Stefan Erdmann and Dominique Goerlitz are German amateur archaeologists who visited the pyramids in Egypt in April 2013 and are now facing criminal charges. They vandalized the Great Pyramid of Giza, considered as one of the seven wonders of the world, to prove that the Egyptians did not build the pyramids.
Erdmann and Goerlitz were allowed to enter the chambers of the Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khafu) and were found to have taken specimens chipped from the cartouche of Khufu, also referred to as Cheops. The cartouche is like a marker that proves that the late pharaoh built the pyramids. The pair took the artifacts so it can be tested and prove conspiracy theories that Khufu just took credit for building the pyramids but people from Atlantis were really the ones who built the structures thousands of years ago.
Aside from the men who identified themselves as hobbyists, another German companion who served as their cameraman, six Egyptians, several inspectors, and some guards working for the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry were also incarcerated. Bringing artifacts out of the country is in violation of strict laws on antiquities.
Scholars believe that the vandalized cartouche was made around 2500 BC, approximate when the famous pyramid was constructed. Alternative theorists such as Erdmann and Goerlitz believe that members of the scientific community have conspired to deny the whole world of the truth about the ancient pyramids.
While the likes of Erdmann and Goerlitz are not anything new, experts point out to the absurdity of their claims. First, Atlantis is from a fable created by Plato just like how Tolkien created Middle Earth.
"Here's an archaeological shocker: Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. Contrary to what some purveyors of fantasy maintain, the technological skills necessary to construct the pyramids were not unknown in ancient Egypt. In actual fact, the Great Pyramid at Giza was the culmination of a lengthy, multigenerational, evolutionary process," said author, archaeologist, and anthropology professor from Central Connecticut State University, Ken Feder.
"There is no controversy concerning who built the pyramids. Anyone caught trying to rewrite this history through theft or subterfuge isn't doing archaeology. They're breaking the law and insulting the memory of the thousands of ancient workers whose labors produced one of the wonders of the ancient world," Feder added.
Experts also have confirmed that there are more than 100 pyramids in Egypt and some of these old structures were flawed with cracks or collapsed surfaces, proving that the geometry and architecture were not perfect from the start.
In December, the two perpetrators sent an apology to the Ministry of Antiquities of Egypt and offered to pay for whatever damage they have done. They insisted that it was not their intention to damage or desecrate the pyramid. Naturally, the apology was rejected by the ministry.
