The talented stone carving techniques of the ancient Egyptians amazed posterity

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Ancient Egypt is known for its many technological and artistic achievements, building pyramids and temples, inventing writing systems, hieroglyphics, and making advances in medicine, astronomy, and many other fields. Photo: @Glenn Ashton.

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There was also one area that the ancient Egyptians were particularly famous for: stone carving. Photo: @St. Luke's Finsbury/ Stephen Critchley.

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However, the eternal question is how the ancient Egyptians were able to cut and drill through extremely hard granite , which is significantly more difficult than working in limestone or sandstone. Photo: @Luke's Finsbury.

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Archaeologists have proposed a number of theories to answer this question. Photo: @Glenn Ashton.

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At first, the ancient Egyptians used conventional tools to drill holes and cut into the granite. This was done with the same bronze, brass, and wooden tools that modern-day Egyptian masons use to cut granite. Photo: @Brien Foerster.

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Specifically, they used primitive tools such as hammers, copper and brass chisels, and wooden wedges to cut granite for centuries. Photo: @Photo Stephen S. Mehler.

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Mainstream archaeologists believe that the ancient Egyptians would drive a wooden wedge into a crack in the rock, then soak the wedge in water. Photo: @Glenn Ashton.

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As the water seeps in and causes the wooden wedge to expand, this will cause the crack in the rock to widen. Once this is done, they will continue to drive the wedge deeper and deeper. Doing this multiple times will eventually split the rock into blocks. Photo: @Glenn Ashton.

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Now, some ancient Egyptian archaeological evidence leans more towards this view. Photo: @The Archaeologist.

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However, others believe that it was done using more advanced devices that modern science has yet to discover. Photo: @Penn Museum.

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They argue that the ancient Egyptians and other civilizations were much more technologically sophisticated than is currently believed, but this theory lacks convincing concrete evidence. Photo: @Live Science.