Ancient Skies - Vol 08 No 2 - 1981-82

Magazine Overview

Title: Ancient Skies
Issue: Volume 8, Number 2
Date: May-June, 1981
Publisher: Ancient Astronaut Society
Country: USA

This issue of "Ancient Skies" features a lead article by Zecharia Sitchin titled "Forging the Pharaoh's Name," which challenges the conventional belief that Pharaoh Khufu built the Great Pyramid of Giza. The article delves into historical accounts, archaeological findings, and scholarly interpretations to propose that the pyramid predates Khufu and that evidence supporting his role as builder may be a sophisticated forgery.

Forging the Pharaoh's Name by Zecharia Sitchin

Sitchin begins by stating that forgery, while often leading to shame, can sometimes alter historical records. He posits that this has occurred with the Great Pyramid of Giza and its presumed builder, Khufu (also known as Cheops).

The Inventory Stela

The primary piece of evidence presented against Khufu's authorship is the "Inventory Stela," discovered by August Mariette in the 1850s near the Great Pyramid. This stela, inscribed with Khufu's cartouche, reportedly commemorates the restoration of the temple of Isis and images within it. Crucially, the inscription states that Khufu founded the "House of Isis, Mistress of the Pyramid, beside the House of the Sphinx." This implies that the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx were already standing when Khufu reigned. The stela also mentions Khufu building a small pyramid for Princess Henutsen, which archaeologists have independently verified as the southernmost of the three small pyramids flanking the Great Pyramid.

The Controversy and the Forgery Allegation

Despite the Inventory Stela's apparent authenticity, scholars have historically dismissed it. The prevailing view that Khufu built the Great Pyramid was seemingly established by red-paint markings discovered in sealed chambers above the King's Chamber in 1837. These markings, interpreted as masons' marks from Khufu's reign, were used to condemn the Inventory Stela as a forgery. However, Sitchin argues that the forgery did not occur in ancient times but in 1837, perpetrated by "two (or three) unscrupulous Englishmen."

Colonel Vyse and the 1837 Discoveries

The narrative then focuses on Colonel Richard Howard Vyse, who arrived in Egypt in 1835. Driven by the excitement of archaeological discoveries, Vyse became increasingly involved in exploring the Great Pyramid. After a falling out with explorer Giovanni Caviglia, Vyse, accompanied by engineer John Perring, secretly entered a crevice above Davison's Chamber on the night of February 12, 1837. This led to the discovery of several chambers, which Vyse named after military figures like Wellington and Nelson.

Vyse reported finding "quarry marks" in these chambers, similar to red-painted marks found elsewhere. He claimed these included royal cartouches, which he interpreted as identifying Khufu as the builder. The discovery was further corroborated by Samuel Birch, a hieroglyphics expert at the British Museum, who analyzed the markings and confirmed they could spell out Khufu or variations thereof.

Unraveling the Forgery

Sitchin meticulously dissects the circumstances surrounding Vyse's discoveries. He highlights suspicious aspects, such as Vyse's manipulation of dates and his eagerness to find evidence supporting Khufu's role. The key to the alleged forgery lies in the analysis of the markings themselves.

Samuel Birch, while confirming the potential identification of Khufu, expressed unease about the orthography and script of the markings. He noted that the symbols were in a semi-hieratic or linear-hieroglyphic script that appeared centuries after Khufu's time. Furthermore, Birch was puzzled by unusual symbols and numerals, including a symbol for "good, gracious" used as a numeral, and a sequence of symbols he found difficult to decipher.

Crucially, Birch identified two royal names within the pyramid inscriptions: one spelling "Kh-u-f-u" and another spelling "Khnum-Khuf." The location of these cartouches within the chambers led to a logical impossibility: the lower chambers (Wellington's and Lady Arbuthnot's) contained the name of a later Pharaoh, while the uppermost chamber (Campbell's) contained the name attributed to Khufu. This suggested a chronological inconsistency if the pyramid was built from the base up.

Sitchin proposes that the inscriptions were not made by ancient masons but by someone in the 1830s. He points to the fact that the inscriptions were often upside down or vertical, suggesting they were made in cramped, low compartments, possibly by someone bending or crouching. He also notes the absence of inscriptions on the eastern walls, which were the entry points for Vyse's tunneling.

The Role of Wilkinson and De Laborde

Sitchin identifies J.R. Hill, a contact of Vyse, as the likely perpetrator of the forgery. Hill, along with Vyse, had access to contemporary Egyptological works, notably Sir John Gardner Wilkinson's "Materia Hieroglyphica" and Leon de Laborde's "Voyage de l'Arabie Petree." Sitchin argues that Hill, unschooled in hieroglyphics, made critical errors by copying from these sources. Specifically, he points to the incorrect representation of the "Kh" symbol (a circle with lines like a sieve) as a simple solar disk, a mistake that an ancient Egyptian scribe would never have made. This error, Sitchin contends, was influenced by the way these symbols were presented, sometimes ambiguously, in Wilkinson's and de Laborde's works.

Conclusion and Implications

Sitchin concludes that the red-painted markings were not ancient but a forgery created in the 1830s. This invalidates the primary evidence used to attribute the Great Pyramid to Khufu. Consequently, the Inventory Stela's claim that the pyramids and Sphinx existed before Khufu is lent greater credibility. The article ends by posing the question of who possessed the technology to build these structures millennia before Khufu, hinting at the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement from the "Twelfth Planet."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring theme in this issue is the critical re-examination of established historical and archaeological narratives, particularly concerning ancient Egypt and the Great Pyramid. The editorial stance, as represented by Sitchin's article and the publication itself, is one of skepticism towards conventional explanations and an openness to alternative theories, including those involving ancient astronauts. The magazine promotes the idea that historical records may be incomplete, misinterpreted, or even deliberately falsified, and encourages readers to "Come Search With Us!" for a deeper understanding of ancient mysteries.