Hall of Records
Hall of Records is a mythical library buried somewhere in Egypt. One suggestion has been that it is under the Great Sphinx of Giza, which is in the Giza pyramid complex.[1] It is rumoured to house the knowledge of the Egyptians by papyrus scrolls and history of the lost continent of Atlantis, much as the Great Library of Alexandria housed Grecian knowledge. There is little evidence to indicate that the Hall actually exists; however, some scientists (such as Robert Schoch) have used ground-penetrating radar and it has shown there are in fact cavities underneath the Great Sphinx.
Description
The mythology of the Hall of Records is a popular one among those who hold alternative theories of Ancient Egypt. The phrase "Hall of Records" originated with Edgar Cayce although Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince suggest that the idea of the existence of lost Egyptian records "has a long pedigree".[2]
Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, in "Message of the Sphinx" stated that American archeologists and the Egyptian government had blocked investigations around the Sphinx, including attempts to locate any underground cavities.[3] Bauval later wrote Secret Chamber in 1999. According to Bauval's research, Egyptian authorities granted an American team a license to search for the Hall of Records under the Sphinx. It has been postulated that there may be three passages around the Sphinx; two with unknown origin and one is supposedly a small dead-end shaft behind the head of nineteenth-century origins. Also, little holes in the body of the Sphinx may be related to its construction, but this is unknown.
Various alternate theories on the origin of the Hall have been proposed, including that the Hall was not the work of Ancient Egyptians at all but another society (this has ranged from advanced prehistoric societies to a superior race of intelligent beings). Accordingly, this society sealed the Hall away with scrolls of their accumulated knowledge at about 10,500 BC—the last period of time when the constellation of Leo was located between the Sphinx's paws when it rose in the night sky. Skeptics have relegated such notions to be much like the supposed inhabitants of Atlantis in Hellenic myth.
The study of and the search for the Hall is considered pseudoarchaeology, making clear distinction between precise methodological scientific hypothesis and the rest of possible subsequent implications and speculations.
In fiction
The myth of the Hall of Records is featured in many creative works.
- Stel Pavlou places the Hall of Records under the Sphinx in the Atlantis adventure novel Decipher, 2001.
References
- ↑ Is There a Chamber Beneath the Sphinx? catchpenny.org.
- ↑ MacDonald, Sally; Michael Rice (2003). Consuming ancient Egypt. UCL Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-84472-003-3.
- ↑ Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, The Message of the Sphinx. Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (May 27, 1997). page 59, 71. ISBN 0-517-88852-1
Further reading
- Zahi Hawass, H E Farouk Hosni, and Gaballa Ali Gaballa, "The Secrets of the Sphinx: الترميم بين الماضى والحاضر". American Univ in Cairo Press, 1998. ISBN 977-424-892-9
- Robert Bauval, Secret Chamber: The Quest for the Hall of Records. Arrow; New Ed edition (7 Sep 2000). 572 pages. ISBN 0-09-940528-8
- H. Spencer Lewis, "Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid", The Rosicrucian Press, San Jose, 1936. ISBN 0-912057-55-6
- Garrett G. Fagan, "Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public". Routledge (UK), 2006. 417 pages. ISBN 0-415-30592-6
External links
- NOVA Online/Pyramids/Read Others' Responses #2
- The Search for Hidden Chambers On the Giza Plateau, Part III: The Hall of Records by Alan Winston
- The Shaft, The Subway & The Causeway / 4
- Homepage of the late Edgar Cayce
- Lambert Dolphin (dolphin@best.com), "Re: SPHINX". Sat, 20 Apr 1996 07:50:02 -0800
- "Waseda University Egyptian Expedition: The Pyramids Survey of Giza".
Coordinates: 29°58′31″N 31°08′16″E / 29.97528°N 31.13778°E