Why it's Time to Re-Write the History of Giza | Ancient Architects

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I think it's now time to re-write the origins of the Giza Plateau in Egypt. There is plenty of evidence to say the Sphinx enclosure and also the Khafre causeway pre-date the Great Pyramid and in this video, I'll explain why.

The causeway to the Khafre Pyramid, the second major pyramid to be built on Giza Plateau, was constructed on a ridge of limestone, a narrow band of bedrock that, surprisingly, is one of most interesting, most important and also most dividing subjects to research when it comes to the history and development of the Giza plateau.

It runs for approximately 495 metres, from the northwestern corner of the Khafre Valley Temple, past the Great Sphinx and ends at the Khafre Mortuary Temple in the west. It has quarries on both its northern and southern sides, meaning this strip of bedrock was left intentionally, and although Egyptologists will state it was all part of Khafre’s pyramid plan, the truth may not be quite so straightforward. In fact, this ancient roadway could well be the oldest feature used by people on the Giza plateau, older than the pyramids AND even the Great Sphinx.

It looks like the Giza Plateau developed around this narrow strip of bedrock, that it was always a central feature, with origins going back to either Pre-Dynastic or Early Dynastic times, and in this video I’ll be going through the evidence in a logical and step by step manner for you to evaluate.

I'll be taking a close look at the Giza quarries, at the Sphinx Enclosure weathering and erosion, as well as the causeway itself, as we look at yet more evidence that shows that the Giza plateau has a history going much further back than the 4th dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

All images are taken from the below sources and Google Images for educational purposes only.

CONTENTS

0:00 - Introduction
1:48 - The Giza Quarries
5:22 - Khufu Construction Ramp
7:18 - Akhet Khufu
9:20 - Khafre's Causeway
10:28 - Sphinx Enclosure Erosion
15:31 - The Sphinx Enclosure Asymmetry
17:06 - Rainwater Run-Off Erosion
23:15 - Connecting the Dots
26:39 - Re-Cut Pyramid Causeway
28:37 - Causeway Orientation
30:30 - Conclusion

#ancientarchitects #ancientegypt #pyramids
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That's a great argument, Matt. Thanks, and have a very merry Christmas

dropnoelfield
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This was so interesting. I can’t imagine how much work it took for you to put this explanation together. Thank you so much. I now have a much better understanding of the causeway’s and the Sphinx’s beginning.

mercedes
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AncientArchitects
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Outstanding analysis! Very logical and well thought-through, culminating in a reasonable, plausible conclusion. Well done and thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights.

conniebenny
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Exceptional video. Easily one of the best you've made. You covered so much information but still managed to make it easy to digest and entertaining.

Ryecrash
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Simply amazing as always. Exited for the next one.

sammcqueen
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As always, well done and very informative. I suppose we will never know precisely which structures at Giza came first and when. Thanks for a great presentation!

joconnor
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Matt, thankyou! so much thought and work has gone into this, I found my questions arising from your commentary were then answered, so you covered all bases for me well done indeed Sir! Keep doing what you love and bringing it to us, I am sure it is fully appreciated by the many sides of the never ending 'Ancient Egypt' debate.

timpearson
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If the sphinx was made later, then why is there so much evidence of water erosion on the sphinx but not on the quarry?

thenadonation
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Wouldn't the quarries show the same weathering as the Sphinx and the enclosure? This doesn't appear to be the case. This would make the Sphinx and its enclosure much older than the quarries. In addition, the quarries don't seem to have been exploited to the quantity of stone required to build the pyramids and the rest of the associated stone structures on the plateau. When one observes the floor of the quarries and the apparent amount of "waste" stone removed to free the blocks, the waste seems to be about 15%-20% and that is for rough blocks. The final finishing and fitting would have removed even more stone. There must be another quarry or more to provide the stone required. In addition, the walls around the pyramids that were created to level the surrounding areas show similar weathering to the Sphinx, enclosure, and Sphinx temple. These two different weathering patterns indicate different times, several thousands of years, between the construction of the pyramids, Sphinx structures, and the quarries. There doesn't seem to be any efforts made to resolve this discrepancy.

stevenmitchell
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That's interesting, I wonder if it could be a neolithic causeway of sorts? Your arguments about the Sphinx neatly dug in nicely to the corner of the causeway make sense, this would indeed make the causeway older.

tylercoombs
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Would Khufu and Khafre have filled in their quarries after the work was done?

WorldofAntiquity
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Klemm and Klemm, The Stones of the Pyramids 2010. Page 73 Discussed a quarry directly beside the Sphinx to the north..also the upper part of Khafre causeway being built over two Khufu drag ramps. Most of these animations don't show the original plateau hieght before any quarrying correctly

itsnot_stupid_ifitworks
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What's glaringly missing in all this supposition is the shear amount of shafts / possible tunnels under it all. I've never seen the surface structures mapped together with the underground. The two are seldom talked about together. All those mastaba's had burial shafts, all the graveyards used shafts. That area is a warren of holes that never seem to fill (operative word) with water? A pond here and there occasionally, well that screams pre-planned water works to me.

Gumdaar
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As usual, an excellent analysis based on the evidence on (and in) the ground. Thanks for your well thought out analysis.

chrisjones
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Thank you Matt for another great video! I never got to see the pyramids (yet) but I was in Luxor, Karnak, and the valley of the Kings and Queens back during Desert Storm.

patrickmundy
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Very good video. Thorough, informative, thought provoking, and well researched. Thank you.

eric
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How do the cut walls in the quarries look, and on the other side of the causeway?

gustafduell
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I kinda lean to what you said at the end for the enclosures too, they too would have been built, looted, covered by desert, rebuilt, relooted, recovered by desert, etc until excavated. And the original quarries were probably covered since their first abandonment whenever that was and thousands of years later then they were a patch of desert where water could again run on.

eircK
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This was the best explanation for a very fascinating possibility of the age of the Guiza Plateau.

flamenguista