ABSTRACT
The fitting of large numbers of stone blocks together, which commenced with Zoser’s pyramid and other parts of his funerary complex at Saqqara in the Third Dynasty, reached a zenith in the Fourth Dynasty at Giza, where Khufu’s masons closely fitted the large core-and casing-blocks into the Great Pyramid (Figure 7.1). The system used by ancient masons to make truly flat surfaces on stone blocks, sarcophagi and obelisks has never fully been understood. Some tools and tomb illustrations of the techniques have survived, and the later described experiments with replica ancient tools, and their assessment, were helpful in interpreting the available archaeological evidence.
