wings

Larry Orcutt's
Catchpenny Mysteries of Ancient Egypt

E X P L A I N E D

& Other Sundry Stuff
for Your Amusement and Edification

Helping to dismantle the walls of deception, one brick at a time.

Stonecutter © 1990 Richard Deurer
Used with permission only
© 1990 Richard Deurer

scribe  Mysteries of the Sphinx

  The Great Sphinx continues to offer its riddles. Some say that the Sphinx is a lot older than Egyptologists generally believe.

  What pharaoh was the Sphinx meant to resemble?

  Read about the known passages in the Sphinx.

  Is there a secret chamber beneath it?

  What are those peculiar masonry "boxes" built on the sides of the Sphinx?

  Was there a second Great Sphinx at Giza?

  And what exactly happened to the Sphinx's nose?

scribe  Pyramid Enigmas

  Who built the pyramids?

  How were they built?

  Why were they built?

  Some popular authors propose alternate theories of pyramid construction.

  There are a lot of strange claims about the Great Pyramid at Giza. Some of the "facts" aren't so factual.

  What function were the so-called air shafts meant to serve?

  What lies at the end of the Queen's Chamber shafts?

  Read about the singular iron plate found in the pyramid.

  Are the four sides of the Great Pyramid really concave?

  There is a hieroglyphic inscription above the Great Pyramid's entrance.

  Some believe that the pyramids were laid out in the pattern of the stars in the constellation Orion.

  Have you heard of the mystery of Sekhemkhet's Pyramid?

scribe  Mummy's Curses and Other Contrivances

  Was there really a curse on King Tut's tomb?

  Have you heard the tale of the mummy aboard the doomed luxury liner Titanic?

  Learn about a true mummy's revenge.

  Read some actual tomb curses.

  Who built the Osireion at Abydos?

  Ancient writers described a massive temple that they called the Labyrinth. Has it ever been found?

  To what racial group did the ancient Egyptians belong?

  Some ancient Egyptian mysteries are a little more obscure. At Dendera, there are reliefs that some claim depict electric light bulbs.

  If the ancient Egyptians didn't have electric lights, how then did they light the tombs while they worked on them?

  There are strange glyphs at Abydos that many claim as proof that the ancient Egyptians possessed an advanced technology that included helicopters!

  Is there an ancient model airplane in the Egyptian Museum? Read about the Saqqara Bird.

  And does the Tulli Papyrus describe a visit by UFOs during the reign of Thutmosis III?

scribe  Science: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  What is good science, and how can it be recognized?

  What is bad science, and how can it be avoided?

scribe  Amusing Diversions

  Orcutt's Crackpot Index, being a simple method for rating potentially revolutionary contributions to the field of Egyptology (this one usually gets me into trouble).

  The Palin Papyrus, a recently discovered satirical papyrus, is best read on 1 April.

  Read the account of Petrie's Remarkable Discovery.

  If you have a little extra time, try solving my Pharaoh Anagrams.

  See if you can identify the flaws in conceptual thinking at the Saqqara Alien website.

  Read my review of the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wadjet  LINKS

scribe  Skeptic Pages

The Hall of Ma'at does a fine job of debunking both Egyptological and archaeological fallacies. Be sure to check out their extensive list of revealing papers. Frank Doernenburg's Mysteries of the Past also debunks some of Egypt's more popular "mysteries." Martin Stower's Forging the Pharaoh's name? deals primarily with allegations that Khufu's quarry marks in the Great Pyramid's relieving chambers are forged (see also Zecharia Sitchin's Ancient Astronaut Theories: A Skeptical Archive). Have a look at Doug Weller's Archaeological/Skeptical Resources site with his long list o' links. Some general skeptic sites have articles on pyramids and the Sphinx. Both CSICOP On-line (from the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal) and the Skeptic's Dictionary (from Robert T. Carroll, Professor of Philosophy at Sacramento City College) feature searchable databases. Also see Syracuse University's Resources for Selected Areas of Pseudoscience and Paranormal Phenomena, and for Skeptical Perspective.

scribe  Ancient Egypt

Visit the best general site, my friend Andrew Bayuk's Guardian's Egypt with loads o'links, including the Official Webpages of Dr. Zahi Hawass and the Egyptian SCA (Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities). Sjef Willockx has a number of articles about Egypt's history on his website Ancient Egypt: Elements of its Cultural History. A new standard of quality has been set by Kent Weeks' excellent website, the Theban Mapping Project. Dr. Weeks is the "re-discoverer" of KV5, the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II. Then try the coolest new Great Pyramid site, Rudolf Gatenbrink's Upuaut Project. If you have a serious interest in ancient Egypt, you might want to join The American Research Center in Egypt or subscribe to KMT magazine. If you're not so serious, visit the fun but educational Tomb of the Chihuahua Pharaohs. On a more commercial note, artist/photographer Richard Deurer is offering several of his witty prints for sale at his Art and Egypt webpage (check out the Time Warp Gallery).

scribe  Litterbag

Litter on the Information Superhighway about ancient Egypt is so prevalent that a new page was necessary to contain the representative samples collected here. Click on litter if you dare.

scribe  Bible Study

What is a section on Bible study doing on a web site about ancient Egypt? Consider it a word from our Sponsor.

The entire text of the Bible (in several versions and languages) is available at the Bible Gateway. Another useful site, the Resource Pages for Biblical Studies, includes the books of the Bible and the Apocrypha online. The Blue Letter Bible is perhaps the best all-around online Bible study resource. Free Bible study software is available for download at e-Sword. Classic Christian books in electronic format are available at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. For a comprehensive collection of the various Creeds and Confessions developed through the centuries, see The Creeds of Christendom. The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook includes a long list of both secular and religious documents from the Ancient Near East that you can access. If you are interested in Biblical archaeology, be sure to visit the Biblical Archaeological Society with links to their Biblical Archaeology Review and Bible Review magazines, and Dig the Bible which features further links to archaeological websites. And what about those so-called "Bible codes?" Check out Torah Codes for a critical view. Learn about Martin Luther's Theology of the Cross. Read the essentials of the Gospel. Visit my church: Hope Community Bible Church.

 

I can be contacted by e-mail at Victory followed
by the Roman numeral 4, no space and all lower case,
at earthlink, which is not a dot com, but rather a
dot net. Apologies for my indirectness, but I don't
want trolling robots gathering my e-mail addresses.

www.catchpenny.org

Saint George