Strangely Precise Serapeum Boxes Photo Tour
Wed, Oct 27: Saqqara, Egypt
From watching the UnchartedX videos, this is a place I really wanted to see, the ultra-precision boxes at the Serapeum. Supposedly pronounced: se-RAP-ee-um. The big mystery is how were these massive stone blocks moved here, hollowed out to such perfection, and placed in underground alcoves
They say this was a place to bury the sacred Apis bulls, but no bulls were ever found there and the boxes are strangely super precise on the inside. There was an older area nearby where they found Apis bulls buried in wooden coffins.
How Old Are The Serapeum Boxes?
Mainstream Egyptologists date the boxes based on graffiti scratched on one of them to around 3000BC. The odd part is that the box construction shows that they had tools that could cut granite perfectly well. But why then are the carvings scratched in so crudely? Could the boxes at the Serapeum be relics from an older civilization that had the tools to create and move them, then someone later on scratched the outside?
TIP: When you visit the Serapeum, go straight to the end of the tunnel to the alcove with steps to the box that is accessible for close inspection. You should have some time there by yourself while everyone else is busy looking at the earlier boxes which are all roped off to discourage touching.
What is Special About Saqqara?
The massive, 100 ton Serapeum granite boxes are one of the most unique features about Saqqara. But it doesn’t stop there. there is the Step Pyramid an amazing structure itself. Under the step pyramid was found some 40,000 precision crafted stone jars and bowls. And all this was associated with the oldest generation of the dynastic Egyptians?
If you think those scoop marks on the Serapeum box lids were weird, check out the Unfinished Obelisk scoop marks in the Aswan quarry.
What do you think about these massive boxes in the Serapeum? Who built them? Let us know in the comments.
More info on the Serapeum is available in Ben’s UnchartedX five part Serapeum video. Or if you want to see more of Ty’s Tomb, checkout this Matterport virtual tour of the Tomb of Ti in Saqqara.
Part of the Ben UnchartedX Egypt Tour