A Brief History
On this date, September 28, 48 BC, Pompey the Great was assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. Although we know of this incident, many open problems concern Ancient Egypt, and some of them may never be solved. Egyptian archaeology is in a state of constant transition, with much of the terminology and chronology in dispute. The archaeological record is incomplete, with countless relics and artifacts missing or destroyed. New archaeological discoveries can call into question previous conclusions about Ancient Egypt. Furthermore, there are internal problems of overall cohesion of various dynasties, and there are problems reconciling the Egyptian civilization with other concurrent civilizations.
The following are unsolved problems in Egyptology and modern knowledge of ancient Egypt. The items are in the form of a list of unsolved problems. This list originally appeared on Wikipedia before being removed due to electronic book burning. A major contributor to the original article on Wikipedia was Doug Weller. Other editor’s contributions can be viewed in the original article’s revision history. This article therefore uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia.
Open Problems
Origins
Ancient Egypt appeared as a unified state no later than 3300 BC. It survived as an independent state until about 30 BC. Archaeological evidence suggests that a developed Egyptian society may have existed for much longer.
- History: What did the Egyptians know of their own history?
- History: Who were the first leaders of the Hyksos, temporary rulers of Northern Egypt?
- Name: Is the name of Egypt of Greek origin?
Chronology
- Event: Volcanic eruption of Thera
- In the Bronze Age, the massive volcanic eruption of the island of Thera (Santorini) deposited pumice and ash across the Eastern Mediterranean. This archeological layer of debris provides a fixed date that can synchronize all the chronologies of the region, including Egyptian, Minoan, Mycenean, Canaanite, and so on. The radiocarbon date of this eruption is well-attested, around 1613 ±13 BC,1 corroborated by numerous other carbon samples, plus other dating methods. Based on pottery, scarabs, and the Tempest Stele, some have argued that this event must have happened during the reign of Ahmose I, the founder of the 18th Dynasty. Unfortunately, this date contradicts the conventional Egyptian chronology that starts the 18th Dynasty around 1550 BC, thus yielding a date for the eruption somewhere around 1530 BC based on archaeological remains such as ceramic ware.2 This contradiction has not yet been resolved. Egyptologists have thus not changed their chronologies, which without exception date Ahmose I to the 16th century.
The Pharaohs
- Persona: Was King Khufu (Cheops) a good ruler or a tyrant, as later tradition described him?
- Persona: Where did Khababash of the Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt come from?
- Persona: What happened to Hatshepsut? Was Senenmut the lover of Hatshepsut? Why did Thutmose III obliterate the names and images of Hatshepsut, after a seemingly amicable coreign?
- Persona: Where is the body of Akhenaten? Was Akhenaten killed or exiled? What did Akhenaten believe? Did Aten have a connection with Adonai, Yahweh, or Elohim?
- Persona: How did Tutankhamun die? Was he son of Akhenaten? Was he really son of Kiya, or could he have been son of Nefertiti?
- Event: Was Amenemhat I assassinated?
- Event: What happened to Nefertiti? What caused the disappearance of Nefertiti? Was Nefertiti Smenkhkare? Did Nefertiti ever rule Egypt alone?3
- Event: Was Egypt split during the rule of Smendes I?
- Event: Did Ramesses III defend Egypt against the Sea People because they were invading or were they people fleeing to Egypt in the middle of a war?
- Event: Was Ramesses III assassinated?
- Event: Did Necho II really send out an expedition which sailed from the Red Sea around Africa back to the mouth of the Nile?
Temples and pyramids
Many Egyptian temples still stand today. Others are in ruin from wear and tear, while others have been lost entirely. The Egyptian structures are among the largest man-made constructions ever conceived. They constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization.
- Temples :When was the Sphinx built and who built it?
- Temples: What was the purpose of the Sphinx? Which pharaoh was the Sphinx’s face meant to resemble? Was its face meant to resemble Khufu, Djedefra, Khafra? Was there a second Sphinx across the Nile?
- Temples : Was the Labyrinth at Heracleopolis a myth or real?
- Temples : Who built the Osireion at Abydos?
- Pyramids : When was the great pyramid at Giza built?
Burial and tombs
Mummification of the dead was not always practiced in Egypt. Once the practice began, an individual was placed at his/her final resting place through a set of rituals and protocol. The Egyptian funeral was a complex ceremony including various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in the dead’s honor.
- Customs: Were there human sacrifices at royal tombs, or is this claim just blood libel?
- Customs: What was the meaning of the royal boats at Abydos?
- Tomb: Where is the royal tomb of Amenhotep I? Why was Amenhotep’s body moved?
- Tomb: Was the tomb of the sons of Ramesses II founded by Amenhotep II?
- Persona: Who are the individuals that are buried at Qurneh?
Biblical synchronisms
The ancient Egyptians are featured in the Old Testament, and played a prominent role in the early Hebrews’ life, from Joseph’s capture to the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, and later interaction with the Kingdom of Israel.
There are several unanswered questions as to the precise influence each had on the other.
- Persona: When did Joseph live? Was Joseph alive in the Middle Kingdom, Hyksos Period, or New Kingdom, or was his story nothing more than a myth?
- Persona: Is there a connection between Moses and Akhenaten (see Osarseph)? Could Akhenaten have been Moses himself, or perhaps Yehoshua?
- Persona: Who was Labaya of the Amarna Letters? Was he a biblical figure (such as Saul or Mesha)?
- Persona: Which Pharaoh gave Solomon his daughter to marry? Was it Shoshenq I, or perhaps Psusennes II?
- Event: Was the Exodus of the Israelites mythological or historical? If historical, under which Pharaoh did it occur? How many Hebrews were in Egypt? How many left in the Exodus? 600 families or 600,000 people? Was it in fact the Shasu exodus from Sinai to Arabia and then Canaan at the end of the reign of Ramses I, or was it based on the Hyksos expulsion? Was the pharaoh of the Exodus Dudimose, a Hyksos pharaoh, Ahmose I, Thutmose III, Thutmose IV, Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III, Ramesses I, Ramesses II, Merneptah, or perhaps an unsuggested pharaoh?
Technology
Certain artifacts and records do not fit with conventional technological development systems. There is a question as to the sophistication of ancient Egyptian technology.
- Methods: When did Egyptians start producing glass?
- Methods: Why is there not a neat progression to an Egyptian Iron Age? Why did the Egyptians take so long to utilize iron?
- Methods: Were the Egyptians capable of long distance navigation in their boats? When did they become knowledgeable seamen?
- Knowledge: What does the Tulli Papyrus describe? Did it come from the reign of Thutmose III? Is it even real, or was it just creative writing?
- Knowledge: Did the Egyptians have some form of understanding of electricity?4,5 Did the Egyptians use batteries?
Language and the arts
- Literature: Was the Story of Sinuhe a myth or real?
- Customs: Who were the Egyptian priests and magicians? What kind of magic and spells did they use?
- Art: What are meaning of the reliefs at Dendera?
Miscellaneous
- Geography: Where was the land of Punt? Why was it referred to as “God’s Land“?
- Geography: Was Alashiya the island Cyprus?
- Geography: Where was the area of Yam?
- History: Did the “Nubian Dark Age” really occur in the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt?
- History: Was the First Intermediate Period of Egypt really a Dark Age?
- History: Who was the victor at the Battle of Kadesh?
- History: Were the cities of Sais and Heliopolis built before the cataclysm as Diodorus Siculus attested in his Historical Library, Book V?
- History: Why did Plato write about Atlantis as described by Sonchis, Egyptian priest of Thebes? Did Solon meet Sonchis or is it a fable? Was Athens founded a thousand years before the appearance of the Egyptian civilization as mentioned in Timaeus or is it a fable?
- History: Why were there Minoan paintings in Avaris? What was the relationship between Minoan civilization and Egyptian civilization?
- History: Who were the Sea People?
Question for students (and subscribers): Which of the above questions would you most like to see answered? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
Notes
- New research in Science: date of the largest volcanic eruption in the Bronze Age finally pinpointed (27 April 2006)
- Summary of Evidence for the Absolute Chronology of the Early Part of the Aegean Late Bronze Age Derived from Historical Egyptian Sources
- JENNIFER SARANOW, “7 Missing Wonders: Many of history’s most famous shipwrecks, tombs and relics are still missing. Jennifer Saranow on the growing high-tech hunt for them”, The Wall Street Journal (November 9, 2007): W1.
- This assumption may stem from a misunderstanding of a text referring to “high poles covered with copper plates” to make this argument Bruno Kolbe, Francis ed Legge, Joseph Skellon, tr., “An Introduction to Electricity“. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1908. 429 pages. Page 391. (cf., “[…] high poles covered with copper plates and with gilded tops were erected ‘to break the stones coming from on high’. J. Dümichen, Baugeschichte des Dendera-Tempels, Strassburg, 1877″)” but Dr. Bolko Stern has written in detail explaining why the copper covered tops of poles (which were lower than the associated pylons) do not relate to electricity or lightning, pointing out that no evidence of anything used to manipulate electricty had been found in Egypt and that this was a magical and not a technical installation. Stern, Bolko (1896 reprinted 1998). Ägyptische Kulturgeschichte. Reprint-Verlag-Leipzig. pp. 106-108. ISBN 978-3826219085.
- Heinrich Karl Brugsch-Bey and Henry Danby Seymour, “A History of Egypt Under the Pharaohs“. J. Murray, 1881. Page 422. (cf., [… the symbol of a] ‘serpent’ is rather a fish, which still serves, in the Coptic language, to designate the electric fish […])
General information
- Davis, Janet M. and Christian Jacq. Magic and Mystery in Ancient Egypt. Souvenir Press, 1998.
- Manley, Bill. The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2003.
Further reading and other publications
- Bauval, Robert and Adrian Gilbert. The Orion Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids. Broadway Books, 1995.
- Childress, David Hatcher. Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients. Adventures Unlimited Press, 2000.
- Mertz, Barbara. Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2009.
- Mertz, Barbara. Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2009.
- Morris, Margaret. The Egyptian Pyramid Mystery Is Solved!: Volume 1: The Mysteries. Margaret Morris, 2004.
- Sitchin, Zecharia. The Earth Chronicles Expeditions: Journeys to the Mythical Past. Bear & Company, 2004.
External links and other resources
- Archaeological Institute of America
- Mysteries of Egypt. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, 2001.
- Official Website for Dr. Zahi Hawass
- Egyptian Mysteries
- Catchpenny Mysteries of Ancient Egypt.
- Gray, Martin, The Great Pyramid, Egypt. 2005.
- Dörnenburg, Frank, Mysteries of the Past. 2004.
- Berkeley Groks Science Radio, Show June 30, 2004: Egyptology
- Theban Mapping Project
- Uruguayan Egyptology
- The Hall of Ma’at
- The Antiquity of Man Exploring human evolution and the dawn of civilisation
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="11809 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=11809">77 Comments
This was very interesting and definitely made me think about a lot of the questions. Most of which I would have never though to ask. It makes me think about questions for other places like Greece. It makes me wonder if the things that are said to have happened really happened. I don’t know what to think but this was very interesting and I enjoyed it. It really made me think.
There definitely are a lot of unanswered questions about ancient Egypt.
The questions about the Sphinx are interesting. I wonder when it was built and who built it (maybe aliens?), but particularly interesting is the question about which pharaoh’s face the Sphinx is supposed to resemble. I wonder if this pharaoh lost his nose during his lifetime and they changed the temple to match? Or maybe there is some other explanation for why the nose is missing.
I find it so interesting how there are so many unsolved questions about ancient egypt history.
Very interesting read.
I am curious about the sphinx and great pyramid of Giza. There is still so much we can learn.
The history of Egypt is very confusing because of all the holes in its story. As more and more history is found it may negate what we thought we already knew.
A few of these questions I’ve heard being debated recently such as the age of the Sphynx. One theory suggest evidence that it was built in a time when the Nile was more forested and may have origionally been a lion. The theorist suggest what appears to be rain erosion and the time difference between when the body was crafted and the head remodeled as proof.
It’s not hard for me to believe that there have been civilizations lost to assimilation, war, and natural disasters, even possibly prior to summer; but with lack of evidence, even as simple as ancient mines, it’s too inconclusive. I look forward to what these new debates bring to the table though.
I would have to say that there are so many questions about Egypt, and not even have of them are answered.
It is truly devastating that the only people who know exactly how Egypt was, are those who lived during the time and experienced it first hand (all whom are far gone). I ponder from time to time about how Egypt used to be. From specifics to just broad general overviews, i would like to be experience a genuine time in this time in Egypt. I would find everything so fascinating. So many advancements and creations that are to this day’s standards amazing. All of the rock work to make monuments and metal work to make the most ornate gold grows and jewelry. This is a fascinating group of people in time and I would love to be able to learn more about them and their ways of life and why they chose to do things the way they did them.
I never realized there were so many unanswered questions throughout history. I don’t normally think about it, but there is a lot of information and history that we will never know because it was never written down.
Wow. I didn’t realize that there are so many questions about Egypt’s history that are unanswered. It almost makes you question how much we truly know about other ancient civilizations, for example Greece, as mentioned in some of the questions above.
I found it very fascinating to see all of the uncertainties of Egyptian history listed. It is really interesting for me to see how much we know versus how much more there still is to learn. What is even crazier is will those questions ever be answered with new technology now and in the future or will they forever remain a mystery.
I honestly love how there is so much more to discover in Egyptology because it measn there is more to learn, and who knows what we may find.
CS
There is a lot we still have to learn about egypt, new information is discovered all the time thanks to advancements in technology.
I think this article was pretty cool reading. It shows how little we actually know about the Egyptian way of life when there society first started and actually when it happened. Plus there wondering if Egypt is a Greek name that so fascinating there thinking it is. I would never of thought it was greek. Just shows how much more we’re learning about epygt
I wonder if some of these unsolved problems in Egyptology, particularly problems with dating, could exist because ancient Egyptian dating went according to when the Pharaohs ruled, and there isn’t much information about the Pharaohs, so exact dating is impossible to figure out.
This article truly shows how little we do know about these people but we also struggle because of their thieves back then! Truly upsetting!
I find Gilgamesh more interesting.
This article opened my eyes to realize that I am not the only one with many questions. It goes to show that we really know very little of this culture, but we do know will eventually help lead to answer some of these open ended questions.
There really is so much that we do not know. But with a glass-half-full attitude, there is really just so much more to discover and learn about Ancient societies.
I have always found the history of ancient Egypt to be extremely fascinating. My intrigue comes from so many years of watching the Ten Commandments. It is surreal that there is still so much we do not know.
Its crazy that there are so many unanswered questions! Who knows if we will ever get the answer.
I think its impressive that we do know as much as we do from the Egyptian empire. There may be a lot of unanswered questions but that just comes with how long ago these events were, I think we need to recognize all we do know which is amazing
It is incredible that we can put together history, but still have so many parts missing. We know so much about the Egyptians but there is so much we could learn about. Will there ever be a way to fill the missing information?
It is amazing that their are still building and pyramids that’s still stand today for such a long time again. It is also incredible how we know so much about the civilizations dated back so far. I find it interesting that Egypt lasted asked own state for so long also. One of the most interesting things is how they treated the dead and how they would go to great lengths to make them tombs after they have died.
So many questions that have yet to be answered. It makes you wonder what else there is to learn about history of our world.
It is interesting to me that such iconic rules of Ancient Egypt such as King Tut and Nefertiti have unknown causes of death. I wonder when we will have the answers to these questions.
It is amazing to see that no matter how much technology progresses there is still a lot we do not know about many ancient civilizations. I am extremely interested in the questions regarding Hatshepsut and why her face was defaced from history if she had such great reign.
It’s interesting how timelines based carbon dating and archaeological finds do not match up with one another. How does something like that even happen?
Considering there is very little written history about this time period it is not surprising that there are disparities in history. I do find it interesting that they can be that far off.
The history of the Egyptians has many gaps and holes throughout it and well you cannot expect everything to just all be found. There are unknown causes for death and artifacts missing oh well what are you gonna do. I guess it is kind of interesting to think about.
These unsolved mysteries prove that there is so much we will never know about ancient society. We cannot simply rely on all of the pieces of information left behind by ancient civilizations. Although these give us some incite, there are still things that we will never know about the ancient world.
It is very crazy how much we don’t know about Egyptian history, with all the unanswered questions we have.
I found it fascinating that there are so many uncertainties of Egyptian history. The difference between how much we actually know and what is yet to be learned is what interests me the most. It’s almost in a way scary that we will never completely know or understand some of these mysteries.
You would think that with the advances in technology, especially in the field of archeology, that many of these mysterious questions about ancient Egypt would be able to be answered. It makes you wonder whether a lot of things that we read about concerning ancient Egyptian society is actually myth. Why don’t we have information on many of these well known pharaohs and objects from Egypt?
There is so much that has happened in history that we will not ever fully comprehend, understand, or know everything. Given how far the developments of new technology have come it is surprising that we do not know some of these unknowns. History is much like outer space, we will never know everything but human thirst to learn and explore is what drives us to continue to to stretch our boundaries.
The question asking about whether or not King Khufu was a good ruler or a tyrant reminded me of our ongoing discussion about whether or not Alexander the Great was a hero, humanitarian, or maniac.
It never sises to amaze me all the wonders of the ancient Egyptians and what we still have yet to find out.
It’s mind blowing how little we truly understand about such a well studied and interesting topic. I guess you can’t build a house with a single brick.
So much technology today and yet we know so little about our own history and even the ocean.
It is crazy to think about how much information has been lost in history, it’s hard enough to solve mysteries today with all our technology so I can only imagine how hard it as then.
Today, we can easily Google Answer something but back in the day there was no such thing as Google. We are truly people reliant on technology and back then they were questioning things in which time and research was required of them.
I wonder how much longer it would take to make enough progression in science to figure out any of these questions. IF it’s even possible to figure them out, or if its just impossible and we would need a time machine just to have the opportunity to find out what science cannot.
It is exciting to see how many problems there are to solve in Egyptology, and it is always nice to see that there are reasons to continue exploring a rich society.
This article just shows how learning about ancient history is never ending! We may have a good amount now, but there is still so much undiscovered information that future generations will be able to uncover.
This article depicts the many problems that we have when studying history especially Egyptology, but it will be interesting to see as technology and knowledge improves what the future generations will be able to uncover about the past. I too will be curious to know how these large structures were built in Egypt!
Of all of the unsolved mysteries I’m most interested in the circumstances of Tut’s death. It’s kinda disappointing to think that there are so many historic mysteries we will never understand.
The most interesting of mysteries to me from this list are the biblical synchronization. We hear and analyze so many biblical characters and events in the form of religious worship, yet we sometime get disconnected when learning ancient history that there is much overlap between the timing of these two source of information.
That there are so many “unsolved problems” in Egypt is, in fact, not a problem. To have no more questions to answer would be more of a tragedy than not having the answers to those questions. As time goes on and technology progresses, I think it will be interesting to see how Egyptology progresses, and how our knowledge of the past evolves.
I suspect that Akhenaten may have been assassinated for his unpopular views of religion. (He wanted Egypt to shift to a monotheistic religion based on only Aten.)
Hi – this is Doug Weller – just to say I can’t take any credit for the list as I never edited it. The reasons it was deleted are here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_Egyptology_(Second_nomination)
I have always been fascinated by the Sphinx. It is such an interesting figure and it is unknown in many aspects. I am curious who made it and what its purpose was.
Mummification has always caught my attention. It was very cool to study what was found buried with King Tut and others of the like. I would love to go back in time and see why they would choose to bury certain items and how long of a process it was to mummify someone.
Its amazing to think there is so much we might never know about the past. It also means there is plenty more left to try and discover.
Its really something that we know so much about this time period but it’s weird how much we still dont know.
The way the article was broken up into the dialog was beneficial.
It is such a shame that we sometimes have to fill in the blanks of ancient stories because there is no evidence of how it exactly happened. I believe that the future will be much easier to capture us for their history because the internet is a very easy way to access evidence of how we live in this time period.
When a place is around for 3000 years there has got to be things that we do not know or weren’t recorded. That just leaves more for us to find out then.
My favorite questions that were asked are “When was the Sphinx built and who built it? What was the purpose of the Sphinx? Which pharaoh was the Sphinx’s
face meant to resemble? ” Those are questions I would like to know the answer to.
really like how people are questioning the time line of the Volcanic eruption of Thera. This to me seems to be a great question and something that we can answer. Unlike some of the more open ended questions of how did king Tut die.
it is pretty cool how we are developing things and questioning things of the past.
Is carbon dating accurate? How could anyone know for sure, I far as I know anytime BC would not have been dated, because they would not have known that is was BC. As to all the unanswered questions, hopefully the Egyptian archaeologists want to know the answer as much as other archaeologist from other parts of the world.
Carbon dating tends to be pretty accurate, because we know the half life of carbon, and can determine how much carbon has been lost over time. If I am not mistaken.
No matter what we do, we will never have a 100% accurate and true portable of history, but we can do our best to make sure our time in history is preserved and documented.
History will always be incomplete and sometimes inaccurate. There is no way we can ever truly know what happened. Personally, as a practicing Christian, I do not believe that we are supposed to know everything about history.
Dear Jordan,
In 2015, a student showed me this rather awesome book she had on the life of Jesus Christ that included all kinds of little items inserted within the pages, such as a replica coin from the era that you could take out and hold and everything in addition to mini-posters. It is essentially an incredibly well-illustrated compendium of the gospels and I liked it enough to buy my own copy. When we get to Christianity in a couple weeks, if you would like, I could bring my copy in to class as you might find it interesting. Here is Amazon.com’s listing of the book (if you scroll down, you can see some costumer pictures of what it includes): https://www.amazon.com/Gospels-Vault-Life-Jesus-Christ/dp/0794832164/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486846864&sr=8-1&keywords=Vault+Gospels
Best,
Dr. Zarzeczny
History is written by the winner and sadly they tend to leave some things out.
I would rather be told that ” we don’t really know for sure yet,” rather then something false. I feel like anymore in the news we seldom hear, ” we aren’t sure” but instead are fed 10 different things.
Unanswered questions will always be around to stump and infuriate us curious humans. Honestly I want to know why Thutmose III wiped out Hatshepsut’s legacy. She was amazing and is one of my favorite female rulers along with C the G.
With things that happened so long ago its not surprising that there are many things that we still don’t know or may never know.
It’s crazy that we know so much about the past, but not really. Maybe we will invent a time machine one day, that would be sweet
No matter how advanced society becomes and what technology and ideas we develop, history will always have its secrets that we will never discover the answers to.
Will we ever get the answers we have been looking for? It’s interesting there are so many unsolved questions.
I think some things are meant to stay a mystery. It helps bring alure to the subject and culture. If it wasn’t so interesting and mysterious perhaps people wouldn’t be so interested in learning about it. Even though I do wonder about all the mysterious deaths that these pharaohs under go. Or the ones who went missing. How does no one know what happened to one of the most powerful leaders of their time?!
I don’t think we will ever completely get all of the answers to our questions. But I enjoy when we get to find out about new things.