Most of the pyramids had an enclosure wall around the base. The Great Pyramid has a shaft between the wall and the base that was filled with debris. The Egyptian authorities filled this in with concrete which is a horrible shame. I believe the wall was like a moat. Most of the pyramids are built with a descending passage leading from an opening at ground level or slightly higher on the face. Water flowing down one of these passages would be a powerful force to be harnessed in some way. Often a causeway leading from the pyramid to the Nile is included. Water flowing down a causeway would build up in front of a raft that fits closely to the width of the causeway. A small amount of water is all it would take to lift the raft off the bottom. At this point the friction goes to zero and will slide down the causeway on its own. If you are pulling the raft up the five degree slope, you can carry a large load of rocks with only one third the force it would take to drag it up a dry slope. A modern example of heavy lift are big floatation pads that people use in water to play. The large area of the pad can support many people without sinking very deep in the water. Where did the water come from in the middle of the desert? I believe it came from a reservoir created by the Sadd el-Kafara Dam. The crest of the dam is 125 meters above the Nile. The base of the pyramid is 60 meters above the Nile. Water could reach halfway up the pyramid. This is high enough to include all the heaviest stones. Scholars are at a loss to explain the building of a dam in the middle of nowhere with no community to serve. An underground tunnel connected the reservoir to each pyramid. The dam was constructed at the same time or before the pyramids and was as large a project.
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