New research suggests the long-standing idea that the Egyptian pyramids stood by the water is true after all. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the Sphinx, as well as 30 other pyramids, may have been once located almost directly beside long-lost ancient river branches of the Nile.
“We suggest that The Ahramat Branch played a role in the monuments’ construction and that it was simultaneously active and used as a transportation waterway for workmen and building materials to the pyramids’ sites,” states the abstract from researchers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Within hours, mainstream outlets have been pointing to the study to ridicule the fanciful idea that ‘aliens’ created the pyramids. As long suggested by academics, people moved the blocks, some of which averaged 2.5 tons, by way of the river. Only now it looks like the river used to be much closer. Radar satellite imagery, sediment core samples, and geophysical surveys have revealed the river’s former pathways.
As more is revealed, they will learn more, and perhaps find evidence of blocks that were left behind beneath the sands.
The Long-Lost ‘Ahramat Branch’
The researchers named the main part of the now-dried-up river the Ahramat Branch. The name comes from an Arabic word for “pyramids.” At one time, the river may have been longer than 40 miles long (64 kilometers) and 2296 feet (300 meters) wide in some places.
Not only will knowledge about the Ahramat shed more light on how the pyramids were constructed, but we’ll have a clearer picture of daily life and Egyptian beliefs. The ancient teachings are rich in metaphors about the life-giving waters of the Nile, and widely influenced other belief systems around the world to this day.
For lead researcher Eman Ghoneim, the study answered a question she’s had since she was a child in Egypt. Why were the pyramids so isolated in the desert?
“I was born and lived most of my life in Egypt,” said Eman Ghoneim. “…and one question that I remember asking myself since I was very young is: ‘Why did our ancestors build pyramids in this specific, odd place—and why so far from the water?’ I had this feeling like there was something more there,” she shared with Scientific American.
Video by WECT News 6 about Egyptian/American UNCW professor Eman Ghoneim, who was the lead researcher:
Did the Sphinx Once Stand Beside a Lagoon-Like River Arm?
Once long ago, the Great Sphinx, called “Horus in the Horizon” may have stood right by the water.
You’ve probably heard about the controversial Sphinx water erosion hypothesis. The idea goes that the huge ancient monument must have been built sometime before 10,000 BC and not 2500 BC, as the mainstream thinking goes. Why? Markings on the 240-foot (73-meter) long, 20,000-ton Sphinx indicate heavy erosion. Some believe it was due to heavy rainfall in an area that now only receives 2-4 inches of rain in a year. Thus, the Sphinx would have to have been there when the climate was wetter.
In 2023, researchers proposed that possibly wind erosion helped create the Sphinx. Its basic form took shape as it stood facing prevailing winds. But now, it looks like the Sphinx may indeed have been sitting right on a “lagoon-like river arm” called the Giza Inlet connected to the Ahramat Branch. And it would have been a wet area for thousands of years before that.
“Our ancient river inlet hypothesis is also in accordance with earlier research conducted on the Giza Plateau, which indicates the presence of a river and marsh-like environment in the floodplain east of the Giza pyramids,” the study states.
Video by News Tide about the Sphinx and the wind erosion hypothesis:
The Gift of the Nile
It’s exciting to picture the setting of the pyramids and the Sphinx as being so close to the water. And that’s how it would have been for thousands of years. As the study noted, the Nile Valley was once inundated with swamp during the African Humid Period (AHP) (ca. 14,500–5000 years ago).
The annual flooding of the Nile left behind rich black earth that was easy to farm. That’s why Greek Historian Herodotus is attributed as saying Egypt was “the gift of the Nile.”
“During this time, the Nile would have had several secondary channels branching across the floodplain, similar to those described by early historians (e.g., Herodotus),” the study stated.
And the Egyptians said the arrival of the floods was the arrival of Hapi, the Nile God. Perhaps, ‘The Hapi’ would have been the perfect tribute for this newly-discovered tributary that vanished beneath the Sahara sands.
Video about Herodotus and the Pyramids by See U in History/Mythology:
Around 5500 years ago, the climate started becoming drier, allowing the construction of the pyramids at the margins of the prior floodplain. Eventually, the main Nile River as we know it migrated five miles east. As it shifted, the once flowing peripheral branches became full of silt and dried out completely, leaving no sign to the naked eye today.
Video by ABC 10 News:
Featured image: Screenshot via YouTube/See U in History/Mythology