If you are familiar with the Egyptian Pyramids, then you are no doubt aware of what an engineering marvel they are. Consider that they were built around 2500 BC, the largest stands 449 feet tall, weighs 6.5 million tons and covers 13 acres. But exactly how were they built? MechSE alumnus Stephen Blakely (BSME '69) has studied its construction extensively and has formed a theory—the use of an Egyptian pulley.