An ancient Egyt expert may have uncovered why the Great Pyramid of Giza was built and what its purpose was, perhaps answering a mystery that has stretched back hundreds of years
The two “lost pyramids” of Lake Moeris may prove the Great Pyramid of Giza was built to be a giant water pump and not a tombs, an ancient history expert has claimed.
For years, historians and Egyptologists have debated what the purpose of ancient Egypt’s Great Pyramid was – particularly given the extraordinary architectural feat in building such a structure so long ago.
But ancient civilisations expert Matthew Sibson believes that Greek historian Herodotus’ little known account of two pyramids in Lake Moeris could hold the key.
During Herodotus’ brief visit to Egypt in 490BCE, the ruler documented tales he was told by locals of two huge structures submerged in a man-made lake.
The two pyramids built by the Egyptian king Moeris as a Mausoleum for himself and his wife on the shores of the Lake Moeris, Egypt, engraving from Entwurff einer historischen Architectur, by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1725, Leipzig. (Image: Getty)
The historian said the work by Herodotus is the only account of the now lost and mythical pyramids of Lake Moeris, in Cairo.
In Matthew’s recent video on the Ancient Architects YouTube channel, he explains: “Herodotus states that the lake itself is 50 fathoms deep which is approximately 300 feet.
“The pyramids, he records were central in the lake and were one hundred furlongs or six hundred feet high, with half of them submerged in the water.
“These examples seem to totally back up my claims,” the historian adds.
“If the description by Herodotus is correct, the fact that two of Egypt’s largest pyramids were built inside of Egypt’s largest lake, should be telling us something about their purpose.”
Matthew believes the two pyramids could not have been tombs as they were submerged which would have posed an issue for any internal chambers.
He adds: “They were flooded in the time of Herodotus so it would have been a flood risk in more ancient times when the lake was possibly even deeper.
“Apart from the Great Pyramid, the so-called burial chambers for just about every other pyramids were reached by descending into the structure.
If the two pyramids were built as tombs and their internal layouts matched the Great Pyramid’s with ascending passageways – like the one that leads into the King’s Chamber – it would have been too submerged to get into (Image: Getty)
