"I would say, that is all a reasonable deduction. It would seem, the closest >"there's no indication of firsthand knowledge of that construction." would be our friend Herodotus. I concede, other than his description, there is no mention of who built the Pyramids. At least, not that I am aware of. I also concede, his description is hearsay and a tale separated by a great deal of time. Not vary reliable.

Is there a single description or depiction, anywhere of a Pyramid the AE drew?"

Herodotus didn't actually say he personally witnessed any pyramid actually being originally constructed, did he? That's what I mean by a first-hand account.

I know of no description that specifically mentions any pyramid, at least not anything with a reasonably verified early Dynastic provenance. Stower has cited a tomb inscription that mentions Menkaure, but its provenance hasn't been verified, and it contains curious notions such as the guy's tomb wasn't originally on the list to be within Menkaure's property line (an oversight by Menkaure?!) and so the guy actually claims he asked Menkaure if he could put is tomb inside the property line! That strikes me a a bit too audacious for it to be an actual event. Also, not only did the guy claim that Menkaure acquiesced to his request, Menkaure then proceeded to assign 50 workers to help make the guy's tomb! I consider such notions to be questionable in their relevance to real events and are perhaps more symbolic within their tombic setting.

In any case, it's a solitary inscription with questionable provenance and it only refers to some "work" being done on Menkaure and not the original construction of the thing. It could just as well be referring to restoration, or another ancillary structure, and/or is from a later period than presumed.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 16-Jan-17 15:37 by Origyptian.