1994, 52 minutes, color, Nova, rebroadcast 1997 as part of Secrets of Lost Empire series
1993, 50 minutes, color, The Learning Channel
1997, 50 minutes, color, A&E Ancient Mysteries
The pyramids hold such a fascination for most people. They are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built on such a massive scale that they engender a sense of awe, especially given their construction nearly 5,000 years ago. Among the major ques tions is the method of their construction. Some have suggested that the ancient Egyptians were not technologically capable of such precision without outside intervention. Some have suggested that they must have had help, perhaps from extraterrestrials. St ill others have suggested that the geometry of the pyramids has special meaning, even to the point of predicting the future.
This Old Pyramid and The Great Pyramid show the pyramids in their cultural contexts, as important monuments to the afterlife of the pharoahs. This Old Pyramid follows Egyptologist Mark Lehner and stone mason Roger Hopkins in their eff orts to use experimental archaeology to test several of the techniques used to make the stones, transport them and raise them into a pyramid. With some trial and error, combined with evidence from the archaeological record (including clay roads with rail- like logs in place), they successfully build, with no small amount of comedy, a small pyramid.
The Great Pyramid first examines the history of pyramid building in Egypt. Several earlier, less successful, pyramids such as the stepped-pyramid or the false pyramid show failed stages of pyramid construction, even to the point of the collapse o f the sides of one, killing the laborers below. These show that the appearance of the pyramids was hardly "sudden," although their evolution was relatively rapid. A Japanese film crew then examines the geometry of the pyramids, noting that the orientation , precise numbers, and the like, are really simple geometry, already well known at the time.
In Gateway to the Stars, Leonard Nimoy states that the Great pyramids were "built with a precision we can barely comprehend today." After giving a standard history of Egypt, the video presents Bovall and Gilbert's idea of the pyramids' connection to the constellation Orion. Though an extraterrestrial contact is not directly stated, it is certainly implied, especially in the discussion of origin myths. Specifically, the video looks at the alignments of various passageways and shafts toward the sta rs. The video raises some interesting speculations and uses powerful graphics but is short on real evidence. The video is a sophisticated sepculation, but needs a serious examination of issues!
Questions
For an excellent coverage of pyramids and Egyptian archaeology, go to Guardian's Egypt. 
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larry-zimmerman@uiowa.edu
University of Iowa Anthropology
08/18/98