Robert Bauval is the author of some of the most important books written about alternative history, Egyptology and the pyramids, including “The Egypt Code,” The Orion Mystery,” “The Keeper of Genesis,” and “The Message of the Sphinx” with Graham Hancock. Bauval’s newest book is “Black Genesis,” which presents evidence that pre-pharonic civilization may have originated from a black race. Bauval is a widely known speaker and lecturer. His website is http://www.robertbauval.co.uk. He is a true explorer in every sense of the word, and we welcome his insights!
1) At what point in your life did you realize this was your life’s work and calling?
RB: To be precise, on a winter's night in early November 1983. It happened in the desert near the city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. I was working at the time as an engineer there, and I had just visited my mother in Egypt and where, during my stay, I went to the Cairo museum and had seen a aerial photograph of the Giza pyramids taken by the Egyptian airforce in the 1950s. It was at that moment that I noted the strange anomalistic layout plan of the three pyramids. I somehow knew that that my 'mission' was to solve this mystery. It's hard to explain why I knew this, but that's how it seemed to me at the time. At any rate, when I was in the desert that fateful night I noticed the uncanny correlation between Orion’s belt and the Giza pyramids. From there on my mission had begun. The full story is told in my first book, The Orion Mystery.
2) What is the state of current research into the Pyramids and how they may have been built, and for what reason? How much has changed over the last few years in terms of theories and direction of research?
RB: Egyptologists are focusing on the so-called “workers’s village” to find out more about the common people that allegedly were involved in the construction of the pyramids. This “village” is to the southeast of necropolis. There are conflicting news about whether the exploration of the shafts in the Great Pyramid will be resumed this year. The latest on that is the involvement of the SCA (Supreme Council of Antiquities) chaired by Dr. Zahi Hawass and the University of Liverpool in England. As far as theories and cutting edge research, there has been the usual spout of “How the pyramids were built” theories such as that of Jean-Pierre Houdin’s “internal ramp” theory. But none of these fully explain the various mysteries such as the internal design and, more specifically, the stellar-shafts. I remain very convinced of the Orion’s belt/Giza Pyramids correlation and even more convinced that the date of 11,450 BC is defined by the layout design of the site.
3) Why does ancient knowledge matter in today’s chaotic, hectic world? What can the average person take from this knowledge that helps their loves today?
RB: Today we exist in a world that has largely lost or forgotten its spiritual mission. The focus is on material and commercial advancement. The ancients, especially the Egyptians, focused their energies on their spiritual development and the fundamental issues of life, death and the beyond. They considered everything as being sacred and a gift from the gods. They nurtured their environment and held it in great reverence. They produced art for its own sake, and focused on the esthetic rather than the pure functional. They looked upon the world as a gift from the Creator and not as a quarry to be plundered and exploited as we do. If an ancient Egyptian sage would see our modern world, he would surely be appalled at the wastage and irreverence we hold of Nature and our fellow men; very much as Christ would be appalled as to what his religious movement has been turned into by the Church. To be studying ancient cultures is not merely a hobby or commercial preoccupation; it is the quest for lost knowledge and wisdom that perhaps can be retrieved and put to use in our world today.
4) Do you believe that the knowledge of the ancients has mostly been lost to us modern humans?
RB: The simple answer is yes. But I also believe that it can be re-discovered by understanding the ancient legacy in monuments and texts. There are good researchers in this field, such as Graham Hancock, John Anthony West, Robert Schoch, John Major Jenkins, Andrew Collins and many others. Slowly but surely we are retrieving piece by piece, like a giant intellectual puzzle, the lost wisdom of the ancient world.
5) How close are we to ever having a complete picture of the meaning behind the Pyramids?
RB: My hunch is that soon, perhaps very soon, some major breakthrough will happen, and much will be revealed to us. I feel that it will be something to do with what may be found or seen behind those mysterious little doors at the end of the shafts in the Great Pyramid. But time will tell.
6) Does the antiquities trade, both legal and illegal, make it harder to piece together a complete picture of ancient belief and tradition?
RB: Not really. What makes it harder is the attitude of the Chairman of Egyptian antiquities, Dr. Hawass, who monopolizes all activities in matters do with ancient Egyptian archaeology, and has created a great deal of animosity between the alternative researchers and the academics. A more liberal and friendly context would help matters a lot.
7) What are the unknown mysteries of the world, pyramids excluded, that absolutely cry out for more research? Which most fascinate you?
RB: The meaning of human existence… I am fascinated by human beings and their complexity. Important philosophical and metaphysical issues, as well as spiritual well-being are in dire need of innovative and a more holistic approach to their research. In our world today we are trying to understand everything except what is the most important: who we really are, where do we come from and where are we going. The mystery of our role on this planet and, in extension, in the cosmos is the true quest of all human beings.
8) Can you share some news about a current book or project you are working on, and when we might expect to see it?
RB: I am currently completing a book titled BLACK GENESIS. It is co-authored with the American physicist Dr. Thomas Brophy PhD. We are going to show that the origins of the ancient Egyptians is a black African race that inhabited the eastern Sahara in prehistoric times.