Archaeology: Pyramid Builders' Graffiti

I found an old report on graffiti found in the great pyramid , something that I have never herd of before . This graffiti was reportedly placed there by the builders .
Now I tried doing a few searches , figuring that an older thread covering this story must have been covered here on ATS but I was unable to find any such thread . If there is can you please post a link , thanks .

With the report of graffiti and the finding of tombs that belonged to the Pyramid builders one has to think that there is some pretty good evidence that the pyramids were built by the Egyptians and not some mysterious race .

Archaeology: Pyramid Builders' Graffiti

The men building the pyramids of Egypt took a break one hot day 4,500 years ago and scrawled some hieroglyphic graffiti on a limestone block. They called themselves "The Craftsman Gang."

When Yale University archaeologist Mark Lehner, who has been excavating ancient ruins south of King Cheops's pyramid (below left), read the inscription, he found it fit with his emerging reinterpretation of who built the pyramids. They were not the slaves so often depicted in legend, but citizens conscripted to work for the government, possibly in lieu of paying taxes or serving in the army.

Source

Egypt Finds Tombs of Pyramid Builders, And More Evidence They Were Free Men

Forget the myths about massive numbers of slaves or Jews building the great pyramids, Egypt’s chief archaeologist argues this week. He says Egyptian researchers have found the tombs of more pyramid builders, and in those tombs more evidence that free men erected these monumental tributes to the ancient pharaohs.
Zahi Hawass this week unveiled new research on 4,000-year-old tombs found near the pyramids

blogs.discovermagazine.com...




[edit on 17-1-2010 by Max_TO]

reply to post by Max_TO
Good OP. I love this stuff and it's not insisting that aliens taught them how to graffiti!

The Egyptians were just like us. Their builders wrote graffiti all over the place, but a lot of it had a purpose. They worked in small groups as part of larger groups under an overseer. We know this because it's written in Pyramid Texts and stelae across Egypt. Their are temple murals that show the hierarchy. The four sides of Great Pyramid were allocated to different overseers.

A lot of the graffiti found by Lehner showed 'tags' for the work gangs. They'd 'tag' the areas they were responsible for. It might have helped with record keeping and payments. I think the implication is they were competitive with other 'phyles (tribes)' of workers. They had modern-sounding 'team names' like Endurance, Tough, Strong etc.

It's popular on ATS to imagine many weird things about the Egyptians. It's a shame too, cos the more people read about them, the more real they become.

Great!! Now we need more "personalized" graffiti, like "Imhotep was here" or something like that. Of course, there will be someone who will jump at the "opportunity" and claim Imhotep was an alien foreman and his scripture was in hieroglyph (a) because "it was there, so why bother make up some sophisticated language?" or (b) it was the aliens' language which they taught the Egyptians".

Nice work OP, flagged

I used to be a big fan of 'lost civilizations' and 'forbidden archaeology.' Still got the books in storage. As I've studied more and learned more, the Ancient Egyptians have grown far more human and normal like us. This image is of a papyrus scroll that records an event that happens on every big building site in the world today.

The list of charges starts with claiming that he bribed the vizier with 5 servants to gain his appointment.

a) He was charged with stealing ‘the cover of a chariot’ from the tomb of Seti II.
b) Charges relating to goings-on with married women or women who were living with other men. Hel was one of the women mentioned. Herysunnebef, husband of Hel, was the other adopted son of Neferhotep, and he later divorced Hel, as we know from another source.
c) Stealing stones from the tomb of Seti II for use in his own tomb and using the workmen to work in it (but maybe this wasn’t so bad as other people also used the workmen).
d) The row with Neferhotep, which resulted in Paneb being punished by the vizier. Paneb appealed to pharaoh himself and had the vizier sacked. Paneb evidently was in favour with the right people!
e) He stole the bed from the tomb of a colleague on which the dead workman was lying. f) He stole a large spike and hid it behind a big stone when a search was made for it.

Back room stuff in the British Museum

The link shows shopping lists, a woman's court case against her unfaithful husband and building receipts.All said, those Egyptian guys would fit in real nice here in the 2010!

I believe the guy who did all that ascribed in the papyrus you shown, Kandinsky, must have had Greek blood in his veins, Spartan in particular. Adulteries aside, the Spartans were legendary thieves, brought up to steal and not be caught (essential part of their "agoge" and the main reason they were constantly underfed as adolescents).

reply to post by Kandinsky


Thanks for adding that


One other thing that I have recently learned for the first time , please bare with me as I have no link to back this up ... I can try digging aground later to see if I can find a link ....

It was reported that back in Napoleon's day , if I remember correctly , that Napoleon's army tried to blast a hole in the side of the pyramid . Although there attempt to create an entrance way failed they did however reveal that the inner make up of the pyramid was made up of filler rocks of all various sizes . These rocks were not the nice fitting , precisely cut rocks that we have been lead to believe that make up the pyramid .

The idea of these filler rocks is a very human solution to make use of all the scrap rocks / cuts that a build such as this would surly have generated .

As mentioned I will do a little searching later today to see if I can find a collaborating link with pictures .

"The Craftsman Gang." = early Masons?

Sounds like the designers not the slave workers to me.


"Forget the myths about massive numbers of slaves..."

Forget about the slave/servants?
but I was just reminded:

"The list of charges starts with claiming that he bribed the vizier with 5 SERVANTS to gain his appointment."




[edit on 17-1-2010 by Deny Arrogance]

[edit on 17-1-2010 by Deny Arrogance]

This is interesting:

There is evidence that gang organisation of masons went back in Egypt to the Fourth Dynasty, and probably to Imhotep and the building of the Step Pyramid itself, for his workmen must have been well organised, or such a `stately and superb edifice' could never have been completed. At a certain point, which will again be familiar to you, our ritual also reminds us of the grievous consequences of the loss of the principal architect, which could not fail to be generally and severely felt, and you will recall that the want of those plans and designs which had hitherto been regularly supplied to the different classes of workmen was the first indication that some heavy calamity had befallen our M. From the pyramid at Meydum, probably begun as a step pyramid at the end of the Third Dynasty, come the names of several gangs found on casing blocks: `Step Pyramid gang', `Boat gang', `Vigorous gang', `Sceptre gang', 'Enduring gang', `North gang' and `South gang'. And at the Great Pyramid of Giza built by King Khufu (Cheops), the successor of Seneferu who finished the Meydum pyramid, was found a block of limestone on which is written: `The Craftsmen gang'. How powerful is the white crown of Khnum Khufu (I. E. S. Edwards, The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt, 1961). Here the king's full name means that he is under the protection of Khnum, the creator god from Aswan, incidentally the source of granite much used in his pyramid. Egyptologists have not explained why the names of gangs were placed on stones. Does the last inscription suggest a lodge or class of operative masons who, with instruction in their craft, gave their apprentices esoteric teaching too? Parallels with our working tools are remarkable. I have already mentioned the copper chisel. I do not know of any masons's tools which actually come from the Step Pyramid, but all the working tools of the First and Second Degrees must have been used by Imhotep's masons. If we take the cubit rod as equivalent to the 24‑inch gauge, gavels of wood for striking the chisel and mauls of stone for dressing the stone were in use then, and so no doubt were the square, level and plumb rule. Examples of masons' tools which survive from the Third Dynasty, and must be almost, if not quite, contemporary with the Step Pyramid, are plumb bobs of limestone, gavels of wood and chisels of copper. A model wooden square and plummet were found in a mason's grave at Sedment, dating from about 2200 BC. The earliest surviving level of which I am aware dates from about 1250 BC 44 (about the time of the Exodus). Long before that we know that the Egyptians made use of the property of water to maintain its own level, a slight error in the level of the base of the Great Pyramid being attributable to the prevalence of the north wind.

from THE COLLECTED PRESTONIAN LECTURES

1961-1974

(Volume Two)

www.phoenixmasonry.org...

reply to post by Max_TO

Although there attempt to create an entrance way failed they did however reveal that the inner make up of the pyramid was made up of filler rocks of all various sizes . These rocks were not the nice fitting , precisely cut rocks that we have been lead to believe that make up the pyramid .

Napoleon's forces firing canons at the Pyramid is a myth, I think. They were also credited with blowing the Sphinx' nose off. Not true, as a Persian scholar from the 12th Century IIRC drew the Sphinx and it's nose and beard were already missing.

The blocks that make up the Pyramid are how you describe. It was planned to be covered in polished limestone casing so perfect lines were unnecessary. A 1990s study by a French-Japanese team used gravi-metric testing to search for possible secret rooms in the pyramid. Their findings indicated that within the structure are cavities filled with sand and back-fill.

I've got a couple of cool images of Giza before it was reclaimed by Egyptian authorities as a site worthy of protection. I've posted them before, but they look great...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/ef6c0325153a.jpg[/atsimg] The Sphinx was buried under sand for many centuries

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c28ffc981a61.jpg[/atsimg] British soldiers from the late 19th Century

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/32e924681cbc.jpg[/atsimg] Bird's eye view of Giza

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4ee0e8d210b3.jpg[/atsimg] Giza now. This is part of the Lehner excavations in the OP

reply to post by Kandinsky


Some great pic's !!

Thanks for posting those !!

reply to post by Deny Arrogance


Great link and thanks for adding that

One thing that should be mentioned , they may have built the pyramid but the pyramid built Egypt . Just imagine the support that would have to have been in place to support such an undertaking . This would have brought all the people of ancient Egypt together like nothing else .

reply to post by Kandinsky


I knew it was buried but I didn't know there were actual photos.

Very cool!

I found an interesting site that offers up there ideas as to how the ancients moved the very large bricks into place .

A NEW AND UNIQUE THEORY ON THE MOVEMENT
OF HEAVY STONES

A pyramid can be constructed without the use of ramps, heavy stones can be moved without dragging them along and with 75% less manpower than is presently thought necessary. This article will show how. It has been compiled as a result of actual experiments conducted in my back yard with a 4 ton block of concrete made expressly for this purpose and hopefully will lead to properly conducted experiments that will prove this theory beyond doubt.
How to elevate a 50ton stone to the upper levels of a pyramid without the use of ramps, ropes or extensive manpower.

How the ancient Britons could have transported the sarsen stones to Stonehenge without dragging them along.

How to erect a 40ton stone without the use of ramps, ropes or 'A' frames and with less than 25 men.

How to place the lintel stones on the uprights at Stonehenge with less than a dozen men.

Source

I have found some collaborating testimony with regards to my earlier statement of the " blown hole " in the side of the pyramid ....

My source is IMAX Pyramids - How they were built . Sorry folks I have no link to the video but I am sure it can be found using your favorite file sharing program .

They state with regards to the blown hole in the side are as follows ...

19th century explorer tried to blow a hole in the pyramid

So it clearly wasn't Napoleon , as which was correctly pointed out buy an earlier poster

In the video they also show the hole that was made by this " 19th century explorer " and subsequently , the filler rocks on the inside .
As for a link confirming this report , I have been unable to locate any such documentation





[edit on 17-1-2010 by Max_TO]

A French architect, Houdin has tried to show that the GP used an internal ramp. It's a neat idea. He even found a couple of earlier, collapsed pyramids that appeared to show internal ramps. This is a taste of his ideas...



I like the idea, but it didn't get a lot of support.

Graffiti in the pyramid, that sounds beautiful, hopefully we can get together as a people, make another in the desert and do the same.



[edit on 18-1-2010 by SpiritHipHop]

Originally posted by Max_TO
I found an interesting site that offers up there ideas as to how the ancients moved the very large bricks into place .

A NEW AND UNIQUE THEORY ON THE MOVEMENT
OF HEAVY STONES

A pyramid can be constructed without the use of ramps, heavy stones can be moved without dragging them along and with 75% less manpower than is presently thought necessary. This article will show how. It has been compiled as a result of actual experiments conducted in my back yard with a 4 ton block of concrete made expressly for this purpose and hopefully will lead to properly conducted experiments that will prove this theory beyond doubt.
How to elevate a 50ton stone to the upper levels of a pyramid without the use of ramps, ropes or extensive manpower.

How the ancient Britons could have transported the sarsen stones to Stonehenge without dragging them along.

How to erect a 40ton stone without the use of ramps, ropes or 'A' frames and with less than 25 men.

How to place the lintel stones on the uprights at Stonehenge with less than a dozen men.

Source

I'm not subscribing to the "graffiti proves human built" theory....but, here's another interesting vid-

reply to post by Max_TO


Indeed it does have graffiti both carved and stained. The red markings by the builders actually say they are employed by Khufu and this pyramid is his, and this same 'red' was used for the survey marker lines throughout the entire pyramid, from bottom all the way to the top, human surveyor lines...yes there are survey lines and cut marks from bronze tools, not vibration scars from being lifted magically from the ground.

K-dinks, there is ramp rubble found that also has Khufus insignia on shards. Ill find the link when I have more time.

Thanks for finding this OP, S and F

Originally posted by zazzafrazz
reply to post by Max_TO

 

Indeed it does have graffiti both carved and stained. The red markings by the builders actually say they are employed by Khufu and this pyramid is his, and this same 'red' was used for the survey marker lines throughout the entire pyramid, from bottom all the way to the top, human surveyor lines...yes there are survey lines and cut marks from bronze tools, not vibration scars from being lifted magically from the ground.

K-dinks, there is ramp rubble found that also has Khufus insignia on shards. Ill find the link when I have more time.

Thanks for finding this OP, S and F

Hello Zazz!

Couldn't the markings & graffiti been put there at a later date? To claim it for his own?

reply to post by Signals

Hi Signals
NO, How can surveyor and chisel marks be put there later? They evened up the rocks by these lines, even inside the pyramid, They are from building time, and the graffiti is the same tools throughout as surveyor red stain or chisel tool.....

The graffiti disappears under the rock that is laid on top of it, so it could only have been put there at construction time. The kings name dissapears under the stones laid on top.
"May the sails fill with wind for Khufu" they drew a boat, not a craft, but what they knew for transportation....a boat....and this prayer dedication is for a speedy completion of the pyramid.

This is a basic video but it shows you the construction and graffiti on the laid blocks that dissapears that I am referring to.




[edit on 18-1-2010 by zazzafrazz]