Why do we still not know what's inside the pyramids?

Re:Why do we still not know what's inside the pyramids? by coldcode on Monday November 16, 2015 @08:54AM (#10574385)

I think building a grain store in the shape of a giant pyramid wouldn't work anyway. The grains at the bottom would be pretty much unusable and likely you couldn't get them out except from the top because of the weight. I do wonder if someone could work out the math though :-)

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Re:Why do we still not know what's inside the pyramids? by tillinghast on Monday November 16, 2015 @10:25AM (#10574907)

If you make the bottom of the pile accessible in some manner (like with a door), it's more efficient to withdraw the grain from that point due to gravity.

Peripherally related, this pyramid talk finally made me look up "critical angle of repose" of various materials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_repose#Angle_of_repos....

The Great Pyramids are around the 50° mark, where modern wheat's angle of repose is roughly half that (27°). That's not to say a pyramid-like structure couldn't be used to store wheat—just that the shape of these particular pyramids don't directly mimic the free-standing angle that a wheat mound would form.

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Re:Why do we still not know what's inside the pyramids? by protomyth on Monday November 16, 2015 @10:13AM (#10574831)

I doubt they were grain stores, but elevators in the USA store grain and corn like that all the time in a pyramid shape and it doesn't hurt the grain / corn (other than moisture).

There is a "ski Indiana" photoshop showing a skier on one of these grain hills.

Here is a nice little pdf with a lot of ways we store product http://calculators.agstar.com/uploads/GrainStorageMethods070...

[edit: I agree they would have been a bad shape of an old style grain store, plus wrong era]

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