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| Ancient Egyptian Pyramids |
Rumors, dating back dozens of years, establish pyramids in Alaska, Florida, within the boundaries of the world famous Bermuda Triangle, the lost continent of Atlantis and other spots underneath the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These rumors, currently dismissed as folklore, may some day be granted further credence, or even scientific validity through a serendipitous discovery by an adventurer or soldier of fortune, or by the painstaking revelation of an archaeological expedition.
Seemingly, the only geographical locations on earth devoid of pyramidal structures are Australia and the Antarctic region. But archaeological research may yet reveal pyramids in these regions pyramids enveloped, as are those in Central and South America, by natural growth. There is also the possibility that new pyramids will be unearthed near present locations of stone and dirt mounds.
Certainly any archaeological expedition which unearthed a new pyramidal site would win worldwide attention and acclaim. This is because pyramids are today the subject of a great deal of interest not merely in archaeological circles, but also in the scientific and parapsychological communities.
It should be noted here that to determine the date of an archaeological find, excavators all over the world have been using the analysis of radioactive carbon, the isotope Carbon 14. Unfortunately, it now appears that the dates obtained through the use of this method are highly questionable, since contamination from present day organic materials could substantially affect the process. Archaeologists now believe that most of the sites dated with Carbon 14 are actually older than the dating process showed that they were. There is currently an enormous controversy raging in archaeological circles over the claim of some archaeologists that Carbon 14 dating is incorrect by thousands of years, not hundreds as was previously thought.
Despite the now-apparent flaws in what has, for the past several decades, been accepted as a valid, scientific dating method, Carbon 14 is still useful in that it provides us with information about the evolution and succession of civilizations. Therefore for the sake of convenience, in this and other chapters dealing with archaeological finds, the dates provided by the Carbon 14 process will be used to provide readers with a reference point.
There is a great deal of mystery surrounding pyramids from the enigma of the building of the colossal Egyptian, Mayan and Peruvian pyramids to the perplexing and inexplicable powers seemingly intrinsic to the pyramidal shape. And perhaps the first mystery of the pyramids is that of the origin of the name itself.
Obviously, the English word is derived from the Greek PYRAMIS (Plural Pyramids). Less obvious is the derivation of the Greek word itself. It does not seem to be derived from MR (pronounced mer), the Egyptian word for the four-sided, triangular-faced, square-based structure. (To add to the confusion, this Egyptian word has, itself, no descriptive significance, according to I. E. S. Edwards in The Pyramids of Egypt.)
One possible ancestor of pyramis is a word found in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, now in the British Museum. This word, PER-EM-US, is described in the Egyptian mathematical treatise as indicating the vertical height of a pyramid. Literally translated, it means “what goes (straight) up . . (from something, signified by the final syllable US). Unfortunately, the meaning of this syllable is not known and therefore the word is only partially clear.
To accept the explanation that pyramis is actually derived from per-em-us would be to imply that the Greeks either misunderstood the meaning of the Egyptian term or, by the linguistic process known as synecdoche, named the entire pyramidal structure after the Egyptian word for a part of it. Egyptologists, finding this explanation unacceptable, have accepted the term pyramis as a purely Greek word with no known connection with Egypt terminology.
It has been suggested that the Greeks facetiously chose this word because it means, in their language, “wheaten cake,” and, when seen from a distance, the pyramids did, indeed seem to them to resemble large cakes. Another example of the Greek custom of humorously applying a descriptive word from their own language to an object having no exact parallel in their own architecture, is obeliskos, which now means obelisk, but which also means “a little spit, or skewer.”
An entirely different derivation is suggested by Gerald Massey in Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World. Massey traces the word back to the Greek PUR (pronounced pyr) meaning “fire” and the Egyptian MET, meaning “ten,” or “a measure.” Thus, he asserts, the word stands for the ten original measures or arcs traced by the god of fire, the sun, through the zodiacal circuit. Since the Great Pyramids at Giza, among others, seem to have been constructed according to sidereal measurements, this theory is plausible. The word would then literally mean, “a ten-form measure of fire,” a symbolic figure for manifest life.
The controversy over the derivation of the word pyramid is minor compared to that which rages over the purpose of the pyramids themselves. Egyptologists claim that the pyramids were tombs; Peruvianists and other archaeologists investigating in Meso-America state that they were used as temples. And some pyramidologist now believe that the pyramids are, possibly, resonators or store-houses of energy. Their finding is that the frequencies radiated by the earth itself (including the magnetic force lines) and cosmic radiation blend within the pyramidal structure and produce a beat frequency (in the same way in which two piano keys, when struck simultaneously, produce a third, or beat frequency). This beat frequency, they suggest, could create an energy radiation.
The question then becomes: were the pyramids built precisely for the purpose of storing, or producing, energy? If so, for what purpose were they used? And how did the architects learn that pyramids could be used in such a manner?
There is no doubt that every civilization which built pyramids did so with the use of highly advanced mathematical and astronomical calculations and a seemingly impossible mastery of the skill of stone masonry. In civilizations separated not only by millions of miles, but by hundreds of years, stones weighing many tons were hoisted into position with infinite precision for the purpose of erecting pyramidal structures. Because of the virtually identical use of skill and science in the erection of the pyramids, it is impossible not to conjecture that perhaps these skills and sciences were taught to the pyramid builders by persons from outside the civilizations. If so, from where did these outsiders come? How did they get here? Did they teach astronomy and mathematics for the sole purpose of having the pyramids constructed? Or was there some other motive be hind the endowment of this knowledge upon the peoples of the ancient civilizations?
Of course, there are at present no answers to these questions. Perhaps some day archaeologists will uncover written records which will, at last, lay the mystery of the pyramids to rest. But until then, archaeologists will go on be^ "’"(*, as they have for centuries, that the pyramids Were built as temples or tombs. Beyond that unsupported official explanation, the curious mind will continue its investigation into one of the most fascinating architectural enigmas of all times.
Pyramid Archaeologist :
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