CAIRO: Ancient Egyptians must have been familiar with aviation. They could manufacture types of airplanes to get aerial views of some important locations in Egypt; a technology that helped them secure their builders lots of essential materials, opined an Egyptologist Basam Al Shammaa Al Shammaa, who has a special interest in the subject, pointed out that centuries before the science of geography came into existence, a papyrus map showing the locations of copper and gold mines in some mountainous areas could prove that the ancient engineers must have invented sail-propelled planes to explore the mountains and deserts. Al Shammaa noted: It s only one map that for some might offer little evidence, but only 30 percent of secrets related to ancient Egypt have been revealed. There may be a lot more in store. So we shouldn t rule out the possibility that future discoveries will reveal more about ancient Egyptians and aviation. The map, which is currently exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Turin, the second biggest Egyptian museum in the world, dates back to King Ramses VI s era. It shows the gold mines in an area known as Fawagir. The map couldn t have been drawn without getting a panoramic view from a flying object and to the best of his belief this was a plane, stressed the Egyptologist. The link between aviation and ancient Egyptians first occurred to Al Shammaa as he came across a wooden statue of Horus, the falcon god, currently being exhibited in a room located close to the hall containing King Tutankhamen s treasures at the Egyptian Museum. Al Shammaa continued: This is a small statue that s displayed as part of a big collection in a glass showcase. Overshadowed by the treasures of King Tut, no one has really taken notice of this collection. Al Shammaa explained: But there are many reasons to make me believe that this was a model of a sailing plane rather than an image of Horus the falcon-god. First this wooden statue is made up of two interlocked parts, which is not in line with the ancient Egyptian tradition of sculpting the statue out of one mass of material. Second, unlike other statues of Horus produced by the ancient Egyptian sculptors, this is one wherein you find the wings fluttering to denote that the bird was in flying mode. He added: Other statues depicted Horus, the falcon god, with folded wings and usually the feathers were accentuated with black or a range of other colors. But none of these features could be seen in this model, all of which should raise the likelihood that this was in the shape of a plane. The bird s head is pointed with a spoiler under its neck that resembles those of today s airplanes designed to push back the air and propel the plane s body. The tail isn t parallel to the ground; it s erect and rather perpendicular to the soil, vertical not horizontal, a tail shape that doesn t match that of a falcon. The fact that ancient Egyptians were familiar with aviation should not come as a surprise, as there are lots of other indications that support the assumption that flying must have been part of their religion and technology, Al Shammaa remarked. Besides the fact that the ancient geographers were the first to draw a virtual map, their mythology attests to the sanctity of birds and their association with Horus, the falcon god. His name in hieroglyphics was Hir, which later became Horus. The bird was the first to be worshipped by people. It was synonymous with the king. When the king died, worshippers used to say: Hir has risen. According to Al Shammaa, when interred, the dead were thought to have been resurrected in the shape of a bird. That bird flew through the labyrinths of the Afterlife until it reached the seat of Anubis, god of the other world. Al Shammaa believes that these findings should offer researchers clues to the important subject of ancient Egyptians and aviation. More discoveries are bound to reveal the entire truth.
