Lost Foundations: Did the Pharaohs Steal from Earlier Builders?

Before the Egyptians

In the historical analysis of Egypt, it is clear that their civilization did not start completely “from scratch.” Some of the greatest masterpieces of Egyptian civilization were created when this people was just beginning to develop. Therefore, it becomes quite clear that the “early Egyptians” relied on the technology of someone who had lived in the same geographical area before them. Let us provide a few examples.

Based on historical recreations by Egyptologists, the “Step Pyramid of Djoser” is a sort of “touchstone” for all the pyramids found in Egypt. This is the first pyramid for which we are certain about the builder, the patron, and the construction period. It was built under the order of Pharaoh Djoser, based on the design of his famous architect Imhotep, around 2630 BC. For this pyramid, therefore, everything is quite well agreed upon.


We infer from this that any pyramid, hypothetically, that would be located in Egyptian territory but turns out to be “older” than the “Step Pyramid of Djoser,” built around 2630 BC, could not be considered “Egyptian” in the sense we apply to the term today. It would have been built by someone who came before the pharaohs. The pharaohs, therefore, merely “claimed” ownership of it, making it appear as “their own.” Did things turn out this way? Let us provide some examples based on the latest scientific discoveries.

In a survey using the “Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL)” method conducted by the Department of Archaeology at the University of the Aegean, Greece, it was discovered that the limestone of the Qasr-el-Sagha temple could date back as far as 5550 BC (average date: 4700 ± 850 BC). This temple may predate the Pyramid of Djoser by up to 3,000 years.




Using the same dating method, it was found that the red granite used to cover the facade of the Small Pyramid (Pyramid of Mycerinus), tested with this modern dating system, dates back as early as 4400 BC (i.e., 3450 ± 950 BC). This stone could have been placed more than 2,000 years before the construction of the Djoser Pyramid. And we are talking about the outer layer of the pyramid, which may have been restored at a later time. Its ‘heart’ could be much older.



Who built these and other structures that we commonly refer to as “Egyptian”? Certainly not the ‘Egyptians’ that we know.