In her article "Time Machine, Three Trips: Where Would You Go?", S Hayes asks where her readers would go if they had access to a time machine. After careful consideration, here are my three choices and the reasons for them.
The Rules
For a full explanation of the rules see the above article, but in summary they are as follows.
Only three trips are allowed
The trips are restricted in time to the past only, but not before the earth was formed
The trips are restricted in space to the earth and its moon
The trips are for observational purposes and can only be used to gain knowledge
Difficult Choices
The problem with a task of this nature is that there are thousands of events and people in the past that merit a closer look. Picking just three of these causes a few difficulties.
Try picking your top three favourite songs or books and there may be two that are very easy to choose and have to go on the list. Then there may be another 10 or so to fill the remaining place. The choice becomes not what to select but what to leave out.
The same applies here. To narrow down the range I decided on a theme for my travels. I could have chosen to experience great events for myself, such as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Or maybe travel into the deeper past to witness species that are now extinct, like dodos or mammoths.
In the end I decided to use my three trips to try to explain some of the mysteries from history. Having chosen the theme, two of my selections were very easy. The third came from a long list of possibilities and deciding what to leave out was difficult.
After a lot of thought, I am finally happy with my selections (for now).
2589 BC: Building the Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza, in Egypt, was built for the second king of the 4th dynasty, Khufu (Cheops in Greek). Work started at the beginning of Khufu's reign in 2589 BC and took at least 20 years to complete.
The Great Pyramid was constructed of approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone, with a total weight of 5,750,000 tons. Most of the stone was yellow limestone, but the outer casing, and the lining of the internal passageways, was white limestone. The burial chamber was lined with granite.
The four sides of the Great Pyramid are 230 metres in length and were aligned to the four cardinal points of the compass. The original height was 147 metres, but with the outer casing plundered it stands at 138 metres today.
Opinions differ about the size of the labour force required to build the Great Pyramid, but it is clear that they were not slaves. Estimates range from 20,000 men, if the workforce was permanent, to 100,000 men, if seasonal.
Most archaeologists agree that a system of ramps would have been used in the construction. The stone blocks would have been dragged up the slopes using sledges and rollers. There are, however, several different types of ramps that could have been employed, ranging from straight or zigzag slopes up one side, to a spiral system around the entire pyramid.
The white limestone of the finished structure would have shone magnificently in the sunlight, and a trip in a time machine would be worthwhile just to see it. But the journey would also answer a number of questions.
What was the size of the workforce?
Were the labourers permanent or seasonal?
How long did the construction take?
How were the limestone and granite blocks quarried and transported?
What type of ramp system was used in the construction?
How would the pyramid have looked before the white limestone casing was stripped off?
(Watch a video reconstruction from the BBC of the building of the Great Pyramid.)
1483: The Fate of the Princes in the Tower
With the unexpected death of Edward IV on 9 April 1483, his 12-year-old son became Edward V. As Edward made his way from Ludlow to London he was intercepted by his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard escorted the new king to London and was recognised as lord protector.
Edward IV's widow, Elizabeth Woodville (sometimes Wydeville) sought sanctuary with her younger son, Richard of York, and her daughters in Westminster Abbey. Convinced that Gloucester was making preparations for Edward V's coronation, Elizabeth surrendered Richard into his custody on 16 June.
Having removed Edward's supporters from power, and with the two princes in his custody, Gloucester usurped the crown 10 days later, becoming Richard III.
The princes were housed in the residential apartments of the Tower of London and were officially free. But, after August 1483, they disappeared. The popular view, supported by the writings of Thomas More and dramatised by William Shakespeare, is that the princes were murdered soon after under the orders of Richard III.
