How did ancient Egyptians get help building the pyramids?

How an ancient civilization was able to build such large structures without the assistance of modern technology has baffled the world for generations. And while the popular theory that they were assisted by aliens is fun, it seems that the theory popular among experts may be the most accurate.

Many have theorized that the ancient Egyptians were able to transport the massive stone blocks that they used to build their pyramids by floating them down rivers on rafts. Except, the closest river to the pyramids, the Nile, is still a long way away. A new study, however, suggests that wasn’t always the case.

A combination of satellite images, geophysical surveys and sediment sample analysis has provided a map of an old branch of the Nile between 1.6 and 6.4 miles west of where the river is today. That puts it significantly closer to most of the sites where the pyramids were built. What’s more, the evidence suggests that this ancient river branch was approximately 6.6-26.2 feet deep and 656-2,297 feet wide, similar to today’s river and large enough for rafts carrying large blocks of stone. “Many of us who are interested in ancient Egypt are aware that the Egyptians must have used a waterway to build their enormous monuments,” said professor Eman Ghoneim, lead author of the study. “Our research offers the first map of one of the main ancient branches of the Nile at such a large scale and links it with the largest pyramid fields of Egypt.”