A hidden room sealed inside the Great Pyramid may hold the explanation for how the pyramids were built. Previously, it was believed that the construction took place from the outside, but evidence points to the building starting on the inside and working out. Do you want to build your own pyramid at home? Well, that's considerably easier. [more inside]
posted by grapefruitmoon on Nov 16, 2008 - 27 comments

"Don’t stop. Keep right on going.... Go someplace you’ve heard about, where you can fish or hunt or collect rocks or just look up at the sky. Find out what’s at the end of some country road. Go see what’s over the next hill, and the one after that, and the one after that." In 1959 Airstream founder Wally Byam - taking his own advice to heart - led a convoy of 36 of his company's trailers - together with over 100 American adults, children and pets - on a journey from Cape town to Cairo. They stayed in remote villages, negotiated rough roads, saw upteen tribal dancers, met up with Haile Selassie and finally ended up at the pyramids of Cairo. Here is the original film account of the expedition (complete with its own theme song). Next year, on the 50th anniversary, there is a plan to do the trip again - this time there and back again. Wanna go?
posted by rongorongo on Jul 16, 2008 - 12 comments

Fascinated by Egyptian archaeology? View and learn all about the discoveries in Giza, the Valley of the Kings (and Queens), Memphis and Saqqara and the Sphinx from the comfort of home. Depending on today's pesky sandstorms and time of day, you may even be able to see the pyramids from the comfort of your couch. Want to go inside? Yeah, me neither.
Previously.
posted by miss lynnster on May 16, 2007 - 11 comments

Snakes off a pharaoh - possible earliest semitic text seems to involve getting those mummy-loving snakes out of King Unas' mummy-loving tomb.
posted by Flitcraft on Jan 23, 2007 - 4 comments

The 100 Wonders of the World. A list, which includes both photos and a short description of all the wonders. The list may not be complete, but it's an interesting list for those of us, who love to travel. Italy seems to be a nice place to start, with 12 of the 100 wonders (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12).
posted by einarorn on Jul 5, 2004 - 26 comments

In August, we had Pyramid Rover. Now we know what's behind that door. Another door.
posted by monkey closet on Sep 17, 2002 - 15 comments

Pyramids as old as the ones in Egypt found in Peru. Actually, they're more like ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia but hell anyway they're just as old as their Middle Eastern counterparts. Here's a bit more on the Americas' oldest city.
posted by lagado on Apr 30, 2001 - 4 comments

The Great Pyramids at Giza have never been accurately dated.
Conventional Egyptian chronologies are only accurate to within 100 years. Using a neat trick, scientists have been able to pin that date down to within a few years. When they were built, the pyramids where aligned northwards by using two stars as a guides. Over time, these stars have moved because the Earth's rotational axis "wobbles" slightly over a 26,000 year period. The orientations of the pyramids reflect this, the older pyramids are oriented slightly to the north east and the younger ones are oriented slightly to the north west. This information has been used to pin down their exact ages.
posted by lagado on Nov 15, 2000 - 2 comments

We need a Great Pyramid. I mean, come on, what is America's great constructional feat? The Empire State building? The Sears Tower? What relative pieces of shit. We need a pyramid to show we're at least as good as the Egyptians!
posted by muffin on Aug 13, 2000 - 18 comments