NV5 Supports a New Survey of the Great Pyramid of Giza

NV5 Supports a New Survey of the Great Pyramid of Giza

Jun 30, 2015  | Civil engineering 

NV5 Supports a New Survey of the Great Pyramid of Giza
(Photo by: Hannah Pethen via Flickr)

NV5 Holdings, Inc. announced today that it was part of the team conducting the most recent in a series of high accuracy surveys of Giza's Great Pyramid under the auspices of the Ancient Egypt Research Association (AERA), the Glen Dash Foundation for Archaeological Research, and with the permission and assistance of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities (MSA).

NV5 surveyor and archaeologist Joel Paulson, along with Project Leader Glen Dash, AERA Director Mark Lehner and MSA surveyors Mohammed el-Baset and Amr Zakaria, surveyed precise locations on surviving portions of the casing stones and the platform on all four sides of the pyramid, drawing on the original monuments and measurements of nineteenth century Egyptologist Flinders Petrie. The data generated from NV5's survey will help answer enduring questions about the exact size and orientation of the Great Pyramid.

"Due to removal of most of the casing stones in medieval times and erosion of the few remaining portions of the casing that once completely surrounded the pyramid and rested on its platform, persistence and collaboration was required among a group of archaeological experts to locate the correct points for the survey. From these limited data, we are performing mathematical projections to recreate the original dimensions of the great pyramid. Previous surveys in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries made accurate measurements, but were hampered by debris surrounding the base of the pyramid, and did not have experts like Glen and Mark who have spent many years studying the pyramid and noticing the subtle indications of the original intersection of the casing and the base," said Joel Paulson, PLS, GISP, LEED, Survey Manager at NV5. "It has been a great pleasure to participate in this renewed and updated effort."

"We take great pride in requests for our surveying and engineering experts to provide services on historically significant projects all over the world like the 2015 Glen Dash Foundation Great Pyramid Survey," said Dickerson Wright, PE, Chairman and CEO of NV5.

About the Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, with a height of approximately 481 feet and sides of about 755 feet long. Built over a 20 year period as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu around 2560 B.C., the Great Pyramid is made of over two million blocks of stone weighing roughly two tons each. For 4,000 years after it was constructed the Great Pyramid of Giza was the world's tallest building and today is the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World. For more information about AERA and the 2015 Great Pyramid survey, visit AERA's website at www.aeraweb.org/articles/the-2015-great-pyramid-survey/.

Via NV5
Image,video ©: Hannah Pethen via Flickr