[tarikjn]

The rough shaping is not at issue. The challenge is maintaining tolerances along all axis and constraints on your detail work while using high forces and pressures to work the hard material. Grinding is a good guess for the possible material removal process — and it is up there today for the smallest tolerances using a mechanical process —- watch a video of a jig grinder in action. But what tool is used to hold or insert the sand aggregate at the pressure point? Are you suggesting that the vase is turned? That turning tool would need precise bearings itself to maintain that precision. According to archeologists, Egyptian didn’t even have the invention of the wheel yet at this point. These are all questions that people are looking for answers, and the best way will be to attempt to reproduce an artifact using various methods. I sincerely invite you to contribute by trying to elaborate the entire process that would enable this.

[agentgumshoe]

I assume back then they weren't too fussed about having 100 people work on a small rock should they desire.

I think we just don't comprehend, as mentioned above, how much time and effort could be allowed for back then. I'm sure 100 people could create a near perfect vase given 30 years to work on it (random example).

[tarikjn]

The feasibility is not a function of the time or number of people. When you remove material, the slightest error is irreversible. By combining error rate, design tolerance bounds and work point size in a statistical model, you should be able to prove that even using the entire known population on earth at the time for several centuries, you would not be able to product near anywhere the number of these specific artifacts found under the step pyramid (40,000). It’s sort of like the problem of enough monkey typing randomly to produce the work of Shakespeare.

[pempem]

If you travel to spaces that are "less industrially developed" you will see an incredibly high level of talent.

This idea that its just not feasible because it is hard ignores existing architecture that we can date in places like China and India, but cannot easily replicate in the US or other spaces because the generationally developed skill and method is not available.

This precision occurs in hard materials like stone, in massive scale as well as in soft materials like cottons and silks which weren't replicated in Europe in previous or current times.