A Hydraulic Lift Might Explain How Egypt’s Oldest Pyramid Was Built

The Step Pyramid of Djoser is Egypt’s oldest monumental pyramid, built around 4,500 years ago. Erected in Saqqara around 2680 B.C., it marks a milestone in the history of monumental architecture. During construction of the Djoser Pyramid, the architect and high priest Imhotep used two crucial innovations: the stepped design and the use of fully dressed stone for the masonry.

In a recent transdisciplinary analysis, a team of Egyptologists led by Dr. Xavier Landro from a private polytechnic institute in Paris found that a hydraulic lift may have been used during construction of this pharaoh’s tomb.

What Did the Scientists Discover?

By mapping the surrounding watersheds, researchers found that one of the large mysterious structures near the Djoser Pyramid—the Ghisr-el-Mudir enclosure—resembles a protective dam. A deep trench, traces of which were found near the suspected dam, may have served as a purification facility. Together, these two structures formed a unified hydraulic system that improved water quality and directed its flow. The system could have channeled rainwater and water from the Nile into a deep shaft inside the pyramid, lifting a wooden elevator filled with stones upward, in a process the team compared to a volcanic lava flow.

Other construction methods, such as ramps, were likely also used to build the pyramid. The hydraulic lifting system could have been employed when sufficient water was available. “We determined that the internal architecture of the Step Pyramid corresponds to a hydraulic lifting mechanism that has not been previously reported,” the team wrote in their report.

The report also points out that “the ancient Egyptians were renowned for their innovation and expertise in hydraulics.” Therefore, it is quite possible that they used a hydraulic system to move the massive stones.

“This work opens a new avenue of research: the use of hydraulic power to construct the enormous structures built by the pharaohs,” the team concluded.

The findings of the study were published in the journal PLOS ONE.