Tammy A. Branom

Piecing Egypt's puzzles

April 26, 2012 | Comment icon

6 comments

Image Credit: FÃ©lix Bonfils

The Tomb of Seti I has the King List in which all the Pharaohs of Egypt are named all the way back into the First Time, the time before men, when the gods ruled Egypt. In my opinion, this only lends to the mystery of the "helicopter hieroglyph" at this site. In this particular glyph, supposedly there is a helicopter, a jet fighter, a UFO, and (of all things) a Jedi ship etched into the stone. There has been a lot of controversy over this one section of a much larger inscription high above the entranceway to Seti’s Temple. Some see it as "evidence" of ancient gods or aliens visiting Egypt and their visitation being chiseled into the temple for posterity’s sake. However, archeologists proclaim that the markings are simply palimpsest, which means that the original text was scraped off to make way for new inscriptions. This was a common practice in Egypt as a new king took office.

And so the debate continues. Is it an original inscription of modern (and modern fictional) flying machines, or is this a pillaged writing? Is it even originally a hieroglyph at all or simply someone’s elaborate Photoshop hoax that has played on for years like an urban legend?

As a fiction writer, I was looking into ideas for a SF Egyptian story. The "helicopter hieroglyph" came to mind, so I began checking into what it was precisely. I was not surprised to find a multitude of websites claiming the hieroglyph was real and that archeologists’ claims were "full of holes." The hieroglyph plainly shows what appears to be a helicopter and other flying machines.

Although I would like to believe that aliens or gods came to Earth and encouraged human ingenuity, I still seek a resolution that points to a more logical conclusion, even if the answer lies within science theory. So, I started digging deeper.

In this day and age, where photographs of everything everywhere is only a few clicks of the mouse away, it didn’t take me long to find an answer. After sifting through the multitude of conspiracy sites, I decided to go straight to the source--Egyptian sites. Lo and behold, as it turns out, the glyph is real, as was shown in a picture from http://www.1worldtours.com/Abydos.htm in the Seti I Temple photos. It was even captioned as "Abydos "Helicopter"." Exciting, right?

Well, hold on a minute. Right below that picture is another photo that proved to be more significant. It’s captioned, "What the original inscription looked like before it became the "helicopter." From another wall at Abydos."

Photo compliments of Ruth Shilling

I was stunned. I could clearly see those glyphs in the "helicopter" hieroglyph. Archeologists were right. After all, ancient writing is deciphered many times by finding similar inscriptions.

The "helicopter" hieroglyph is indeed a "deliberate creation" but not of flying machines. These were deliberately scoured and modified glyphs to make way for new writings, especially when you look at how the double carvings continue to the right of this so-called "alien" hieroglyph.

Photo compliments of Ruth Shilling

Photo compliments of Ruth Shilling

I was very excited about this and passed the two photos of the "before and after helicopter" hieroglyph around. However, when I showed this to others, they DID NOT see the image similarity. So, I needed to overlay the bow, the hand, the diamond-like shape, and the arm (with what may be a tool or cornstalk) onto the "flying machines." Then it was obvious to them as well.

With further research on the internet, I did learn that the original photograph of the "flying machines" was in fact photoshopped to increase clarity, but even against it, the truth of what was there is obvious. In my opinion, based on the photos from Egyptian Tours site, this is indeed nothing more than palimpsest--from inscriptions originally carved from the time of Seti I to the re-carving during the rein of Ramesses II.

Why no one else has researched this is beyond me. Maybe they don’t really want to know the truth, since fantasy tends to be much more pleasing and interesting.

Of course, I know many people will say that the helicopter and other machines visible in the inscription are real and proof of something else, be it time travel or aliens. I did NOT set out to find the answer that I found, but it does align to my search for alternative, logical answers. And yes, I found this solution rather quickly. However, seeing is believing. Yes, the other inscription is a photo that could be photoshopped, but I cannot and will not believe that that is the case here. I am a firm believer in the accomplishments of humans, in our ingenuity, and not in "gods" or "aliens" needing to hold our hands. And, it is my belief that archeologists seek the truth to that resourcefulness as well. The photographs I found have again proven me right. Humans can and will find a way to do what we need or want to do. "Where there is a will, there is a way."

That brings me to elaborate on other Egyptian "alien" theories as well. I know people will ask, "How do you explain the Sphinx being older than archeologists say?" That is just too easy, folks. It’s all in black and white, if you simply read without being too eager to find the answer you want. In fact, the solution is in the very first sentence of "The Age of the Sphinx" by Robert Bauval as read on http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/parade/henryr/quest/sphinx/. "The Sphinx is not built with quarried blocks like the pyramids and temples it guards, but carved out of the living bedrock."

By examining the weathering of the bedrock around the Sphinx, John Anthony West has determined that the monument is much older than Egyptologists claim of over 2,500 years. West states that the Sphinx was NOT made from the effect of wind, but rather that of torrential rains, which happened 8,000 years earlier--in 10,500 B.C.

All I can say is, "Well, duh."

As Bauval states, the Sphinx was carved out of the bedrock, which probably is 10,500 years old. The Sphinx’s body is obviously a naturally occurring outcropping, probably a yardang, of which the Egyptians made the Sphinx from. The head was man-made--and in the time the archeologists declare. As it turns out, the deserts of Egypt offer many formation options for which to build from or into, including mastabas for them to entomb their dead. These forms could also give ideas to anyone with artistic motivation, which no one can argue the Egyptians were quite artistic. Hence, the Sphinx may have started as an artistic expression from the very land around them.

Credit: Daniel Csörföly

CC 3.0 Marc Ryckaert

Credit: Daniel Csörföly

Credit: CC 3.0 Rémih

No one really remembers that when only the Sphinx’s head was above the sand. Everything had to be excavated. So, as far as the Sphinx being buried in a trough goes, it would be.

Credit: Félix Bonfils

And, as I pointed out earlier, when new kings took the throne, they tended to overwrite and remake what already existed to what they wanted. I can’t believe the Sphinx would be any different. The head would have been changed and adapted with a new pharaoh’s face being applied. The body could have been treated the same way--manipulated to display the animal the pharaoh liked. It was probably repaired many times over. Not a surprise. Certainly not aliens.

Next question I hear people asking is, "How do you explain the building of the pyramid?" Well, I certainly do not believe slaves did it. There would be a revolt. That’s just how humans are. Besides, that many slaves would be very difficult to control--and feed. So, slaves are out of the equation. The idea that people devoted their lives to the building of the pyramid is quite plausible, however. Look at modern humans. Generations learn the same trades. Generations live in the same cities, the same neighborhoods, and use those trades within the same places that their forefathers did. How many times have you heard the line, "He comes from a long line of..." Therefore, the idea of a city of workers and their families living around the pyramids and building them is acceptable. However, the time frame is not. This is where one should again look at modern peoples for an applicable solution. As generations and technologies progress, so do skill sets. Ultimately, people find easier, faster ways of doing things. I have always felt that there was indeed some sort of faster way of setting those blocks other than dragging them, or even craning them, to their spots. Again, human ingenuity is needed. So, look at modern builders using stone. When they can’t haul them by hand, they are craned. And, when they can’t crane the blocks to the necessary places because they are just too heavy, what do they do? Molds are made and the blocks are "quick-set" on the spot.

That exact theory was postulated in 2006. The idea was that Egyptians may have been the first to create concrete out of a limestone and clay slurry quarried at the Nile, then taken to the site and poured into a mold. See: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/12/08/pyramids_arc.html?category=animals&guid=20061208120000 Also: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/pyramid-tt0402.html

After a few days, the block would solidify. This would indeed reduce man-hours and work. Based on what I see today, this is quite plausible for how the pyramid(s) was built. Back then, you couldn’t order from around the world. You typically used what was feasible to get. At that, the natural substances would not yield a date for the building of the pyramid(s). The dating of natural materials is problematic at best. Results are typically in a wide age spread of most dated items anyway. Nature tends to tell you when IT was made, not when the creation you are dating was made.

Overall, the only part gods (or aliens, if you like) had to do with Egypt was that the pharaohs created monuments to them. And, like today’s modern peoples, the Egyptians prayed to their gods. But, when it comes to the building and recording, they used what they had around them; modifying the natural surroundings to suit them and their desires. God didn’t beam down and tell them how to do it or even do it for them. They used their own minds and ingenuity.[!gad]The Tomb of Seti I has the King List in which all the Pharaohs of Egypt are named all the way back into the First Time, the time before men, when the gods ruled Egypt. In my opinion, this only lends to the mystery of the "helicopter hieroglyph" at this site. In this particular glyph, supposedly there is a helicopter, a jet fighter, a UFO, and (of all things) a Jedi ship etched into the stone. There has been a lot of controversy over this one section of a much larger inscription high above the entranceway to Seti’s Temple. Some see it as "evidence" of ancient gods or aliens visiting Egypt and their visitation being chiseled into the temple for posterity’s sake. However, archeologists proclaim that the markings are simply palimpsest, which means that the original text was scraped off to make way for new inscriptions. This was a common practice in Egypt as a new king took office.

And so the debate continues. Is it an original inscription of modern (and modern fictional) flying machines, or is this a pillaged writing? Is it even originally a hieroglyph at all or simply someone’s elaborate Photoshop hoax that has played on for years like an urban legend?

As a fiction writer, I was looking into ideas for a SF Egyptian story. The "helicopter hieroglyph" came to mind, so I began checking into what it was precisely. I was not surprised to find a multitude of websites claiming the hieroglyph was real and that archeologists’ claims were "full of holes." The hieroglyph plainly shows what appears to be a helicopter and other flying machines.