By Seda Sevencan
ISTANBUL (AA) - Scientists think they are closer to solving the mystery of the construction of ancient Egypt’s pyramids, including the Giza pyramid complex that was constructed more than 4,000 years ago.
A study published Thursday in the Communications Earth & Environment journal suggests that a long-lost, ancient branch of the Nile could have built the pyramids.
Researchers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington used radar satellite imagery, geophysical data and deep soil coring to map the hidden river branch.
The team named the branch "Ahramat," which means pyramids in Arabic, and said it was about 64 kilometers (39 miles) long and between 200 meters - 700 meters (656 feet -2,296 feet) wide.
“Many of the pyramids, dating to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, have causeways that lead to the branch and terminate with Valley Temples which may have acted as river harbors along it in the past," the researchers said in their paper.
“We suggest that the Ahramat Branch played a role in the monuments’ construction and that it was simultaneously active and used as a transportation waterway for workmen and building materials to the pyramids’ sites,” they said.