The Giza Power Plant Author: Christopher Dunn
Chris Dunn has given us a powerful new vision of the Great Pyramid at Giza, by using his technical expertise to “reverse engineer” the pyramid. What he finds is a magnificent machine that produced power using the earth itself as the source and incorporating the science of vibration and sound. Dunn works backwards from the artifacts produced by the ancient Egyptians, showing that only sophisticated machine tools could have produced the hollowed out diorite bowls and other works created by this civilization. His conclusions are based on the evidence in the pyramid itself as well as other artifacts of the classical Egyptian civilization. Looking for PurposeHe developed his theory by trying to find the purpose of the many puzzling passages and “rooms” inside the Great Pyramid which have never been explained by Egyptologists. What was the reason for creating the ascending and decending passageways, the "air shafts," and the Grand Gallery, with its strange walls and ceiling? What was the true purpose of the "sarcophagus" and why did it have to be carved from a single block rather than made from pieces and put together? Dunn draws on some of the observations of researchers who went before him, who have noted the unusual acoustic characteristics inside the pyramid. He uses the detailed notes left to us by W. Flinders Petrie more than a century ago. Petrie made extensive measurements and examinations of the pyramid long before the “tomb” theory became gospel. Dunn points out that not a single original burial has ever been found in any Egyptian pyramid! All of the burials discovered in pyramids were "intrusive" -- placed there many years after the building of the pyramid. There is actually no credible evidence that pyramids were built to be tombs. Dunn felt there must be another reason for building pyramids and spent many years researching his ideas. The book does what he set out to do — provides an explanation for everything inside of the pyramid and shows how it could have been built to generate power for a civilization much more advanced than Egyptologists will admit. Generating Power for a Very Long Time?Looking at the problem from a modern perspective, Dunn feels the tremendous amount of resources that went into building the Great Pyramid means it must have been for something very important. Would a civilization devote such resources to creating a tomb, a monument that returned nothing to those who created it? Dunn argues that one use which would provide a large return is a power plant, and if it is a power plant, the Great Pyramid is so well built that it must have provided power for a very long time. At least, until a disaster struck… and Dunn sees evidence that a destructive force did strike the King’s Chamber, pushing the walls back. This feature is usually attributed to an earthquake, but Dunn points out that the damage is localized. An earthquake would have damaged more of the pyramid. Could it have been an explosion inside the power generator? I found especially compelling Dunn’s discussion of the supposed fact that the Egyptians did not use the wheel. It seems to be an uwarranted assumption. Perhaps we've not found wheels because they did not apply the wheel to the same tasks that we do. For transportation, they may have had hovercraft instead (much better suited to going over sand) and they also used boats —the Nile River was the primary “road” in their country. Technologies can develop along very different lines in different societies, depending on needs and values. As an example, Dunn says that Germany under the Nazis developed technology that was as advanced, but different, from that of the US after only 12 years of relative isolation. We are separated from the ancient Egyptians by thousands of years and totally different kinds of cultural and economic systems. Dunn's Take on Other TheoriesPyramids Made of Cast Concrete? Dunn mentions the theory of Joseph Davidovits and Margie Morris (The Pyramids: An Engima Solved) who say the huge stone blocks used in building the pyramids are actually cast concrete, but he pretty much dismisses it. I have this book (1988 hardcover from Dorset Press) and found the authors make a believable case. The book is very interesting, with many illustrations and translations from papyrus that seem to indicate the use of concrete, or what the authors call geopolymers. One of the authors, Margaret Morris, has written another book on this same subject and has a caustic review on amazon.com of The Giza Power Plant. On her web site, she challenges Dunn to a debate. She is totally critical of Dunn's theory, but perhaps it arises from his quick dismissal of the "poured concrete" idea, which actually deserves more of a hearing. Dunn's Opinion on the "Choral Castle" I was also excited to see Dunn discuss the Choral Castle in Florida, produced by Ed Leedskalnin back in the 1950s. Somehow, one small frail man was able to move huge stone blocks by himself. Leedskalnin claimed to have discovered how the Egyptians moved the giant blocks that made up the pyramids but he died without revealing the secret. Dunn theorizes that it involves magnetism and would mean discarding some of the current scientific beliefs about gravity. I've read about the Choral Castle and some of the speculation surrounding it. Explanations usually involve a method for canceling gravity. Once the block of rock weighs nothing, it makes sense to make it big, since moving a lot of small blocks into place would be more work than just moving one block. But nobody really knows how Ed did it. About Edgar Cayce Dunn treads carefully around the Edgar Cayce material, almost apologizing for including it, but I am glad he did. How can you discuss theories about the pyramids and leave out the American clairvoyant, Edgar Cayce, and the organization that promotes his readings, the ARE? The Cayce people brought Mark Lehner to Egypt and have done explorations to seek out the infamous Hall of Records, mentioned by Cayce. This is where the records from Atlantis are hidden. In Cayce's readings, Atlantis is the precursor for the Egyptian civilization. Cayce said the Atlanteans destroyed their homeland through the misuse of a powerful energy source; this fits with Dunn’s theory that the Egyptians understood how to produce electrical power. Okay, so some people are turned off by giving consideration to this "occult" material, but we don't have much else to go on and there is great internal consistency to the Cayce readings and what they have to say about Atlantis and Egypt. And a Few Holes in Dunn's TheoryDunn's ideas are logically presented but there are a few holes. One criticism is that there is little representation in Egyptian art of the uses of this power. There is the famous “light bulb” picture in the Temple of Dendera which seems to show Crookes tubes in use, complete with power cables. There are also in other places depictions of what could be flying machines, but there are also pictures of people plowing fields using animals and other seemingly primitive ways of working. But as Dunn rightly points out, different societies would use a power source for different purposes. Because they didn’t have toaster ovens and cars doesn’t prove they had no source of electrical power. Uses of electricity would depend on the economic system of Egyptian society. Who owned the power created in the pyramid and how was electrical power distributed? There are no answers. Another weakness in Dunn’s presentation is that he doesn’t deal with specific timeframes for the development of Egyptian technology. The Egyptian civilization lasted for thousands of years which Egyptologists divide into three periods. Dunn vaguely refers to the pyramid builders as “ancient Egyptians” but does not discuss any specific years or relate the accomplishment to any other known historical event. He does not attempt to show how the technology fits into a culture. Dunn is not claiming to be a historian or archeologist, but for his theory to make real sense, we need to know what the Egyptians did with the power they generated. Dunn aludes to a possible distribution method by discussing the inventions of Nikola Tesla who believed electrical power could be delivered without wires. If the Egyptians used wireless technology, then we wouldn't find ancient electrical lines. Dunn says wireless power was never pursued in Tesla's time because there was not an easy way to meter it. How would those who controlled wireless power make money? Was the profit motive part of Egyptian society, or would power have been made freely available, or would it only be for use of the ruling class? The need to make money off inventions is a primary driver of technology in our present society (and may keep many potentially useful and even life-saving technologies from being developed becuse they would disrupt someone's current profits), but what drove technological development in ancient civilizations? Why don't we see more pictures of power use portrayed in Egyptian art? Dunn does not discuss the purpose of the other two pyramids or the other buildings on the Giza plateau. It makes sense that all three pyramids must have a connected purpose. His theory is not complete without an explanation that includes everything on the Giza plateau. I hope Chris Dunn will continue his inquiries and that other researchers will carefully consider what he has presented in thisgroundbreaking book. Even if you don't agree with him, Dunn gives you plenty to think about. Buy The Giza Power Plant : Technologies of Ancient Egypt
You might be interested in my reviews of these books: |
|
 |
 |
reviewed by Theresa Welsh
at amazon.com