Episode 34, Part 1: Megaliths, Pyramids and Secrets of the Sphinx, with Robert Temple

Prepare to re-evaluate everything you thought you knew about these ancient monuments, and so much more! Author, professor, deep researcher and self-proclaimed “arch skeptic of traditional thinking” Robert Temple shares his provocative reinterpretations of how and why they came to be, and how they’ve been used—and abused—at various times in history. Discrepancies in dating are often ignored, and manipulation or misinterpretation of new evidence protects ancient Egyptology's status quo. The pyramids at Giza are said to have been built by slaves using ropes and ramps to haul tons of massive rock that came from many miles away. Our guest says no, and offers his theory. How can stones be carved to fit together so exactly that a blade cannot be wedged between them? Whose face is on the conspicuously small head of the Sphinx... and who, or what, was the Sphinx modeled on, originally? Ancient civilizations often practiced deception to protect their discoveries, inventions and goods. How ancient, amazingly perfect "Viking lenses” made with crystal-carving technology ruffled the establishment years later. The riddle of Atlantis and how the pre-dating megalithic culture may be involved. Phoenicians—the first successful arms dealers? And what about the West African Dogon Tribe’s mysterious cosmology involving a visitor from the distant, invisible star, Sirius B? These are mere samples of ancient mysteries we spotlight in this thought-provoking episode. Our conversation continues in Part 2. Robert Temple has authored more than a dozen books, including the international best-seller, The Sirius Mystery, and the most recent, A Science of Heaven. He has done archeological dating work and intensive exploration of closed sites in Egypt with the permission of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. Robert is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and an abiding member of the Egypt Exploration Society and numerous other academic societies. His research into historical accounts of the Sphinx is the first comprehensive survey ever undertaken.