Robert Bauval

First, an explanation of my bias. I loved Zahi Hawass from his first appearances on Nat Geo, because he's so charismatic and he reminded me of my father. Like him, I hated von Daniken and those Ancient Aliens guys, in my case because they have so deficient a sense of the relation between claim and evidence that even if their claims were true I couldn't accept them, because they haven't really been argued. I'm reminded of trying to submit algebra homework with the right answers but no show more proofs.

Then, down with flu and napping through HuluPlus, I clicked on The Pyramid Code. Episode one, still skeptical. Episode two, socks knocked off. Remaining episodes, becoming skeptical again about some bits but moved to inquire further into others. Found one lecture by Bauval and one by Hancock, also on Hulu. Then, still bedridden, I ordered Laird Scranton's The Science of the Dogon for my Kindle. As soon as I could get up, I headed for the library and borrowed Hancock's Fingerprints of the Gods and The Message of the Sphinx, co-authored by Hancock and Bauval.

There's a lot of astronomy in Message, more than even I needed, so to me it's a less breathtaking read than Fingerprints. But both writers present compelling--I mean that literally--evidence for their claims, enough evidence in fact to make orthodox archaeology look about as scientific as the Ancient Alien guys, to make it look less like a theory than like a belief system.

As for claims, Hancock and Bauval are restrained. If they believe in alien visitations, they're careful not to show it. But if you would like to consider the possibility of an antediluvian culture that got lost, here are some facts and arguments. show less

Pseodoscience can be identified by the aggrieved tone of the author whose theory is not accepted by academia. Not all of this is demonstrably wrong: there are unanswered questions about why the flanks of the sphinx bear anomalous weathering but the authors' assertion that it is water from a pre-Ice Age climate seems less likely than those proposed by more orthodox scholars. The openess of my mind towards Bauval's theories snapped shut when he deduced the age of of the Great Sphinx to be the show more time when the Mesopotamian zodiacal symbol of Leo (unknown in Egypt until over a millennium after the pyramids were built) was rising on the eyeline of the statue some 12.5 millennia ago. I admire the creativity behind this book but there is too much defensive argument here and I find that I do not know what to trust. show less

Even though some parts of his theories may be shown to be incorrect - all merit careful study & review. This is not 'new age' or 'beings from space' stuff. His observations are exact and accepted by many astronomers. Egyptologists must leave their pride behind and work openly with the other sciences. We constantly are forced to rewrite the history of the 20th Century based on new observations and discoveries. Why should we think that we have no need to do the same for things that happened show more over 4 millennia ago? show less

I saw Bauval on a documentary discussing the possibility that aliens had something to do with the pyramids. I know . . . aliens. But the show was very well done and his comments contributed quite a bit, certainly enough to cause me to buy his book.

While at times tedious and somewhat difficult to follow, overall an interesting theory. (I say that because THEY may be reading this.)