What if Ancient Aliens Built the Pyramids?
Tourists travel from far and wide to see these
grand structures, the only wonders of the
ancient world still standing today. As monuments
to the Pharaohs of Egypt, the largest three
are hundreds of feet high. In fact, for thousands
of years they were the tallest manmade structures
in the world – but what if they weren’t
manmade at all?
This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering
the extraordinary question; what if ancient
aliens built the pyramids?
Are you a fiend for facts? Are you constantly
curious? Then why not subscribe to Unveiled
for more clips like this one? And ring the
bell for more fascinating content!
The Great Pyramids of Giza were constructed
4,500 years ago, with most archaeologists
agreeing that they serve as vast tombs. Situated
just outside of Cairo, the main site consists
of three main pyramids, some smaller pyramids,
and the Great Sphinx. The largest, standing
at 450 feet tall, is thought to be the tomb
of the pharaoh Khufu. Despite being there
for thousands of years, the pyramid interiors
remain mostly unexplored because of an unwillingness
to carry out invasive and potentially damaging
excavations. So far, small robots and scanners
have proven our best and safest means of getting
inside to have a look around, uncovering various
passages and chambers over the decades. But
the pyramids are still at the centre of many,
many mysteries, and exactly how they were
built has been a point of interest for centuries…
Which leads us to one of today’s most popular
conspiracy theories: that extra-terrestrials
had a hand in their construction.
In the case of the pyramids, a long-term lack
of verifiable evidence has led to amateurs
and speculators filling in the gaps for themselves,
with more and more bizarre ideas coming to
the fore. One popular line connecting the
pyramids with outer space is their seemingly
astronomical positioning, with some proposing
a similarity between their location and the
constellation of Orion. It’s a controversial
theory, though, not least because most astronomers
agree that the measurements don’t match
up to begin with - suggesting that maps used
to prove the link have been altered to better
support the theory.
Another idea is that the latitudinal coordinates
of the Great Pyramids can be read as identical
to the speed of light in metres per second,
with a number sequence of 299792458. Again,
though, it’s a highly contentious point
because, with the pyramids being so large,
various other latitudinal values which aren’t
the speed of light will also find them. And
then there’s also the fact that the Ancient
Egyptians didn’t even measure in meters,
or metres per second. Conspiracists could
well argue that some kind of time-travelling
alien might’ve brought the unit of measurement
back from the future specifically for the
pyramids… But it’s clear that we’re
beginning to grasp at proverbial straws.
By far though, the biggest problem facing
the “ancient aliens” hypothesis in this
case is that we have absolutely no concrete
proof that aliens exist at all. Saying “aliens
built the pyramids” also doesn’t explain…
anything. How are they supposed to have achieved
it? With tractor beams and anti-gravity technology?
And for what reason? Just to play a huge prank
on planet Earth, or did they really bury advanced
secrets deep within the structures? On the
other hand, what we do know is that the Ancient
Egyptians were accomplished at architecture
and construction and built no shortage of
other monuments during the time of the Pharaohs.
Egyptologists have long proposed that a sophisticated
ramp system was the primary means by which
the pyramids were built… and in 2018, one
such ramp - dating to 4,500 years ago - was
actually found by archaeologists in a nearby
quarry. A workers’ village has also been
discovered close-by, providing tangible evidence
that thousands of people – human people
– built the vast and intriguing spectacles
we see today.
It’s possible that the construction methods
even for structures as iconic as the pyramids
might simply have been lost to time. In this
way, the method behind the pyramids can be
thought of like the lost technology of Damascus
steel - which was remarkably strong and is
even thought to have contained carbon nanotubes,
but we don’t know how to recreate it today.
Perhaps the true secrets of pyramid construction
were once held in the Great Library of Alexandria
- which housed texts from all across the ancient
world but was unfortunately destroyed thousands
of years ago. The conspiratorial counter-argument
might say that the library could just as well
have held in-depth accounts of long-lost visitors
from space – and there is no way to know
for sure - but tips on Egyptian building still
rank as more plausible in the minds of most,
compared to accounts of alien overlords.
In general, the ancient aliens theory has
also been criticised for being rooted in prejudiced
colonialism, based on the assumption that
civilisations in the global south couldn’t
possibly have built the pyramids themselves.
Critics argue that the same bias shows itself
in theories on the Easter Island statues,
various Mayan ruins, and the so-called “Chilean
Alien”, a body discovered in the Atacama
Desert in 2003 which, after extensive testing,
was found to be that of a human girl probably
born in the 1960s. She was neither ancient
nor an alien, and the treatment of her remains
has since been condemned by Chilean authorities.
So, to explain away the pyramids as simply
“the work of aliens” is clearly riddled
with problems, inaccuracies and ethical issues.
But, say we lived in a reality where it really
was the truth? Where all of those concerns
were adequately answered by solid, recognisable
evidence that the pyramids are of extra-terrestrial
origin. What then?
In such a reality, the pyramids would hold
the secrets not only to their own construction,
but also to time travel, faster than light
travel and the habitability of alien worlds.
But the bigger question of why they were built
would still remain. They could serve as a
gateway between us and the rest of the galaxy,
willingly built by humans in part to honour
their alien visitors… but they could also
be ominous and deadly, with some theorists
going as far as to suggest that they’re
actually alien weapons. Here, the pyramids
are billed as though they’re a type of Trojan
horse; where an incredible gift is presented
to humanity, but it hides something terrible
within - waiting to be let out.
Given that the pyramids aren’t the only
site that has been blamed on extra-terrestrial
activity at one time or another, if we found
concrete proof that aliens actually were responsible
for Giza, everything else that’s otherwise
“unexplained” would then be thought of
in the same way - from the Nazca Lines in
Peru, which are only visible from above, to
the iconic standing stones at Stonehenge,
which some theories claim are a landing pad
for spacecraft. So, it’s clear that such
a revelation - about the pyramids or any ancient,
manmade structure - would completely reshape
our ideas on human history.
While the “ancient aliens” theory as it
is is fraught with problems, pitfalls and
prejudices… were anything like it ever to
transpire, it’d change our understanding
not just of our future and our place in a
wider, more populated galaxy, but also of
our timeline until this point. And that’s
what would happen if ancient aliens built
the pyramids.
What do you think? Is there anything we missed?
Let us know in the comments, check out these
other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
subscribe and ring the bell for our latest
content.
