" Extant Egyptian records, whether written or pictorial, throw no light on the methods employed by the builders of the pyramids either in planning or in constructing their monumental works."
So says I.E.S. Edwards in his famous book The Pyramids or Egypt. Logically this makes no sense. But whatever information they used to construct the pyramids on the Giza Plateau must also have been quickly lost as the preceding contructions reveal a lack of the same sophistication of construction methods.
It also makes no sense that within the great pyramid and others there is no writing or pictorial illustration. If we are to believe that the purpose of the pyramid was as a tomb then why did they not follow the same procss as was later followed in the Valley of the Kings. There the tombs were fully decorated? This lack of records or other ornamentation in regards to purpose and the methods of contruction may provide a clue rather than a mystery. What can we suggest if we look on this lack of information as a clue.
1. The information used to construct the Giza complex came from somewhere and was lost quickly.
2. Wherever the information came from it is not apparent from other sites of antiquity that have been excavated.
3. No burial has been found in any of the Giza Pyramids or, I believe in any of the others.
4. No technology has been uncovered that would suggest methods that would allow the construction of these objects on such a grand scale. Some ideas have been suggested but none is productive enough to have been the method used.
5. Such knowledge/ information would seem to be a treasure of any civilization and would most likely be protected and passed down to succeeding generations.
6. There is no mention from succeeding generations that they recieved any information on how to build the pyramids.
7. Pyramids that followed the construciton of the Giza Plateau seem to be trial and error projects to reverse engineer the Giza constructions.
8. If the number of people suggested particiatied in the construction of the Giza Complex it would seem likely that one of more would have in some way recorded some information in regards to the construction.
9. The constructions seem to have come out of nowhere. There is no construction information available that records the earlier pyramid building leading up to the Pyramids at Giza.
10. The Giza Constructions are like seeing a balance sheet of a small company that during a particular quarter grows immeasurably and then shrinks back to its original state by the next quarter with no explanation. How could life have proceeded normally in the face of such an achievement?
11. To the lack of information is the clue. It tells us that something extraordinary happened that for some reason came from nowhere, was not recoreded and was never successfully replicated.
This mystery is a part of my directon in exploring the ruins of past and future. I paint these ruins, as a part of the new Burning Forest Series based on the essense of what I feel versus what I know. As I saw them for the first time a year and a half ago they are, and will remain, one of the most fascinating challenges both artistically and intellectually.
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