Ancient Egypt - Remarkable Views of a Surprisingly Modern Past

a reply to: Spider879

Thank you, Spider. I'm glad you liked it!

I like the OP too. The only quarrel I have is comparing Ancient Egypt - which is part of the Historical Era in Archaeology - to prehistoric Britain.

It's pretty certain that the AEs weren't living like the British were in 3000 BCE. Nor were the Babylonians, nor the Indus Valley Civilization.

Harte

1. Pathway? No, causeway.

2. Corbelled vault - Look at the pic. It's a stairway to "heaven".

originally posted by: SLAYER69
a reply to: jeep3r

Excellent work.

I would have loved to have lived when Saqqara was up, running and in its prime. There, the Giza Plateau, Malta, Peru...

At Saqqara, what fascinates me isn't it's appearance but its over all function. Which seems to have dealt with sound and vibration, possible in some yet unknown way "frequency. We may never know.

It surprises me that nobody, as far I am aware of has ever did scientific research into the resonance properties and applications of cristaline rock like granite. Doing such research will be exciting to discover new knowledge like that and able to explain some of the ancient egyptian mysteries.. But hey, what do I know.. For all we know it has been done or kept secret because it would be reason to rewrite history with facts TPTB do not want us to know.

originally posted by: zatara

originally posted by: SLAYER69
a reply to: jeep3r

Excellent work.

I would have loved to have lived when Saqqara was up, running and in its prime. There, the Giza Plateau, Malta, Peru...

At Saqqara, what fascinates me isn't it's appearance but its over all function. Which seems to have dealt with sound and vibration, possible in some yet unknown way "frequency. We may never know.

It surprises me that nobody, as far I am aware of has ever did scientific research into the resonance properties and applications of cristaline rock like granite. Doing such research will be exciting to discover new knowledge like that and able to explain some of the ancient egyptian mysteries.. But hey, what do I know.. For all we know it has been done or kept secret because it would be reason to rewrite history with facts TPTB do not want us to know.

Yeah, BIG secret!
www.hindawi.com...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com...
www.researchgate.net...
link.springer.com...
academic.oup.com...

Hope no one finds out!

Harte

Signals from beyond the stars?

originally posted by: Harte

Hope no one finds out!

Harte

Hope no one finds out about this, either ... (scroll down to Signals from beyond the stars?

Wow! Just a quick reply from reading your OP. THANK YOU!! This is the kind of stuff I like to learn about. flag.

More later as I read along...
whee!!

Great post, it is always awesome to see old pictures of this sites. I was able to visit Egypt a few months ago and it was as great as expected, the pyramids were amazing, but so was the rest of that ancient world , the good thing was that most tourists were only doing Giza, Saqqara was almost empty! Karnak temple was probably my favourite spot. I have been obsessed with Egypt since I was a child and always thought there was something "else" behind it, however after my visit I felt it more mundane, more real, nothing out of it gave me the impression of Aliens or Ancient technology, just great architects and hard work. Deep in my heart I still want a stargate to be found around the place but hey... dreaming is free.

originally posted by: foofighter00
Great post, it is always awesome to see old pictures of this sites. I was able to visit Egypt a few months ago and it was as great as expected, the pyramids were amazing, but so was the rest of that ancient world , the good thing was that most tourists were only doing Giza, Saqqara was almost empty! Karnak temple was probably my favourite spot. I have been obsessed with Egypt since I was a child and always thought there was something "else" behind it, however after my visit I felt it more mundane, more real, nothing out of it gave me the impression of Aliens or Ancient technology, just great architects and hard work. Deep in my heart I still want a stargate to be found around the place but hey... dreaming is free.

Egypt is a great place and the 'real' ancient Egypt is found beyond Giza.

a reply to: jeep3r

Meh, rocks piled on top of each other are not impressive to me. What is amazing to me is that people typing on a computer while talking with other people from around the planet are still impressed by piles of 5000 year old rocks. Going to the moon and back is impressive. Elon Musk's new rockets are pretty impressive. What do you think the architect of Giza would have thought of a helicopter I wonder... We live in magical times.

V

a reply to: Hanslune

That is exactly why I travelled the whole country, I just missed a few places due to transportation issues, lots of black market selling all kind of ancient stuff, that was sad.

originally posted by: foofighter00
a reply to: Hanslune

That is exactly why I travelled the whole country, I just missed a few places due to transportation issues, lots of black market selling all kind of ancient stuff, that was sad.

I've been six times and did go to much of the west bank but if you go back do the train/flight from Cairo to Aswan and take a boat back down with stops at Luxor etc., great places on both banks.

originally posted by: Variable
a reply to: jeep3r

Meh, rocks piled on top of each other are not impressive to me. What is amazing to me is that people typing on a computer while talking with other people from around the planet are still impressed by piles of 5000 year old rocks. Going to the moon and back is impressive. Elon Musk's new rockets are pretty impressive. What do you think the architect of Giza would have thought of a helicopter I wonder... We live in magical times.

V

Both modern and old stuff is the stuff of wonder. The National Geographics of the 1960's lured me into modern tech and archaeology.

I wrote my epic poem Asia's Feet Unbound after dancing with African Arab boys playing drums, tambourines shouting Tweest Lady Tweest on the top of Karnak temple ruins with full moon and full sun in sky. Arab women in a circle were winding in a mill grind bent over their work faces covered in the distance. Also rode a camel called California Here I Come at the Pyramids, Sphinx. Soon afterwards I read Electric Kool Aid Acid Test and migrated to Haight-Ashbury, California here I come!

Women did not know what it was to be free until they were able to go away to college, get educated about other cultures and mores, take uncontrollable substances..and be liberatd. Glad I did not marry Arab who gave me engagement ring!

When I saw belly dancers at Sahara Night Club, I heard that women were only allowed in recent times to remove a couple veils, it had been 7.

originally posted by: Harte

originally posted by: zatara

originally posted by: SLAYER69
a reply to: jeep3r

Excellent work.

I would have loved to have lived when Saqqara was up, running and in its prime. There, the Giza Plateau, Malta, Peru...

At Saqqara, what fascinates me isn't it's appearance but its over all function. Which seems to have dealt with sound and vibration, possible in some yet unknown way "frequency. We may never know.

It surprises me that nobody, as far I am aware of has ever did scientific research into the resonance properties and applications of cristaline rock like granite. Doing such research will be exciting to discover new knowledge like that and able to explain some of the ancient egyptian mysteries.. But hey, what do I know.. For all we know it has been done or kept secret because it would be reason to rewrite history with facts TPTB do not want us to know.

Yeah, BIG secret!

www.hindawi.com...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com...
www.researchgate.net...
link.springer.com...
academic.oup.com...

Hope no one finds out!

Harte

Thx...very nice. Still no idea how the ancient egyptians did it or what obelisk or giant granite boxes is for..? But then again..maybe a box is just a box, a pyramid a pyramid and a pilar a pilar.

originally posted by: zatara

originally posted by: Harte

originally posted by: zatara

originally posted by: SLAYER69
a reply to: jeep3r

Excellent work.

I would have loved to have lived when Saqqara was up, running and in its prime. There, the Giza Plateau, Malta, Peru...

At Saqqara, what fascinates me isn't it's appearance but its over all function. Which seems to have dealt with sound and vibration, possible in some yet unknown way "frequency. We may never know.

It surprises me that nobody, as far I am aware of has ever did scientific research into the resonance properties and applications of cristaline rock like granite. Doing such research will be exciting to discover new knowledge like that and able to explain some of the ancient egyptian mysteries.. But hey, what do I know.. For all we know it has been done or kept secret because it would be reason to rewrite history with facts TPTB do not want us to know.

Yeah, BIG secret!

www.hindawi.com...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com...
www.researchgate.net...
link.springer.com...
academic.oup.com...

Hope no one finds out!

Harte

Thx...very nice. Still no idea how the ancient egyptians did it or what obelisk or giant granite boxes is for..? But then again..maybe a box is just a box, a pyramid a pyramid and a pilar a pilar.

I don't think any box with a lid, whether cardboard, wood or granite is designed to be empty, hence the lid. Any shape and placing of a construction must have design and function to some degree.

originally posted by: zatara

Thx...very nice. Still no idea how the ancient egyptians did it or what obelisk or giant granite boxes is for..? But then again..maybe a box is just a box, a pyramid a pyramid and a pilar a pilar.

If you mean the large sarcophagi for bull mummies then they were for that particular sect that wished to preserve the Apis bull just like the Catholic church preserved saints bones and such. Those big granite boxes have inscriptions written on them - you might wish to look up what they say.

Obelisks contained information on the the person who rose it and praise to the god(s)

roma.andreapollett.com...

Pyramids were tombs - or so the AE tell us.

originally posted by: Hanslune

originally posted by: zatara

Thx...very nice. Still no idea how the ancient egyptians did it or what obelisk or giant granite boxes is for..? But then again..maybe a box is just a box, a pyramid a pyramid and a pilar a pilar.

If you mean the large sarcophagi for bull mummies then they were for that particular sect that wished to preserve the Apis bull just like the Catholic church preserved saints bones and such. Those big granite boxes have inscriptions written on them - you might wish to look up what they say.

Obelisks contained information on the the person who rose it and praise to the god(s)

roma.andreapollett.com...

Pyramids were tombs - or so the AE tell us.

How many granite boxes have inscriptions on them?

I think you've selected some lovely images (though I do wish there were fewer Giza and a few more of Karnak, etc)

originally posted by: jeep3r
This thread is quite different from my previous ones, it's more "visual" and less heavy on text. My intention is to showcase Ancient Egyptian architecture in such a way that the "design language" of the ancient builders is more in focus than in my previous threads.

(snipped lovely pictures)

Personally, I think a lot of it looks and feels "industrial", although Egyptologists will always maintain that it's nothing unusual considering the historical context and evolution of the architectural style in pharaonic times. It always amazes me when thinking about the fact that one of the earliest ancient civilizations have built what we would call skyscrapers today, with a height of up to 150 meters. Those who created these structures had a great variety of neat engineering tricks up their sleeve. Tricks that still baffle us up to this day, incredible as it may seem.

You touched on the explanation in your first post there...

Egypt was a civilization in an age of cultures.

The warming (and drying) of the world at the end of the Ice Age forced wandering human bands to come together in larger groups... but the unique structure of the desert and the Nile meant a LOT Of people got together in a very narrow place in a fairly short (thousand years or so) time frame. There would be arguments and negotiations over who was in charge of what, meaning a quicker rise to a more complex government.

It's also in a particularly fertile area (as with Mesopotamia)

Civilization means farming, which means division of labor. Now you can have specialists (potters, stone masons, weavers, bakers, herders, etc, etc.) With time for specialization you have time to develop interesting and unusual ornamentation (goldsmiths' works) and architecture that's just not possible in an isolated village that has to occasionally defend itself from other groups (Mesopotamia develops almost as fast but is disadvantaged somewhat by invasions from other groups.)

Now... remember that you see similar development in stonework in Mesopotamia and in technology (and a bit more, actually, since they had earlier access to iron than Egypt did.) There was movement of materials (and probably experts) between these two areas - Mesopotamia and Egypt.

So think of it as the development of the Known World there... two competing civilizations close by, with economic support to have specialists and stable rulerships (generally) to direct national construction projects.

originally posted by: zatara
Thx...very nice. Still no idea how the ancient egyptians did it or what obelisk or giant granite boxes is for..? But then again..maybe a box is just a box, a pyramid a pyramid and a pilar a pilar.

They wrote on the "giant granite boxes" and said what was in there and why. They also wrote on some pyramids and on the obelisks. The writing tells the purpose.