How much would it cost to build a Great Pyramid?
Various engineers have already calculated the expected costs of buidling a pyramid similiar to the Great Pyramid by Cheops. Here’s a link to one analysis (written in 1970). Compare it with the costs of buidling the same using the same techniques in Cheop’s time, see next link. As you can see, at today’s construction costs and prices, it’s likely to cost in the neighborhood of several billion dollars, even with use of modern methods and machinery. This is assuming using quarried limestone blocks, instead of poured concrete, and would depend on how far away the quarry is from the buidling site. It’s a lot cheaper to use poured concrete, which is one reason why it’s the material of choice for massive construction projects. Addendum: I checked current quarried limestone block costs, and it seems to be running anywhere from 3 to 7 dollars per cubic foot. So, if the Great Pyramid of Cheops has roughly 100,000,000 cubic feet of limestone, we are already having to spend 0.3 to 0.7 billion doll
