Russian Couple Build Pyramid Of Giza Replica In Their Rural Backyard
A couple from Istinka, a small village located 12 kilometres outside St Petersburg, Russia, have built a concrete replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza right in their own backyard.
h/t: odditycentral
Measuring 9 meters above ground and 9 meters deep, and consisting of about 400 tonnes of concrete blocks, the pyramid of Istinka is 19 times smaller than the structure that inspired it – the Great Pyramid of Giza, in Egypt. But, according to its owners, Andrey Vakhrushev and his wife Victoria, apart from the size difference, the two imposing structured are actually quite similar. The couple claim that attention to detail was crucial for this project, adding that they spent years studying the design of the Pyramid of Cheops and visited it many times just to get everything right.
“I was really striving to achieve exact sizes, up to one-centimetre accuracy, on the right level, not with one or two-centimetre error, but the exact size, perfect and nothing less,” Andrey said. “Of course, the blocks we used are different, but this is still a monolithic structure, we made careful calculations in terms of masonry, making it in a special way so that it is as close (to the original) as possible.”
After calculating the exact size of their pyramid, Andrey and Victoria spent a month looking for a construction crew willing to build it according to their specifications. Many flat out refused, but they finally found a contractor who actually thought the project was cool.