A man has claimed that the Great Pyramid of Giza and its surrounding structures were not built by the Ancient Egyptians but by some older 'supercivilisation' about 12,000 years ago.
There have been all sorts of claims about who really built the pyramids, though experts are pretty clear it wasn't aliens of anything else weird, but instead the people we would typically associate with the magnificent monoliths of stone.
That hasn't stopped people from making claims, and in a paper titled The Pyramids of Giza: Legacy of an Unknown Civilization, ancient studies scholar Antonio Ambrosio claims that this mysterious 'supercivilisation' is truly responsible for the pyramids.
According to him the Ancient Egyptians didn't build the three main pyramids at the Giza site and instead inherited the buildings from whatever came before them.
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For context, the Ancient Egyptians started out around 5,000 years ago and stayed around for a very long time as they went through successive dynasties of pharaohs and built many pyramids.
Why does he think the Egyptians didn't build the pyramids?
According to Ambrosio, the smaller pyramids aren't up to snuff when compared to the larger ones that predated them.
It's thought that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 4,600 years ago and served as the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty, while other less impressive pyramids nearby built years later didn't show the same skill and craftsmanship.
Basically, if they could make a pyramid as great as this one why couldn't they do it again?
He also claims the nearby Sphinx bears signs of rain erosion, suggesting such a rainfall to cause it hasn't happened for thousands of years which according to him means it was already being worn down by the rain when the Ancient Egyptians were just getting started.
Claiming later pyramids 'represent imperfect attempts to imitate pre-existing structures', the man reckons the Egyptians 'appropriated' older structures made by their forerunners.
The history of the Great Pyramid of Giza
Even today we're not sure exactly how the pyramids were built as National Geographic notes they are such an impressive feat of engineering.
However, archaeological excavations have uncovered records showing boatmen bringing materials to Giza including stone to build them, tools to shape them and cattle to feed all of the workers actually putting the pyramids together.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of its kind, built for Khufu and still contains his sarcophagus, though some of the riches buried with the pharaoh were likely looted from it a long time ago.
Artwork on the walls of the tomb shows farmers, carpenters and priests going about their duties.
Harvard University Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian said: "Almost any subject you want to study about Pharaonic civilization is available on the tomb walls at Giza."
If you want to see this structure for yourself without taking a trip to Egypt you can always try the 3D tour experience.
Topics: Ancient Egypt, Conspiracy Theory, Archaeology, History
Joe Harker