From a pharaonic statue that defied Allied bombing during World War II, to the use of electricity and laser beams, to the invasion of Mars thousands of years ago, posts laden with exaggerations and fictional information about ancient Egyptian civilization and its glories garner tens of thousands of shares on social media pages in Egypt, a phenomenon he describes as a “defense mechanism” for some groups that exaggerate the glorification of the past as compensation for the present.
In recent years, many incorrect publications about ancient Egyptian civilization have appeared on social media sites. The “Information Verification Service” of Agence France-Presse has published reports refuting many of them, such as publications claiming that the stones of the Great Pyramid were made by hand, or that ancient Egypt had known electric lamps since ancient times, the strangest of all was the arrival of the ancient Egyptians on the planet Mars thousands of years ago.
“Where are we now?”
Egyptian political sociology professor Saeed Sadiq told Agence France-Presse: “When countries lose their regional or international status, their people exaggerate by talking about the past. It is a defense mechanism that compensates for the question: where are we now?”
Ancient Egyptian civilization experienced great scientific development, the effects of construction and urban planning, in addition to inscriptions, are still witnesses to this today. However, the promoters of misleading news do not just present these facts, but rather publish unreal news about ancient history.
The professor of political sociology says: “Even if Egyptian civilization was truly special, those who promote these exaggerations are looking for a place under the sun, and their weapon is exaggeration when they talk about the past.”
In recent years, a post has appeared on social media whose owners claimed that a statue of Egyptian King Amenhotep II was the only survivor among all the collections and exhibits of the Berlin Museum after the Allied bombing during World War II. The leaflets attribute the following words to an American officer of the Allied forces: “Those who made this statue are not ordinary human beings.” But this story is only the imagination of its promoters, as the director of the Berlin Museum, Olivia Zron, confirmed to Agence France-Presse.
She said: “This statue was not the only survivor. On that day (of the Allied bombings), Egyptian and non-Egyptian objects survived, and the damaged pieces included Egyptian and non-Egyptian objects. Almost all the large pieces survived.”
Among the publications that attribute false “scientific achievements” to the ancient Egyptians is the claim that there is an archaeological inscription of an electric lamp that the ancient Egyptians designed and used thousands of years before Thomas Edison. But what actually appears in the inscription is not an electric lamp, but rather a symbolic inscription that embodies the theory of the creation of the universe in ancient Egyptian beliefs, according to archaeology and history experts interviewed by Agence France-Presse.
In the same context, publications have appeared claiming that the ancient Egyptians used laser beams or advanced techniques to engrave granite, but this claim is only a “myth”, according to archaeologists and historians.
Mars Experts
A widely circulated Arabic video report on the arrival of the Pharaohs on Mars, based on the statements of “experts”. But these experts are only amateurs known for their strange ideas. The only real expert whose name is cited in the report – Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass – denied to Agence France-Presse the validity of the “mythical” information attributed to him.
Hawass believes that the primary goal of the promoters of this news is “to achieve high audience ratings,” even if this is done “at the expense of science and truth.”
This news has garnered tens of thousands of shares and hundreds of thousands of comments, particularly in Egypt.
On this subject, Egyptian historian Assem El-Desouki told Agence France-Presse: “When people believe publications full of exaggerations and lies about the history of their country, this expresses a real identity crisis.”
Among the mythical claims, which have also been circulating for years, are publications claiming that women in ancient Egypt were responsible for distributing the inheritance, something that experts deny. Or that the oldest tomb in history is that of Osiris, but he is only a legendary character who does not exist historically.
Al-Desouki, who is also a professor of contemporary and modern history at Ain Shams University, said: “We do not know the main source of the spread of these fabricated stories about Egyptian civilization on social media, but what helps to spread them is the lack of knowledge and the spread of ignorance.
Sadiq, a professor of political sociology, said: “This is human nature, and it happens in all societies that have had a civilization or an international status, and then their present has become worse, and this defense mechanism allows these people to feel balanced.”
He continues: “When a person’s inner feeling is that their present has gotten worse, they become unhappy, and promoting myths, searching for the past and exaggerating it becomes a way to feel psychologically better.”