Ben Carson has taken a well-deserved reaming after a video from 1998 surfaced in which he declared that in his view, the ancient Egyptians used the pyramids to store grain. He’s not only doubled, but tripled, down on this idiotic claim without offering any evidence other than his “personal theory.” Well, officials from the country that should know something about how one of their greatest national treasures were used have weighed in on the issue. Their response? A collective belly laugh.
At a recent conference about the prospect of hidden tombs in the pyramids, antiquities minister Mamdouh al-Damaty was asked about Carson’s claims. Al-Damaty harrumphed, “Does he even deserve a response?” I would hazard to guess that al-Damaty, like other antiquities officials in Egypt, must have fought hard to suppress the urge to roll his eyes in front of everyone. After all, there is overwhelming historical and scientific evidence that the pyramids were tombs.
Egypt’s head of ancient antiquities, Mahmoud Afifi, says that he and other antiquities officials have heard this kind of nonsense before. He dismissed Carson as “that man who’s not an archaeologist,” and thinks he was only saying it as a publicity stunt.
You’re probably wondering why Egyptian officials are laughing at Carson rather than skewering him. Well, it may be because the ancient Egyptians themselves told us why the pyramids were built, via “The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts.” It may also be because Carson’s “personal theory” really isn’t that personal at all. During the Middle Ages, it was thought that the pyramids were used as giant grain silos. However, the Renaissance saw the first truly detailed studies of the pyramids. Since then, the evidence has mounted to the point that there is almost no debate that the pyramids were tombs for the pharaohs.
Such things as evidence don’t seem to matter to Carson. At a book signing in Florida, he harrumphed that “people who believe in the Bible like I do” don’t find his theory to be off the wall. He thinks it’s yet another example of “secular progressives” trying to make fun of Bible-believing Christians. Uh huh. So Egyptian antiquities officials are in league with those evil “secular progressives” now? Apparently they are, in Carson’s world.
