Cecil B. DeMille
Is responsible for the 'slaves built the pyramids' misconception.

They were largly built, as with all the other monuments and temples, by skilled artesans and workers in lieu of tax. You could, instead of paying tax during the farming season, work on municipal projects during the annual innundation of the Nile when farming was impossible.

You can build big things with slave labour, but you can't build them well. And the pyramids and temples of Egypt are absolutely incredibly well put together with a level of accuracy that defies belief.
(Miraclefish How appropriate, you fight like a cow, Fri 2 Mar 2012, 11:32, 2 replies)

the grunts dragging the rocks?

(skgorsky, Fri 2 Mar 2012, 12:02, closed)

Again, they weren't dragged by teams of labourers
But there were very advanced (and therefore operated with care and knowledge) lever and pulley systems as well as movable pinion-based lifters.

The old 'massive mud ramps' idea was flawed, as it would have taken more mud than was available in Egypt...
(Miraclefish How appropriate, you fight like a cow, Fri 2 Mar 2012, 17:37, closed)

Did Jewish Slaves Build the Pyramids?

skeptoid.com/episodes/4191

Rather good article on the subject. Top website too.
(Nitrous Nitrous, Fri 2 Mar 2012, 18:16, closed)

Is this like working for your benefits?
Seemed to be quite effective.
( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Fri 2 Mar 2012, 14:34, closed)