I'm back! Just a little 5 year hiatus... but enough about me! As I watch this episode I realized that the music plays a role in taking me back to watching this in my youth. There is something mysterious about it (and yes definitely a 70's style score!) that signals a mystery. They really started the teaser off getting us to want for more by waiting a full minute into it before showing any pyramids!
Nimoy tells us, "Cairo is often called the intellectual Capitol of the world." I wondered if this was still true? A quick Google search seems to indicate that what Nimoy meant was that due to its history and the achievement of Ancient History it is known as the intellectual Capitol of the world. Implying this is due to its significance as a starting place, not a reflection of its current state. I'm reminded that one of the many things I love about this show is how Nimoy is always asking questions. I am a teacher and I value the power of questions. When he asks about the Ancient Egyptians, "What must they have been like?" you can hear the genuine interest in his voice. He follows this with some basic facts about farming in the ancient world and a genuine admiration for what they were able to accomplish. Its intriguing see how Nimoy vaguely refers to the substantial amount of food and resources they would have needed to build the pyramids, but avoids specific details. In the end he finishes without getting into those details and revealing how impossible the task may seem. Instead he simply says they did all of this and it was incredible, "unless there was another way". In a foreshadowing of the Ancient Aliens series, Nimoy is leaving the door open for the like of Erich Von Daniken whose book "Chariots of the Gods?" was published in 1968 and likely known to Nimoy. But rather than explore this, he moves on by discussing similar pyramids in the Yucatan peninsula.
Rather than indulge the speculative, Nimoy turns to science by digging into what set the Egyptian pyramids apart, that is their ability to create "true pyramids". He tells us the tale of the first known pyramid commissioned by "Zoser" (also known as Djoser). It appears to Nimoy, and is plausible to us, that they were experimenting with design in the construction of different pyramids, seeming to perfect their work each time they built one. In an almost incomprehensible statement Nimoy almost dismissively tells us the experiments lasted about 1000 years with 80 pyramids surviving.
"The Glory days of the pyramid age came around 2500 BC when the Pharaoh Cheops ordered a pyramid built at Giza. The angles were steep and the scale gargantuan." My favorite part of this episode is the hands-on demonstration that follows. Nimoy, clad in an all-white 70's style jump suit with sleeves rolled up handles a pyramid model to explain what is known about its construction.
Again a question, "How many years of labor must it have taken to move those blocks?" We learn that the Ancient Greek Historian Herodotus was told it was built in 30 years by a rotating group of workers numbering in excess of 120,000 men. Nimoy takes a few minutes to discuss the other impressive accomplishments of the Ancient Egyptians. He makes the point clear, what they created was so unusual and impressive that if all we had to judge them were these pyramids and related monuments we wold have to assume "they were a race of giants". More questions from Nimoy about the mysteries of the Sphinx and the pyramids. He takes a few moments to tell a tale of a treasure hunter who broke into the Great Pyramid and found nothing. More hands-on from Nimoy follows with a look inside the Great Pyramid. He explains the chambers and hooks our interest by explaining that deep inside is the King's Chamber and "one of the most perplexing mysteries of all".
Nimoy explains other mysteries about the construction of the pyramid and some theories that might explain their purpose. He concludes that the Egyptians must have had an advance knowledge of Astronomy due to how perfectly attuned they are to the stars. Nimoy now goes down the road of "pyramid power" by focusing on the pyramid shape. He tells us that some people believe pyramids in general have unusual power. Nimoy explains how some have claimed pyramids have thought be able to provide miracles, everything from "enhancing sexual potency to mummifying meat and sharpening razor blades". From here he spends some time admiring and reflecting on the "ways of the Ancients" and how little is still known about them. Nimoy transitions to the use of pyramids as tombs and resting places for mummies. He explains the process they used to mummify and how scientists today are studying mummies "not to bring them to life of course" but to learn from them. I'm honestly not sure if he was joking with that line or being serious?
He talks about what the Egyptians believed about the voyage into the afterlife and how it may correspond to the construction of pyramids. Finally we hear the famous story of Howard Carter who was the first to open King Tutankhamen's tomb. But since this is a mystery show, you know Nimoy also has to delve into the supposed curse and how it effected Carter's excavation. For shock value, Nimoy explains how living workers sealed the tomb from the inside, implying the workers died inside, but he quickly reveals a hidden and crude passageway likely explains how they got out.
The episode is almost over before we meet our first guest. Stanford University's Lambert Dolphin.
Dr. Dolphin appears to be living happily in retirement now (http://www.ldolphin.org/LTDres.html). We learn from Nimoy that back in 1978 he is studying the pyramid and Nimoy gives him the floor to share what he has learned. Much of what he says is geologic information. What's interesting is he quickly dismisses the possibility of Alien construction and the concept of pyramid power, using evidence from his study of the pyramid. "I don't believe the Egyptians needed some sort of esoteric out of space technology to do what they did. What they did was impressive." We learn that Dr. Dolphin is pioneering a new technology for looking inside pyramids with sound waves. Though they have learned much, Dr. Dolphin explains there are still unknowns, revealing a hidden chamber yet to be explored. This is followed by cool music signaling to us that the nugget just revealed is a big one!
Nimoy begins his concluding comments by reflecting on how a tour of the Treasures of King Tutankhamen in the US has been very popular, likely because the mystery is so popular. He speculates that maybe people are growing dissatisfied with the modern world and turning to the ancients as a result. He allows Dr. Dolphin to talk about the mysteries of the ancients and why we should care. And now time for the payoff, the "so what?". Nimoy says, "Their monuments may one day lead us to rediscover the greater wonder that is the mind of man." Hmmmm, prior to this statement when in this episode was the human mind mentioned? It feels like a bit of a leap to me, but I guess he is saying the Egyptians couldn't have built the pyramids unless they possessed some sort of knowledge that we don't understand? Interesting!
I thought this episode was better than the last few. It feels a little like a precursor to the Ancient Aliens series except Nimoy didn't have the guts to come out and say what he was implying. I guess maybe in the 70's the thought was not enough of the audience was ready for such bold assertions, or maybe they were more concerned about making assertions with solid evidence back then? I liked the mood and the explanations of the construction and why they were so mysterious. This is a solid episode for me to make a comeback! More new posts coming soon!
You can watch this episode "Pyramid Secrets" below.
You're so right about the In search Of music, Shane. The score is totally unique (and totally 70s) and gives this show much of its creepy charm. It reminds me of Tangerine Dream, especially their score to Sorcerer. The episodes were re-released years later with new score, and it just sucked the life out of the show.
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