The archaeologist Guillemette Andreu-Lanoé, former director of the Egyptian Antiquities department of the Louvre, took part, in an exceptional way, in the conception of the ScanPyramids exhibition. She explains why.
The Egyptologist-archaeologist Guillemette Andreu-Lanoé in Soleb (in Sudanese Nubia).
Sciences et Avenir:How did you end up supporting the ScanPyramids adventure?
Guillemette Andreu-Lanoé:Throughout my career, I have been extremely cautious and rather skeptical about this kind of project. The pyramids are the source of incessant rantings. You hear about reconstituted stones, or even aliens! It must be said that their construction - particularly that of Cheops - remains a great mystery all the same! We are today unable to imagine how the ancient Egyptians were able to climb more than 2 million blocks to almost 150 meters in height... Without the wheel, with the strength of their arms!
What got the better of your skepticism?
First, I understood what the scientists on the mission were doing, the interest and novelty of the technologies they were implementing. Then I felt how modest they were compared to these cavities they detected. They do not claim any analysis, neither Egyptological nor historical. They only say:be careful, there is a void there. As a result, their approach is very convincing. In archaeology, it is the terrain that is right. You should never start with preconceptions. I happened to find during excavations in Egypt objects so bizarre that, if they had been brought to me as a museum curator, I would have said:they are fakes. We must always keep in mind this humility in relation to the field. I am an Egyptologist, I think that one day the mission will need Egyptologists to help it understand what it discovers. Why not accompany him? And then, I like this collaboration between scientists and artists, including musicians. Go and take the acoustic imprint of the king's chamber... It's very poetic!
According to you, we still don't know how the pyramids were built, but some mention ramps, machines...
None of these hypotheses fully answers the questions that remain to be asked about construction sites. It's not just the height of the pyramids, there's their perfection. They are exemplary in terms of symmetry, with extreme identity on each side, the same angle for each face. It's still shocking! It should also be remembered that these buildings have now lost their exterior facings - we can still see some traces of them on the Dahshur site. But when they were completed, they were perfectly smooth, shiny, to give the idea of a petrified solar ray. Yes, it is really this image that the pyramid wants to evoke! A ray of sun piercing the celestial vault to allow the soul of the deceased pharaoh to access the paradise of the Egyptians and join the gods there.
ScanPyramids:Journey to the Beyond
