Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
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any sign or fencing or <strong>of</strong>ficial notice that indicated that this was an archaeological site. Brophy took extensive<br />
photographs <strong>of</strong> the megaliths, which he eventually published in magazines and scientific journals. Along with the<br />
Calendar Circle, Brophy visited the remains <strong>of</strong> the excavation <strong>of</strong> Complex Structure A, where he found several megaliths<br />
strewn about the site where the central cow stone sculpture had been removed.<br />
Directly from Nabta Playa, Brophy went to the Nubian Museum in Aswan and met with its director, who is also the<br />
SCA <strong>of</strong>ficial in charge <strong>of</strong> archaeology in the region. Brophy was told the cow stone sculpture was being held in the back<br />
<strong>of</strong> the museum, in a closed storage area, awaiting the construction <strong>of</strong> a pedestal so that it could be displayed prominently<br />
at the front <strong>of</strong> the museum. Brophy asked to see the sculpture and was escorted by an AK-47-armed guard, at night, to the<br />
location where he found the megalithic sculpture damaged and broken.<br />
In 2007, Robert Bauval also decided to visit Nabta Playa, and he duly informed Dr. Schild, who replied that he, too,<br />
planned “to be at Nabta Playta in January and early February 2008.” On November 18, 2007, Bauval and some <strong>of</strong> his<br />
friends and colleagues (Dr. Carmen Boulter <strong>of</strong> Calgary University, pr<strong>of</strong>essional cameraman Eric Phillips-Horst, Michele<br />
Bauval, and the photographer Joanne Cunningham) arrived at Nabta Playa. With them were an <strong>of</strong>ficer from the <strong>Egypt</strong>ian<br />
military and a local guide, Muhammad Nemr, as well as two drivers provided by Nemr, who had been responsible for<br />
obtaining all the necessary permits from <strong>Egypt</strong>ian National Security. Dr. Boulter had also applied for a filming permit<br />
from the Ministry <strong>of</strong> Information and the Supreme Council <strong>of</strong> Antiquities. Upon arriving at Nabta Playa in the early part<br />
<strong>of</strong> the afternoon, they found a group <strong>of</strong> tourists with the British <strong>Egypt</strong>ologist Dr. Nicole Douek. This group had arrived<br />
earlier that morning and were now about to leave for Gilf Kebir, a mountainous region that was several hundred<br />
kilometers to the west <strong>of</strong> Nabta Playa. Dr. Douek invited Robert Bauval to give a short talk to her group on the<br />
astronomy <strong>of</strong> Nabta Playa. She also agreed to give an on-camera joint interview with Bauval. After Dr. Douek and her<br />
group departed, Bauval and his colleagues examined the Calendar Circle and other artifacts in the area, taking many<br />
photographs and much video footage.<br />
A few months later, in April 2008, Thomas Brophy came to Cairo to join Robert Bauval in an expedition to Gilf<br />
Kebir and Jebel Uwainat. It was after this expedition that, on April 17, 2008, Thomas Brophy revisited Nabta Playa. <strong>The</strong><br />
required permits were obtained for him by the local guide, Muhammad Nemr, who also took Brophy and an <strong>of</strong>ficer from<br />
the <strong>Egypt</strong>ian military to Nabta Playa. Upon arrival at the site, Brophy noticed that the Calendar Circle had been severely<br />
disrupted: many <strong>of</strong> its stones had been dispersed and moved. It also seemed that there were some stones missing,<br />
especially a beautifully shaped stone, which he had photographed in 2003. Brophy also noted that a large megalith from<br />
Complex Structure A was missing. When he returned to Cairo, Brophy visited Bauval, and they compared photographs<br />
taken in November 2007 (by Bauval) and those taken in April 2008 (by Brophy). It was quite evident that the Calendar<br />
Circle in the November 2007 photos was very different from the one in the April 2008 photos. More troubling still,<br />
when he was at Nabta Playa, Brophy noted that much rubbish had been dumped on the eastern side <strong>of</strong> the area, at the foot<br />
<strong>of</strong> a sand dune where the CPE team usually camped.<br />
Figure A1. Calendar Circle, sunrise, October 2003. Since the 1999 image was taken, some stones have been removed,<br />
toppled, and possibly replaced.