this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2025
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Wasn't it greener back then tho? I mean they're pretty close to a big-ass river. Also they used to be painted, and I am wondering why they wouldn't repaint them because wouldn't it provide a bit more protection from weathering and help keep them preserved?
Not painted, covered in smooth white stone, with a reflective metal capstone shining in the sun.
They would look even worse, supposing the paint would even stick to the stones (would almost certainly need plaster), and nothing like they originally did.
The original cover is gone, after millennia of the pyramids being used as a quarry, as are the capstones (probably the first to be taken to be melted into jewelry).
What we see now are the inner stones, scoured by millennia of pillaging and erosion.
Repairing the pyramids would now probably require replacing the outer, eroded, layer of inner stones, and covering that with a fresh layer of white stone, and making new capstones.
It'd be very expensive, and probably ruin a lot of the archaeological value of the site.
They'd look breathtaking, though, as they did when new.
Btw there is no evidence of golden capstones ever being used on the great pyramids, and some good evidence against it.
Still impressive anyway. Massive white geometric shapes shining under the Egyptian sun... if you want people to catch religion that's a pretty good start, I think.