And CONSTANTLY ran into this kind of idiot. Many of them, to my personal shame, were Americans. So I'm experiencing some schadenfraude that these 2 were German. (See what I did there?)
I lived in Alexandria from 2005-09, which attracted its own special brand of Archeological Idiot. Like the guy who went out every night, digging to try and find Alexander The Great's lost tomb. He got away with that, until he started digging in the wealthier parts of the city and rich folks complained. Then he got arrested.
However, they claimed their goal was a noble one: to prove their "alternative history" conspiracy theory that the pyramids were not built by ancient Egyptians.
Egyptians HATE that nonsense. If you bring up the subject and are not a woo-head, they'll certainly tell you how much they hate it. Many tour guides in Egypt have advanced university degrees in Egyptian history, archeology, etc. They are moonlighting as tour guides because of the lousy economy - some feed their families with that work. So just imagine how they feel when some crackpot starts lecturing them on their own history. Complete with space aliens.
Another thing they hate - the Charlton Heston Theory of Pyramid Building. I got a good laugh one day when a tour guide said: "I wish people would remember just 2 things about the pyramids - no space aliens, and no slaves!"
Archaeologists have found several early, failed attempts to build the pyramids, Feder noted.
Yep. The funny thing is, on a rare clear day in Cairo, if you stand in the right spot, you can see nearly all those attempts right in front of your eyes. I don't know why the woo-meisters always harp on the Great Pyramid and ignore all the other damn pyramids in Egypt.
If you're in Saqqara, site of the first "step" pyramid built by Pharoah Djoser, in the middle distance you can see the Red and Bent pyramids (mentioned in the article). Those were built by Sneferu. And in the far distance, the Giza pyramids.
That trick also works in reverse, since the Giza Plateau is elevated. Or you can do what I did one day, with an Egyptian co-conspirator - go to the Quitbay Mosque in Cairo's City of the Dead, and bribe the caretaker to let you climb the minaret. (Do NOT try that on a Friday.) You can see for miles from that vantage point, including all 3 pyramid sites I mentioned.
BTW, trips to "unauthorized parts" of the Great Pyramid are often a con job. When you come out after your secret tour, you'll meet your tour guide's relative. He will work for the Tourist Police, and demand a bribe...in lieu of taking you straight to jail.
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