Nowadays, we all wallow in the ocean of information, often hardly distinguishing false from truth - in such times we live. A person is drawn into a whirlpool of all kinds of arguments and facts, and it is impossible to get out of it on his own. Especially when it comes to some very interesting, mysterious topic. For example, such fascinating as the origin and purpose of the Egyptian pyramids.
The Echo of the Planet magazine talked about this with Viktor Salkin, a famous Russian Egyptologist, founder of the Association for the Study of Ancient Egypt "MAAT" and a full member of the International Association of Egyptologists.
Victor, for you, of course, it's no secret that the age of the pyramids is one of the topics of fierce disputes among people who are carried away by the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. In particular, the opinion is very popular that these unique structures appeared in the Nile Valley long before the birth of the Egyptian civilization. One of the reasons is the absence of any inscriptions inside the Great Pyramid. What is your professional opinion on this?
- First of all, people who promote such versions, I immediately want to send them to study the history of the Ancient World. But they will not do this, but will continue to watch "sensational" TV programs dedicated to "scandals, intrigues, investigations."
It is curious that an incredible number of hypotheses regarding the secrets of the pyramids have taken root in our country - in the West the situation is completely different. Let me call a spade a spade: there are much fewer charlatans from history! However, not all so simple. The fact is that traditional Egyptology is the science of three languages: English, French and German. And, unfortunately, only a tiny percentage of the research has been translated and is being translated into Russian. This is where the legs of various theories come from.
But let's not live in isolation from reality: the rest of the world has no doubts about the age of the pyramids. It has long been obvious to everyone that the most ancient of them is the famous pyramid of Necherekhet-Djoser, which was erected in the XXVII century BC, and the last, "youngest" royal pyramid of Pharaoh Yahmes I appeared around the XVI century BC in the city of Abydos … By the way, Djoser is an honorary nickname meaning “sacred”, and the name of the ruler was just Necherehet. So, after the era of Jahmes I, the ancient Egyptians refused to build pyramids, the royal necropolis acquired new outlines, becoming the Valley of the Kings - this is a rocky gorge with underground tombs. And this format remained until the end of the existence of the classical Egyptian civilization.
As for the pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, one of the largest modern geological studies of these structures was carried out in 1992 by the respected company Shell International. In the course of these works, it was confirmed that the traces of stone processing, the nature of organic remains in the rock, and so on - everything points to the first half of the third millennium BC, that is, to the very dates that fully correspond to the generally accepted historical time frames for the appearance of sacred objects.
Many versions are being put forward about the creators of the pyramids. In particular, they often talk about a kind of pracivilization, which left these structures to the Egyptians "as a legacy." In this regard, as an indicator of a different time period, some scientists point to the suspicious erosion of the sphinx. Well, fans of extraterrestrial civilizations, as you know, claim that extraterrestrials helped people to build pyramids, since the buildings today amaze the imagination with their scale, complexity of design, and incomprehensible purpose. How do you think everything really happened?
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- Hypotheses about the so-called pracivilization have no basis at all. During a detailed geological survey carried out by the aforementioned Shell International, it was established that the erosion of the Great Sphinx was caused by the wind, and not at all by water - exactly the same wind erosion damaged the walls of many tombs in Giza. So the time frame for the creation of the pyramids remains the same: the third millennium BC. I will also drop the supporters of the version of alien intervention from heaven to earth: the plates did not arrive and the blocks did not move. The pyramids are the work of people, and specifically - the ancient Egyptians. They used nummulite limestone - a rock that includes fossilized organisms. This is a fact that cannot be disputed, so there was no concrete in ancient Egypt. And this version is also quite popular.
The builders of the pyramids were not slaves at all, as they often write in textbooks, but free community members whom the royal house actively recruited to work during the flood of the Nile, which, as we know, lasted three months. At this time, life in Ancient Egypt froze - it was impossible to engage in peasant farming and trades, people happily went to the service of their pharaoh. It was a great honor for them. Let's not forget that the ancient Egyptians were extremely religious.
Hard work at the construction site of their king was perceived by them as a great blessing and an opportunity to approach the holy ruler in the future - eternal - life, enter his retinue and deserve a better fate somewhere near the gods. Where did the information about the builders and the progress of construction come from, you ask.
The pyramid is such an object that is never "silent". Everything around is filled with texts, you just need to be able to read them. Next to the royal pyramid, there were always burial temples, as well as a huge necropolis of people close to the pharaoh. A special place was occupied by the tomb of the great architect. In most cases, we know the names of these architects. So, in these burials, detailed descriptions were found of how the pyramids were being erected, from which provinces workers were recruited, from where limestone was brought. Many papyri have survived with detailed estimates: how much food and clothing was required to keep people, how many bulls were needed to move stone slabs. It is even known that for every thousand builders there was a team of three or four doctors. Being extremely meticulous, the Egyptians meticulously recorded everything.
Photo: en.wikipedia.org
From the unfinished pyramid complexes of the 16th century BC in Zawiet el-Arian, we know very well what the logic of the complex system of ramps was, along which blocks were raised to great heights. And this is not the only example. It is also worth mentioning the NOVA project, recently implemented by American and Japanese specialists, during which a model of the pyramid was built using exclusively ancient technologies in a very short time and with the participation of a limited number of workers.
And about how many people actually worked on the construction of individual pyramids, we also know from the original ancient Egyptian texts. For example, in the construction of the pyramid of Pharaoh Amenemkhet III in Dakhshur, this is the 19th century BC, 40 brick molders, 50 clay carriers, 600 brick carriers, 30 sand carriers, 250 stonecutters, 1500 stone block carriers, 200 boatmen, 600 workers who moved blocks of stone, 1500 handymen. Total: a pyramid 75 meters high with a base side length of 105 meters and a vast, superbly finished dungeon was built by 4,770 people. Developed over the centuries, in the oriental way, the strict system of control and organization of labor gave incredible results.
I cannot fail to mention the discovery of the outstanding American archaeologist Mark Liner. In 1982, he discovered a giant necropolis of the builders of the royal pyramids. It is clear that the work of these people was very dangerous: for example, a person could be crushed by a stove or he could be thrown from a great height. The bodies of all the buried had such characteristic injuries, incompatible with life. In addition to the necropolis, Liner also found barracks made of raw bricks, in which the builders lived. The barns even contain fossilized bread and fish.
In addition, historians know many examples of how the construction of the pyramids was not completed, when it became clear that the construction was made inaccurately and could soon collapse. So nothing human was alien to the ancient architects - they also made mistakes. All this information has long been studied and described in the historical literature. The only problem is that in Russia, alas, these data, alas, are not widely disseminated - they are known mainly by specialists in the region.
What was the main purpose of the pyramids after all? Indeed, none of them has yet found any traces of burials
- The fact that the pyramids were intended exclusively for the burial of the king and sometimes members of his family is evidenced by many authentic sources. First of all, these are archaeological data: in almost all pyramids, fragments of elements of traditional Egyptian royal burials, mummies, sarcophagi and canopic boxes - vessels for viscera, which not only have an accurate dating, but were sometimes even built into the very architecture of the burial chambers of the pyramids were found … That is, they were there initially.
We also know about this from the ancient Egyptian "Pyramid Texts", which describe in detail both the function of the pyramids and their symbolic mission. In addition, there is evidence from Arab historians of the Middle Ages. Thus, Caliph al-Mamun, the grandson of the legendary Harun ar-Rashid, in 820 tried to find the royal treasures in the pyramid of Khufu at any cost. A pickaxe and heated vinegar were used to eat away at the limestone. “In a narrow passage, a coffin was found that looked like a statue of a man, carved out of green stone. When the coffin was brought to the caliph and the lid was removed, under it was the body of a man in golden armor adorned with precious stones. In his hand he held a sword that has no value”- this is what the Arab chronicler of the 12th century Al-Qaysi wrote.
The very idea of the pyramid - "mera", as the ancient Egyptians called it, is the desire to embody a kind of primordial hill of land created by the Supreme Deity. Various cosmogonic systems existed in Egypt, but they are united by the fact that they are associated with the concept of the primordial waters of the ocean-chaos of Nun, in which spirits, deities and generally everything that subsequently arose in the universe lived in an uncreated, dormant state. At some point, the creator god appears, who plucks out the first piece of land from this ocean - our world begins with it. And it has a pyramidal structure.
The texts found, for example, on the gilded top of the pyramid of King Amenemhat III, help to understand what the pyramid meant for the ancient Egyptians, this part of the structure is called the pyramidion. On it is carved a text on behalf of the deceased pharaoh, in which he says that he looks with his own eyes to the east, to the sun, and that just as the act of creation is repeated every day on the eastern horizon, when the star rises in the firmament, so he wanted would ask the sun god to revive his essence. That is, the pyramid is an attempt to return to the original times and to revive the king in another world as an immortal holy spirit.
The pyramid was also considered the last legal wife of the pharaoh, in whose womb he immersed. This is an allusion to the cult of the mother goddess. We know in more detail all this ideological background from the above-mentioned "Texts of the Pyramids", which from the XXV century BC began to be applied to the walls of burial chambers. These texts consist of about seven hundred sayings, which contain magic spells and mythological descriptions of the afterlife. In fact, they were supposed to help the deceased king overcome the difficulties of the otherworldly reality, ascend to another world, reunite with the ancestors and become the solar companion of the solar god.
In addition, the pyramids were key pillars of the ancient Egyptian economy. In those distant times, the Egyptians did not have money, they had barter. And since the pyramids were perceived as living creatures, allotments of land, herds of animals, and various values were assigned to them. By our standards, they sometimes had a completely mind-blowing state! As a result, the pyramids turned into a kind of city-forming objects, around which entire settlements were formed, markets appeared. There are a lot of documents in which, from our point of view, amusing is recorded - how one pyramid sends as a gift to another, for example, a herd of elite bulls, and in return receives vegetables.
You mentioned magic spells on the walls of the pyramids. And what can you say to those who believe that the famous Lord Carnarvon and archaeologist Howard Carter, like some of their colleagues who worked on the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb, fell victims of the so-called “curse of the pharaohs”?
- I am humorous about this theory. Let's start with the fact that in that story there were not so many deaths, and those that happened were completely explainable by natural causes. Carter died in old age, having lived a completely happy life, and Carnarvon died of infection, accidentally introducing infection into the cut of a mosquito bite. But that's not the point. The ancient Egyptian royal curse was never intended to shorten the earthly life of a vandal: it extended to the posthumous state of a person - eternal life. That was the main thing.
The Pyramid Texts say something like the following: “If you encroach on my pyramid, built for me and my spiritual double -“ka”, then I will sue you with the gods and you will receive the most terrible punishment - you will begin to devour your own impurities and you will be cast into oblivion. According to the ancient Egyptians, there was nothing more terrible than the threat of a second death, when a person is deprived of the chance to become an immortal spirit after death and stay in reed fields, this is an analogue of paradise.
A slightly different curse was in private tombs. People were afraid that the tombs could be pulled apart into stones - this happened quite often. Therefore, the following incantation was spread: "If you destroy or appropriate my tomb, let there be against you a lion in the sand, a snake on the ground and a crocodile in the water." But, pay attention, it was just about the destruction and appropriation of the tomb, and not about the fact that it should not be disturbed! That is, disturbance of peace as such was not perceived as a serious crime.
In the understanding of the Egyptians, the pyramid was a complex ritual mechanism, and a person had nine components of the essence, one of which was the divine unit "ah". The task of the tomb was to help the deceased cleanse himself of earthly dust, leave the tomb and join the world of the gods. Therefore, after a while, it was no longer necessary as a mechanism and was simply transformed into a place of memory. And this is very important: a person is alive as long as his name is remembered. In this regard, by the way, from the point of view of the ancient Egyptians, Carter and Carnarvon would still be very honorable people - yes, they disturbed the peace of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, this is sacrilege, but after all, they returned his name to the world!
- Since we are discussing hypotheses and versions, one cannot help but recall the following: supposedly, the Egyptian authorities hinder the study of the incredible secrets of the pyramids, not allowing access to some of them, and that, for example, under the paws of the Great Sphinx, unique artifacts are stored in the dungeons that can turn the idea of humanity about its origin
- Under the paws of the Sphinx, alas, there is no sensational "knowledge". There is nothing at all. Except for water. Two years ago, the Japanese scanned the soil with a geomagnetic radar and found that salty groundwater was flowing at a distance of two meters. And this is a huge problem. And it became apparent, by the way, even when the construction of the Aswan Dam began in Egypt. Now water from under the Sphinx is constantly pumped out.
As for the fact that the Egyptian authorities closed access to some objects, this is also quite understandable. Tourists are malevolent people, they ought to take a piece of everything "for memory." For example, the closed pyramid of King Unas, from which over the past thirty years, visitors persistently "took out" pieces of beautiful green pigment, which covered the inscriptions. In return, the neighboring pyramid of Pharaoh Teti was opened for tourists, where this pigment is absent and, accordingly, there is nothing to chip away. And still, with a strong desire, you can get to many places.
There is a clear price list for visiting closed places. Pay two thousand dollars for a group of ten - go and see. It is clear that such a price filter was installed deliberately, but the architectural monuments will be more intact. Do not forget that even the moisture of the breath causes certain harm to the pyramids. By the way, today in Egypt they understand very well the value of their historical heritage. But it was not always so. Egypt gradually began to come to this understanding only towards the end of the 19th century. Even Mohammed Ali, the famous Egyptian ruler of the time, when the French or German consuls asked him for permission to take out some items from the country, asked them why they needed it. He was honestly answered that these were very beautiful works of art, to which he said: no, no, cunning Europeans,just in this your Europe there is no such quality stone!
Can you imagine what a colossal misunderstanding of what they owned ?! But now the second generation of Egyptian Egyptologists has grown up, and the Egyptians have realized what kind of wealth they have. It is not for nothing that during the recent dramatic events, when the revolution covered the country, people surrounded museums, the temple in Karnak and other significant objects in a ring to protect them from vandals.
Victor, what do you think is the mystery of the pyramids? It cannot but exist, even if you don’t believe in any "anomalous" versions of their origin
- Pyramids are those places on Earth that have their own special space, their own unique atmosphere, different from the one that surrounds us. When you look at these amazing structures, when millions of human destinies sweep before your mind's eye, you involuntarily plunge into a state in which you begin to think about such important things as the meaning of life, death, immortality, and the soul. You feel how young our civilization is, in fact. In the hustle and bustle, modern people rarely remember that our life is fleeting. And here you suddenly discern a voice from the past and hear your own heart better. This is the incredible, piercing mysticism of the ancient Egyptian pyramids.