Sunday, February 24, 2019

"Revelations of the Pyramids"

Introduction to Alternative History

Revelations of the Pyramids atlantis.filminspector.com
The Revelation of the Pyramids.
"The Revelation of the Pyramids" (in the original French: La révélation des pyramides) is a 2010 documentary directed by Patrice Pooyard and an accompanying book by Pooyard. The project is a summary of pseudoscientific theories which relate to those proposed by advocates of pseudoarchaeology and ancient astronauts. Through the use of scenic video taken around the world (it is a wonderful travelogue), "The Revelation of the Pyramids" challenges the notion that human development has progressed in a linear form. Instead, human progress is presented as featuring ebbs and flows due to effects outside of human control.

I.M. Pei atlantis.filminspector.com
I.M. Pei admits that "the proportion of the glass pyramid [that he famously designed for the Louvre] and the proportion of Giza are very close" because the same proportions are "valid today." 
The sources of this documentary are the unpublished works of screenwriter (who disconcertingly is referred to throughout by the narrator as "my informant") about the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza and other ancient archaeological sites around the world. Grimault's theory is elaborated through an examination of ancient building techniques which supposedly demonstrate precision and commonalities that exceed commonly understood limitations of their times. Both supporting and opposing viewpoints, such as that these similarities are entirely coincidental or accidental, are presented by a variety of credentialed individuals. These include the famed architect I. M. Pei in a brief appearance.

Temple of Luxor atlantis.filminspector.com
The "boggling" three-dimensional symmetry of ancient works, such as this giant statue at Luxor in Egypt, is presented as one form of advanced ancient construction techniques.
Grimault's underlying point is that there is an intrinsic cycle of geological change on Earth, including the known movement of the magnetic poles, about which ancient human structures warn. These cyclical changes cause periodic catastrophes, perhaps about every 10,000 or more years. He proposes there was at least one advanced human civilization before ours which was destroyed by such a catastrophe. Pyramids in Egypt and elsewhere, along with other ancient constructions around the globe, were built by such an advanced prehistoric civilization (referred to as "the builders") to convey this warning. This warning also is present in the form of relationships between different structures in widely separated locations including China and South America.

Revelations of the Pyramids atlantis.filminspector.com
Grimault proposes a 100-km wide band around the earth that encompasses all of the most notorious ancient locations, including Giza and Easter Island.
The warnings are most substantially contained (at least within the documentary) by the individual structures themselves, including their dimensions and global placement, along with ancient texts. For example, the builders conceived the Great Pyramid of Giza not as a tomb or monument, but rather to present a mathematical riddle. Among other things, the Great Pyramid is presented as disclosing an understanding of obscure natural phenomena such as the speed of light which should have been outside their ability to measure or decipher. All of these mathematical relationships remain as a warning to earth's current inhabitants who also face destruction. How the builders knew about these catastrophic events before they themselves were destroyed and why they tried to warn future civilizations is left to the viewer's imagination. Grimault views global warming as a forerunner or precursor of another instance of these recurrent catastrophic events.

Upper chamber of the Great Pyramid atlantis.filminspector.com
The precision of the Upper Chamber of the Great Pyramid is presented as a "smoking gun" in the ancient-builders hypothesis.
"The Revelation of the Pyramids" is a sequence of conclusions (such as that ancient builders knew the value of Pi) to be accepted on faith based on numerical and geometric presentations. Grimault's sources have been attacked, and much of the evidence presented (such as the appearance in the Egyptian Temple of Seti I at Abydos of so-called helicopter hieroglyphs) are widely disseminated within the "alternative history" genre.

Temple of Abydos hieroglyphs atlantis.filminspector.com
The famous hieroglyphics at the temple at Abydos. These have an innocuous explanation for their futuristic aspect, but they still look cool.
Some of the conclusions are bizarre, such as that the ancients knew the length of a meter thousands of years before it was first proposed in 18th Century France. Overall, however, "Revelations of the Pyramids" is a brilliant introduction to the field because it incorporates all of the best theories while admitting alternative viewpoints.

Revelations of the Pyramids atlantis.filminspector.com
A typical moment in "Revelations of the Pyramids," when a comparison of circles drawn around the perimeter of the Great Pyramid somehow leads to the speed of light.
Anyway, you shall draw your own conclusions, the arguments are there and so are the counter-arguments.


2019