The Red Pyramid from the Fourth Dynasty at Dahshur necropolis
Egypt’s iconic pyramids have been a source of mystery and wonder for thousands of years. Experts have scrambled to understand how an ancient society could be capable of building such colossal structures on the edge of the harsh Sahara Desert, far from the Nile River.
Now, archaeologists have uncovered a crucial piece of the construction puzzle: a long-lost branch of the Nile, buried beneath desert sands for millennia. The hidden river may finally explain how the ancient Egyptians transported massive stones (some of which weigh upwards of 10 tonnes) to build these monuments.