Fingerprints of the Gods - Book Review

[Beagle]

Hancock thinks Khufu built the Great Pyramid.

Yeah. There seems to be no doubt about Khufu doing at least a renovation - maybe all of it. In fact I think he says he built it somewhere.

What do you think about the Khafre Pyramid though?

[Minimalist]

From the same source as above:

The presence of the Khufu and Khnum-Khufu cartouches inside the Great Pyramid and on some of the core masonry stones on the exterior does not prove that it was the 4th-dynasty pharaoh Khufu who built it; he may have been named after the Pyramid, rather than the other way around. Khufu's cartouche has been found on dozens of tombs and monuments in Egypt, some of them far later than the 4th dynasty. William Fix comments:


Egyptologists explain that Khufu's name had become 'a powerful charm', and was put on monuments as a sign of sanctity and protection. In other words, it was used in later times as the sign of the cross has been used in Christian countries for nearly two thousand years. Of course, we do not assume that every representation of a person bearing the symbol of a cross is Jesus Christ, nor that every building with a cross was personally ordered to be built by Jesus. Neither do we assume that every person named Jesus is the original Jesus Christ.[9]
Fix cites evidence to show that the quarry-marks and cartouches that have been used to attribute pyramids to kings have been misinterpreted. Some of the cartouches of 4th-dynasty kings may originally have been sacred symbols identifying different schools of religious thought, rather than primarily the names of individual pharaohs. The historically known kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure may well have appropriated, and possibly restored, the three Giza pyramids as their own memorial monuments, and may have been responsible for some of the surrounding auxiliary structures -- small subsidiary pyramids, temples, tombs, and boat pits -- but there is no conclusive evidence that they built the three major pyramids themselves.

After all, George Washington did not build the George Washington Bridge and Abe Lincoln did not build the Lincoln Tunnel.

[Beagle]

The pyramids were built by Hebrew slaves working under Charlton Heston, don't you lot know anything?

Easy Digit - there's Mins' blood pressure you know.

[Beagle]

From the same source as above:

The presence of the Khufu and Khnum-Khufu cartouches inside the Great Pyramid and on some of the core masonry stones on the exterior does not prove that it was the 4th-dynasty pharaoh Khufu who built it; he may have been named after the Pyramid, rather than the other way around. Khufu's cartouche has been found on dozens of tombs and monuments in Egypt, some of them far later than the 4th dynasty. William Fix comments:


Egyptologists explain that Khufu's name had become 'a powerful charm', and was put on monuments as a sign of sanctity and protection. In other words, it was used in later times as the sign of the cross has been used in Christian countries for nearly two thousand years. Of course, we do not assume that every representation of a person bearing the symbol of a cross is Jesus Christ, nor that every building with a cross was personally ordered to be built by Jesus. Neither do we assume that every person named Jesus is the original Jesus Christ.[9]
Fix cites evidence to show that the quarry-marks and cartouches that have been used to attribute pyramids to kings have been misinterpreted. Some of the cartouches of 4th-dynasty kings may originally have been sacred symbols identifying different schools of religious thought, rather than primarily the names of individual pharaohs. The historically known kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure may well have appropriated, and possibly restored, the three Giza pyramids as their own memorial monuments, and may have been responsible for some of the surrounding auxiliary structures -- small subsidiary pyramids, temples, tombs, and boat pits -- but there is no conclusive evidence that they built the three major pyramids themselves.

After all, George Washington did not build the George Washington Bridge and Abe Lincoln did not build the Lincoln Tunnel.

Dead on Min!! I have to tend to a few things. I'll be back in here later.

[Forum Monk]

From the same source as above:

... he may have been named after the Pyramid, rather than the other way around.... William Fix comments:
Egyptologists explain that Khufu's name had become 'a powerful charm', and was put on monuments as a sign of sanctity and protection.

After all, George Washington did not build the George Washington Bridge and Abe Lincoln did not build the Lincoln Tunnel.

Is it just me or was this quote a little contradictory. First the author says Khufu may have been named after the pyramid (like Abraham being named after the tunnel, I suppose) and then he says, his name was attached to the pyramid much like a charm. I've never heard any case of a pharoah being named after a monument or structure. It does seem likely, if it predates him, he may have attached his name to it, but in many cases there is evidence of older names being removed or covered over. Has anyone speculated or reported anything about this?

[Minimalist]

Khnum was the name of a god. Oddly, as this essay points out, within the span of one generation, the Ra (re) cult seems to have ascended to the detriment of Khnum. That seems pretty quick even by Egyptian standards.

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/khnum.htm

Khufu's name was actually 'Khnum-Khufu' meaning 'Khnum is his Protector'. His cult was popular before the cult of Re eclipsed it. The next pyramid builders were his son and grandson who added 'Re' to their names - Khafra and Menkaura. Khnum was possibly even a predynastic god.

[marduk]

Sneferu He built the Bent Pyramid, which is pyramid built at a normal angle at the bottom but drastically changes at the top. He also built the first "true" pyramid, known as the Red Pyramid. Some say that he was buried at the Red Pyramid, while others say that he was buried at the Bent Pyramid. Bones have been found at the Red Pyramid, but there is no evidence that shows this is Sneferu's body. 2613–2589

Khufu Greek form Cheops. Built the great pyramid of Giza. Note that Khufu is spoken of in early sources as being "third" of his family to rule, although there is no known record of a Pharaoh between Sneferu and Khufu. One supposition is that there might have been a very short reign of some elder brother of Khufu, whose inscriptions, name, and monuments have perished for one reason or another. 2589–2566
Djedefra (Radjedef) — 2566–2558

Khafra Greek form Chephren 2558–2532
— here some authorities insert Bikheris, following Manetho —
Menkaura Greek form Mycerinus 2532–2503
Shepseskaf – 2503–2498
— here some authorities insert Thampthis, following Manetho —
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pharaohs


Khufu actually built it

lets face it the only people claiming otherwise are Hancock who claims the whole area was planned around 10,500bce
and Sitchin who claims it was a prison to hold the Alien God Bel Marduk after a failed coup d'etat against Enlil or some such crap
and Edgar Cayce who claimed one time when he was asleep (allegedly) he saw it built around 10,000bce because he was an Atlantean priest called Ra Ta who oversaw its construction just after Atlantis sunk
and Ron Wyatt who claims it was built by Adam in 2,654 B.C.


when someone credible comes along with some evidence that the Gizamids are older than 4550 years then maybe thered be something worth discussing
til then.......................

[Cognito]

Khufu actually built it

lets face it the only people claiming otherwise are Hancock who claims the whole area was planned around 10,500bce
and Sitchin who claims it was a prison to hold the Alien God Bel Marduk after a failed coup d'etat against Enlil or some such crap

People will put anything into print to make a buck (or a pound as the case may be). Even though little is known about the pyramids the evidence points to 2,550bce as the date of their construction with the Sphinx possibly being older. That certainly doesn't prevent any alignment(s) from being more ancient, and the Giza plateau was probably viewed as sacred before the structures were built. However, I don't buy the 10,500bce Leo alignment/Orion crap. Aliens and star systems aren't needed ...

[Beagle]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/scien ... yt&emc=rss

In new research on the Great Pyramids of Giza, a scientist says he has found more to their construction than cut natural limestone. Some original parts of the massive structures appear to be made of concrete blocks.

A couple of months ago Barsoum theorized that the outer and inner casings were made of concrete.

[Minimalist]

And Hawass shit a brick!

[marduk]

not really
iirc he laughed
the great pyramid has been analysed more than Dubyas national guard record
it doesnt have concrete involved anywhere in its construction
it does have large areas between blocks filled with sand
i guess if the egyptians had actually known what concrete was they would have used that instead
and they would have used it on a few other monuments as well
they didn't
so they didnt know what it was

[Beagle]

And Hawass shit a brick!

True indeed, but he had a good point I think.

Noting that the pyramids have been restored and reinforced many times with the extensive use of concrete, Dr. Hawass said, “I would ask Dr. Barsoum the question: where did he get the samples he is working with, and how can he show that the samples are not taken from areas that have been restored in modern times?”

Hawass doesn't quarrel with the chemistry in the research paper - that would be dumb. But Barsoum may have to prove that the concrete (limestone) analysis didn't come from existing concrete.

Time will tell.

[Minimalist]

Didn't Oz claim that his Bosnian pyramids were partially made of concrete?

[Digit]

He did, and I must be missing something because surely a geologist can tell an artificial stone conglomerate from a natural one?

[Minimalist]

One would think.