Did you know that some of the hieroglyphics in the many temples around Egypt can only be seen with a magnifying glass? Ancient Egyptian culture is just as mysterious today as it has likely ever been. Walking around the various temples, pyramid structures, and tombs only heightens the mystery. This sort of precision is incredible, even today. It was almost as if they had lasers and machines to help them precisely carve their structures.
Here are the 3 biggest mysteries of Ancient Egypt:
1. How Old is the Sphinx?
Although modern Egyptologists might conclude that the Sphinx was a separate project of the same person who built the pyramid behind it (known as Khafre's Pyramid), there isn't a clear answer. For example, oral tradition tells us that Thutmose IV once slept near the one night after he found a rock buried in the sand, perhaps not aware of the fact that it was the Sphinx. In his dream, the Sphinx told him that if he uncovered him from the sand, that he would become pharaoh. Sure enough, this is exactly what happened. This later sparked a cult centered around the Sphinx.
As the map above illustrates, the entryway into Khafre's pyramid actually goes around the Sphinx. This means that the Sphinx was there first. There is also a wall built around the Sphinx, which is typically credited to Thutmose. Even more interestingly, water marks can be found along the sides of the Sphinx. Scientist Robert M. Schloch suggested that the Sphinx is actually much older than we imagine due to the water erosion. He even found a sea urchin fossil nearby, suggesting that not only was the Sphinx covered with water at one point, but salt water.
Another theory suggests that the Sphinx used to have the face of a lion. Perhaps Khafre (or another pharaoh) had it re-carved into a human essence.
2. The Pyramids of Giza's Construction
It is widely accepted that the pyramids don't look the same today as they did after their construction. They initially were covered with white limestone on the exterior, and a precious metal (likely gold) at the top to cap off the pyramid. After the Arabs conquered Egypt, the white limestone was eventually taken off the pyramids to build mosques. The precious metal caps were also removed around this time. As a result, when you see mosques with white limestone around Cairo today, you might in fact be looking at the pyramids.
Most importantly, nobody knows for certain to this day exactly how the pyramids were constructed. There are several different theories that have been presented. However, it seems each theory eventually gets discarded in place of a more likely one. Considering that the heaviest stones weigh 50 - 70 tons each, one can only imagine how the Ancient Egyptians had the manpower just to haul one of these stones across the desert and perfectly in place without cranes.
Perhaps the Ancient Egyptians knew something about science that we have yet to re-discover. After all, even governments today withhold their greatest technologies from the general public. A great example of this fact is how the American public wasn't even aware of the development of the atomic bomb until it was used on Japan. Perhaps something was lost in history.
3. Egyptian Spiritual Beliefs and Ayahuasca
It seems that the Ancient Egyptians were one of the pioneers of ideas such as reincarnation, gods, karma, and so on. It wasn't until 1900 BCE that Hinduism started. This also was over a thousand years before Buddhism began. So where did the Egyptians get these ideas?
The Egyptians had their own version of ayahuasca. Known scientifically as Acacia Nilotica (pictured above), this plant is abundant next to the Nile River. The Shamans in South America today call plants rich with DMT the "Vine of the Soul," yet the Egyptians called theirs the "Tree of Life." Even people who take ayahuasca today report back seeing visions which remind them of Egypt. Perhaps this is one place from where the Ancient Egyptians derived architecture, knowledge, and their spirituality.
Above we can see what the Egyptians believed happened after they died. The god Anubis takes your heart and puts it on a balancing scale with a feather. If your heart was heavier than the feather, it would be devoured by Ammit (pictured on the far right), and your soul would die a second time. Interestingly, people who take ayahuasca today will occasionally report back seeing Anubis. As somebody who as used ayahuasca before in Peru, I can also attest to this experience.
This painting, known as "Birds in an Acacia Tree" shows birds on the Egyptian ayahuasca vine. The bird on the upper left represents a child, full of life and energy. Going clockwise, the birds represent the aging process. The bird on the bottom left represents the old grandparent looking forward to the next life. The original artwork for this painting can be found today in the tomb of Knumhotep.