Reuters and the Daily Mail are reporting that new tombs discovered in Egypt conclusively prove that the pyramid builders were highly regarded skilled workers who rotated in three months shifts, and not a slave labor force. The tombs belonged to workers who built the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre. Graffiti on the walls from workers calling themselves "friends of Khufu" -- are one sign that they were not slaves.

However, evidence has been found showing that farmers in the Delta and Upper Egypt had sent 21 buffalo and 23 sheep to the plateau every day to feed the builders, believed to number around 10,000 -- or about a tenth of Greek historian Herodotus's estimate of 100,000. These farmers were exempted from paying taxes to the government of ancient Egypt -- evidence, it is believed, that they were participating in a national project.