained internet tards to speculate when we have evidence.

[@JordanMSeverns]

Listening to you try to explain how to simplify a pyramid is going to be rich

[@MomentsInTrading]

“The only one (of the 7 Wonders) still standing.” Well I learned something. I looked this up to verify it. Up to now, I thought the Great Wall in China was one of the 7 Wonders. Interesting.

[@garryferrington811]

Ancient wonders of the western world. Nobody in the west knew much about the east then.

[@jemoedermeteensnor88]

@@garryferrington811 Greece isn't the same as the western world.

[@RadicalJTK]

Paul Mooney: "Who built the Pyramids, white people?" White People: "Umm... Space people? Pigeons?"

[@garryferrington811]

Fair observation.

[@gandalfstormcrow8439]

He's insane. I love it.😂

[@r3conwoo]

As a self-proclaimed chair connoisseur, I must express my dismay at seeing you endorse such a gimmicky office chair. A man of your intellectual caliber deserves nothing less than the pinnacle of ergonomic luxury-a top-tier Herman Miller masterpiece for your esteemed posterior.

[@toldinstone]

If you can convince the Herman Miller marketing people to send me one, my esteemed posterior would appreciate it!

[@derrickstorm6976]

"Wow why don't you just buy the most expensive office chair you're so silly"

[@r3conwoo]

@@derrickstorm6976 it's worth every penny

[@greyfells2829]

​@@r3conwoo maybe for you, but most people (even in the west) don't make enough money to pay for such an overpriced chair, all for a negligible increase in comfort. Those chairs are ironically a symbol of decadence, considering the subject of this video. Face it, you in your overpriced reddit chair is the modern version of romans partying while their empire falls apart.

[@BobbyHill26]

If you watch all the different online platforms you can find second hand ones very cheap. When I was in college my roommate got their top of the line chair for some very small fraction of the retail price and it was essentially brand new. There’s always some office getting remodeled and replacing the chairs from their nearly never used conference rooms. I don’t think it took him even a week to find one that cheap, but I remember there were tons available at less than 50% retail, which is still outrageous, but much better than full price

[@crawkn]

Rule of thumb, if the title asks a question, the answer is no.

[@BuriedFlame]

They hadn't invented beer cans yet, obviously.

[@frank_zapping]

Can you imagine a pyramid built by multiple archs?

[@GWNorth-db8vn]

Vertical arches cut on a bias to form parabolic outlines.

[@NoNameNo.5]

The Romans could have, but the Roman’s were far more practical….the aqueducts are far more useful and impressive an engineering feat

[@garryferrington811]

Not to mention the sewers. Very important, if unromantic.

[@wilhelmvonn9619]

It's interesting that Christians used an enormous amount of time and labour to construct cathedrals but never built any sewerage systems. Apparently God is served by making people throw their body waste into the street.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

And ports. See the completely artificial harbour of Caesarea, enclosing 100.000 square meters of water, built on a former sandy shore, and made of 50 tons concrete blocks.

[@florinivan6907]

'hallmark of tyranny' Makes me think that emperors were not trully all powerful. They had limits to what they could do.

[@lukecaverns]

They would have at-least looked better than the abominations of Pyramids that the Etruscans built

[@marianlincoln9008]

Yes the ancient Roman's could have built the pryamids... they had the knowledge... they built a pyramid in Rome for a General in 79 ad. It's located a short distance from the Colseum and in front of the Protestant Cemetary in Rome.

[@xvxxvx-s9y]

they build this like 2000 years before rome even a thing

[@YoutubePremiumMem]

Thanks kid.

[@markweiss7538]

There is no way that Egyptians, or Koufu, would have been able to build the pyramids