The Serapeum of Saqqara (Part 4 of 5: What Was In The Boxes?)

In the last post, in this series of five, I discussed Prince Khaemweset and his obsession with the Serapeum, undoubtedly linked to his interest in magic and healing. I also discussed the ‘official line’ about what was in the boxes and why I felt it was not the Apis bulls (quick summary – there are too few, they are too elaborate and other sarcophagi found with Apis bulls were made from wood and much smaller – the granite boxes were all empty, without any evidence that the site had been plundered before Mariette’s rediscovery).

In this week’s blog I’m going to consider the various alternative theories for what exactly was in the granite boxes of the Serapeum of Saqqara. 

The Serapeum of Saqqara 

Part 4 of 5: What was in the boxes?

Apis Bulls

So, why weren’t the bovine deities in the boxes? I covered this in previous blogs but, just as a quick re-cap, there aren’t enough boxes to house all the Apis bulls in the period the scholars suggest, the boxes are over-engineered and the dating is flawed (based on non-contemporary hieroglyphics scratched on to their surface). 

So, what did they contain? Well, not surprisingly the internet is full of conspiracy theories and the usual stories are trotted out – so, did they house ancient aliens, or ancient fallen angels/Nephillim? Or perhaps they were built by an ancient civilisation, whose existence has been systematically hidden from us? Let’s consider each theory and its veracity.

Nephillim

The Bible and its associated works suggest that there was once a race of giants who walked the Earth. Numbers 13:33, for instance, states: ‘the Nephilim walked the Earth, and the Giants as they were in stature, made men look like grasshoppers in their sight’. 

Some sources suggest these Nephillim are the progeny of fallen angels, some a separate race to homo sapiens. 

The key problem with this theory is the lack of scientific evidence for any race of giants (although, I’ll admit that it is intriguing to imagine the colossal boxes housing giants!). If the boxes did contain giants – where did the bones go? As I have suggested in previous blogs, if Mariette was able to find so much treasure intact, then it is unlikely that the Serapeum was ever robbed and he records finding the boxes empty.

If giant bones were discovered you would have to buy into a conspiracy theory that Mariette’s team and subsequent archaeologists were involved in a cover-up. Whilst the disappearance of Mariette’s papers and of Khaemweset’s sarcophagus is mysterious, it’s hard to believe they would have concealed this from the world.

Ancient Aliens

To further research this particular conspiracy theory, I enjoyed reading Erich von Däniken’s classic, Chariots of the Gods, which was probably the first book to popularise the ancient astronaut hypothesis. This is the theory that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited earth in ancient times and influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies and religions. 

The idea has exploded again since the prequel to Alien, Prometheus (2012), suggested that alien ‘Engineers’ might even have affected the development of our DNA. Arthur C Clarke suggested something similar in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – remember the black obelisk? 

Much of von Däniken’s work, however, relies upon his identification of ‘out of place’ artefacts and, sadly, as thought-provoking as his books are, much of his claims have been challenged, or outright debunked. Some critics even consider his views as racist and belittling the astonishing achievements of our ancestors. [Incidentally, this is something I’m mindful of, in belittling the Apis bulls theory and the dating of the construction of the boxes but I believe there’s just too much evidence to the contrary for this official line]. 

Thus, whilst the creation of the boxes is certainly puzzling, I don’t see the hand of aliens in their construction. However, as I outlined in previous articles, I do struggle with the dating, which I believed is seriously flawed. They are most definitely an anomaly but that does not mean they are not a human anomaly.

Ancient Civilisation

I am rather more intrigued by the work of Graham Hancock (et al), which posits the existence of an advanced civilisation, which was destroyed by a cataclysm (citing the many cultural and religious notions of a Great Flood). 

Archaeologists do seem to be oddly reluctant to countenance anything other than linear progression. This seems odd to me, since, even in Britain, in a few short years, the days of Roman cities and villas with under-floor heating hypocausts must have seemed impossibly advanced to those who dwelled in the straw huts which followed them in the Dark Ages. 

Plus, the evidence for a terrible cataclysm is compelling and the legends of the lands of advanced races sinking beneath the waves (such as the tales of Atlantis) are legion in the stories of multiple different cultures and races from across the globe. They are in the ancient stories passed from generation to generation and feel more than fiction.

There is some evidence to suggest that work stopped suddenly in the Serapeum, for the boxes are in various stages of completion – some have lids, some do not, plus there is the rough box and lid which was abandoned in the entrance tunnel. Could this have been the result of the cataclysm, which writers such as Hancock espouse?

Is it possible that the Serapeum is the product of a forgotten civilisation? Perhaps. I certainly struggle with Egyptologists arguing the scratched hieroglyphics on the side of one of the boxes are contemporary with their creation for the reasons I’ve asserted in previous parts of this blog.  Contrary to their claims, since the boxes cannot be carbon-dated, it is frankly impossible to tell if the boxes have resided in the tunnels for millennia, perhaps being created much closer to the pyramids, which may themselves be far older than is claimed.

Ancient batteries

Konstantin Borisov (apparently the holder of a Ph.D in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University) has offered an intriguing addition to the debate about the boxes by pointing out that granite is not porous, which means that gas would not escape from the boxes. With their precision to 1 micron, the boxes are hermetically sealed when the lids are placed on them. Borisov claims that, since granite is rich in quartz crystals, when it is placed under a mechanical stress (such as increasing the pressure inside the boxes via fermentation, which we know ancient Egyptians understood), an electric charge could be generated.

Indeed, a 19^thcentury sketch of the boxes clearly shows a huge pile of stones had been placed on top of a sarcophagus lid, so one has to ask what process inside the boxes was such that the 30 tonnes lid was not enough? Unless, of course Borisov was right and this was a further attempt to increase pressure inside.

Referring again to the lack of soot on the ceilings and walls, Borisov points out that, under stress, the granite boxes could build voltage potential on their surface and that, if the voltage was high enough, it would have ionised the air around the ground creating a glow. Thus, as pressure built in the boxes, they may have lit up the chamber.

It is certainly an intriguing theory and links up with the work of engineers, such as Christopher Dunn, author of The Giza Power Plant, who suggests that the Great Pyramid might also have been electricity-producing.

So, what did our shamanic expedition to Egypt think about the Serapeum and what was inside the boxes? Well, that is the subject of the final blog in this series: ‘The Serapeum of Saqqara: Our experiences’…