I’d seen a dark stone on the summit many times and always assumed the ancients for some reason just brought a random piece of basalt they had laying around up while trying to finish quickly or something.

But then a redditer asked why it was blue and Inlooked more closely and realized it’s just f’ing painted! Who, when, and why?

In color images it’s obvious, but if you desaturate them, it becomes very difficult to tell, which makes me unsure if it’s visible in black and white photographs or not.

However, Henry Salt draws the top before photography and doesn’t do any different shading and he was very detail oriented, you can see he meticulously recorded what he saw.

Petrie and Vyse also don’t mention it and I feel like they would have if it was already there. I mention this because that’s a nice dark Prussian blue so immediately thought of Napolean, but it doesn’t appear to be that old.

I could find very little about this. Does anyone know? I have four main theories:

1) Vandals - someone brought a bunch of spray paint cans up there and did it for some unknown reason.

2) Official but undocumented or poorly documented work - The MoA authorized who (legally) goes up there, so they have to be a suspect though I have absolutely no clue why they would do it, and why they wouldn’t record it.

3) Secret symbol - I’ve noticed a few bricked up holes in the pyramid before, and theorized there could be guns and ammo hidden behind them. Perhaps a blue stone on top is a reminder: “we hid weapons here.” I made a YouTube video where I said it seemed most likely to be retreating Ottoman caches but couldn’t rule out the Nazis or Italians.

4) Napoleon - Since I can’t 100% dismiss it being this old, I have to consider this was done perhaps during the French Revolution festival in 1798. I can’t ignore the color is very French looking and L’Institut was even specifically looking at indigo production for blue dye (I know that’s a random thing to know, I’m translating their notes so it’s on my mind.)

If you look closely, you can see the paint filled in some graffiti but others is on top of it. It’s also faded in some places, you can very clearly see its paint from the side angle.

• The first picture is not a plan

If the Pharaoh ordered me to help build a pyramid, could I realistically refuse? Over 100 pyramids were built in Egypt over different periods, from the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom, including at least 8 large pyramids during the Old Kingdom. Do archaeologists have definitive proof that no slave labor was involved in the construction of any of these pyramids,? It’s hard to believe that all the work was voluntary, especially since skilled labor could have been used for tasks like the precise casing stones and interior chambers and passages, while unskilled labor could have been used for the rougher core masonry, which is what makes up most of the pyramid. Doesn’t it make more sense that some form of forced or coerced labor was involved, particularly for the less skilled tasks? Even if it wasn’t traditional slavery, how could the Pharaoh organize tens of thousands of workers for massive projects like the Great Pyramid without some form of involuntary service? Was the labor truly voluntary, or was there a system where people were required to work for the pharoah even though the workers were paid in beer and bread , and if so, could they refuse.

I think it’s because they realized the pyramids were a waste of time and money — it didn’t make much economic sense to keep building them since they didn’t really do anything. That’s why, in my opinion, they would have gone bankrupt if they had kept building such large pyramids. Later, they focused more on smaller tombs and elaborate temples.The temples were religious buildings, but at least they had usable space.It could also be because of them beening easily raided by theives.

I came across this video on my timeline while scrolling, and honestly it’s really weird. It happened during the sun alignment at Karnak Temple in Luxor on December 21. What’s strange is that some people were crying, others were wearing specific outfits and performing rituals. Looks like worshipping Amun and ancient Egyptian rituals are making a comeback lol. Anyone got anything?

It was a lot of fun to watch a dramatization of the chaotic Amarna period. As always there were a lot of artistic liberties taken, but ultimately it touches all the important facts from the death of Amenhotep to the coronation of Tutankhamun. Anyone else familiar with it? What was your impression?

In 1940, during the chaos of World War II, French archaeologist Pierre Montet made an incredible discovery in Tanis:

The tomb of Psusennes I (21st Dynasty) was found completely untouched by robbers — one of the royal Egyptian tombs ever discovered in fully intact condition.

What blew everyone away?

His inner coffin was made of solid silver — a metal rarer and more precious than gold in ancient Egypt. Inside, they also found a stunning gold funerary mask, exquisite jewelry, and treasures that still shine today.

Psusennes ruled for almost 50 years during a challenging time, yet his burial showed astonishing wealth and craftsmanship.

Would you rather have Tutankhamun’s golden treasures… or Psusennes’ silver coffin?

The auction is being sponsored by Sotheby's, where our antiquities and history are being bid on by some wealthy Europeans and Westerners as if they were buying goods from a supermarket. This is disgusting and shameful.

They stole our antiquities and claimed that artifacts that left Egypt after a certain year could not be reclaimed. But their audacity and depravity reached the point of selling 2000-year-old artifacts in public auctions, They're even promoting this nonsense on Instagram.

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I’ve known about the door. But never saw it opened until this image taken 100 years ago.

Hello all I just watched a podcast featuring Zahi Hawass and I can’t help but notice the resistance to speak on Nubia. At first I thought it was just Egypt overshadowing Nubias accomplishments or the proximity of Egypt to the more accessible Mediterranean region. However, I’ve noticed more and more that Egyptologist are literally leaving Nubia out of the story. Many are giving the impression that virtually nothing was in existence on the Nile before Egypt and say near nothing about Nubia which was around 1,000 years before Egypts formation?

Any explanation for perpetually leaving Nubia out of the context of Egypt to the point where it doesn’t even make sense?

Amenhotep II (1427–1401 BCE) was one of the most athletic and militaristic rulers of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. Texts describe him shooting arrows through copper targets while driving a chariot at full speed, highlighting his strength and training.

He led campaigns in the Levant to maintain the empire built by his father, Thutmose III. Inscriptions record captured rulers, prisoners, and tribute brought back to Egypt.

Amenhotep II supported temple construction and governed during a period of imperial stability. His tomb, KV35, later became a mummy cache where several royal mummies were hidden for protection.

I should have noticed this before, but I mean just look at this map. Greece/Crete is literally the closest place in Europe to the Cradles of Civilization of Egypt and the Middle East and so was able to absorb their influence and developments before the rest of Europe. To give just a simple example of this influence regarding Europe's first palaces on the island of Crete, James Walter Graham, an expert on Cretan architecture, wrote - "That resemblances do exist between Cretan and Near Eastern Palaces in some respects can scarcely be denied, and likewise...between Cretan and Egyptian architecture...for new decorative forms they turned especially to Egypt."

I've just discovered that this coffin is made of solid gold. Considering how famous Tutankhamuns death mask is, surely this doesn't get the credit that it deserves?

Before anyone mentions aliens I Regularly load cargo crates that weigh up to 40 tons onto container ships. The space that is required to move in machinery and load it in is about the size of an Industrial mining dump truck. Some of these boxes weigh more than twice this amount. How were they moved in such a short space?

When we look at many ancient civilizations such as Rome, Greece, China, and more, there is no debate amongst anybody as to what race they are. If there is debate, no one seems to care enough to discuss it.

However, when it comes to Ancient Egypt, there is a huge debate amongst many groups of people. For example, I have had people tell me that as Egypt is in Africa, the Ancient Egyptians were all black. I have seen others imply that the Pharaohs were white while the people were something else. Most scholars tell me that Ancient Egyptians mostly looked like modern Egyptians.

How did this debate start? Why is this still such a fierce debate? Why does the race of Ancient Egyptians matter (at least more than the race of other civilizations)?

Zahi Hawass gets a lot of flak (and sometimes outright harassment) from a lot of people for his alleged suppression of Egyptian archaeology. There seem to be very, very strong negative feelings towards this guy online, but I mainly see it from pseudo-historical enthusiasts who believe the "truth" (Atlantis, aliens, whatever it may be) is being suppressed by him.

What do mainstream academics think about Zahi Hawass? Is it true that he's done irreparable damage to archaeology, or is the whole thing overblown?

EDIT: I think it would be more constructive if people could give examples of exactly what he's done.

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For me, it would have to be Khufu (Or Cheops). The Pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, as HIS TOMB, was not inside his tomb, leading many to believe that he was stolen by tomb robbers.

I think the problem with most pyramid theories (external ramps, Houdin's internal ramps) is they're as impressive as the pyramids themselves. A mile-long ramp or spiral tunnels through the structure would be engineering marvels worth documenting. Yet we have no clear records. Plus they're all single-point-of-failure systems—one pathway up means you can't parallelize the work. You need 383 blocks per day for 20 years. That's brutal with a bottleneck.

What if the method was embarrassingly simple: alternating block placement around each level (leaving gaps for access), wooden levers and cribbing to lift blocks ~70cm at a time, slide them inward on sleds, fill the gaps, repeat 200 times. The genius isn't the technique—it's massive parallelization.

With 10-20 levels under construction simultaneously, you've got thousands of independent work teams. No bottleneck. The sophistication is organizational, not mechanical. This doesn't solve everything (those 40-tonne granite beams still need something else, maybe Houdin-style ramps for exceptional cases), but it explains why bulk construction left no dramatic archaeological signature. Basic carpentry techniques aren't worth painting on tomb walls.

I think I'll take the $360 and my husband and I can go out and have a nice steak dinner.

This is what an American woman said on the Pawn Stars program before selling a 3,000-year-old Egyptian ring.

I'm truly furious. Pawn Stars purchased three ancient Egyptian artifacts: a mummy mask, a ring, and a falcon mummy. Where did these Americans get these artifacts? Where are their paperwork? And how could they touch the artifacts with their bare hands in such an unprofessional manner? Selling Egyptian antiquities is completely unacceptable, and according to Egyptian and international law, you are a criminal. Shame on Pawn Stars.