Walking in Ancient Egypt

Okay so sorry for the delay in this section, this blog is a continuation of the last two, this one is so large I will post the later parts shortly.

Back in 1966 astrophysicists I.S. Shklovski and the famous Carl Sagan wrote their book called “Intelligent Life in the Universe”. They devoted a whole chapter to argue that scientists and historians should seriously consider the possibility that extraterrestrial contact occurred during recorded history. However, Shklovski and Sagan, stressed that these ideas were speculative and unproven.

Shklovski and Sagan continued to argue that sub-lightspeed interstellar travel by extraterrestrial life was a certainty when considering technologies that were established or feasible in the late '60s; that repeated instances of extraterrestrial visitation to Earth were plausible; and that pre-scientific narratives can offer a potentially reliable means of describing contact with outsiders.

Additionally, they believed further scrutiny of cited tales of Oannes, a fishlike being attributed with teaching agriculture, mathematics, and the arts to early Sumerians. Suggesting that both the consistency and detail of these recordings represent a possible instance of paleocontact.

Many people are quick to point out that there is no evidence to support the proposals of ancient astronauts or paleocontact. I would say that historically we have held theories and taught children in schools so called truths that now we know to be untrue, likewise, we have agreed on theories that we have no proof of only to find evidence later (such black holes, dark energy and string theory) I will also note that our history is full of examples where suggested theories were proposed and summarily mocked and actively ignored or hidden, only to have them be proven. So, comments about no evidence, does not hold much weight for me, as I am certain that evidence does exist but is being subverted or hidden.

Many moons ago, while at university, while studying genetics, I was introduced to Francis Crick, who co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA. I was not aware, at the time that he also strongly believed in what he called panspermia, the concept that earth was 'seeded' with life, probably in the form of blue green algae, by intelligent extraterrestrial species, for the purpose of ensuring life's continuity.

He believed that this could have been done on any number of planets of this class, possibly using unmanned shuttles. He talks at length about this theory in his book “Life Itself”. Today, of course we have found life of a sort in meteorites, which would support this theory. At this point I will make a comment, that I will expand on in future blocs. It has been suggested that some of the historical plaques that mankind has faced may have been deliberately or unknowingly started by aliens which have had devastating impact on the population of earth. Before you pooh pooh the idea consider the impact Europeans had in spreading serious illness among the native population, during early exploration. The local population had no experience with these diseases and had no natural immunity to them, which wiped out whole populations.

Like many of you, I have read many of Zecharia Sitchin’s books. If you are unaware of his books, they generally promote an explanation for human origins involving ancient astronauts. Sitchin attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he states was a race of extraterrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune, called Nibiru. The Anunnaki (also transcribed as: Anunna, Anunnaku, Ananaki and other variations) are a group of Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian deities.

Stichin believed that this planet of Nibiru has an elongated, elliptical orbit in the Earth's own Solar System, asserting that Sumerian mythology reflects this view.

Sitchin's theories are not accepted by scientists and academics who dismiss his work as pseudohistory and pseudoscience Sitchin's work has been criticized for flawed methodology and mistranslations of ancient texts as well as for incorrect astronomical and scientific claims. However, I will point out again that history is full of people and their theories including the world being round and rotating around the sun, that were ostracized and even murdered for beliefs that we now take for truth. In fact, any theory that does not fit the going believe of the time are generally are ignored. Furthermore, lots of theories are expanded and changed as evidence arises, so why throw the baby out with the bath water?

Similarly, to earlier authors such as Immanuel Velikovsky and Erich von Däniken, Sitchin advocated theories in which extraterrestrial events supposedly played a significant role in ancient human history.

According to Sitchin's interpretation of Mesopotamian iconography and symbology, outlined in his 1976 book "The 12th Planet" and its sequels, the undiscovered planet Nibiru, with its long, elliptical orbit, reaches the inner solar system roughly every 3,600 years.

Sitchin, suggests that something collided catastrophically with the planet Tiamat (a goddess in the Babylonian creation myth the Enűma Eliš), a planet once located between Mars and Jupiter.

This collision supposedly formed the planet Earth, the asteroid belt, and the comets. Sitchin states that when struck by one of planet Nibiru's moons, Tiamat split in two, and then on a second pass Nibiru itself struck the broken fragments and one half of Tiamat broke apart and became the asteroid belt.

The second half, struck again by one of Nibiru's moons, was pushed into a new orbit and became today's planet Earth.

He wrote that the Anunnak first arrived on Earth probably 450,000 years ago, looking for minerals, especially gold, which they found and mined in Africa.

Sitchin wrote that Enki (an Anunnaki leader) suggested that to relieve the Anunnaki, miners, who had mutinied over their dissatisfaction with their working conditions, that primitive workers (Homo sapiens) be created by genetic engineering as slaves to replace them in the gold mines by crossing extraterrestrial genes with those of Homo erectus.

According to Sitchin, ancient inscriptions report that the human civilization in Sumer, Mesopotamia, was set up under the guidance of these "gods," and human kingship was inaugurated to provide intermediaries between mankind and the Anunnaki (creating the "divine right of kings" doctrine).

Sitchin believes that fallout from nuclear weapons, used during a war between factions of the extraterrestrials, is the "evil wind" described in the Lament for Ur that destroyed Ur around 2000 BC. Sitchin further states that the exact year is 2024 BC.

Interestingly, Sitchin’s research coincides with many biblical texts, and that those biblical texts come originally from Sumerian writings.

Sumerian literature is written in the Sumerian language during the Middle Bronze Age. Most Sumerian literature is preserved indirectly, via Assyrian or Babylonian copies.

The Sumerians invented the first writing system, by about the 30th century developing Sumerian cuneiform writing out of earlier proto-writing systems. The earliest literary texts appear from about the 27th century BC.

The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian literature.

Sumerian literature has not been handed down to us directly, rather it has been rediscovered through archaeology. Nevertheless, the Akkadians and Babylonians borrowed much from the Sumerian literary heritage, and spread these traditions throughout the Middle East, influencing much of the literature that followed in this region, including the Bible.

Now let us take look at some interesting structures on earth and elsewhere.

Starting with the pyramids of Giza., of which I have been blessed to visit myself. I am of the firm belief that the three pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx are much older than the Egyptian civilization, that we are led to believe today by many Egyptologists and others.

The great pyramid of Giza was, according to current Egyptologists (and as I believe erroneously) built for Khufu, a Pharaoh of the 4th dynasty about 2600 BC, but nothing was found inside the pyramid to indicate that he was prepared for the afterlife, as was the custom with other Pharaoh’s tombs uncovered over the years.

Standing upon the large blocks of the pyramid, you must begin realizing that it stands over 450’ tall and was constructed with over 2 million bricks that weighed between 2 and 50 tons each. How they were transported and lifted in an age where technology and heavy machinery supposedly never existed remains a mystery. The estimated number of workers involved in this noble course was over 100,000 skilled men.

When you think about it, you must question why there were no texts and inscriptions to assist the passing of an individual to the underworld as is found in all in other Egyptian burial structures. The Giza pyramids, including King Khufu’s, were absent of such decorations. If the pyramid was built as Khufu’s tomb, why is his name not plastered all throughout the structure. Instead, there is one tiny reference to Khufu, painted in red in a small room and a 3” statute, now in the Cairo museum, referring to Khufu that was originally found a great distance away from the pyramids in 1903. Unless some great discovery is still to be revealed inside the great pyramid referring to Khufu, I will continue to question if in fact the great pyramid was ever built for him.

Unlike everything else the Egyptian civilization did accomplish; no records have been discovered on how or who built the 3 pyramids of Giza or the Sphinx. Theories are described as, “Proposed explanations whose status is still conjectural, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual facts.”

Many I suppose would place UFO research into that same category as only being theories, since some have suggested that alien technology was involved in the building of the pyramids. Researcher Stephen Mehler offers scientific evidence in his book, “The Land of Osiris”, about an advanced civilization that lived in Northern Africa some 10,000 years ago known as Khemitians.

One of his sources of information came from a local known as a “keeper of wisdom”, who presented evidence that he believed the ancient Khemitians had contact, and that the existence of life on other planets and in other dimensions is a distinct reality, being part of the indigenous tradition of the Khemitian wisdom keepers. Were the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx built with technology the Khemitians received from star people, prior to the Egyptian civilization?

The Egyptologist on my trip to the pyramids stated that they were built by pilling up sand, I am very dubious of this theory. The most frequently mentioned method of building the pyramids is the use of a ramp to drag the stones to their final location, requiring 20-30 years and 20-30,000 workers to accomplish. Considering the stones had to be quarried, cut, transported up the Nile river, moved across the Giza Plateau and set, using the suggested length of time to build, a stone would have had to been placed every 90 seconds.

Another mathematical problem is the ramp itself. Knowing the height of the pyramid (450 feet) and assuming an angle of 20 degrees for the ramp, which would be a fairly steep angle, the length of a ramp would calculate to more than 1316 feet long. Additionally, assuming a conservative width of 20 feet for the ramp, and knowing the length and height, the volume of material required for such a ramp would be more than 7,000,000 cubic feet.

These numbers seem like astronomical figures, since as the pyramid grew taller, the ramp would have to be lengthened and the base widened to keep it from collapsing. Since there are over 200 lifts, or steps to the top of the great pyramid, considerable time would have been lost in maintaining the ramp size for each lift. Other ramp methods have also been theorized, using internal, zigzag, or spiraling ramps. Levitation of the stones has also been mentioned.

More recently, Steven Myers, author of the book, “Lost Technologies of the Great Pyramid” has suggested that the stones were transported up the Nile on barges utilizing a series of water locks across the Giza plateau, but really we have no idea, how they were in fact built.

Another interesting fact about the structure is the shafts inside the Great Pyramid and the positioning of the pyramids which. correspond with the constellation of Orion. However, this perfect alignment between the pyramids and Orion, would have only occurred in 10,500 BC. The Sphinx, too, aligns to the constellation of Leo in the same year, 10,500 BC. Again, suggesting that they are much older then propagated.

And then there is the famous stone box found in the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid. Erroneously labeled as a “sarcophagus,” although no body or evidence of burial has ever been found in the chamber, the box is made of Aswan rose quartz granite and features perfect right angles and highly polished smooth sides. it is made of one solid huge piece of granite that cannot fit through the passageway that you just walked through to access the chamber. Was it brought in here, or was the great pyramid built around it?

The box has been studied by many scientists and researchers from Flinders Petrie in the 1880s to Christopher Dunn in the 1980s and 90s—with most all agreeing that the box was cut precisely with a large saw probably utilizing diamond bits.

The great pyramids were once glittering in the reflection of sunlight. They were highly polished with glimmering limestone white casing. These coverings have fallen off the buildings with time, and thus you can no longer see the shining surface. Some of the polish has gotten loose and fallen off due to earthquakes, while others have been cut off and taken away. Some suggest that this would have intensified the energy radiating from them. Of the three Giza pyramids, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished limestone casing, near its apex. This pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction — it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume.

Apparently, the entire landscape of the Giza Necropolis, including the Pyramids and the Sphinx, display signs of erosion. This has led researchers to suggest that certain areas of this mighty necropolis were once submerged under the sea and a newly discovered fossil makes this theory look a lot more believable.

Archaeologist Sherif El Morsi, who has worked extensively on the Giza plateau for over two decades, and his colleague Antoine Gigal, were the ones who made the discovery of this controversial fossil, which backs up studies and theories that the Pyramids of Giza and the mighty Sphinx were once submerged under the sea.

Dr. Robert M. Schoch was one of the first researchers to really address the theory that the structures of the plateau are much older than previously thought. In the early 90’s, Dr. Schoch suggested that the Sphinx was thousands of years older than archaeologists believed, dating back to 5000-9000 BC, this suggestion was based on erosion pattern of water found at the monuments and the surrounding rocks.

Pyramid symbolism

The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape of a pyramids is thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance.

Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to solar luminescence. For example, the formal name of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur The Southern Shining Pyramid, and that of Senwosret at el-Lahun was Senwosret is Shining.

The Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the narrow shafts that extends from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly towards the center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been designed to serve to magically launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode of the gods.

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.

Number and location of pyramids

Since Karl Richard Lepsius’ 1842 list of pyramids, in which he counted 67, a great many more have since been discovered. As of November 2008, 118 Egyptian pyramids have been identified.

The location of Pyramid 29, which Lepsius called the "Headless Pyramid", was lost for a second time when the structure was buried by desert sands after Lepsius' survey. It was only found again during an archaeological dig conducted in 2008.

Many pyramids are in a poor state of preservation or buried by desert sands. If visible at all they may appear as little more than mounds of rubble. Consequently, archaeologists are continuing to identify and study previously unknown pyramid structures.

The most recent pyramid to be discovered is that of Queen Sesheshet, mother of 6th Dynasty Pharaoh Teti, located at Saqqara. The discovery was announced by Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, on 11 November 2008.

All of Egypt's pyramids, except the small Third Dynasty pyramid of Zawyet el-Amwat (or Zawyet el-Mayitin), are sited on the west bank of the Nile, and most are grouped together in several pyramid fields. The most important of these are listed geographically, from north to south, below. Abu Rawash

The largely destroyed Pyramid of DjedefreAbu Rawash is the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid (other than the ruins of Lepsius pyramid number one, the mostly ruined Pyramid of Djedefre, son and successor of Khufu.

Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been completed, but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it completed, but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid of Menkaure, which would have placed it among the half-dozen or so largest pyramids in Egypt.

Its location adjacent to a major crossroads made it an easy source of stone. Quarrying — which began in Roman times — has left little apart from about 15 courses of stone superimposed upon the natural hillock that formed part of the pyramid's core. A small adjacent satellite pyramid is in a better state of preservation. Most trips do not include this pyramid and I believe it is because it is older than Giza and has some signs of advance technology (I talk about this later)

Zawyet el-Aryan

This site, halfway between Giza and Abu Sir, is the location for two unfinished Old Kingdom pyramids. The northern structure's owner is believed to be the Pharaoh Nebka, while the southern structure is attributed to the Third Dynasty Pharaoh Khaba, also known as Hudjefa, successor to Sekhemkhet. Khaba's four-year tenure as pharaoh more than likely explains the similar premature truncation of his step pyramid.

Today it is approximately twenty meters high; had it been completed it is likely to have exceeded 40.

There is a total of fourteen pyramids at the Abu Sir site, which served as the main royal necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty. The quality of construction of the Abu Sir pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth Dynasty — perhaps signaling a decrease in royal power, a less vibrant economy or a decline in enlightenment and higher abilities associated with the Golden Age. They are smaller than their predecessors and are built of low-quality local limestone.

The three major pyramids are those of Niuserre (which is also the most intact), Neferirkare Kakai and Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete Pyramid of Neferefre. All of the major pyramids at Abu Sir were built as step pyramids, although the largest of them — the Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai — is believed to have originally been built as a step pyramid some 70 metres high and then later transformed into a "true" pyramid by having its steps filled in with loose masonry.

The Step Pyramid of DjoserMajor pyramids located in Saqqara include the Step Pyramid of Djoser — generally identified as the world's oldest substantial monumental structure to be built of finished stone — the Pyramid of Merykare, the Pyramid of Userkaf and the Pyramid of Teti. Also, at Saqqara is the Pyramid of Unas, which retains a pyramid causeway that is one of the best-preserved in Egypt.

This pyramid was also the subject of one of the earliest known restoration attempts, conducted by a son of Ramesses II. Saqqara is also the location of the incomplete step pyramid of Djoser's successor Sekhemkhet, known as the Buried Pyramid. Archaeologists believe that had this pyramid been completed it would have been larger than Djoser's.

South of the main pyramid field at Saqqara is a second collection of later, smaller pyramids, including those of Pepi I, Isesi, Merenre, Ibi and Pepi II. Most of these are in a poor state of preservation.

The Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Shepseskaf either did not share an interest in or have the capacity to undertake pyramid construction like his predecessors. His tomb, which is also sited at south Saqqara was instead built as an unusually large mastaba and offering temple complex. It is commonly known as the Mastaba of Faraoun.

A previously unknown pyramid was discovered at north Saqqara in late 2008. It is believed to be the tomb of Teti's mother, it currently stands approx 5m high, although the original height was closer to 14m. The opening of the tomb is scheduled for early December 2008.

In Dahshur there are Snofru's Red Pyramid. This area is arguably the most important pyramid field in Egypt outside Giza and Saqqara, although until 1996 the site was inaccessible due to its location within a military base and was relatively unknown outside archaeological circles.

The southern Pyramid of Snofru, commonly known as the Bent Pyramid, is believed to be the first Egyptian pyramid intended by its builders to be a "true" smooth-sided pyramid from the outset; the earlier pyramid at Meidum had smooth sides in its finished state - but it was conceived and built as a step pyramid, before having its steps filled in and concealed beneath a smooth outer casing.

As a true smooth-sided structure, the Bent Pyramid was only a partial success — albeit a unique, visually imposing one; it is also the only major Egyptian pyramid to retain a significant proportion of its original smooth outer limestone casing intact. As such it serves as the best contemporary example of how the ancient Egyptians intended their pyramids to look.

Several kilometeres to the north of the Bent Pyramid is the last — and most successful — of the three pyramids constructed during the reign of Snofru; the Red Pyramid is the world's first successfully completed smooth-sided pyramid. The structure is also the third largest pyramid in Egypt — after the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre at Giza.

Also, at Dahshur is the pyramid known as the Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III, as well as several small, mostly ruined subsidiary pyramids.

Mazghuna, located to the south of Dahshur, was used in the First Intermediate Period by several kings who constructed their pyramids out of mudbrick. Lisht

The pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht.Two major pyramids are known to have been built at Lisht and include those of Amenemhat I and his son, Senusret I. The latter is surrounded by the ruins of ten smaller subsidiary pyramids. One of these subsidiary pyramids is known to be that of Amenemhat's cousin, Khaba II.

The site which is in the vicinity of the oasis of Fayyum, midway between Dahshur and Meidum, and about 100 kilometres south of Cairo, is believed to be in the vicinity of the ancient city of Itjtawy (the precise location of which remains unknown), which served as the capital of Egypt during the 12th Dynasty.

The pyramid at Meidum is one of three constructed during the reign of Sneferu and is believed by some to have been started by that pharaoh's father and predecessor, Huni. However, that attribution is uncertain, as no record of Huni's name has been found at the site.

It was constructed as a step pyramid, and then later converted into the first "true" smooth-sided pyramid when the steps were filled in, and an outer casing added.

The pyramid suffered several catastrophic collapses in ancient and medieval times; medieval Arab writers described it as having 7 steps - although today only the three uppermost of these remain, giving the structure its odd, tower-like appearance.

The hill on which the pyramid is situated is not a natural landscape feature — it is the small mountain of debris created when the lower courses and outer casing of the pyramid gave way.

The Pyramid of Amenemhet III is at Hawarra Amenemhet III was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawarra, near Faiyum, is believed to post-date the so-called "Black Pyramid" built by the same ruler at Dahshur. It is the Hawarra pyramid that is believed to have been Amenemhet's final resting place.

The pyramid of Senusret II at el-Lahun is the southernmost royal-tomb pyramid structure in Egypt. Its builders reduced the amount of work necessary to construct it by ingeniously using as its foundation and core a 12-meter-high natural limestone hill.

There are much older pyramids throughout the world including beneath the ocean. For example, Nubia was once a part of ancient Egypt, and the Nubian pyramids were built 500 years before the pyramids of Giza. As you can see below, they look like the Egyptian pyramids, but they are much smaller in size.