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The Eloquent Peasant

An Egyptologists blog about everythingancient Egyptian

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Why the aliens did NOT build the pyramids

August 24th, 2007 by Margaret

It has alwayspained me a great deal that somany people all over the world are genuinelyfascinated by ancient Egypt and yet they are sowoefully misinformed bysensationalist media,so-called documentaries based inpseudoscience, and thefantasy world ofHollywood. No other ancient civilization is souniversallyrecognized and yet so thoroughlymisunderstood. Sadly, Egyptologists are oftenso frustrated by this that theywant nothing to do with the situation; its notjust a matter of educatingpeople, its completely reeducating themtrying toreverse the damagecaused by The Mummy and even the DiscoveryChannel.

When I tell people that Im studying Egyptology, people alwaysassume thatthis means pyramids and mummies, the only things they know aboutEgypt.In fact these areas are so popular that they are overrun by untrained theorists

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and most Egyptologists shun them rather than tackling all of themisinformation. Sometimes I can hardly blame themeven as a lowlystudent, I wasonce approached at a conference by a man who wanted toshow me the homeexperiments that hed carried out, pulling miniaturepyramid blocks in hisbackyard! The sad thing though is that many people

prefer madcap theories to thetruth, especially when genuine research ispresented in dry academic speakrather than the exciting Indiana Jones-styleof tv.

Once I was actuallyasked in all seriousness for my professional opinion onwhether alien build thepyramids. The man said: Theres so muchdiscussion of the alien theory thatthere must be something to it, right?.Well, my short answer would be, No.There isnt anything to it at all. Mylonger answer will follow, with athorough dissection of the central

arguments of the alien theory and why theyare wrong. I think the mainreason the theory is so popular is that people liketo believe in things, thingsthat are much bigger than themselves, whether its god or aliens. But oftenpeople also want proof and they seek to find it in thepyramids and otherancient monuments. Its no wonder that the pyramids areincredible enoughthat they inspire people to believe the unbelievable. I myselfdont thinktheres anything wrong with postulating that there might be otherlife outthere in the universe, but I also dont believe in robbing humanity ofpride in

its achievements.

I think its rather more inspiring to thinkthat human beings, our ownancestors, created such spectacular monumentalachievements. However,some people see the concept of civilization asprogressive, that humans onlycontinue to improve upon the past, so they thinkthat just because we areuncertain about how the pyramids were built and weourselves wouldstruggle to replicate their achievement, it is impossible thathumans of thepast could have done it.

They say that since the pyramids ofGiza were built about 4500 years ago,people back then couldnt have beenskilled enough to do it. However,were ignoring that numerous remarkabledevelopments were happening allthose millennia ago. There are many things thatwere discovered in thedistant past that still serve us today. The Egyptiansmade many brilliantinnovations (something I will have to write more about inanother post)


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simple things that we still use today, which have barely changedover themillennia since they first conceived, from the earliest forms of paperandink, to the 24 hour day.

People say that since we wouldnt be able tobuild pyramids today, that the

Egyptians couldnt have done it, but its notjust building of the pyramidsthat couldnt be replicated today. Its hard toimagine ever being able to pulltogether the resources, power, money, skilledcraftsmen, and architectsneeded to build one of the great gothic cathedrals inthis day and age. It justcouldnt happen. This isnt something to be ashamed ofthough, we simplyuse different technologies and have different priorities thesedays. While wecouldnt build another Notre Dame Cathedral or Great Pyramid,modernstructures like the Eiffel Tower or the Gherkin wouldnt have beenpossibleback then either. Pyramids werepossible simply because the entire

economy, resources, and population of theEgyptian civilization was underthe control of a single omnipotent ruler, whocould mobilize them all into amonumental building project.

To argue thatjust because we dont know every detail about how thepyramids were built wouldbe a logical fallacyan argument fromignoranceand does not prove that aliensmust have built them. We have somuch evidence that strongly indicates that theEgyptians themselves were

responsible for building the pyramids. We havearchaeological evidence oftheir constructionremains of the quarries, roads,tools, records of theworkers and the towns in which they lived. We know whythey built themand we can even observetheir lengthy and imperfect evolution before theyreached their architectural peak with the Great Pyramid.

To properly address the issues out there, I will cite from a number ofwebsites that support the theory that aliens builtthe pyramids and some ofthe comments that individuals have posted there, andexplain why they are

incorrect. I randomly chose a number of sites from the topGoogle searchhits for aliens and pyramids. I dont want to single anyone out oranything,so I wont use any names attached to the comments. The variouswebsitesfrom which they derive are listed at the end of this post.

I amno great pyramid expert myself, so I must acknowledge an enormousdebt to thework of Mark Lehner and Dieter Arnold, from whom most of my




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information derives,along with other Egyptological sources, all of whichare also listed at the end. Id recommend Lehners The Complete Pyramidsas the best general book on thesubject if you want to learn more. It is veryreadable with lots ofillustrations and diagrams.

Why were the pyramidsbuilt?

Referring to the alien theory, someone states: Its themost sensible theory.Why would ancient Egyptians build such monstrosities justto bury theirkings? Alien theorists say that its a mystery why the Egyptiansor otherancient people would build such immense monuments. Therefore, it musthave been aliens. But why on earth would the aliens want to build thesemonuments? And on earth? That makes even less sense. We definitely knowthepurpose behind the building of the pyramids.

They wereused as tombs for the ancient Egyptiankings, but theyrepresented much more than just a grave. They were iconicsymbols of thesupreme power of the ruler; what better way of showing yoursubjectswhos boss, than conscripting them to build you a monolith thatdominatesthe entire landscape? Above all, they were monuments to divineEgyptiankingship, the place where the king would be transformed into a god. Oneofthe most important Egyptian myths tells how an ancient king named Osiris

wasmurdered by his evil usurping brother, who in turn was eventuallydefeated bythe rightful heir to the throne, Osiris son Horus. In death,Egyptian kingswere thought to take on the role of Osiris, the ruler of theunderworld, whiletheir son assumed the role of Horus and the kingship.And although deceased, theformer king would join the eternal cycle of lifeto be reborn everyday with thesun god. The pyramid was thought tofacilitate this. This also legitimized therule of the successor to the throne,since the pyramid was a symbol of hisfathers new divinity.

There are a number of reasons why these tombs were built in a pyramidalform. First of all, they developed out of an older form ofmonumental royaltombs called mastabas, which were flat-roofed rectangularbuildings, that anenterprising architect named Imhotep then decided to adapt bystacking oneon top of the other into a step pyramid form. Also, the pyramid wasintended as a place of rebirth. An Egyptian creation myth tells of the birth of




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the world as a primeval mound rising out of the waters of chaos. Thepyramid isa stylized mound.

In a country where the sun is always shining, the sungod Re was thesupreme deity, and the king aspired to join him in being rebornevery dawn.

The pyramid form echoed the rays of the sun and its staircase likeformallowed it to serve as an instrument of ascension. Each of the pyramids wascapped with a pyramidal stone block, or pyramidion, and the carvings on theonefrom Amenemhat IIIs pyramid at Dashur confirm its celestial role forthe king;it is inscribed with a pair of eyes looking up at the sundisk andhieroglyphsthat read Amenemhat beholds the perfection of Re.

The ancient names for the pyramids themselves reveal a great deal abouttheir purpose as royalmonuments and symbolic locations for the kings

divine transformation andjourney to heaven. The Great Pyramid is calledKhufus horizon, and the othertwo Giza pyramids are called Great isKhafre and Menkaure is Divine. Other pyramid names include Djedefreis a Sehed-Star and Sahures Rising of theBa-Spirit. Just because theEgyptians wereinterested in the celestial aspect of the afterlife though,doesnt mean theyhad to be inspired by aliens. People throughout historyhave been fascinated bythe stars, and I dont think anyones calling Galileoan alien.

The pyramids themselves were clearly part of Egyptian religious tradition,formingthe focal point for the worship of the deceased king. Some of theritualsinvolved cleaning, dressing, and offering food and drink to statues ofthe king,who was undoubtedly human rather than green or tentacled. Weactually haverecords of the day-to-day activities centred around thepyramids. The Abusir papyri preserve detailed records of the daily activitiesat the pyramids and ofthe people who worked there, including schedules ofpriest and guard duties; inventories of pyramid temple equipment; financial

accounts; lists of goodssupplied and stored; and records of architecturalinspections.

The Egyptians had strong cultural, religious, and political reasons forbuilding thepyramids and there is no reason to question their purpose.

Some internet sites claim that the pyramids were never used as tombs,perhaps because they now lie empty.


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building skills since the Early Dynastic Period. We have evidence to supporttheEgyptians responsibility for all the construction stages of thepyramids.

A similar claim for the sudden appearance of the pyramids fromnowhere,out of the supposed dark ages that proceeded civilization, is made in a

Discovery channel programme about the alien theory (!) in which thevoiceoverstates: For two and a half million years our prehistoric ancestorshad beenliving in caves, passing the time by bashing stones together, whensuddenlyeverything changed and people began to build huge monuments allover the planet.But how? And why?They blatantly ignore the fact that we have clear evidencefor the evolutionof the form and building process of the pyramids. Theseperfections ofarchitectural engineering did not just appear from nowhere andtheEgyptians actually got it wrong in a number of early pyramids before they

were able to create the Giza masterpieces.

The first pyramid ever built,the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, started off as acompletely different style ofbuilding. Originally, a traditional mastaba wasbuilt for the Third Dynasty kingDjoser. The architect Imhotep then began tomake innovative changes by enlargingthe basic structure to be a square andthen building a smaller mastaba-likesquare on top. But he didnt stop there;inspired, Imhotep expanded the buildingonce again and added a fourth,

fifth, and sixth level to eventually form theStep Pyramid.

A remarkable structure with an extensive surrounding complexandsubterranean palace, it was still not a true pyramid with smooth sides.Aftera few other stepped pyramid projects were abandoned by short-lived kings,the first attempt at a true pyramid finally developed out of the steppedpyramidof King Sneferu at Meidum.

The Meidum pyramid was originally intended tobe a 7-step pyramid and

was then expanded to 8-steps and completed in the 14thyear of Sneferusreign. In his 28th or 29th year though, theworkerswere sent back again to fill out the restof it into a true pyramid. Stripped ofits outercasing, the remains of the pyramid stand inthree large steps. Beforehe did that though, theambitious builder Sneferu began building




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another pyramidat the site of Dashur that was the first pyramid intended tobe a true pyramidright from the start. Unaccustomed to building such astructure though,construction began at too steep an angle, a slope of 60.When severe structuralproblems were noticed, the architects tookemergency measures and altered it to55. Still having problems though,

they changed it again to a more gradualgradient of 44, resulting in a ratherodd looking pyramid, which hasappropriately been dubbed the BentPyramid.

Some alien advocates actuallytry to use this pyramid to support their theoryby claiming that the BentPyramid was just a shoddy imitation built byhumans to copy the aliens who buildthe Giza pyramids. However, thepyramid is very conclusively dated to years15-30 of Sneferus reign. Thisfirst attempt at a true pyramid was soproblematic though that Sneferu

abandoned it too, and started another pyramid atMeidum. Learning fromprevious mistakes, the North pyramid continued to build onthedevelopments of Sneferus previous efforts, resulting in the first trulysuccessful and magnificent true pyramid.

Pyramids did not suddenly appearout of nowhere, beamed in by alientechnology. Only after all of these lesssuccessful attempts, and all theexperience gained by architects and workers,could the stage be set for the

construction of the greatest of worldwonders.

How did the ancient Egyptiansbuild the Pyramids?

Pyramid building was a long and complex processthat took many differentstages and and an amazing amount of resources, but waswell within ancientEgyptian capabilities.

The Great Pyramid is composedof roughly 2,300,000 blocks and was likely

built in 23 years or less (the lengthof its builder King Khufus reignaccording to the Turin papyrus). Stadelmannhas calculated that to do this,the builders had to lay c. 340 blocks a day. Thegeneral figure suggested forthe annual workforce is in the range of 20-30,000. Although it needed agreat deal of stone, the bulk of it would have been moreeasily moved as itwould have gone into the base of the pyramid, and even thoughthe GreatPyramid was the best constructed, the core itself was also rathersloppierthan the exterior, including many irregular stones and debrisfill.




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I will break down my discussion of the building process into thevariousstages:

Planning

TheEgyptians were careful and precise architectural planners. Evenbuildings mucholder than the pyramids were laid out using an exactmeasuring system based on aunit called a cubit (about 52.5 cm, whichcould be further divided into smallerunits called palms). Representations offoundation ceremonies for temples showthis measuring process, called thestretching of the cord, being done usingropes tied to wooden pegspounded into the ground. Many round holes that may have been formeasuring pegs have been found cut into the bedrock around thefoundations of pyramids and their temples.

The angle of inclination (seqedin Egyptian) for the sloped faces of thepyramids was clearly calculated by the Egyptians using a simple and precisemethod. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus shows that seqed was defined astherelation between the horizontal setback of the wall and the vertical riseof 1cubit. Pyramid alignment is further discussed below. There is alsoevidence thatthey produced miniature architects models, much like is donetoday, as part ofthe planning. Rainer Stadlemann found a small limestonearchitects model forthe innovative substructure of Amenemhat IIIsHawara pyramid.

Quarrying

We know that local limestonewas used for the pyramid cores and themortuary and valley temples, while finerlimestone and granite were broughtalong river from Tura and Aswan to use forthe smooth outer casing.

The quarry used for Khufus pyramid is located on the plateau itself, 300msouth of the Great Pyramid, a huge horseshoe shapedchunk out of theplateau, dug up to 30m below the original surface. Khafres quarry gives agood example of how the blocks were actually quarried. In theopenlimestone quarry just north of his pyramid, there are still the stumps of33m blocks that were removed thousands of years ago with trenches inbetween them where the stonecutters would have worked.


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Stonetools were used for quarrying. Blocks were cut by pounding channelsinto thelimestone using hammer stones to separate them from bedrock andthen detachedusing large wooden levers. Traces of these channels remainand there are still anumber of unfinished quarry blocks that lie almostdetached from the bedrock notfar from the Sphinx, and in Menkauresquarry, where huge lever sockets are alsovisible.

In an interview with NOVA, Mark Lehner explains the stronglyhuman andflawed side to these monuments:A pyramid is basically, mostbasically,two separate constructions: its an outer shell of very fine polishedlimestone with great accuracy in its jointsand the other construction is theinner core, which filled in this shell.The core was made with a substantialslop factor, as my friend who is a mechanic likes to say about certainautomobiles. That is, they didnt join the stones very accurately. You havegreat spaces between the stones. And so theyd jam down pebbles andcobbles andsome broken stones, and slop big quantities of gypsum mortar

in there.

Wesaw in many places, even on the giant pyramids of Giza, the firstpyramid andthe second pyramid and the third one, fragments of tools, bitsof pottery thatare clearly characteristic of the Old Kingdom. So you seethe pyramids are veryhuman monuments. And the evidence of the peoplewho built them, their materialculture is embedded right into the very fabric

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of the pyramids. And I think Icould take just about any interested personand show them this kind of materialembedded in the pyramids as well astool marks in the stones and say, hey,folks, these werent lasers. These werechisels and hammers and you know, peoplewho were really out there.

Workers

There is actually a lot ofevidence left of the ordinary people who performedthe strenuous building work,who werent aliens, but most definitelyEgyptian. While the total number of theworkforce is speculative, we doknow about the division of the work force andthe size of these groups. Thework force was organized by crews, each of roughly2000 conscriptedpeasants, comprising two gangs of 1000. Each gang was dividedinto fivegroups of 200 men calledzaa, also known by the Greek name phyle.

Within each phyle were ten divisions oftwenty men. The gangs seems tohave been competitive and had names relating tothe reigning king, forexample Friends of Khufu or Drunkards of Menkaure, and they actuallygraffitied their names on the buildings!

The stones from some of the Middle Kingdom pyramids have roughhieroglyphs inscribed on them asnotes for either scribes or controllers.These notes consist of the date oftransport, the workmen in charge of theblock, and the stage of transport. Somestate brought from the quarry orremoval from the quarry, delivered at themereyt(harbour orembankment), broughtfrom the embankment and delivered to storageenclosures. Other notes recordsthat they were brought or dragged to thepyramid, or delivered to theramp. Herdsmen are also mentioned, whomay have been responsible for drivingoxen pulling the stone.

The stones also have team marks written on them torecord the name of theteam responsible for them. They may have been written andread by the

basically illiterate workmen themselves, since some involve truehieroglyphs and others invented signs. Felix Arnold believes that the signsrelated to the workers hometownswhich werent in outer space.

There arealso written documents that deal with the pyramid builders.Several of the Lahunpapyri from the town associated with the pyramidbuilders of Senwosret IIdocument the dragging of stone blocks by groupsof workers.




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Transport

The Nile River was the highway of Egypt and any finer stone that wasquarried from further away was transported to the pyramid site by boats.Most of the stone was quarried nearby though, andwooden sledges were

probably used to transport the blocks over land. A 4.2m long sledge wasfound by the pyramid of Senwosret III. At least some of these sledgeswouldhave been drawn by oxen. A number of tomb and temple wall paintingsdepictthe transportation of stones by water and by sledges drawn by men oroxen.

Roads and tracks were made to pave the way for these sledges. Worn wooden beams were reused like railway sleepers in tracks for draggingheavystones on sledges overland. Such tracks have been found at Lisht near

theTwelfth Dynasty pyramids of Amenemhat I and Senwosret I. Transportroads, whichalso survive at Lisht, measure up to 36 ft in width. They weremade with afoundation consisting of a fill of limestone chips and mortarwith wooden beamsinserted, over which a layer of limestone chips andwhite gypsum was used toprovide a smooth, solid surface. Water used as alubricant for the ground tomake it easier to pull the sledges.

Transporting immense quantities ofstone was not an impossible task thatwould have required space ships, but wellwithin the ancient Egyptianscapabilities.

Laying the blocks

When the stone blockswere finally being moved into place, to preserve theprecise alignment of the walls, corner blocks would be set first and thenother blocks would be broughtin on rollers but only levermoved into theirprecise final placement using levers. For example, one of the casing blocks

of Khufus pyramid shows a leverhole in the base of the block that was thenfilled in with plaster. But lackingin alien perfection, sometimes sincethere were different teams working to layblocks from each of the pyramidscorners, they could end up with a gap in themiddle, which would need to befilled with smaller blocks, as is the case with the pyramid of Meidum.

It is generally thought that ramps were used tomove the blocks to the higherlevels of the pyramids. Certainly some of theproto-pyramids, the step


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mastabas of the Third Dynasty show evidence of havinghad building rampson all sides. For true pyramids, using such ramps blockscould have beentowed to a height of 30-50 m, and at least 50% of blocks couldhave beenlifted that way. The Meidum pyramid shows traces that indicate a steepramp was applied to the outer casing. These ramps would not have been

difficultto build or dismantle since they would have been made from anamalgam oflimestone chip, tafla, and gypsum, rather than stone blocks.

All sorts oframps have been proposed, from single or multiple straight onesto ones thatwould wrap around the structure or zigzag up the face or eveninternal ramps.Just because we dont know for certain how the upperreaches of the pyramidswere built, doesnt automatically mean that theycouldnt have been built andare therefore alien constructions. There are anumber of different ways it couldhave been done, but sadly we arent just

able to ask the Egyptians which one isright. There probably isnt even onesimple answera number of different methodscould have been used.

Butpyramids would have been really hard tobuild!

A lot of website comments display a fundamentalmisunderstanding of thenature of pyramids. One states: There is no way thatprimitive man built thepyramids. Even with modern equipment (i.e. cranes) wecould not duplicate

that feat, those are megaton (1million ton) rocks. You couldsurround theentire rock with men and it wouldnt budge 1 . Theres no way withsimpleropes & pulleys that they moved those stones absolutely NOWAY.

While, yes, the pyramids would have been incredibly difficult tobuild andrequired incredible expertise, they are not miracle structures. Peopleseem tothink that youd practically need magic to build them! Theyre amazingfeats of engineering, but theyre certainly not inconceivable as humancreations. The blocks were certainly not a million tonnes each! On average,

theyweighed about 2.5 tonnes. And the suggestion of lifting the entireweight of theblocks with cranes would probably actually be more difficultthan the Egyptianapproach, which was to drag the stones over woodenrollers or slippery mud linedsurfaces. We even have the remains of thesmoothed roads that they built to movethem. Just think about itwhile Ican barely lift my suitcase when its stuffedto the brim and weighing almost30 kg, its relatively easy to move when its onwheels! By surrounding the




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blocks with teams of men, it wouldnt have been thatdifficult to move them,and the Egyptians often used cattle to help as well. TheNOVA pyramid-building experiment found that 20 men could easily pull a two-tonneblockalong lubricated tracks. Building the pyramids would have been difficult,but people can be pretty clever when it comes to making work easier.

What about the pyramids extraordinarily accuratealignment?

Precision, according to one website, is only possible ifyou come fromanother planet: The pyramids are so accurately aligned with thepoints ofthe compass that only aliens could have achieved this all thosethousands ofyears ago. It wasnt visitors from space, but rather theobservation of it thatallowed for the Egyptians great accuracy in orientingthe sides of thepyramids.Amazing precision could be achieved

just by watching the stars. There wasactually awhole institution within temples with priestsdevoted to star gazing.The theory suggested byI.E.S. Edwards is that using a horizontal circularwall,a person standing within could mark astars rising and setting points on thetop of thewall, with North identifiable as the bisection ofthese. A morerecent theory advocated by Kate

Spence suggests that the architects of the GreatPyramid sighted on two stars (b-Ursae Minoris and z-Ursae Majoris),rotatingaround the North Pole, which would have been in alignment whenKhufus pyramidwas constructed. Supporting this theory is the fact thatinaccuracies in theorientations of earlier and later pyramids can be closelycorrelated with thedegree to which the alignment of these two stars deviatesfrom truenorth.

Theperfect right angles of the pyramid were likely achieved using either a

setsquare, of which ancient specimens are preserved, or using aPythagorean triangle, which was known to the Egyptians before theGreeks. They also usedspecialized surveying tools called the merkhet(basically a plumb bob) and the bay, asighting tool made from the centralrib of a palm leaf. Examples of suchprecision tools have actually beenexcavated are square levels with plumb bobs,set squares, and verticalplumb rods, and there are depictions of them beingused by the Egyptians.




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After each of the four corners of the buildinghad beenplotted, the Egyptians would alignthe straight sides by stretching a ropebetween each of the corners in a ceremonycalled stretching the cord. Thismethod was

in use for decades before the first pyramidwas ever built, and wasfirst depicted in thereign of the Second Dynasty king,Khasekhemwy.

But then why dont we buildpyramids?

Again, misinformation makes people assumethat since wearent building pyramids

ourselves, the Egyptians couldnt possiblyhave. As oneperson states: How about thefact that a group of modern scientistsattemptedto build a pyramid out next to thereal one using modern technologies, andaftersomething like 100 days, succeeded inbuilding one about 1/40 of the size of thereal one????

Well, again a classic example of wilful ignorance. Im surethere have beena number of experiments like these, but the major one that Im aware of, theNOVA pyramid-building experiment took 40 days to build a pyramidmeasuring 20ft high. However, they attempted to use mainly ancienttechnologies,they only had a team of 44 workmen, a short time period, anda total lack ofexperience in pyramid building. And it was just anexperimentthey werent trying to build a real pyramid! Egypt had a state-controlled system capable ofacquiring and organizing the necessary people

and resources. The Egyptians wouldhave used thousands of workers andtaken many years to build a proper pyramid,and just because we arentbuilding them too doesnt prove that it was humanelyimpossible.

The pyramids of Giza form thebelt of Orion

A theory proposed by Robert Bauval and AdrianGilbert, notes that thepattern formed by the layout of the pyramids isvirtually identical to the




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three belt stars of the constellation Orion. If oneconsiders the details of theOrion correlation it seems likely that it is purecoincidence. Orions belt is afamous star formation partly because of thenatural simplicity of its layout.The arrangement of the Giza pyramids in thatpattern was probably simplybecause it offered the best sight lines. Basicallythe pyramids are laid out in

a diagonal line, rather than blocking each other.Khafre built his pyramidafter his father Khufu built the Great Pyramid and verycleverly situated hissmaller pyramid on the higher part of the plateau so as toactually make hisappear bigger than his fathers!

Bauval and Gilbertfurther pressed the Orion comparison by using computersoftware to pinpoint thedate in ancient history when the alignment of thepyramids would have exactlymirrored the constellation Orion in the sky.They claim this conjunctionoccurred precisely in 10,450 BC and therefore

this is the true date of thebuilding of the pyramids by aliens, before the riseof Egyptian civilization.However, there is absolutely no evidence that thepyramids existed before theEgyptians did. There is overwhelming evidencethat they are the cultural,religious, and political products of the earlyEgyptian state. The Giza pyramidswere built during the 4th dynasty, whichprobably dates to around 2575-2450 BC.

Radiocarbon dating, which is unfortunately not always that accurate,was

done on the Great Pyramid several times in the 1980s and 90s, (initiallyfunded by the Edgar Cayce Foundation, another group that wanted thepyramids todate to 10,500 BC, believing them to be remnants of Atlanteansociety!). Theradiocarbon dates for the Great Pyramid ranged from 2660 to3809 BC, slightlyolder than the historical dates previously assumed. Also,the great cedar boatfound buried beside the Great Pyramid was radiocarbondated to about 2,600 BC.So the pyramids certainly do not date from 10,500BC!

So yes, the Egyptians, not aliens, built thepyramids!

Pyramid building became a great cultural tradition of theEgyptian andabout 30 key pyramids were built, not including all theaccompanyingsatellite or queens pyramids, over a span of more than 800yearsremarkable monuments, for which the Egyptians deserve thecredit.




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The theory that aliens built the pyramids is built on fancifulnotions,misinformation, and a wilful ignorance that completely disregards anyscholarly research that contradicts the theory. Alien theorists have barelyanything to support their idea other than the tactic of attacking theuncertainty of Egyptologists over the details of the building process. They

preyon the people who find inspiration in the concepts of the pyramids andalienlife and use them to fuel publicity for their sensationalist books andtelevision programmes. Both Is there Life elsewhere in the universe? andHowwere the pyramids built? are questions worthy of being asked, butthey belongto separate spheres of research and different periods of history,and should bekept that way. Zahi Hawass, the head of the Supreme Councilof Antiquities inEgypt and the Director of the Giza Pyramids Excavation,says of the people whobelieve in alien theories, People like to dream. Ifyou meet someone who is notan archaeologist, they love to dreambut youhave to know a little bit aboutreality. While reality might not involveconspiracy theories or UFOs, it canstill be thrilling to learn about the realpeople behind theircreation.

We shouldnt rob ourselves of feeling pride in the pyramids as ahumanachievement. In building these monumentally inspiring constructions, ourancestors built the foundations of civilization. We shouldnt betray theiringenuity with our ignorance, but celebrate it by continuing to build upon

theintellectual developments and inventions that made the pyramidspossible.

References:Arnold, Dieter. 1991. Building in Egypt.Pharaonic Stone Masonry. Oxford,Oxford University Press.Aston, B., etc. 2000. Stone in Ancient EgyptianMaterials and Technology, eds. Shaw and Nicholson.Cambridge,Cambridge University Press.Edwards, I.E.S. 1985. The Pyramids ofEgypt.New York & London: Viking Penguin.

Lehner, M. 1985. TheDevelopment of the Giza Necropolis: The KhufuProject. MDAIK 41,109-143.Lehner, M. 1997. The Complete Pyramids. London, Thames and Hudson,Ltd.Quirke, Stephen. 1990. The Administration of Egypt in the Late MiddleKingdom. New Malden: Sia Publishing.




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Websitesconsulted:http://www.outerworlds.com/likeness/aliens/aliens.htmlhttp://netscientia.com/egypt.htmlhttp://www.thekeyboard.org.uk/Who%20built%20the%20pyramids.htmhttp://www.csicop.org/si/9909/fox.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrYiiqGBWe0

59Comments

59 Responses to Why the aliens did NOT build thepyramids

on 24Aug 2007 at 5:58 pm1Pier1.

..people like to believe in things, thingsthat are much bigger thanthemselves, whether its god or aliens.

Its true, I think sadly true..

on 25 Aug 2007 at 5:17 am2MaryanneGabbani2.

This is a terrific post. I have a million books onpyramids, but its great

to find something like this. I take people out onriding tours aroundpyramids and chat with them about how they were built andwhat theworld around them looked like at the time.things that are somehoweasier to get your head around on a horse than stepping out of anairconditioned bus.

on 26 Aug 2007 at 3:23 am3Joe3.

yhea.

Makessense. Like there is no god.Life is made up of molecules, and it is anaccident.Scientist like you would have made the sky dull grey.Yourview is typical: you just dont mention stuff that dont fit in theofficialtheory.


http://www.eloquentpeasant.com/2007/08/24/why-the-aliens-didhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrYiiqGBWe0http://www.csicop.org/si/9909/fox.htmlhttp://www.thekeyboard.org.uk/Who%20built%20the%20pyramids.htmhttp://netscientia.com/egypt.htmlhttp://www.outerworlds.com/likeness/aliens/aliens.html


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Easy one: built-in hidden shafts in the pyramid. Just to spicethings upfor the builders?

on 26 Aug 2007 at 3:30 pm4ReneO"Deay4.

I like this. Great essay. Good points.

on 26 Aug 2007 at 6:52pm5NateTurner5.

Outstanding summary. When people learn I am interestedin the earlyhistory of Egypt (I am a biologist by training and now work ininformation technology) they usually assume that I subscribe to thealienintervention myth. Actually what interests me is how, over a fewhundredyears, Egypt re-invented itself and I doubt any aliens were

involved.

There certainly are mysteries, and Im sure errors in currentexplanations. The way to move toward knowledge, however, is not tobring inhypothetical aliens, but to study the humans who accomplishedso much so longago.

-oz

on 26 Aug2007 at 7:34 pm6Our Strange World- Your Portal to theUnknown WhyAliens Did Not Build The Pyramids

6.

[...] No other ancientcivilization is so universally recognized and yet sothoroughly misunderstood.Sadly, Egyptologists are often so frustratedby this that they want nothing todo with the situation; its not just amatter of educating people, its completely reeducating themtrying toreverse the damage caused by The Mummy and even the DiscoveryChannel. [link] [...]

on 27 Aug 2007 at 3:00 pm7UFOMystic Alien Pyramids?Nah7.

[...] Heres a lengthy piece on why aliens werent involved in theconstruction of Egypts pyramids. Thiswell-arguedarticle wont pleasethose that adhere to the so-called Ancient Astronaut scenario;




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however, the author does make a strong case fora down-to-earthexplanation. [...]

on 28 Aug 2007 at 9:33 pm8Izzy8.

This is afantastic article-very well written, concise, very nicelysummarised andinformative. I assume you refer to the pyramidbuilders as just workers andnot slaves-I dont believe the mids werebuilt by slaves either. I think theywere almost like voluntary workers-they wanted to build them and felt proud todo so-even if it was a backbreaking and dangerous job!Another thing toremember is that the Egyptians had a lot more time ontheir hands than moderncivilisation. Life moved at a slower pace backthen and they had the patienceto put their effort and energy into

building pyramids and other monuments. Ittook time, but they hadtime. I think I remember reading that the bulk of thebuilding took placeduring the flood season, which meant farmers were offwork, so to keepthemselves occupied, they built pyramids.

I cant waitto see your article about Egyptian innovations that are stillaround today. Wehear so much about the innovations from Greece andRome, and maybe Mesepotamiaand China which are still around todaybut not much about the legacy ofancient Egypt, other than its obviousimpact and inspiration on the arts andarchitecture. I always thought the24 hour day was a Sumerian inventionthough, and I also rememberreading that the idea that the Pythagoreantriangle was first found byancient Egyptians using a knotted rope triangle isactually a myth,perpetrated by the ancient Greeks, and that theres noevidence for itotherwiseI saw that on a blog about maths for kids, but Ilost thelink

Anyway, I must say that I love your blog! Its one of thebest Egyptblogs out there.

on 28 Aug 2007 at 10:45 pm9SkippyJones9.

Much ofMargarets writing here is well reasoned though I wasdisappointed in hercontempuous strawman arguments. I can assure youthat Bauval, Hancock and Westare NOT arguing that the pyramids




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were BUILT in 10,500 BC rather they arguethat certain symbologyon the Giza plateau points to that time period as aspecial time.Margaret has mischaracterized the Orions belt hypothesis aswell asthe alignment of the three pyramids for the fascinating thing isthatthe third pyramid is offset from the others, just as Orions belt is, and

just as Orions belt runs alongside the Milky Way so too do thepyramids runalongside the Nile forming, as it were, a Mirror of theHeavens. The ancientEgyptians were deeply religious, astronomicaland mytho-poetic in theirwriting and thinking and practices. It is notunreasonable to investigate thelinks between their mythology and theconstellations and their structures.Bauval etc. may ultimately beincorrect in their theories, but they do notdeserve the contemptuousmischaracterization that Margaret saddles them withhere. There arestill deep mysteries in Egypt, and their understanding callsfor thosewho can engage the complexities of metaphor, symbology and religionto understand how they map onto the dry analysis that so manyegyptologistsconfine themselves to. Bauval should be applauded.


Let mealso add: Bauval is definitely NOT arguing that ALIENS builtthe pyramids. Cmon. Be reasonable. The only really controversial

thing that John AnthonyWest and geologist Schoch argue for is that theSphinx was built much earlierthan the pyramids that the egyptians*restored* instead of built the Sphinx.There is evidence both scientific(clear water erosion patterns) andcircumstantial (why is the sphinxshead SO much smaller than his body asthough it is a differentstructure actually the weathering patterns dont match, nothing).Show me true evidence that defeats Schochs water erosionargument.they arent arguing that aliens built the Sphinxonly thatthey justdont know.the erosion patterns are a true scientific mystery

(and NOT causedby flooding of the Nile, which would put the patternsupwards)and thesymbology arguments..the Sphinx (lion) pointingtowards Leo constellation in10,500 BC etc are circumstantial, but quitefascinating when you take the timeto immerse yourself in egyptian andancient belief.

on 29 Aug 2007 at 4:22 pm11Margaret11.




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Izzy, Nate, Rene,Maryanne: Thank you so much for the kind words!Im glad that you found itinteresting and I appreciate your comments!

SkippyJones: I apologize formisrepresenting Bauval, Hancock andWests arguments- I only looked at a fewwebsites and apparently they

were very misleading in their information. Assoon as I get a chance, Iwill do some further research and correct the post.Perhaps I was overlydismissive about Orions belt, but I simply wanted tostate was thateven if there was link between the the constellation and thepyramids,there is no reason to suppose the connection is extraterrestrialbased.You put it very well yourself that for the Egyptians, religion andastronomy were deeply interconnected. Believe me, I do appreciate theincredibly rich complexities of Egyptian symbolism, religion, andbeliefsystems, but they were also very practical people too and its

good to keepboth these sides in mind.

Joe: Wow, of course its obvious that shafts*must* mean that aliensbuilt the pyramids! We should ignore all of theoverwhelming evidencethat indicates that the Egyptians made them, justbecause we arentcertain what the shafts are! Seriously though, I didnt seethe shaftsmentioned in the alien theory websites I looked at, so I didnt includethem in the post. When I have time, Ill add in a section addressingthe

issue.

on 29 Aug 2007 at6:25 pm12Izzy12.

I too agreewith there possibly being some astronomical alignments inpyramids and othermonuments. Even if the Giza pyramids are notaligned with Orion or that its coincidence that the two patterns aresimilar, it doesnt mean that theEgyptians were not interested in whatwas up there, because the stars werevery important in Egyptian belief,

and thats got nothing to do with littlegreen men! There are manyreferences to a stellar afterlife in early pyramidtexts and Orion was theconstellation of Osiris. Sirius was used to mark theyear-and was thestar of Isis and the flood, and the circumpolars were wherethe deadpharaohs were said to reside because they never set-they neverdied.Which brings me to the shafts-I think they were symbolic shaftsalignedto certain constellations (I think the northern shafts aligned with




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circumpolar stars, the southern ones with Orion and Sirius) so that theka wasable to ascend to the heavens. But it was purely symbolic.

Personally Ialso think Bauval has some very valid points to make andsome interestingtheories concerning Egyptian astronomical beliefs,

even if they are not verywell accepted by general academia. Its just ashame that some of the moreextreme alien theorists hijack these validastronomical theories, saying thatits evidence ofalien interventionwhen in fact, its merely just ancientmankinds wonder at the sheerenormity and beauty of the night sky. Mankindhas always beenfascinated and humbled by the universe and continues tobe

As for the sphinxs erosionI dont believe it was caused byrainfallduring the old kingdom (because Egypt was definitely in an arid

climate by then) or that it was built 10000 years ago. I have my ownideawhich Ill comment on another time


Margaret: What a thoughtful reply.And yes, you are absolutely rightthat we must keep the Egpytians practicality, and the irrefutablestrength of scientific method, in mind. Thetheories of the alternativeegyptologists and archeaoastronomists arepresented by the authorsthemselves in such a simple, elegant and excitingway, which makesthem quite seductive theories. Alas, though, on closerinspection manyof their claims are lacking in rigour and the orioncorrelation issomewhat tenuous, as well as the theorys extrapolation toother ancientsites such as Angkor Watt (which it is claimed mirrors theconstelationof Draco). There *is* a resemblance, but it is not precise, and thebuilders could certainly have made it precise. Fragments of correlativepatterns can be found in almost any data set. The monuments of New

York Citymirror the heavens also, so long as one is selective as towhich monuments andwhich constellations and at which times.Nonetheless, I think Bauvals correlation theory is an exciting idea, andso long as it inspires carefulinvestigation, a potentially promising one what I hope is that the upcominggeneration of gifted and dedicatedegpytologists like yourself can findthemselves as inspired by theunorthodox as they are fierce in guarding theconventional. I would be




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truly interested in your classical and critical takeon the recently termedsymbolist school of egyptology. I have enjoyedreading through yourblog. Best Regards, SkippyJones

on 30 Aug 2007 at 2:03 am14angel14.

with all thebabble i see in the comments and answers its no wonderpeople turn to thesimple theories of Aliens, its much more easy toexcept in laymens terms.When commentaries by people who thinkthey are lumenaries in the subject. Theother day i was helping my threeyear old grandson with some leggo blocks andhelped him build apyramid so i guess that means i am an alien.

on 30 Aug 2007 at 2:25am15angel15.

to muchbabble of the same info i was fed in college , to manyunanswerd questions ,tomany mysteries which leaves fertile ground fortheorist to speculate andformulate fantastic stories and ideas. All thatyou have shown and explainedcan be found in texts which by the wayare also theories because there are noproven facts to any of them.Many can write about mathamatic figures ,staralignments,haevy stoneplacements, slaves carrying blocks for i dont know howmany milesfor 23 years????? I mean we have got to get back down to Earth.Eventually some one will come along and give us the real story .Untillthen i guess we will have to listen to all the crackpots.

on 30 Aug 2007 at 10:32 am16Margaret16.

Angel: Why are aliens asimpler explanation? Humans are much easierto understand. What evidence atall do we have of who these alienswere, how they travelled here, what toolsthey used to build, why they

built them? There is nothing. For everymysterious aspect of theirbuilding left unexplained by the human theory, there are twice asmany left unexplained by the alien theory. As you saidyourself, wehave to get back down to Earth! There is lots of evidence here on Earththat humans were responsible- how can you ignore that all? Why doyoufind it so hard to believe? The world is filled with incredible worksof artand architecture made by real people, why should the pyramids




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be anydifferent? People can achieve utterly amazing things when theyreally try.

on 30 Aug2007 at 2:45 pm17angel17.

You are right on all accounts indeedyou

are Shesa-t Shesau and Steppu

AngelThes-usfu

on 31 Aug 2007 at 8:58 am18Dear Kitty. Some blog :: Why Egyptians,not aliens,built the pyramids :: August :: 2007

18.

[...] See this pagefor the complete post. [...]

on 02 Sep 2007 at 7:57 pm19John19.

I am fullyready to believe aliens built the pyramids just as soon assomeonedefinitively proves aliens exist and that they have visited theEarth. Untilthen, Ill continue to hold that mere humans managed thetask.

on 22 Nov 2007 at 2:25 pm20PCH20.

the realquestion would be who built the gizah pyramids, not the others.

yeah,great argument however, summerian texts and tablets mentionthe 3 pyramidslong before khufu or sneferu or imhotep.carbon dating is irelevant. cannotdate the pyramid itself, only someobjects related to it.

the discendinginner shaft of the great pyramid, that has been closed forthousands of years,was left unduplicated into the smaller pyramidsmade by egyptians. why?becouse they didnt know it was there.

wet-mud brute-force pulling of2,5 tones of stone-blocks may work intheory on plain ground. you tell me howthey lifted those blocks to the




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height of the pyramid. and while youre at it,explain the water corusionon the sphynx. or the flying vehicles at abydos. orthe light-bulb.

good luck with that!

on 22 Nov 2007 at 2:37 pm21PCH21.

oh, i almostforgot how about the diorith sarcophagus? or theperfectly polished diorithstatues? how did they do them?

on 23 Nov 2007 at 5:25 pm22G22.

personally ithink a hell of a lot of this could be resolved by lookinginto egypts cultureproperly, as many of the comments mention (both

by margaret and others).no-one can really state for certain who builtthem because .. we arent therenow. so everything beyond that isjust theory, though obviously some theoryshave more actual factsbehind them than certain extraterrestrial theories.there are many siteson earth which have been assumed as such, like Tiahuanacoand theNazca lines. people like to assume were better than all our ancestorsjust because we have electrcity, cars and can get round the world a fairbitquicker than we used to.oh well.

btw, PCH, when u can read thosesumerian texts for urself with 100%accuracy, u can comment onthem.

Peace out

G

on 24 Nov 2007 at 2:16 pm23PCH23.

@Gthesumerian texts i was talking about are actually drawings. dont needspecialeducation to see 3 pyramids as just exactlly what they are 3pyramids.imnot saying that et bult them, but the scientific comunity must acceptthatthere is a problem with this. alien theory, as far-fetched as it is,may bemore plausible than endorsing that a mangnificent civilization




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two other supposedly alien-built ones at Giza but I dont think itmeans anything really.

I dont know exactly how they lifted theblocks but ramps or pulleyswould have worked. Doesnt mean that they couldnt have done it just

because I cant prove it by going back in a timemachine.

As for the Sphinx (spelled with an i not a y) and thesupposed watererosion (not corusion as you put it, or even corrosion), Im not ageologist so I cant properly comment, but the Sphinx was carved insitufrom the existing natural bedrock itself so I dont see why some oftheweathering couldnt have happened to the rock before the Sphinxwas made fromit.

Im not sure what exactly you mean by the flying vehicles atAbydosor the lightbulb but if youre talking about the supposedhieroglyphicrepresentations of a helicopter and submarine in Seti Is templeatAbydos, then I can tell you that Ive seen them myself and its obviouswhat they are to Egyptologists or anyone actually familiar withhieroglyphs.Theres already a good explanation of it at this site:http://www.ufocom.org/pages/v_us/m_archeo/Abydos/abydos.html

Finally,you mention diorith sarcophagi and statues (by the way, Ithink you meandiorite unless you were using the German word). Firstof all, its entirelypossible to cut very hard stone using percussion toolsof the exact samestone, so its not really rocket science, and whiletheyre difficult to cut,they polish up better than any other stone. Formore information, theres anexcellent chapter on stoneworking in thebook Ancient Egyptian Materials andTechnologies and some basicinfo at this UCL website:http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/stone/stoneworking.html

I hope that helps answer some of your questions. It sounds like youreprettyfirmly entrenched in your beliefs, but all I can ask is that if youwant otherpeople to keep an open mind about who built the pyramids,you shouldnt justdismiss the Egyptians either!

on 25 Nov 2007 at 1:55 pm25PCH25.


http://www.eloquentpeasant.com/2007/08/24/why-the-aliens-didhttp://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/stone/stoneworking.htmlhttp://www.ufocom.org/pages/v_us/m_archeo/Abydos/abydos.html


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Margaretthanks alot for the answer. sincei am not a native english speakerplease forgive the errors ofspelling.actually, im not at all firmly entranched as u put it inbelievingthat ET built them, however anyone could ask the same from one who

believes that egyptian and no others built them: not to be firmlyentranched in believing above all doubt that a society in the middle ofthebronze age managed to build such complex structures that easilydwarfsanything else of that era in terms of technology, management,human andmaterial resources. im not dismissing egyptyans on thesubject i am justsaying that they had some pretty big help fromsomeone.

i will look upthat sumerian tablet and i will come back with an answer.

however, the shapeof a ziggurat is quite different from a giza piramyd.

i am familiar withthe explanation about abydos hieroglyphicrepresentations and just doesnt make much sense to me. try drawingsomething on a piece of paper then putsomebody else to draw anythingover your drawings: how many times do yousuppose that the resultwill be perfectly shaped representations of somethings? not only one,but 3 or even 4? that should be an amazingcoincidence.

im not sure that ramps or pulleys would have worked. theywould bethemselves a challenge comparable to the pyramyds.

zeroevidence for aliens well, some choose to speak about aliens, ichoose tospeak about advanced techology intervention. the evidence ofthis is not atall zero. beginning with the darwinian missing link toextaordinary knowledgeof astronomy and more accurate calendars thanwe use today even u must admitthat things just dont add up in

ancient history. its just beyond common sense at least in my mind that people that didnt know the wheel just happen toguess all theplanets of the solar system with their corect sizes, or builtmegaliticstructures with remacable astronomic features that we cannotduplicatetoday with our state-of-the-art computers and metal cranes. im nottalking about the piramyds only, but about all the megalitic structuresaroundthe world.




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PS: im not an Egyptologist, im an architect. all i knowabout thesubject is from what i learned in college and what i studied formyselfsince im quite interested in ancient history. i may not knowhieroglyphs or cuneiforms, but i know buildings. there is no way thebronze-age man could build the great piramyd in 20 years with bronze,

wood,string and sand. not 1 million people in 100 years. the effortwould be huge not only buildind the thing, but designing it andmanaging all the resources,the workers and everything else connectedto such an incredible enterprise. 20years for the great piramyd is likebuilding the new wembley stadium in 1month. it just cannot be done.

on 28 Nov 2007 at 6:52 pm26steven ramos26.

urtheory of egyptian pyramids is obviously false there is no way any

humanwhether its 10 or 10 million can possibly build a pyramid out of2,500,000rocks that weigh tons with out any technology just pullinthem with ropes is aridiculous theory i am not an alien believer myselfbut i can say there wasanother force that helped build the egyptianpyramids no matter how u feel onthis situation u know there had to beanother cause in the production ofpyramids in egypt and in youranswers to the questions above has plenty ofpuns in them u used storysto avoid answering the question and if u think ucan turn me to a

believer of normal humans building these pyramids feel freeto messageme at the email address above and the discovery channel does notcorrupt the mind with pseudoscience it is their theory on the productionofpyramids and is far more believable than yours

on 29 Nov 2007 at 7:42 am27Gerard Lally27.

I seem to remember that the argument to aliens was originally putforward,mainly by Von Dniken (1968), on the basis of Manetho,

Fragment 2.4(Syncellus) which refers to an argument by Panodorosconcerning

d e , ate t e ep t a s s tt , s a as t af t e t p




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However, Panodoros, although Egyptianhimself, was here explicitlyattempting a synthesis with certain extremelydoubtful Jewish sources,such as Genesis 6,4.

Its fun to delve intoancient texts, but I wouldnt want to confuse fact

and fantasy. The Egyptianswere a very proud people. They were notinto being pushed around by aliens ofany kind; Nubians, Libyans oreven Wise Men from the East.

Theycredited their gods, such as Osiris, with substantial assistance, ofcourse,and if a person as apparently intelligent as particle physicistJohnPolkinghorne can promote traditionalist Christian theology in the21stcentury, then we are all clearly capable of believing anything.When LewisCarrolls Alice Through the Looking Glass (Ch. 5) laughs

and says one cant believe impossible things, the White Queen wiselyreplies I dare say youhavent had much practice. When I was your ageI always did it for half anhour a day. Why, sometimes Ive believed asmany as six impossible thingsbefore breakfast!

The harm of such philosophical Idealism, however, isthat it leads tomisjudgement in practice. If, for example, you choose tobelieve, as didthe ancient Egyptians, that the brain is a bag of pus whichswells upinside the head after death, then you may still be able to mummifycorpses, but you wont be much good at assisting the very impressiveand humanscience of Neurology.

Egyptology, like Neurology, has now evolved intosomething like anexact science, which may perhaps explain why professionalEgyptologists like Margaret are so poorly tolerant of theories such asthoseof Von Dniken.

on 30 Nov2007 at 11:35 pm28Margaret28.

Thank you very much foryour comments Gerard. The eloquence ofyour response speaks for itself and Im sure the Egyptians who valuedperfect speech so highly wouldagree.

on 02 Jan2008 at 10:39 pm29abdel-rahman29.




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This is a very accurate and probableway that you have used to describethese so called misunderstandings. I truly also do beleive that thepyramids can not be built even with the moderntechnology we havetoday, the pyramids would require so much work that afterthe basefeature is done, everyone would be tired. Also a comment to pch itis

possible that they could have been built using the aged ways oftransportations and by having loads of people watching and helping oneanother. There was many people that helped build this historic andlegendarysite and many askHow did they have shelter and food?.This i beleive isjust a question that you can answer using commonsense, The egyptians were oneof the first to allow slavery but theybeleived that these slaves should betreated well and should have thechoice to let their children to be free ifthey wanted. I am very happyfor this accurate peice of work and thankyou.

-Abdelrahman,24(Egyptologist)

on 05 Jan 2008 at 1:18 am30Javance30.

What aboutpyramids being on mars? Theres conspiracy on that? Wecant possibly know thetruth about everything. Theres no such thingas knowing absolute truthespecially if you dont have the power toreach that type of knowledge. Whoknows the same people that believepyramids werent made by humans believethat probably humans wereonce dumb ape ancestors. Thats maybe why one mightspeculate alienshelp or ad with the knowledge. I know humans like to believetheressomething greater than them, but when it comes down to it to thinkthatwe are the only intelligent living beings in the universe is just crazy.Believing that humans never had any contact with aliens to helpdiscover thecrazy things our ancestors did or the crazy things weredoing right now isjust irrational, but theres no such thing as an all

around rational person.Well I might be wrong sometimes you have tothink maybe we spend too much timelooking at the stars, but insteadwe should be looking at ourselves or othersthat have concealthemselves on Earth. Anyways Im just going by my views mysubjective/objective reality and maybethe aliens are or have beenliving withus during mankinds every stepThink about it. =l=D




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on 05 Jan 2008 at 1:48am31Javance31.

Maybe ifwe were all really intelligent humans well find out why weserve crazyleaders. Maybe theyre more intelligent than us and we areonly left tobelieve were smart. The saying goes The best slave is the

slave who thinks heis free, and the greatest fool is the fool who thinkshe is a wise man. Whoknows in order to stay in power you have tokeep knowledge away from others asthe saying goesknowledge ispower. Maybe aliens are too smart to leaveevidence that they existmaybe they dont want us to know they exist. With thesame voice youcan say I believe humans rule the world. You can say I believehumans rule the world, but yet I have no proof for that explanation.Everyone knows the media tells us all true lies. You can say thathumansmight just be too stubborn to believe that something that they

cant evenfathom about can exist and rule over them without themeven knowing or evenguide them. I might just be crazy thinking toomuch for my own good. I knowthat our leaders dont want us to becritical thinks or else all there evilschemes towards us will be reveal.Should certain aphorisms of philosophy be awake up call to think outof the ordinary. One aphorism Ive always known was The truth isstranger than fiction. Maybe it is and were just not ready forit, nothaving the guts to embrace it, or were just too weak to realizeitThink

about itGo figure. =P=D=l.

on 24 Mar 2008 at 12:13 pm32Rita Ramsey32.

I enjoyed reading all this information but what I still cannot get to gripswithis, what happened to these creative intellegent Eqyptians as theydo notappear to be here buiding such wonderful sites/buildings anylonger

on 24 Mar2008 at 12:26 pm33Margaret33.

I think every civilizationrises and falls in strength and creativity- theRomans arent building greatcities anymore, and the British Empire nolonger controls most of the world.Its rather extraordinary that theancient Egyptians were as powerful as theywere for so manymillennia!




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on 31 Mar 2008 at 9:15 pm34Osamu34.

Margaret,the eloquence of your response speaks for itself :Im not ageologist so Icant properly comment (!!!), but the Sphinx was carvedin situ from theexisting natural bedrock itself so I dont see why

some of the weatheringcouldnt haveI dont know exactly how they lifted the blocks (!!!) butramps orpulleys would have worked. Doesnt mean that they couldnt havedoneAlso doesnt mean that all couldnt done far more developedcivilisation (not necessarily aliens but maybe not Egyptians). Exactscience??? Exact science are for example mathematics, physics,chemistrythereit is not even possible to talking in terms like I dontknowor why notthis They had exactly the same brains as we do

(haha, who prove that?), sowhy couldnt they do it? (reallyscientific)BUT IAM RIGHT (because IamEgyptologist)! And you are wrong!Medicine (neurology etc.) is appliedscience, but this theory IS onlyanother probability theory, like others,nothing more (but also nothingless). Naturally, todays Egypt people want tothink (and haveeconomic and nation demands) that it was Egyptians. Also,Egyptologists like Margaret have to earn their (budget?) money.

Perfectcomments from Steven and Javance. Sorry for my basicEnglish, but I think thatbasic message is understand. Do not ignoreother approaches and declare itpseudoscientifical (technology,archicture, physics). Our brains (same asancient Egyptians?) alsoworth.

on 01 Apr 2008 at 12:14 pm35Margaret35.

Osamu, I fully accept yourcriticism that I cant give absolute

conclusive proof, though I would pointout that we still have a fair bitof evidence in favour of the Egyptians. Id wager that you dont haveconclusive proof that someone else built them andtheres certainlymore proof of Egyptian involvement than of anyone else. Im happy tokeep an open mind concerning any evidence of this far moredevelopedcivilization of which you speak. It would be very strangethough if the onlyevidence they left were the pyramids themselves.




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I wouldnt claim thatarchaeology is an exact science- we have limitedevidence that survives fromalmost 5000 years ago, so its unsurprisingthat we have no absolutes.

As for ancient Egyptian brains, they were most certainly modern.

Anatomically modern Homo sapiens developed as early as over160,000 years ago,and sophisticated thought had developed by 100,000years ago (see for e.g.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article678145.ece).TheEgyptians produced a lot of other wonderful things at the same time asthepyramids were built (for example, this statue of the kingsupposedly responsible for the building of the second pyramid atGiza: http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=46868&rendTypeId=4). Iftheywere so skillful in stoneworking to create such a masterpiece, why is it

so unbelievable that they could build a pyramid?

Im not a paidEgyptologist yet, so Im not earning any money for mybelief that theEgyptians built the pyramids. In fact, Im sure that Icould earn much muchmore money by writing that aliens did build thepyramids, since its a verypopular theory and such books sellincredibly well. But while people criticizeEgyptologists for not beingrigorous enough with their theories and their lackof absolute proof, I

would remind other theorists that perhaps they couldapply the samecriticism to themselves. Thanks for your comments.

on 01 Apr 2008 at 7:45 pm36GerardLally36.

Exact Sciences like Physics and Chemistry are based, atthe deepestlevel, on probability, not any kind of ideal absolute. This isbecausetiny fundamental particles cant make much of a dent in space-time,so they float round on the surface of it, without classical attributes

like exact position. You can only say what they are probably doing atanyone point.

The exactitude of Mathematics is open to misuse forinstance,Hookes Law (relating the extension of an elastic body to theforceapplied to it) cannot be pictured as a simple straight line on a graph.Lee Smolin (2006), in The Trouble With Physics (page 30), rightly


http://www.eloquentpeasant.com/2007/08/24/why-the-aliens-didhttp://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=46868&rendTypeId=4http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article678145.ece


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says thatmathematical beauty can be misleading. Simpleobservations made from thedata are often more important.

Given, then, that we are operating in aworld of necessary inexactnessand probability, the next requirement is tocalculate accordingly. Now a

very low probability, say, of one in a trillion,is actually closer to zerothan what most people mean when they say zero. For example, I mayvalidly predicate of my beer glass that it is completelyempty, but thatis only approximately true. There will almost certainly be afew dropsof beer left in it, corresponding to a probability of finding beerofperhaps one in a hundred (i.e. about 10 millilitres per litre). Therefore,although my glass is empty, I might just find some more beer in there!

I may however, with much greater assurance, state that I will not find

thataliens built the pyramids, though I do accept that some oppressedpeople wishit to be true. They want to believe that somewhere in theuniverse, aninvincible superhuman power is watching us benevolently,and will eventuallyliberate us. Some call this power aliens, otherscall it God. Thus theybegin with their ideal, and then impose it on theevidence, when they shouldreally begin with the evidence, or (in thecase of aliens etc.) the utterabsence of it.

I think Margaret is wrong to keep an open mind aboutsuch lowprobabilities. The phrases she and her colleagues use in connectionwith the pyramids, such as I dont see why, could have, Idont knowexactly, etc. refer to matters which are not onlyanother probabilitytheory but whose likelihood is so great as to haveserious persuasiveforce.

on 02 Apr2008 at 12:12 am37Margaret37.

Thank you very much Gerardfor clarifying the exactness of scienceand the rest of your elegantlylogical comments.

To clarify my own words I must admit that I phrasedmy abovestatement incorrectly; what I intended to say was that I would behappyto keep an open mind *if* there was actually any evidence to supportanalternate theory. However, as far as I can see there is onlysupposition and adisregard for any actual archaeological evidence.




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on 02 Apr 2008 at 7:57 pm38GerardLally38.

Thanks, Margaret.

The strongly felt need forsuperhuman assistance is nowhere better

illustrated than in the Tale of theEloquent Peasant itself. Grimal(1992, 1994, p. 149) says

the finalargument presented by the peasant is the recourse toAnubis, whose influenceis already suggested by the peasants ownname: Khuy-n-inpw (one protected byAnubis). Does this mean thatjustice on earth is maintained only because thetribunal of the gods fillshumans with fear for their lives?

on 30 Apr 2008 at 7:58am39HM39.

Aliens did NOTbuild the pyramids. It was built by many skilledegyptians who, withoutmachines or technology managed to build greatstructures like the pyramids!Instead of trying to fantasise aliensbuilding pyramids we should be thinkingabout not only how great theyactually are but also how great the people whobuilt them must havebeen!! I mean seriously!!!

on 22 May 2008 at 12:10 pm40Rampage40.

My ownpersonal belief is that mankind alone did not build thepyramids, if at all,despite the hard sell on this website.any way, if mankind did build thepyramids then they were built byslaves (you can call them a work force allyou want) overseen by atyrant, in which case there should be no pride inthese humanachievements as they are a sick monument to tyranny andslavery.Nothing at all to be proud of!(I wonder how many slaveserworkers, craftsmen, died in agonybuilding those massive tombs for a fewrich kings?)

on14 Jul 2008 at 5:13 am41Roger41.

Some of the replies are based upon a LACKof evidence. Some peopleare evidently not satisfied with a I dont know andI may or may not




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know in the future answer. They evidently feel a need tomakesomething up because they MUST have an answer. Humans are quitecapableof inventing something completely new. A. Einsteins theorieswere incrediblynew and decidedly different. So far, theve fared prettywell.

Rampage:Tyranny and slavery. You are looking at it from todaysperspective which ishistorically out of context. I am quite proud thathumans were able to makegreat achievments in the past as well as thepresent, and future.

on 02 Aug 2008 at 5:48 pm42memmy42.

No, Theactual execution must have been by humans- slaves-

isrealites.But I think theconcept/idea, Plan and know how must havecome from some one extra ordinary not human.Perhaps Aliens

on 10 Aug 2008 at 3:45 am43huh43.

how do u exlain drawings ofufos & aliens on egyptian walls?maybeegyptians did build the pyrimids butyou cant say aliens didnt help.theres no proof of aliens helping butalike..theres no proof egyptians

did it without help eitherits a lose losesituation..find sumat elseto post..you cnt prove it so why postit?..l..

on 09 Sep 2008 at7:22 am44tae44.

very helpful, I like to have an open mindthough, and I wonder if youactually believe in a higher power? Because if youdont you wouldhave a strong bias against the alien theory, and if you do youshouldntbe so precoccupied with something so trivial

on 12 Oct 2008 at 5:04am45Craig45.

The majorproblem I have is How they got the stones to the Pyramid. Ihave others butwill tackle this one first. Everyone who believes in theEgyptians built them,say they used the nile and transported the Stonesusing some type of boat,barge, raft. But think about that logically. Do




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you realize the size of theboat or wooden structure would have to beto float a 20 to 30 ton rock inwater! And that the boat would have tohave some type of door that was leakproof, since how would they getthe stone on the boat? You are definately notgoing up a ramp anddropping it in! 2nd) Dragging the stones across land usingthese

wooden bases or crates. The weight of the stones would cause so muchfriction and drag that the wood would either crumble or just dig into theground. Try pulling a refrigerator across your yard using wood.Wooden palletscrumble if pulled along the floor holding 200 lbs inwarehouses. Holding a 20ton block would destroy it instantly. 3rd)Getting these stones on the higherlevels of the pyramid would requireramps. Which most believe they built. Yetthese ramps would have tobe nearly 2 miles long at the highest peaks, becauseof the angle. Theydefinately were not pulling 20 ton rocks up a 45 degreeangle. And theamount of workers is really moot, because of surface area. Arock thatis 10 feet wide and long has only so much space to be occupied. Youcould only fit a small amount of Egyptians around the block. Even if 40and Idont think there is room for 40, but if 40 Egyptians were able toget a gripto raise the blockthey would not be enough of them to evenbudge it. 40 x 200lbs equals 8000 pounds and that is if they could eachlift 200 lbs. Levers mayhelp budge the rock but not move it in a usefulmanner.

Then you stateEqyptians were very smart. This may be true but who isto say where theyaquired some of their knowledge. Our Universe is sobig and most peoplebelieve we are not alone. If Aliens were to land, Iam sure landing back thenwould have been much easier since thepeople of that day didnt have weapons.Peaceful landing would havebeen easier. These Aliens could have given themknowledge or devicesto make things easier. But just because they were smarterdoesnt makeit more likely they built them. The tools and the land aroundthem iswhat makes the Building of the Pyramids so unlogical. Brains alone

cannot do it. If Einstein was trapped in a raft with nothing and afishermanwas trapped in another raft with nothingand they wereboth placed in themiddle of the ocean. Who would survive longer?

on 29 Oct 2008 at 3:02 pm46Ivan Jdrakov46.

Thisis the worst information ever!




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If you only open up your mind, youll seethat not only the pyramidscould have been built by Aliens but many otherthings which we try toremake and call our own could well be made by Aliens! Im not sayingthat your site is stupid, but some of the information is justpurely madeup! There is no record of how the pyramids were built, nor whobuilt

them. People didnt write their names on the blocks! Why didntegyptians credit themselves for creating the pyramids if the actualbuildingprocess was so long and difficult???BECAUSE THEY DIDNT BUILD THEMALONE!!!

on 18Nov 2008 at 6:25 pm47BENJY47.

after reading your argument i realize thatmaybe iv type an entire tenpages of bull shit on how aliens built thepyramids but awnser these

two questions. Whats with all the pictures if aliensand everything inthe tombs? and what about that fungus never seen before onearth theyfound in tuts chamber? NO ALIEN RELEVANCE STILL?

well thankyoufor your insight anyways

on10 Dec 2008 at 8:58 pm48JeanPierre48.

back in 75 when I was visiting Greece, Crete island, Imet a group ofstudents who were investigating some ruins on the south side oftheisland. A few day later I had the chance to talk with the man in chargeofthe group, after a while, the discussion drifted toward egypt and thepre- pharaonian dynasties. Is that true that many of the monuments,stelas,pyramids and temples were erected before the first dynasty? Andthat a fewsite are as old as 12,500 years? wich is about 7,000 yearsolder than theegyptologist believed. And according to what that mantold us, that the writing used at that time, was not based onalphabetical icons but rather itwas a mathematical inspired scheme of

dsignating objects?Thanks for yourtime and consideration.Regards, J P Tanguay

on 03 Jan 2009 at 11:59 am49alessandrobartolozzi49.

Thank for your suggestions, but what do you think ofthe natrium-calcar process (calcare was dissoluted from sodium nitrate andthen




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used as we do with cement),I watch a consisten video from anindustrialchemist that show the entire process but I forget the name.Hoever the bigblocks was undistingueable from the carved ones.On the estern layer ispossi

The pyramid was built by human engineers

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