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Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
Presents conclusive evidence that ancient Egypt was originally the remnant of an earlier, highly sophisticated civilization
• Supports earlier speculations based on myth and esoteric sources with scientific proof from the fields of genetics, engineering, and geology
• Provides further proof of the connection between the Mayans and ancient Egyptians
• Links the mystery of Cro-Magnon man to the rise and fall of this ancient civilization
In the late nineteenth century, French explorer Augustus Le Plongeon, after years of research in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, concluded that the Mayan and Egyptian civilizations were related--as remnants of a once greater and highly sophisticated culture. The discoveries of modern researchers over the last two decades now support this once derided speculation with evidence revealing that the Sphinx is thousands of years older than Egyptologists have claimed, that the pyramids were not tombs but geomechanical power plants, and that the megaliths of the Nabta Playa reveal complex astronomical star maps that existed 4,000 years before conventional historians deemed such knowledge possible.
Much of the past support for prehistoric civilization has relied on esoteric traditions and mythic narrative. Using hard scientific evidence from the fields of archaeology, genetics, engineering, and geology, as well as sacred and religious texts, Malkowski shows that these mythic narratives are based on actual events and that a highly sophisticated civilization did once exist prior to those of Egypt and Sumer. Tying its cataclysmic fall to the mysterious disappearance of Cro-Magnon culture, Before the Pharaohs offers a compelling new view of humanity’s past.
• Supports earlier speculations based on myth and esoteric sources with scientific proof from the fields of genetics, engineering, and geology
• Provides further proof of the connection between the Mayans and ancient Egyptians
• Links the mystery of Cro-Magnon man to the rise and fall of this ancient civilization
In the late nineteenth century, French explorer Augustus Le Plongeon, after years of research in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, concluded that the Mayan and Egyptian civilizations were related--as remnants of a once greater and highly sophisticated culture. The discoveries of modern researchers over the last two decades now support this once derided speculation with evidence revealing that the Sphinx is thousands of years older than Egyptologists have claimed, that the pyramids were not tombs but geomechanical power plants, and that the megaliths of the Nabta Playa reveal complex astronomical star maps that existed 4,000 years before conventional historians deemed such knowledge possible.
Much of the past support for prehistoric civilization has relied on esoteric traditions and mythic narrative. Using hard scientific evidence from the fields of archaeology, genetics, engineering, and geology, as well as sacred and religious texts, Malkowski shows that these mythic narratives are based on actual events and that a highly sophisticated civilization did once exist prior to those of Egypt and Sumer. Tying its cataclysmic fall to the mysterious disappearance of Cro-Magnon culture, Before the Pharaohs offers a compelling new view of humanity’s past.
336 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 19, 2016
This is, unfortunately, one of the most boring books I have ever read. I bought the book thinking it might have some really interesting things about as far as the origins of Egyptian civilization goes (along the lines of Atlantis, UFOs, etc). The book is not only boring, but the most interesting material is at the end part of the book. The organization of the material in the book leaves a lot to be desired.
The book starts out with some material on the questionable age of the Sphinx. This is the material related to the theory that the Sphinx is much older than is commonly accepted. The book takes over sixty pages to go into that material, however, and the approach is just too dry, too complicated, and too detailed to remain interesting to anyone other than someone whose passionate interest is geology.
The next two chapters, generally, deal with astronomy and the pyramids. Chapter six goes into intense detail about how the Great Pyramid was supposedly a device used to generate energy.
Energy for what? The author goes into great detail about how the energy was produced in the Great Pyramid, but fails to really establish what any such energy was actually used for. Why produce considerable energy if you have nothing to use it on?
The next chapters deal with the origin of Egyptian civilization itself and goes into very great detail on skull shapes and the place of Cro-Magnon man in relation to the development of Egyptian civilization, along with a possible Mayan/Egyptian connection. The book also goes into considerable detail about the Mediterranean area and a possible land bridge between Gibraltar and Africa that gave way due to a great earthquake and caused sudden, massive flooding in the Mediterranean area.
What the author should have done was to start off the book stating his main premises that related to the early civilization of Egypt, then looked at the evidence supporting his premises (geological, biological and cultural evidence), and left out the material on the pyramid as an energy-producing device, and left out the Mayan/Egyptian crossover material since it's speculative and doesn't really seem to have very much to do with the origin of Egyptian civilization itself.
Altogether one of the most disappointing books I've read in a long time.
The book starts out with some material on the questionable age of the Sphinx. This is the material related to the theory that the Sphinx is much older than is commonly accepted. The book takes over sixty pages to go into that material, however, and the approach is just too dry, too complicated, and too detailed to remain interesting to anyone other than someone whose passionate interest is geology.
The next two chapters, generally, deal with astronomy and the pyramids. Chapter six goes into intense detail about how the Great Pyramid was supposedly a device used to generate energy.
Energy for what? The author goes into great detail about how the energy was produced in the Great Pyramid, but fails to really establish what any such energy was actually used for. Why produce considerable energy if you have nothing to use it on?
The next chapters deal with the origin of Egyptian civilization itself and goes into very great detail on skull shapes and the place of Cro-Magnon man in relation to the development of Egyptian civilization, along with a possible Mayan/Egyptian connection. The book also goes into considerable detail about the Mediterranean area and a possible land bridge between Gibraltar and Africa that gave way due to a great earthquake and caused sudden, massive flooding in the Mediterranean area.
What the author should have done was to start off the book stating his main premises that related to the early civilization of Egypt, then looked at the evidence supporting his premises (geological, biological and cultural evidence), and left out the material on the pyramid as an energy-producing device, and left out the Mayan/Egyptian crossover material since it's speculative and doesn't really seem to have very much to do with the origin of Egyptian civilization itself.
Altogether one of the most disappointing books I've read in a long time.
June 25, 2011
The problem with the time period that this author is referencing (20,000-8,000 BC) is that there is relatively little known about it for such a massive chunk in human history. He tries to make a case for Egypt's cultural history being much older than is currently postulated, based mostly on what he feels is evidence from the sphinx. The points that the author brings up could be easily proved otherwise with more time and research, I think jumping to conclusions about the "true nature" of the pyramids and so forth puts you in very speculative ground and while fun to contemplate does not sit well with the general tenants of history.
August 1, 2018
“EGYPT” the name evokes images of camel caravans passing below the Giza Plateau with the Great Pyramid and its companions towering to the sky and the Great Sphinx keeping an eye on the three structures. The other image that flashes on the inner eye is the muddy deceptively sluggish River Nile flowing placidly (but with treacherously strong currents) as the steamer or some such vessel glides through past Luxor and to the Abu Simbel Temple of Rameses II.
Before the Aswan High Dam 1970 to 1976 C.E. was built the vessel used to glide past the rock carved statutary of the Temple of Rameses in the Nile Valley. The construction of the High Dam resulted in the creation Lake Nasser covering 2000 Sq. Miles (5250 Sq. Kms.). It also led to a part of Nile Valley being submerged. 22 monuments and archaeological complexes were flooded. Of these the Abu Simbel Temple of Rameses II, Philae. Kalbsha and AmadaTemples, were relocated at the shores of Lake Nasser, while the temples of Debod, Dendur, Taffeh and Ellesyia were relocated to museums Madrid, New York, Leiden and Turin respectively. The temples of Rameses II, Hatshepsut, Khnum, Djehutihotep, Dedwen, Sesostris III and granite columns of Faras Cathedral were relocated to various sites in Sudan. The other paintings and artefacts from Faras Cathedral were moved to Warsaw Museum. The other archaeological sites including the Buhen Fort and the cemetery of Fardaus have been submerged by Lake Nasser. Humans destroying culture and environment for short term selfish ends, reflecting increasing cost to ensure same rate of surface drainage, prevent water logging and increasing soil salinity. Add the increased sedimentation at Lake Nasser caused by Aswan High Dam which is now eroding the coastline around Nile Delta at a estimated high of 125–175 m (410–574 ft) per year.
The picture of the Sphinx and the Sphinx Temple on the cover of this book and the intriguing title “Before the Pharaohs – Egypt’s Mysterious Prehistory” made me select this book for my July reading. The first few chapters on the Green Sahara and age of the Sphinx had me riveted. Later as I researched about the author Edward F. Malkowski, I was surprised to learn that he was neither an Archaeological Historian nor an anthropologist. Surprisingly his field is the mundane finance and business administration, a software developer with interests in business strategy and philosophy as it relates to the advancement of technology! With this background, naturally his conclusions come under fire from professional historians, archaeologists and anthropologist as well as lay readers.
A review of one of the readers in Goodreads, who rated the book ‘three stars’ is as follows: “The problem with the time period that this author is referencing (20,000-8,000 BC) is that there is relatively little known about it for such a massive chunk in human history. He tries to make a case for Egypt's cultural history being much older than is currently postulated, based mostly on what he feels is evidence from the sphinx. The points that the author brings up could be easily proved otherwise with more time and research, I think jumping to conclusions about the "true nature" of the pyramids and so forth puts you in very speculative ground and while fun to contemplate does not sit well with the general tenants of history.”
This unfortunately is the reaction of most lay readers, since our grounding in Egyptian culture is from our school history texts – The Egyptian civilization arose around 3000 B.C.E. The Great Sphinx, Great Pyramid etc, were built by the Pharaohs about 4500 years age between 2600 B.C.E. to 2400 B.C.E. What is learnt in childhood is almost impossible to forget. Scholars of History, Archaeology and Anthropology don’t want to rock the boat. A new theory would not only disturb the established order, but would also require one to look deeply into various other fields and revise them and their conclusion. Aristotle had said 2,300 years ago that the earth is the centre of the solar system and the spheres of sun and moon revolve around it. This was further strengthened when in OT Jousha 10:12 confirmed that on his request God made the sun stand still. It took nearly 2000 years before the church allowed Galileo’s claim that the sun is the centre of the solar system and another 200 years before it accepted the theory. In the meantime supported by scholars of astronomy, science, etc. the people stating the correct interpretation like Copernicus , Gallelio and others were hounded and persecuted by the church and rulers. The Spanish Conquisidators ordered all books of Incas, burnt, desecrated or destroyed, because its teachings did not agree with the Bible and were more akin to what Lucifer said.
Today the scholars are unanimous about Egyptian civilizations age. Any contrary evidence is fake or an anomaly which can be cleared with deeper study and research. The Sphinx or Great Pyramid cannot predate Khufu – all other evidence and claims to the contrary be damned.
In the first draft of my review I had quoted extensively from the book, but then edited it out. However, certain excerpts are reproduced.
Regarding the age of the Sphinx “West, now a self-proclaimed Egyptologist and independent researcher, teamed up with the geologist Dr. Robert M. Schoch, of Boston University, in 1990 to investigate the possibility that the Egyptian Sphinx was carved, at least in part, before 2500 B.C.E. West, as did Schwaller, believed the weathering of the Sphinx and its enclosure was caused by erosion from rainwater. This would have had to occur before the third millennium B.C.E. — before North Africa became a desert.
At Giza, Schoch observed that the Sphinx and the Valley Temple had been constructed in two stages and had undergone repair, even during ancient times. He also ascertained that the Sphinx temple, and possibly the Valley Temple, was constructed from limestone blocks quarried from the Sphinx enclosure, which provided the room for sculptors to carve its body. If true, this would mean that the temple structures must be as old as the Sphinx itself. Later, the ancient Egyptians faced these temples with ashlars, carved smooth stones made of Aswan granite. Schoch’s observations of the facings and underlying limestone blocks led him to believe that the core blocks in both temples were exposed to the elements and underwent considerable weathering before the ashlars were applied.
Based in part on his analysis of the evidence that the weathering of the limestone floor surrounding the Sphinx is 50 to 100 percent deeper at the front and sides of the Sphinx than at the rear, Schoch provides one estimate of the date of the carving of the front and sides of the Sphinx and another for the rear. Simply stated, the floor in the back of the Sphinx was weathered to a depth of only four feet, while the front was weathered to a depth of eight feet; this suggests that the front of the Sphinx is twice as old as the back. Schoch estimates that the rear floor of the enclosure was first exposed in 2500 B.C.E., and that the exposure of the front and side floors of the enclosure (and the initial Sphinx carving) must have occurred between 7000 and 5000 B.C.E.⁸
According to Schoch, this is an estimate, and since weathering rates are not constant, the initial carving may be even older. If the Sphinx was heavily weathered by precipitation at an early period in its existence, Schoch argues that it may have been carved prior to the last great period of major precipitation in the Nile Valley, between ten thousand and five thousand years ago.
Schoch recognizes that one of the difficulties many people have with his conclusions is historians’ lack of a cultural and archaeological context that could account for the Sphinx’s carving before the third millennium B.C.E. Today there is little to suggest that a culture capable of carving such a large statue and temple existed at that time. But it could also be the case that the known pre-dynastic settlements are not representative of the more sophisticated culture responsible for the Sphinx’s carving. It is possible that other cultural remains exist but have not been found; they could be buried deep under the Nile alluvium. Furthermore, a higher sea level since ten thousand years ago may have submerged vast expanses of land along the Mediterranean coast that were inhabited by early cultures. Schoch argues that evidence of sophisticated cultures in other regions during this era, such as the eastern Mediterranean, have been discovered, implying that it is possible for such a culture to have existed.”
The evidence presented by the author from reputed and reliable sources regarding the weathering rates of limestone around the world, shows that the for the Sphinx enclosure to have weathered to the extent exhibited it would take anything from 8,000 to 24,000 years – front and rear – and for it to weather to the current extent in 4500 years the volume of water required annually would be the volume of water flowing down the Niagara Falls, ignoring the velocity – and historically in more than 100,000 years, Egypt / North Africa never experienced that much rainfall or Nile flooding. But as yet no denial or rebuttal has come from any Egyptologist.
Pyramids are not mastabas (tombs). Once again quoting from the book “By geometric definition, a pyramid is a solid object having a polygonal, usually square, base whose four sides form the bases of triangular surfaces meeting at a common vertex. There are really only ten true pyramids. Built during the third and fourth dynasties (between 2650 and 2467 B.C.E.), they are all within fifty miles of each other near the base of the Nile Delta. Later pyramids were built of rubble and sand, sandwiched between stone walls, most of which are now in ruins. Once the stone casing of this type of construction is damaged or removed, the structure deteriorates rapidly.
Excluding the first pyramid, built by Djoser, the following nine have a combined total of fourteen undecorated rooms containing three empty, unmarked stone chests that are assumed to be sarcophagi. Yet they contain no religious inscriptions, offering rooms, or other funerary features found in earlier and later tombs. Even more interesting, Snefru, the first king of the fourth dynasty, built three pyramids, two at Dahshur and one at Meidum. No one knows why he ordered this. Why would he order three tombs?
According to the independent Egyptian Egyptologist Moustafa Gadalla, the lack of funerary items alone invalidates the theory that the pyramids functioned as tombs. Remnants, scraps, or fibres from the mummy and its wrappings surely would remain in the burial chamber, or somewhere else in the pyramid, if it was a place of rest for the deceased. Furthermore, the pyramids’ passageways are too low — almost all are less than four feet high — and too narrow to provide for the movement of sarcophagi. In general, all of Egypt’s genuine pyramids, those that were built as a solid structure, simply lacked adequate accommodations for people and ceremony, which was essential for the deceased’s journey into the afterlife.
Finally, human remains have never been found inside a genuine pyramid. Thieves steal treasure, grave goods of monetary value, but would avoid a corpse. Valuables within the wrappings would have been removed and the corpse left next to its sarcophagus. If the idea was accepted that tomb raiders smashed the lids of the sarcophagi to gain access to the pharaoh’s personal treasure, why would they go to the trouble of taking the sarcophagi with them? Not to mention the brute force required to “make off” with such an item. Fragments of these hypothetical broken sarcophagi, or their lids, have never been found anywhere in the pyramids’ passages or chambers.
The observable evidence suggests that the pyramids were never intended to house human beings, dead or alive. Since passageways and chambers were designed and built into the pyramids, the time and trouble it took to build them logically requires utility in their purpose. The inner structure of the Great Pyramid, the most internally complex of all the pyramids, appears as an unfathomable series of ascending and descending passages with a single grand, ascending passage. Of course, this raises the question: If the pyramids were not tombs, then what were they?”
Once again presenting expert evidence and analysing the structure room by room including the granite sarcophagus without its lid, the author suggests that The Great Pyramid is most likely a geo-mechanical power plant.
Quoting from the book “In the late nineteenth century, Piazzi Smyth deemed it noteworthy to record that there were white flakes of mortar exuding from joints inside the shaft. Later, it was determined that the flakes were plaster of Paris, also known as gypsum. He also noted that the chamber contained a foul odour that hastened visitors’ exit from the room. According to Dunn, the odour was not likely the result of unclean conditions, but instead the residual elements of the chemical processes that once occurred there.
Another seemingly unexplainable fact is that salt was encrusted on the walls, and also in the horizontal passage in the lower portion of the Grand Gallery, in some places up to a half-inch thick. Ironically, salt is a natural by-product of the chemical reaction designed to produce hydrogen. It probably formed when hot, hydrogen-bearing gas reacted with the calcium in the limestone walls. In 1978, Dr. Patrick Flanagan, a physician and researcher, took a sample of this salt to the Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology for analysis. They discovered that it was a mixture of calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, and calcium sulphate, which is limestone, salt, and gypsum (plaster of Paris) — precisely the minerals that would be produced if a hydrogen-bearing reaction occurred in the queen’s chamber.”
Civilization before Predynastic (3000 B.C.E.) Egypt: Egyptian oral tradition traces their civilization back to 70,000 / 75000 years ago. The written evidence in the form of Turin Papyrus lists their kings for 36,620 years, but still Classical Egyptologists don’t accept Egyptian civilization of more than 5,000 years. To do so would be to rewrite the development of humans and accept that maybe the Paleolithic or definitely Mesolithic Humans had ceased to be nomads hunter gatherers and were settled agriculturalists. Their refutation is strengthened by lack of fossil evidence and other artefacts. The explanation of the flooding of Meditteranean valley about 8000 / 7500 years ago leading to loss of evidence be damned.
As per the oral tradition the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx were crafted about 40,000 years ago and the Great Pyramid was never meant to be a tomb. The tradition is silent on the use to which pyramids were put.
Christopher Dunn has scientifically established that the Giza Plateau and specifically The Great Pyramid could serve as a giant geo-mechanical power generator. However how the power so generated was utilized remains unanswered. Classical Egyptologist are unable to accept this claim and hold that Pyramids were meant to be tombs for the rulers and aristocracy. That a civilization 10,000 0r 40,000 years ago could generate and use electrical power is impossible to believe. If it were so, some evidence would have been found and we would not have had to live nearly 12,000 0r 42,000 years in darkness and candle light, tapers, etc. in the night time before Thomas Alva Edison discovered the filament bulb for our daily usage in the beginning of the twentieth century C.E.
The author has also tried to establish a Mayan Link with Prehistoric Egyptian Civilization based on the findings of Augustus Le Plongeon in Yucatan Peninsula, especially the story of Queen Moo and her trip to Egypt. The similarity of that story with the tale of Osiris, Isis and Horus according to the author establishes that Egyptian Prehistoric civilization was indeed a Mayan civilization relocated in Northern Africa!!!!!
In twelve long chapters, Edward Malkowski, creates a well crafted theory of an alternate Egyptian Civilization which existed millennia before the third millennium B.C.E. with advanced, science, building skills, art and philosophy. Yes it indeed was a riveting read.
To the followers and students of Alternate History and all those who believe modern mankind’s civilization is more than 10,000 years old and that skilled modern men existed much before the Cro-Magnon Man of 40,000 years ago this book is must read.
I would have given five plus stars to the book, if the few unanswered questions were at least answered in part, but since the book fails in that aspect, it is a four star read.
Before the Aswan High Dam 1970 to 1976 C.E. was built the vessel used to glide past the rock carved statutary of the Temple of Rameses in the Nile Valley. The construction of the High Dam resulted in the creation Lake Nasser covering 2000 Sq. Miles (5250 Sq. Kms.). It also led to a part of Nile Valley being submerged. 22 monuments and archaeological complexes were flooded. Of these the Abu Simbel Temple of Rameses II, Philae. Kalbsha and AmadaTemples, were relocated at the shores of Lake Nasser, while the temples of Debod, Dendur, Taffeh and Ellesyia were relocated to museums Madrid, New York, Leiden and Turin respectively. The temples of Rameses II, Hatshepsut, Khnum, Djehutihotep, Dedwen, Sesostris III and granite columns of Faras Cathedral were relocated to various sites in Sudan. The other paintings and artefacts from Faras Cathedral were moved to Warsaw Museum. The other archaeological sites including the Buhen Fort and the cemetery of Fardaus have been submerged by Lake Nasser. Humans destroying culture and environment for short term selfish ends, reflecting increasing cost to ensure same rate of surface drainage, prevent water logging and increasing soil salinity. Add the increased sedimentation at Lake Nasser caused by Aswan High Dam which is now eroding the coastline around Nile Delta at a estimated high of 125–175 m (410–574 ft) per year.
The picture of the Sphinx and the Sphinx Temple on the cover of this book and the intriguing title “Before the Pharaohs – Egypt’s Mysterious Prehistory” made me select this book for my July reading. The first few chapters on the Green Sahara and age of the Sphinx had me riveted. Later as I researched about the author Edward F. Malkowski, I was surprised to learn that he was neither an Archaeological Historian nor an anthropologist. Surprisingly his field is the mundane finance and business administration, a software developer with interests in business strategy and philosophy as it relates to the advancement of technology! With this background, naturally his conclusions come under fire from professional historians, archaeologists and anthropologist as well as lay readers.
A review of one of the readers in Goodreads, who rated the book ‘three stars’ is as follows: “The problem with the time period that this author is referencing (20,000-8,000 BC) is that there is relatively little known about it for such a massive chunk in human history. He tries to make a case for Egypt's cultural history being much older than is currently postulated, based mostly on what he feels is evidence from the sphinx. The points that the author brings up could be easily proved otherwise with more time and research, I think jumping to conclusions about the "true nature" of the pyramids and so forth puts you in very speculative ground and while fun to contemplate does not sit well with the general tenants of history.”
This unfortunately is the reaction of most lay readers, since our grounding in Egyptian culture is from our school history texts – The Egyptian civilization arose around 3000 B.C.E. The Great Sphinx, Great Pyramid etc, were built by the Pharaohs about 4500 years age between 2600 B.C.E. to 2400 B.C.E. What is learnt in childhood is almost impossible to forget. Scholars of History, Archaeology and Anthropology don’t want to rock the boat. A new theory would not only disturb the established order, but would also require one to look deeply into various other fields and revise them and their conclusion. Aristotle had said 2,300 years ago that the earth is the centre of the solar system and the spheres of sun and moon revolve around it. This was further strengthened when in OT Jousha 10:12 confirmed that on his request God made the sun stand still. It took nearly 2000 years before the church allowed Galileo’s claim that the sun is the centre of the solar system and another 200 years before it accepted the theory. In the meantime supported by scholars of astronomy, science, etc. the people stating the correct interpretation like Copernicus , Gallelio and others were hounded and persecuted by the church and rulers. The Spanish Conquisidators ordered all books of Incas, burnt, desecrated or destroyed, because its teachings did not agree with the Bible and were more akin to what Lucifer said.
Today the scholars are unanimous about Egyptian civilizations age. Any contrary evidence is fake or an anomaly which can be cleared with deeper study and research. The Sphinx or Great Pyramid cannot predate Khufu – all other evidence and claims to the contrary be damned.
In the first draft of my review I had quoted extensively from the book, but then edited it out. However, certain excerpts are reproduced.
Regarding the age of the Sphinx “West, now a self-proclaimed Egyptologist and independent researcher, teamed up with the geologist Dr. Robert M. Schoch, of Boston University, in 1990 to investigate the possibility that the Egyptian Sphinx was carved, at least in part, before 2500 B.C.E. West, as did Schwaller, believed the weathering of the Sphinx and its enclosure was caused by erosion from rainwater. This would have had to occur before the third millennium B.C.E. — before North Africa became a desert.
At Giza, Schoch observed that the Sphinx and the Valley Temple had been constructed in two stages and had undergone repair, even during ancient times. He also ascertained that the Sphinx temple, and possibly the Valley Temple, was constructed from limestone blocks quarried from the Sphinx enclosure, which provided the room for sculptors to carve its body. If true, this would mean that the temple structures must be as old as the Sphinx itself. Later, the ancient Egyptians faced these temples with ashlars, carved smooth stones made of Aswan granite. Schoch’s observations of the facings and underlying limestone blocks led him to believe that the core blocks in both temples were exposed to the elements and underwent considerable weathering before the ashlars were applied.
Based in part on his analysis of the evidence that the weathering of the limestone floor surrounding the Sphinx is 50 to 100 percent deeper at the front and sides of the Sphinx than at the rear, Schoch provides one estimate of the date of the carving of the front and sides of the Sphinx and another for the rear. Simply stated, the floor in the back of the Sphinx was weathered to a depth of only four feet, while the front was weathered to a depth of eight feet; this suggests that the front of the Sphinx is twice as old as the back. Schoch estimates that the rear floor of the enclosure was first exposed in 2500 B.C.E., and that the exposure of the front and side floors of the enclosure (and the initial Sphinx carving) must have occurred between 7000 and 5000 B.C.E.⁸
According to Schoch, this is an estimate, and since weathering rates are not constant, the initial carving may be even older. If the Sphinx was heavily weathered by precipitation at an early period in its existence, Schoch argues that it may have been carved prior to the last great period of major precipitation in the Nile Valley, between ten thousand and five thousand years ago.
Schoch recognizes that one of the difficulties many people have with his conclusions is historians’ lack of a cultural and archaeological context that could account for the Sphinx’s carving before the third millennium B.C.E. Today there is little to suggest that a culture capable of carving such a large statue and temple existed at that time. But it could also be the case that the known pre-dynastic settlements are not representative of the more sophisticated culture responsible for the Sphinx’s carving. It is possible that other cultural remains exist but have not been found; they could be buried deep under the Nile alluvium. Furthermore, a higher sea level since ten thousand years ago may have submerged vast expanses of land along the Mediterranean coast that were inhabited by early cultures. Schoch argues that evidence of sophisticated cultures in other regions during this era, such as the eastern Mediterranean, have been discovered, implying that it is possible for such a culture to have existed.”
The evidence presented by the author from reputed and reliable sources regarding the weathering rates of limestone around the world, shows that the for the Sphinx enclosure to have weathered to the extent exhibited it would take anything from 8,000 to 24,000 years – front and rear – and for it to weather to the current extent in 4500 years the volume of water required annually would be the volume of water flowing down the Niagara Falls, ignoring the velocity – and historically in more than 100,000 years, Egypt / North Africa never experienced that much rainfall or Nile flooding. But as yet no denial or rebuttal has come from any Egyptologist.
Pyramids are not mastabas (tombs). Once again quoting from the book “By geometric definition, a pyramid is a solid object having a polygonal, usually square, base whose four sides form the bases of triangular surfaces meeting at a common vertex. There are really only ten true pyramids. Built during the third and fourth dynasties (between 2650 and 2467 B.C.E.), they are all within fifty miles of each other near the base of the Nile Delta. Later pyramids were built of rubble and sand, sandwiched between stone walls, most of which are now in ruins. Once the stone casing of this type of construction is damaged or removed, the structure deteriorates rapidly.
Excluding the first pyramid, built by Djoser, the following nine have a combined total of fourteen undecorated rooms containing three empty, unmarked stone chests that are assumed to be sarcophagi. Yet they contain no religious inscriptions, offering rooms, or other funerary features found in earlier and later tombs. Even more interesting, Snefru, the first king of the fourth dynasty, built three pyramids, two at Dahshur and one at Meidum. No one knows why he ordered this. Why would he order three tombs?
According to the independent Egyptian Egyptologist Moustafa Gadalla, the lack of funerary items alone invalidates the theory that the pyramids functioned as tombs. Remnants, scraps, or fibres from the mummy and its wrappings surely would remain in the burial chamber, or somewhere else in the pyramid, if it was a place of rest for the deceased. Furthermore, the pyramids’ passageways are too low — almost all are less than four feet high — and too narrow to provide for the movement of sarcophagi. In general, all of Egypt’s genuine pyramids, those that were built as a solid structure, simply lacked adequate accommodations for people and ceremony, which was essential for the deceased’s journey into the afterlife.
Finally, human remains have never been found inside a genuine pyramid. Thieves steal treasure, grave goods of monetary value, but would avoid a corpse. Valuables within the wrappings would have been removed and the corpse left next to its sarcophagus. If the idea was accepted that tomb raiders smashed the lids of the sarcophagi to gain access to the pharaoh’s personal treasure, why would they go to the trouble of taking the sarcophagi with them? Not to mention the brute force required to “make off” with such an item. Fragments of these hypothetical broken sarcophagi, or their lids, have never been found anywhere in the pyramids’ passages or chambers.
The observable evidence suggests that the pyramids were never intended to house human beings, dead or alive. Since passageways and chambers were designed and built into the pyramids, the time and trouble it took to build them logically requires utility in their purpose. The inner structure of the Great Pyramid, the most internally complex of all the pyramids, appears as an unfathomable series of ascending and descending passages with a single grand, ascending passage. Of course, this raises the question: If the pyramids were not tombs, then what were they?”
Once again presenting expert evidence and analysing the structure room by room including the granite sarcophagus without its lid, the author suggests that The Great Pyramid is most likely a geo-mechanical power plant.
Quoting from the book “In the late nineteenth century, Piazzi Smyth deemed it noteworthy to record that there were white flakes of mortar exuding from joints inside the shaft. Later, it was determined that the flakes were plaster of Paris, also known as gypsum. He also noted that the chamber contained a foul odour that hastened visitors’ exit from the room. According to Dunn, the odour was not likely the result of unclean conditions, but instead the residual elements of the chemical processes that once occurred there.
Another seemingly unexplainable fact is that salt was encrusted on the walls, and also in the horizontal passage in the lower portion of the Grand Gallery, in some places up to a half-inch thick. Ironically, salt is a natural by-product of the chemical reaction designed to produce hydrogen. It probably formed when hot, hydrogen-bearing gas reacted with the calcium in the limestone walls. In 1978, Dr. Patrick Flanagan, a physician and researcher, took a sample of this salt to the Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology for analysis. They discovered that it was a mixture of calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, and calcium sulphate, which is limestone, salt, and gypsum (plaster of Paris) — precisely the minerals that would be produced if a hydrogen-bearing reaction occurred in the queen’s chamber.”
Civilization before Predynastic (3000 B.C.E.) Egypt: Egyptian oral tradition traces their civilization back to 70,000 / 75000 years ago. The written evidence in the form of Turin Papyrus lists their kings for 36,620 years, but still Classical Egyptologists don’t accept Egyptian civilization of more than 5,000 years. To do so would be to rewrite the development of humans and accept that maybe the Paleolithic or definitely Mesolithic Humans had ceased to be nomads hunter gatherers and were settled agriculturalists. Their refutation is strengthened by lack of fossil evidence and other artefacts. The explanation of the flooding of Meditteranean valley about 8000 / 7500 years ago leading to loss of evidence be damned.
As per the oral tradition the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx were crafted about 40,000 years ago and the Great Pyramid was never meant to be a tomb. The tradition is silent on the use to which pyramids were put.
Christopher Dunn has scientifically established that the Giza Plateau and specifically The Great Pyramid could serve as a giant geo-mechanical power generator. However how the power so generated was utilized remains unanswered. Classical Egyptologist are unable to accept this claim and hold that Pyramids were meant to be tombs for the rulers and aristocracy. That a civilization 10,000 0r 40,000 years ago could generate and use electrical power is impossible to believe. If it were so, some evidence would have been found and we would not have had to live nearly 12,000 0r 42,000 years in darkness and candle light, tapers, etc. in the night time before Thomas Alva Edison discovered the filament bulb for our daily usage in the beginning of the twentieth century C.E.
The author has also tried to establish a Mayan Link with Prehistoric Egyptian Civilization based on the findings of Augustus Le Plongeon in Yucatan Peninsula, especially the story of Queen Moo and her trip to Egypt. The similarity of that story with the tale of Osiris, Isis and Horus according to the author establishes that Egyptian Prehistoric civilization was indeed a Mayan civilization relocated in Northern Africa!!!!!
In twelve long chapters, Edward Malkowski, creates a well crafted theory of an alternate Egyptian Civilization which existed millennia before the third millennium B.C.E. with advanced, science, building skills, art and philosophy. Yes it indeed was a riveting read.
To the followers and students of Alternate History and all those who believe modern mankind’s civilization is more than 10,000 years old and that skilled modern men existed much before the Cro-Magnon Man of 40,000 years ago this book is must read.
I would have given five plus stars to the book, if the few unanswered questions were at least answered in part, but since the book fails in that aspect, it is a four star read.
December 28, 2020
This is for the non-traditional Ancient Egyptian enthusiast to say the least.
If you are a conspiracy theory lover and like those with facts that potentially back them, you'll probably like this book.
If you actually have a passion for the history of Egypt... pass.
It will take a lot to get me to actually believe the Great Pyramid at Giza is a mechanism for creating electricity, though I may read Dunn's book, just because I know it's a book that exists.
(There are so many obvious reasons why this theory is garbage, one being that there are a several pyramids and only this one is a machine? haha.. give me a break)
Anyway, there is a lot of info packed into this title, but very little of it inspired me. I do like the idea that the Sphinx is older than claimed by traditional Egyptologists, but I was happy to put this book down and had to push my way through the last few chapters. I merely read this, because I am doing research and the public library has a limited collection, I mean... I'll read (damnear) anything. Also peculiar theories are interesting and can influence my imagination, but then there are those that simply fall short.
+2 STARS for effort and Sphinx info, -3 STARS for wobbly conclusions and electric pyramids
If you are a conspiracy theory lover and like those with facts that potentially back them, you'll probably like this book.
If you actually have a passion for the history of Egypt... pass.
It will take a lot to get me to actually believe the Great Pyramid at Giza is a mechanism for creating electricity, though I may read Dunn's book, just because I know it's a book that exists.
(There are so many obvious reasons why this theory is garbage, one being that there are a several pyramids and only this one is a machine? haha.. give me a break)
Anyway, there is a lot of info packed into this title, but very little of it inspired me. I do like the idea that the Sphinx is older than claimed by traditional Egyptologists, but I was happy to put this book down and had to push my way through the last few chapters. I merely read this, because I am doing research and the public library has a limited collection, I mean... I'll read (damnear) anything. Also peculiar theories are interesting and can influence my imagination, but then there are those that simply fall short.
+2 STARS for effort and Sphinx info, -3 STARS for wobbly conclusions and electric pyramids
March 17, 2024
Don't get me wrong, I did give it four stars, but this is a very good book, with plenty of technical and scientific data in it. It is not a book for the beginner, it does take some time to read. Still, the book has a few problems, the data is contradictory, and the author mixes a mainstream understanding with a more alternative view, turns out that both of them have some degree of value and some degree of uncertainty. What this book proved to me, is the difficulty to get objective when the subject is Ancient Egypt, because the data in itself point towards many different contradictory directions, the author does not seem to find this too problematic, too good for him, I would try to look from a different perspective, well worth for the initiated.
March 25, 2018
Bearing in mind that this book was published in 2006 it gives a very good review of the alternative thinking of the time as regards Ancient Egypt's origins and pre-dynastic civilization. I was impressed by the breadth of ideas examined in this book. It included the discussion over the age of the Sphinx, the star map of Nabta Playa, the origins of astrology, Christopher Dunn's theories on the pyramid as a power plant, the links between the Mayan civilization and Egypt, R.A. Schwaller De Lubicz and the symbolist interpretation of Ancient Egypt and Stephen Mehler and the indigenous Egyptian tradition's views on the origins and history of pre-dynastic Egypt.
August 22, 2021
There is a lot to take in with this book. I had to get an Atlas to see the area for a better understanding of locations. That was me, the Author did a good job on location descriptions, I just am more visual then some. I will be reading more about the power source idea. That was and idea I had not heard before. Over all a good book, not a light read, but worth the time if you want an outside view of what is thought and taught in most schools.
September 1, 2020
This book offers a view of prehistoric human capabilities that does not align with mainstream education. I found it refreshing and cannot say there were any large holes in his thought process. I have zero experience in this field or region so it was a little dense for me to be able to comprehend and fully appreciate. It was an interesting read regardless.
January 9, 2022
Good Read
The author makes a scientific case based on evidence of a advanced civilization existing before our current concepts of Egyptian history. He shows that the major construction on Giza was built by this civilization for reasons other than tombs. I highly recommend this book to you.
The author makes a scientific case based on evidence of a advanced civilization existing before our current concepts of Egyptian history. He shows that the major construction on Giza was built by this civilization for reasons other than tombs. I highly recommend this book to you.
August 29, 2017
I got this book to add to my knowledge of the prehistory of Egypt, but it seems to be mostly innuendo, biased against the "established" history of Egypt. I enjoyed the book, but he is not the best word artist.
April 27, 2018
I enjoy theories that are not in keeping with the mainstream. They give me food for thought.
October 18, 2021
Novi pogled na povijest
April 10, 2008
Very interesting compendium of information on why the relics of Egyptian civilization could be possibly quite older.
I downgraded this book to 3 stars because the author dwells at length on the theory that the great pyramid was a giant power generator and/or resonator. The problems with this theory are too numerous to mention and it takes the book toward Erich von Daniken territory. It's unfortunate because reviewers may look at this wild speculation and then throw out the baby with the bathwater, i.e., ignore the other demonstrable facts that strongly suggest conventional Egyptology is wrong.
I downgraded this book to 3 stars because the author dwells at length on the theory that the great pyramid was a giant power generator and/or resonator. The problems with this theory are too numerous to mention and it takes the book toward Erich von Daniken territory. It's unfortunate because reviewers may look at this wild speculation and then throw out the baby with the bathwater, i.e., ignore the other demonstrable facts that strongly suggest conventional Egyptology is wrong.
October 12, 2014
Good book.... I know for a fact they have lied about the artifacts found in Kemet...Horemakhet is definitely at least 13,000 years old based on water marks left from the ancient Nile floods... It also was made in honor of what we call astrology and the lion represented Leo and the head of a VIRGIN female represented Virgo... Also it had color on it...
Concluding, in addition to Horemakhet, their were many rulers before (Menes-Narmer)... You have a predynastic Kemet culture known as the Badarians..
Concluding, in addition to Horemakhet, their were many rulers before (Menes-Narmer)... You have a predynastic Kemet culture known as the Badarians..
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