After 10 years of satellite archaeology research I decided in August of 2012 to seek help for my work from the public with a press release. The goal of this public outreach was to get help ground proofing two sites I had found in Egypt via Google Earth, to see if they were possible pyramid complexes that had remained undiscovered. The Discovery News website was the first news outlet to pick up the press release and publish the full, intact story on August 10th of 2012. “Lost Egyptian Pyramids Found?”
Abu Sidhum Site, Egypt- View from Google Earth
Within several days the story spread around the world and the story was aired on CNN. I was both thrilled and slightly perplexed that the press release went viral knowing that the goal of the release was to find out if the sites could be lost pyramid sites and not to declare them as such. As I was awaiting help and confirmation about these sites from the archaeological community, the initial excitement of the story and premature claims made by websites all over the internet led many people to believe the sites were already confirmed as pyramid complex sites. FOX News ran a story claiming the press release was just stirring up controversy and the site found, near Abu Sidhum, was nothing more than a natural butte feature.
While the debate concerning controversy was unexpected, an even more unexpected circumstance arose from the situation. I was contacted a few weeks after the alleged controversial stories spread by a retired journalist who told me about an obscure 1930s book called “The Desert Fayum” by Gertrude Thompson and E.W. Gardner. He contacted me specifically to let me know the site north of the lake in the Fayum region of Egypt had already been discovered by archaeologists and labeled as natural formations with man-made, ancient watchtowers built on top of the mounds. Interested in learning more about the site, I got an interlibrary loan of the book at my local library and read everything that had been written about the mound sites. In the book, the archaeologists concluded the mound sites were natural with ancient watchtowers built on top of them.
One thing that seemed to be misunderstood about my research is I had been searching satellite imagery for many hours that added up to many years, and the sites I had identified in Egypt were only a handful of sites I had found that had great potential and were laid out in an ordered pattern. Although the geologists had stated sites like these were numerous in the Egyptian desert that simply was not the case, especially when dealing with mounds of similar sizes with an orderly footprint that was visible from space.
After the buzz of the press release simmered down, I continued my archaeological research in other regions of the world, but Egypt seemed to have future plans for me… In September of 2012, to my amazement, I was contacted by an Egyptian couple with an incredible story to tell. They told me they could not only verify that both sites I had found were indeed lost pyramid sites, they also stated I had found the largest pyramids ever built in Egypt just North of the Fayum. According to their story, two large pyramids were completely buried by the ancient Egyptians directly near the site I had identified in the Fayum, which the retired journalist had stated was ancient watchtowers on top of natural mounds. They also claimed they had documentation to confirm the Abu Sidhum site was also a pyramid complex site along with information detailing how to enter the pyramids and what the pyramids contained. Their story about the Fayum site explains there were two pyramids located there and they were buried by the ancient Egyptians due to controversy surrounding the reign of the pharaoh who had built them. They had proof, via rare documents and maps that this site was hiding more than ancient watchtowers. I decided to go visit the couple in Egypt in December of 2012 and see their documents and maps first hand. As I investigated their claims thoroughly, I did find out the couple were very prominent collectors of rare documents, books and maps and all their claims seemed legitimate. One of their maps was so rare it was donated to a famous library in Egypt several years back and was valued at over $500,000 at the time of the donation. As it turned out their interests in collecting helped legitimize my findings that both sites could definitely be lost pyramid complex sites and they had proof to back up their story. I was not disappointed and their side has yet to be told…
After further investigation into the writings of Herodotus, known as “the father of history”, I found he had been to the location near the Fayum in the past and had reported two large pyramids in the middle of the lake partially submerged by water. What was even more intriguing is no one had ever found out exactly what had become of these pyramids and there were many stories that the pyramids were dismantled over time. There were also local legends and accounts that the large statues that sat atop the pyramids did surface in the Fayum area at one time and one was actually toppled over and its materials were dismantled for other building projects. My initial reaction after conducting my research was had I found the site of the lost pyramids written about by Herodotus?
Artists concept of the pyramids written about by the Greek historian Herodotus.
I was also contacted in March of this year by an expedition team in Egypt who visited the Abu Sidhum site. They sent me detailed video of the mounds, showing how they resembled pyramids, along with video of pottery shards which covered the area extensively and helped confirm the couple may be right about the site near Abu Sidhum. The team used a metal and cavity detector that gave positive results for both gold and cavities inside all four mounds/possible pyramids! The team and I also believe we have identified a temple or habitation site near the Abu Sidhum site and a row of what may be mastaba tombs adjacent to the mounds!
Abu Sidhum Site, Egypt- View from the ground. March 2013. © Copyright 2013 by Alex S.
Now, all that’s left is to go back to Egypt, get ground penetrating radar proof to back up the finds of the Egyptian expedition team and the Egyptian couple, document the finds for a video production and find out the truth about what’s really under the sands in the Egyptian desert. With your help, we can get this story out through a video production and gather scientific data to prove whether both sites are lost pyramid complexes. As the Smithsonian.com writer Rose Eveleth stated in her article about the sites, “The only way to find out, is to go.”
About Me
My first love was archaeology and I did not pursue it as a college degree for many reasons, yet with the release of satellite imagery I realized in 1998 I could fulfill my dream and look for lost ruins from space. Through a very complicated learning process I have developed several methodologies to help me identify archaeological sites with satellite images and I purchased the domain name “satellite archaeology” long before there was actually anyone in the academic community teaching this discipline. As a result of my passion I recently formed the Satellite Archaeology Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization to research and discover new sites via satellite archaeology. It is now my goal in life to take these 10+ years of research to help archaeologists make new discoveries. In addition to the sites I have identified in Egypt, I have found many sites all over the world that need investigation and could literally help re-write history as we know it. You can follow my satellite archaeology research at my Google Earth Anomalies Facebook page and follow my news releases at the Satellite Archaeology Foundation, Inc. Facebook page. Another important goal for the SATAF is to make archaeological sites all over the world accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This will be achieved with our Phase II campaign that will be launched here in the future.
Research Images Copyright Google Earth
Underwater site in the Caribbean that needs investigation.
Underwater site off the Yucatan coast.
Large site on the Yucatan peninsula.
Gridded site in the Egyptian desert.
Where will the Money Go?
All proceeds from this campaign will go to the bank account of the Satelllite Archaeology Foundation, Inc. and you can donate directly at the website: satafoundation.org. Anyone interested in seeing the campaign budget, please send me a request and I will send it to you.
Here is a breakdown of how the money will be spent:
- Ground Penetrating Radar System
- Infrared Satellite Imagery, to help identify additional features at the sites.
- Professional digital recording camera
- Miscellaneous equipment
- Return trip to Egypt to visit and conduct GPR at the two sites, North of Fayum lake region and the Abu Sidhum area.
- Camera crew to film the GPR data and site investigations for a documentary.
- Site government permits
- Remaining funds will go to investigate other sites that have been identified that may contain undiscovered archaeological sites.
All donations to the Satellite Archaeology Foundation Inc. are tax-deductible. Non-profit status is pending from the IRS. The Satellite Archaeology Foundation, Inc. is registered as a non-profit in the state of North Carolina and incorporated on March 26th, 2013.
“When the IRS approves a timely filed exemption application, exempt status is recognized back to the date the organization was created. Thus, while an application is pending, the organization can treat itself as exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3).”
Thank you for your support and your time!
