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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indeed, even in modern times. On the command <strong>of</strong> the ruling pharaoh, they were about to leave their tranquil and lush<br />
island on the Nile and set out westward into the open and uncharted desert. In those days, this adventure would have been<br />
the equivalent <strong>of</strong> a first manned NASA mission to Mars. Indeed, the faraway region that they would eventually reach is so<br />
similar to the Martian landscape that the <strong>Egypt</strong>ian scientist at NASA, Dr. Farouk El Baz, actually uses it as a model to<br />
study the geology <strong>of</strong> the Red Planet. 11<br />
Iry had been chief lector priest to the pharaoh Pepi I, and after the king’s untimely death, Iry retained the same post<br />
under the new pharaoh, Merenre I (sixth dynasty, 2323–2150 BCE). Upon their return, and after Iry passed away, his son<br />
Harkhuf succeeded him as chief lector to Merenre I and also to this pharaoh’s successor, the boy-king Pepi<br />
II. Harkhuf was also appointed governor <strong>of</strong> Aswan and Elephantine. It was under the orders <strong>of</strong> King Merenre I and<br />
then later King Pepi II that Harkhuf and his father, Iry, mounted several expeditions into the deep desert to “explore the<br />
way to the land <strong>of</strong> Yam.” 12<br />
But where was Yam, and why was it so important for the pharaohs to send their most trusted advisors on such a<br />
dangerous mission . . . one from which they might never have returned? <strong>The</strong> location <strong>of</strong> the land or kingdom <strong>of</strong> Yam has<br />
long confounded <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists. Some have believed it to be located south <strong>of</strong> Aswan, between the first and second<br />
cataracts <strong>of</strong> the Nile; others have thought that it was in the west, in the region <strong>of</strong> the inhabited oases such as Kharga or<br />
Dakhla. 13 <strong>The</strong>se relatively accessible locations were proposed by <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists because, until recently, scholars were<br />
convinced that the ancient <strong>Egypt</strong>ians could not travel into the deep desert but could journey only southward along the<br />
Nile Valley or westward, but no farther than the habitable oases. Beyond these oases lies a seemingly endless and lifeless<br />
desert, a vast expanse <strong>of</strong> pure nothingness <strong>of</strong> sand, dust, and rocks, and so <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists insisted that no one in their right<br />
mind would attempt to venture there without being sure they could return safely. <strong>The</strong> practical problem is that the<br />
maximum distance that anyone can travel into this waterless desert on foot (or by donkey, as Harkhuf did) is about 200<br />
kilometers (about 124 miles), unless there are some water sources along the way. Any farther would mean a certain<br />
gruesome death by dehydration. Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uwainat, however, are a staggering 650 kilometers (400 miles)<br />
west <strong>of</strong> the Nile, and the journey to these places is theoretically impossible without a means to replenish the caravan with<br />
water and food.<br />
In addition, it seems that another issue—one <strong>of</strong> a spiritual nature—troubled the ancient <strong>Egypt</strong>ians: they apparently<br />
regarded the Sahara as the place <strong>of</strong> death and a place where evil spirits lived. Thus, according to the <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists, they<br />
would certainly have refrained from venturing too far into it.<br />
Finally, and more to the point, there was not a single shred <strong>of</strong> evidence that could attest to the presence <strong>of</strong> ancient<br />
<strong>Egypt</strong>ians beyond the oases. Although on the one hand there is much evidence <strong>of</strong> their presence in all five major oases <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Egypt</strong>ian Sahara—Kharga, Dakhla, Siwa, Bahareya, and Farafra—in the form <strong>of</strong> temples, tombs, and an abundance <strong>of</strong><br />
artifacts, there was for a long time absolutely no trace <strong>of</strong> them beyond the vicinity <strong>of</strong> these oases. Because <strong>of</strong> this lack <strong>of</strong><br />
evidence, then, and also because <strong>of</strong> the forbidding geographical conditions, <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists concluded that no one in<br />
ancient times had traveled into the deep desert. Indeed, it was not until relatively recent times—in 1879, to be more<br />
precise—that the likes <strong>of</strong> explorers such as Gerhard Rohls, and later, in 1920, Hassanein and Rosita Forbes, attempted<br />
such deep-desert journeys. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists concluded that even if Yam was in the <strong>Egypt</strong>ian Sahara, it must have been<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the habitable oases, either Kharga or Dakhla. As far as they were concerned, Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uwainat, let<br />
alone anywhere beyond these, were simply too far and out <strong>of</strong> reach for Harkhuf.<br />
Nevertheless, some open-minded <strong>Egypt</strong>ologists admitted that Yam’s “location remains uncertain. . . . [O]nly new<br />
archaeological discoveries inscribed or otherwise, could resolve the issue.” 14 This last statement—that ancient<br />
inscriptions could resolve the issue—was uncanny, for, as we will soon see, that is precisely what did happen in late<br />
2007: ancient inscriptions were found that finally helped locate the lost kingdom <strong>of</strong> Yam. Before we go into this,<br />
however, let us re-examine the writings <strong>of</strong> Harkhuf (they are inscribed on the walls <strong>of</strong> his tomb at Aswan) and see for<br />
ourselves what can be derived from them. Here is the full text translated by French <strong>Egypt</strong>ologist Claire Lalouette:<br />
His Majesty Merenre, my master, sent me, together with my father, Sole Companion and Lector-Priest, Iry, to the<br />
land <strong>of</strong> Yam to explore its ways. I carried out this mission in seven months, I brought back all sorts <strong>of</strong> tributes,<br />
beautiful and rare and I was praised for it very highly.<br />
His Majesty sent me a second time, alone. I went by way <strong>of</strong> the Elephantine road and returned via the land <strong>of</strong> Irtet,<br />
Makher and Teres <strong>of</strong> Irtet at the end <strong>of</strong> a voyage <strong>of</strong> eight months. I returned carrying tributes <strong>of</strong> this land in very great<br />
numbers, <strong>of</strong> a kind, which nobody had ever brought to <strong>Egypt</strong> before. I returned, coming from the camp <strong>of</strong> the chief