Pyramid Thief Boffin To Sail 12t Boat To Prove Claim

A German archaeologist – who stole secret samples from The Great Pyramid of Giza – now plans to set sail in a 12-tonne reed boat in a bid to prove that Ancient Egyptians used iron to build the pyramids.

Dominique Goerlitz, 53, aims to prove that iron was collected by the Ancient Egyptians from the Caucasus region and taken to Egypt where it was used in the building of the ancient pyramids around 4,800 years ago.

Credit: CEN/ Mission Abora
The boat almost ready for the mission

Goerlitz believes tools made of iron were used by Ancient Egyptians which were transported by boat from the Caucasus region to Egypt.

He said: “Many historians and experienced sailors doubt that there was trade between these areas at this time. They believe that the reed boats were not able to travel such difficult routes.

“But I am convinced that people were able to master this route much earlier than records show.”

Goerlitz claims that trade between people from Egypt and the Caucasus began long before current records show and he wants to use his recreated boat to show the routes were possible.

Credit: CEN/ Mission Abora
The boat almost ready for the mission

Goerlitz took secret samples from the Pyramid of Cheops – otherwise known as The Great Pyramid of Giza – for testing in 2013 and was sentenced in absentia by Egypt to five years in prison for this. 

Goerlitz will begin his mission, which is expected to last around two and a half months in Beloslav, a small industrial town in Varna Province, in north-eastern Bulgaria, located 19 kilometres to the west of the city of Varna on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, where together with a team of helpers he has built a reed boat, the Abora IV, which weighs 12 tonnes.

He originally planned to build the boat in Russia bur Goerlitz said: “It is much easier to start in an EU country. It was proving too difficult to get our gear to Russia.”

The boat is planned to launch at the end of July or start of August as they are waiting for permits for the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles stretches of water.

Credit: CEN/ Mission Abora
The boat almost ready for the mission

Goerlitz and his team plan to sail from Varna to Istanbul into the historic Troja area before going to the Greek island of Lemnos, Milos, Santorini, Crete and then Cyprus.

He said: “The journey also needs to end in an EU country. I have no desire to debate for ages about getting our equipment back to Germany.”

Goerlitz has previously carried out missions to prove his theory that there was sea trade in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean.


To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News


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