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  • 10 Secrets of Ancient Egypt

  • 10) Who Built The Pyramids? Source:The Guardian.

  • Despite the prevalent myth that the Pyramids were built by Israeli slaves,

  • Egyptologists have determined that the Pyramids were built by paid Egyptian laborers.

  • Evidence shows that around 20 - 30,000 laborers were recruited from poor families around Egypt

  • to complete the enormous construction over a period of 20 years.

  • Laborers were extremely respected for their work and fed like royalty. The work was incredibly

  • hard and dangerous, but those who died during the construction

  • had the high honor of being buried near the sacred pyramids.

  • 9) Medicine. Source: BBC, The Lancet.

  • The ancient Egyptians were renowned for their medical knowledge. So much so that rulers of other empires

  • would request that the pharaoh send their Egyptian physicians to treat their own ill loved ones.

  • Despite Egyptian doctors having an extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties of the plants around them,

  • cures for ailments still included a magical spell.

  • As well as herbal remedies, many other cures were based onsympathetic magic.’

  • For example, it was believed that a crushed up pig’s eye, used in a treatment,

  • would transfer the power of sight into the patient’s eye.

  • 8) Shape-Shifting Jesus. Source: Live Science

  • In 2013 an ancient Egyptian text was deciphered, re-telling the crucifixion of Jesus,

  • but with surprising plot twists.

  • Dating back 1,200 years, the ancient text paints a markedly different picture of Pontius Pilate,

  • the judge who ordered Jesusexecution.

  • Instead of sharing his last supper with his 12 disciples, the text states that Jesus shared his last meal with Pontius Pilate,

  • who offered to sacrifice his own son in order to save Jesuslife.

  • Even more shocking are the allegations in the text that Jesus was a shape shifter, with

  • the ability to change from white to red or young to old.

  • 7) Heb-Sed. Source: Mental Floss.

  • After a pharaoh had ruled for 30 years, they took place in a strange ritual, known as Heb-Sed,

  • in order to prove that they still had the power and strength necessary to rule the kingdom.

  • The ceremony, which once initiated took place every three years until the pharaoh’s death,

  • saw them dressed in a short kilt, with a bull’s tail on their back,

  • as they were forced to run as fast as possible around a race track.

  • In early practices of the ceremony, any pharaoh too unfit to complete the course was sacrificed

  • and replaced with a fitter successor.

  • 6) White Pyramids. Source:Discovering Egypt.

  • When the Great pyramid of Giza was completed in 2560 BCE, it was plated with a smooth surface of polished,

  • white limestone, which gleamed in the sun’s light.

  • However, in 1301 CE, a massive earthquake hit Egypt and loosened many of the casting stones.

  • The damage to the outer pyramids prompted rulers to reuse the stones to build mosques in Cairo.

  • As impressive as it still looks, what can be seen now of the Great Pyramid of Giza is

  • just its core structure.

  • 5) The Female Pharaoh. Source: Discovery Egypt

  • One of the most successful pharaohs to rule Ancient Egypt was almost lost to history,

  • until her story was uncovered on temple walls during the 19th century.

  • Hatshepsut came to the throne of Ancient Egypt around 1478 BCE.

  • During her reign, Egypt enjoyed great peace and prosperity. Hatshepsut cultivated beneficial

  • trade routes and oversaw incredible construction projects throughout her kingdom.

  • However, 20 years after her death, her successors began a campaign of erasing Hatshepsut from history.

  • Statues of her were destroyed and her name was scraped off the buildings constructed under her rule.

  • 4) Sunken Cities. Source: British Museum

  • Thonis-Heracleion, one of the greatest cities of ancient Egypt, remained lost for 1,000 years,

  • until it was re-discovered underwater only 20 years ago.

  • Thought to have been founded in 7 BCE, Thonis-Heracleion was a major trade center,

  • linking ancient Greece, Egypt, and the wider Mediterranean.

  • Archaeologists excavating the site have found a host of perfectly preserved pillars of hieroglyphics,

  • as well as statues of Greek Gods and rulers depicted in the fashion of Egyptian pharaohs.

  • It is thought that the discovery of the lost city will transform our understanding of the

  • deep connection between the ancient civilizations.

  • 3) Masturbation Rituals. Source: Sex and Society.

  • In Ancient Egyptian mythology, the God Atum created the universe by masturbating into the vast nothingness,

  • meanwhile the other Gods spontaneously grew out of Atum’s ejaculate.

  • The ebb and flow of the river Nile was also attributed to Atum’s semen.

  • This concept inspired the annual Pharaoh ceremony, in which, as God’s representative on earth,

  • the Pharaoh had to recreate the creation myth.

  • In front of a crowd, the Pharaoh would masturbate and ejaculate into the river Nile,

  • in order to ensure a year of bountiful harvest.

  • 2) Biblical Plagues. Source: Telegraph.

  • Scientists have found evidence that the Biblical plagues that ruined Ancient Egypt in the Old Testament were

  • due to global warming and a volcanic eruption.

  • The reported plague of the Nile, which turned the river’s water into blood 3,000 years ago,

  • is hypothesized to have been caused by the arrival of bacterium, known as Burgundy Blood algae,

  • which stains water red.

  • The scientists claim that the algae attracted frogs, lice, and flies, which led to

  • diseased livestock and boils.

  • Furthermore, there is evidence that the Santorini volcano, which erupted 600km away, threw ash

  • into the air as far as Egypt, which would have blocked out the sun and

  • plunged Egypt into darkness.

  • 1) Incest. Source: Explaining Incest by Brent D. Shaw. Scientific American.

  • In Ancient Egyptian mythology, many deities were married to their siblings.

  • Although there is little evidence to suggest that common Egyptians married their siblings,

  • incest was rife for generations of the royal family. Due to siblings marrying each other,

  • many members of the royal family, such as Tutankhamun, suffered from a range of malformations, infections, and genetic diseases.

  • He suffered from weak bones and was unable to walk without help, contributing to his early death at age 19.

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10 Secrets of Ancient Egypt

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