Which mechanical risk increased when laborers quarried oolitic limestone blocks oriented perpendicular to the bedding planes for the Great Pyramid of Giza?

💡 Explanation

Tensile fracture risk increases because the weaker cementation between ooliths is then aligned perpendicularly to the applied stress, facilitating crack propagation via stress concentration rather than along grain boundaries. Therefore, the blocks are more fragile rather than more durable.

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