This blog is dedicated to the Pyramid Rain Harvesting Theory, which states that the ancient pyramids of Egypt were built to harvest rainwater to be used as drinking water. While most people assume that the ancient Egyptians used the Nile River for drinking water, this is absolutely untrue. No one in their right mind would drink water from a slow moving, muddy river like the Nile--not just because it was filthy, but because it harbored dangerous parasites and microbes. It was also used as a sewer for millions of people who lived along the river. Rainwater was the safest place to find water, although wells were certainly available in areas that had untainted groundwater--which was scarce because most of it was ruined by salt incursion. Even today, tea is the preferred method of consuming tap water in Egypt because the water is rendered safe by boiling--a fact that was unknown to ancient Egyptians. During ancient times, beer was the preferred drink because it was safer than river water. However, when it rained (and it did rather often during the Old Kingdom), this water was harvested and consumed. Those who owned houses harvested rainwater on their rooftops, and this is why their houses had flat roofs, but this only harvested small amounts. As the population grew significantly during the era of 3000 B.C.E. to 2600 B.C.E., the demand for drinkable water grew as well. The Egyptians learned quickly that it was unsafe to drink the Nile because whoever did, would soon become sick. As children began to die from diseases caused by drinking river water, a decision was made to avoid it at all costs. It was only used for irrigation and cleaning.
In 2700 B.C.E., King Jzoser invented the first giant pyramid on Earth. This was possible because his people had developed the ability to build things out of stone blocks. With that technology, almost any size building was possible. Why did he develop the pyramid form? Because it was capable of reaching great heights, which meant that it could reach into the sky and harvest much more water than a wide courtyard could. In fact, the Egyptians tried to harvest rainwater on a wide courtyard, but this was determined to be useless--they were almost impossible to maintain because of all the cracks and joints in the stone blocks of the pavement, so the best solution was to create a channel around a mound (a narrow channel is much easier to manage and clean). Thus, King Jzoser built a mound (a pyramid) in the middle of a courtyard, and this is known as the Step Pyramid Complex of Saqqara.
The Step Pyramid of King Jzoser
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