Robert Bauval ~ Mysteries of the Giza Pyramids & Ancient Egypt

Engineer and rogue Egyptologist Robert Bauval discussed his extensive research on the mysteries of the Giza Pyramids, and ancient Egypt. We should look outside the box of conventional Egyptology when studying monuments such as the Great Pyramid-- rather than seeing it as a tomb, "what if this site is in fact some sort of invitation for the human race to start looking into a direction which scientists and Egyptologists in particular, have felt very uncomfortable to look at?" he pondered. The Valley Temples or mortuaries at the Giza complex also puzzle Bauval, in that they are composed of 50-100 ton blocks that are much larger than they need to be, and show signs of age and erosion that indicate they are older than the Pyramids, possibly dating to the time that the Sphinx points to-- 10,500 BC.

Another mystery he touched on are the giant granite sarcophagi kept in lowered pits in Saqqara, south of Cairo, some dating back 5,000 years. Granite rocks would have to have come a fair distance to arrive at this location, and some of them weigh 60-70 tons, he noted. The sides of the sarcophagi are carved so precisely and smoothly, it's hard to fathom how they could have been done by hand, he added. "My bet is we're going to find that our human civilization is much, much older; that it has a much higher pedigree; that we had a very advanced knowledge in very ancient times...like 15,000 or 20,000 years ago or more...and we're going to find we have a mysterious origin," he remarked.

Bauval spoke about the history and heritage of modern Egypt, as well, and what factors are contributing to its current strife. Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former Minister of Antiquities, has been back in the news, on a lecture tour in Canada, he reported. Bauval also commented on the recent mystery of the Egyptian statue that seems to move on its own, hypothesizing that if the fluorescent light is old in the case the statue is displayed in, it might create vibrations that could cause the movements.

Biography:

Robert Bauval was born in Egypt in 1948. In 1989 he published a study which proposed that the layout of the three Giza Pyramids and their relative position to the Nile was intended to mirror the layout of the three stars in Orion's belt and their relative position to the Milky Way. This thesis, now known as the 'Orion Correlation Theory', became the subject of his first book, The Orion Mystery. Bauval is presently working on a new book, Sirius Rising, which will track the influence of the Egyptian star-goddess Sopdet (Sirius) from prehistoric times to the early Christian era, with special focus on her role in the rebirth cult and temple rituals and alignments.

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh. The history of ancient Egypt occurred in a series of stable Kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.

Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, in the Ramesside period where it rivalled the Hittite Empire, Assyrian Empire and Mitanni Empire, after which it entered a period of slow decline. Egypt was invaded or conquered by a succession of foreign powers (such as the Canaanites/Hyksos, Libyans, Nubians, Assyria, Babylonia, Persian rule and Macedonian Greece) in the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt and Late Period. In the aftermath of Alexander the Great's death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter, established himself as the new ruler of Egypt. This Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province.

The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River Valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign enemies and assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a Pharaoh who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs.