Cairo’s Mysterious Pyramid Remains (Season 21) ｜ Ancient Aliens

Cairo, Egypt, 1880. Just north of Giza, on a rocky outcrop that rises almost 500 feet above the Nile River, British archaeologist Flinders Petrie comes upon an extraordinary ruin. Carved into the bedrock of a hill are several strange pits that are surrounded by a wall of limestone blocks. It is the ancient site of Abu Rawash. Abu Rawash is a very intriguing site, thought to be an actual pyramid structure because of its square base and the angled stones that were found within it. But the problem is, is that most of it's missing completely. In the early 19th century, when Egyptologists started to look at this pyramid at Abu Rawash, they thought it must not have been finished, because it was in such a shambolic state. However, since that time, archaeological work has shown that, in fact, the pyramid was probably completed. In the years since Petrie's discovery, further structures at Abu Rawash have been discovered, including a mortuary temple, a boat pit, and a workshop. At the center of the complex stands the main pyramid, which was built out of massive limestone blocks and encased in granite. It spans 348 feet on each side. And when completed, it is believed to have stood over 220 feet tall. Abu Rawash probably looked very impressive as a pyramid when it was finished. The top might have been covered with a smaller pyramidion, which would have been encased in electrum or gold. So when the sun hit it, it would reflect off, shining very brightly. And because it was high on a hill, it would gleam from a distance and really be quite a traumatic sight. The choice of this site on top of a mountain seems very likely to have been intended to make the pyramid as visible as possible. Indeed, anywhere within, like, a 10-mile radius, you'd be able to see this thing. Exactly what the lost pyramid of Abu Rawash looked like is completely unknown. But equally mysterious are the massive pathways and chambers that remain at the site, which have been hewn out of solid rock. Not only do we have the base of the pyramid, but what we have is a substructure that's carved into the bedrock. It goes down 65 feet or so below the bedrock surface, ends in this huge chamber, which is open to the sky. But if these mysterious chambers were part of the base of a great pyramid, the questions remain. Who built it and when? While the answers are uncertain, the consensus among Egyptologists is that the lost pyramid at Abu Rawash was originally constructed in 2550 BC by the pharaoh Djedefra. Djedefra was the son of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid. And for some reason, he decided to move away from his father's pyramid at Giza and build it five miles to the north. Egyptologists see it all as part of the same family. Khufu built the Great Pyramid. His son Djedefra built the pyramid at Abu Rawash. And then Khufu built the Second Pyramid. And then the Third Pyramid was built by Menkaure, all part of the same dynasty, all going back to the 26th, 25th centuries BCE. The dating of all four pyramids is based largely on the notion that the Great Pyramid, which is believed to be the oldest, was built by the pharaoh Khufu. The evidence for this was presented in 1837 by British explorer Richard Howard Vice. Vice claimed to have found the name of Khufu written in paint inside a chamber of the Great Pyramid. But this discovery has been the source of much controversy. What was strange was that the name Khufu inside the pyramid was misspelled. And it was later discovered that Vice had the same spelling mistake inside his journal. So was it perhaps Vice who wrote the name of Khufu inside the Great Pyramid? Because there is not a single inscription in the entire pyramid. And then later, they find one, and it's a spelling mistake? There's little evidence that these pharaohs really did this. And some dating has been challenged. A lot of people believe it's older than 2,500 or so BC. Ancient astronaut theorists also challenged the mainstream theory that people living roughly 4,500 years ago could have built the Giza Pyramids without the help of any advanced technology. The entire Giza Plateau with its megalithic structures requires advanced engineering methods. Our modern day machinery would be very limited in being able to recreate what the ancient Egyptians achieved thousands of years ago. So you have to wonder, what type of technology did they have access to?