Ancient

Karnak Temple 19
Photo Source: Stock.xching

When some people talk about Egypt they describe the Egyptian desert as the sands of time. This is probably a very appropriate way of describing them. Dr. Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist and is the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. If anyone should know about Egypt's past he should. Recently he came out with a statement that at least 70 percent of Egyptian monuments are still under the sand. This is quite a statement indeed. I would love to know what this is based on? Anyway I have to take his word on it, this is the leading expert in the world on Egyptology. Just recently mummies were found in a tomb near the step pyramid, the first Egyptian pyramid ever built. What made this tomb strange was the fact that the mummies were all in one room and there were about 30 of them.

Maybe one of the reasons that Dr. Hawass thinks there is still so much to be discovered under the Egyptian sands is that there are still quite a few new finds every year. Egypt has been around a long time, A Real Long Time! The country was first unified around 3,000 B.C. Before that there were the kingdoms of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. We are talking about countries that go back to the early Neolithic period. The early Neolithic period goes back to about 9,500 B.C. This means that there has been Egyptians on this earth for at least 11,500 years. This in itself is quite a feat. Maybe this is the real reason that Dr. Hawass feels there is so much more in the desert?

Temple Of Hatshepsut
Photo Source: Stock.xching

You can imagine all the theories that exist about Egypt. Any country that has been around for that period of time has to have thousands or even hundreds of thousands of legends. There are a lot of mysteries associated with the ancient Egyptians. Some people even question the very fact that the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. There are places inside the pyramids that show ancient graffiti that are not open to the public. These non believers explain this away by saying that it was added later by people in the Egyptian government, just so they could prove they built them when in fact they didn't. Could these people be right? If they were, it would have to be a stretch that was connected to a conspiracy. They state that the reason that Egypt will never admit the truth is that they need the tourist dollars and it is also a matter of pride.

The same people go on to say that the Sphinx is not really Egyptian and that there is a room under one of the paws. The room idea is based on radar findings. So far the Egyptian government has held fast for years. They have denied every request to dig under the sphinx. Some say that it doesn't matter anymore, They go on to say that the Egyptians have now had years to remove any evidence from an underground room that would show they were not the constructors of the Sphinx. It is common knowledge that they have done a lot of digging under the pyramids and they could have easily dug to the sphinx and we wouldn't know it. Why would anyone think that the Sphinx is older than the pyramids as some people do? The reason is water marks on the side of the structure. There was flooding about 10,000 years ago in the area of the Sphinx and Pyramids and they believe that water marks prove the age of the structure. Some also think that the ancient Egyptians modified the Sphinx by putting a new head on it.

Avenue Of Sphinxes
Photo Source: Stock.xching

One thing we do know for sure, the ancient Egyptians were incredible builders of huge structures. One has only to look at some of their temples with their huge columns. Sand was utilized in many different ways to help them with their construction. The use of sand was ingenious. An example of this was in temple building. The temples were built in layers, covered in sand and ramps put up so that the next layer could be put on top. This technique was used to raise temples up to 60 feet high and maybe even higher. If we assume that the Egyptians did build the pyramids, there are many different theories on how they did this. Some theories even state that space aliens helped them. While I do not know how the pyramids were built, I have to think that sand was used in some way. I base this idea on all their other building techniques.

Instead of all those theories that stated that the Egyptians had to lift huge stone blocks, why couldn't they have built the first layer at ground level then dug underneath it and lowered it one level and so on? Maybe they then removed the sand from the Giza plateau thus exposing the pyramids? The Nile river was only about a mile away at the time and maybe they could have even used its power to flush away sand somehow? This is just a different idea, but it is based on how they constructed their temples and how they stood up their obelisks. When they were finished they could have removed the sand from the Giza Plateau down to the level of the base of the pyramid. I don't know if this idea is feasible, I haven't really gotten into how much sand would have had to have been removed and what effect this would have had on the Nile if it was dumped there, so it is truly an untested idea, but maybe someone will take the time to see if it was possible? By the way, the use of the Nile River to flush away sand would also account for the water stains on the Sphinx and Pyramids, solving a second mystery.

What else will be found in the desert? That is anybody's guess, but some people are hoping that some object or structure will be found that shows that the ancient Egyptians had some advanced technology. It is turning out that the ancient Greeks had more than we thought, why not the Egyptians who were around much longer? There are carving and paintings in some Egyptian temples that seem to indicate that Egyptians knew about electricity and aerodynamics, this could just be misinterpretation of the images however. I am excited about what might be found in the future in that ancient land. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we will find the answers to some of those nagging Egyptian mysteries.