Secrets Of The Pyramids

World, 1.10am

Whether these ancient monuments served as launching pads for the pharaoh's soul or for alien spacecraft, pyramids have long mystified archaeologists. Hollywood is equally fascinated with tales of mummies and fabulous wealth, but don't expect any answers from Indiana Jones. So far, much of the research on Egyptology has concentrated on their construction, purpose and the reasons behind their existence. One theory proposed that ancient Egyptians were preoccupied with the constellation of Orion as their after-life destiny. Then tall tales soon spread that the pyramids were built using wooden cranes, that the daughter of Cheops prostituted herself in order to obtain stone for her own pyramid and that a subterranean canal connecting the Nile to the Great Pyramid created an underground island on which Cheops was buried. While these and other stories would probably make a great second sequel to The Mummy, the truth may be that the pyramids were just a show of wealth by Egyptian royalty. Of course, many of them ended up being plundered by grave robbers despite the presence of false passages, trap doors and hidden chambers. Which probably means that the secrets of the pyramids are best left inside.