Archeologists say they have established that ancient Egyptians constructed the Great Pyramid at Giza by transporting 170,000 tonnes of limestone in boats.
The new evidence reveals that thousands of labourers transported the limestone along the River Nile in wooden boats built with planks and rope.
It follows the discovery of an ancient papyrus in a cave at the ancient Red Sea port of Wadi el-Jarf, the unearthing of a lost waterway beneath the Giza plateau and the finding of a ceremonial boat.
If confirmed, the discovery could help tackle deep seated mystery over how the great pyramid was actually constructed.
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Years of research have not unravel how ancient Egyptians cut, transported, and assembled millions of limestone and granite blocks, each weighing an average of 2.3 metric tons.
But common believe has been that the rock was extracted 13km away in Tura and that granite used in the monumental structure was quarried 858km away in Aswan.
The 2.5-tonne blocks were ferried through a system of specially designed canals before arriving at an inland port built just yards away from the base of the Great Pyramid.
The papyrus scroll provides first-hand record of how the pyramid was built, and was written by an overseer named Merer.
The story of ancient Egyptians remain controversial and scholars have differed on a number of issues like what race they were. Some have argued that they were a black civilized society while some say they were Caucasians.
The use of the pyramid is also a bone of contention. Some scholars believe that ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. They argue that the pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom.
Some people however think that the pyramids acted as silos for grain storage and that they were mainly used during the biblical Joseph reign in the great famine.
Ancient Egypt was ruled by Pharaohs who were the most powerful people and religious leaders.
Many pharaohs went to war when their land was threatened or when they wanted to control foreign lands. If the pharaoh won the battle, the conquered people had to recognise the Egyptian pharaoh as their ruler and offer him the finest and most valuable goods from their land.