Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
Hindu Sun Temple found under the Pyramids of Giza
Fact
A wall painting, dating at least 4,300 years, discovered in the tomb of an ancient Egyptian priest
Several social media users are circulating an image of what appears to be an excavated site, claiming that an ancient Hindu temple was found under the Pyramids of Giza. “…It can be seen that there is a Hindu Sun Temple under the pyramid. And pyramids are built over temples. Under the pyramid there are many doors of Hindu temples and also there are many shiv lingams,” read the claim.
We have received this claim on our Whatsapp tipline (9999499044 ), requesting it to be fact-checked.
The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here and here.
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Fact check
Newschecker first ran a reverse image search, which led us to this Livescience article, dated July 15, 2014, featuring the viral photo. The article stated that a wall painting, dating back to more than 4,300 years, has been discovered in a tomb located just east of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The caption of the photo read, “A painting discovered in the tomb of a priest, just 1,000 feet (300 meters) from the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt depicts scenes of ancient life.”
According to the article, the painting, discovered in 2012 by a team from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shows vivid scenes of life, including boats sailing south on the Nile River, a bird hunting trip in a marsh and a man named Perseneb who’s shown with his wife and dog. Scientists reportedly discovered the painting when they began restoring the tomb of Perseneb, a man who was a “priest” and “steward,” according to the tomb’s inscriptions.
“Known since the 19th century, the [tomb] could hardly present any new principal features. Therefore, it was a real surprise to discover an Old Kingdom painting on the eastern wall of the central room,” Maksim Lebedev, a faculty member at the Russian State University for the Humanities, told Live Science. Lebedev took the photograph of the painting, while also stating,”All the depicted scenes had important symbolic meanings. Fowling (bird hunting) in the marshland could refer to the ideas of rebirth and taming of chaotic forces. The full agricultural sequence relating to crops represents the most crucial event in the life of ancient Egyptian society,” confirming that the photo and excavated site is not related to the remains of a Hindu temple.
Similar reports on the painting’s discovery can be seen here, here and here.
According to a Fox News report, dated October 20, 2015, Perseneb’s tomb, located 1,000 feet east of the Great Pyramid of Giza, contains an offering room, central room and burial chamber. The three rooms contain 11 statues showing depictions of Perseneb and members of his family. First recorded in the 19th century by the German explorer Karl Richard Lepsius and French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, the tomb is believed to date to the middle or late fifth dynasty (ca. 2450-2350 B.C.). The fifth dynasty is a time period within the Old Kingdom. In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-2181 BCE) is also known as the ‘Age of the Pyramids’ or ‘Age of the Pyramid Builders’.
Conclusion
An ancient painting discovered in the tomb of an Egyptian priest falsely claimed to be the ruins of a Hindu temple discovered under the Pyramids of Giza.
Result: False
Sources
LiveScience article, July 15, 2014
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
