Nabta Playa

Published October 20, 2017

Nabta Playa is a megalithic site situated 100 km west of Abu Simbel. It is the only known megalithic circle in Egypt, although in this instance ‘megalithic’ may be a misnomer as the components could have been erected by one person. A number of astronomical alignments have been identified at the site^(a).

Although first rediscovered in 1974 by anthropology professor Fred Wendorf, it became known to a wider audience when astrophysicist Thomas G. Brophy published his book, The Origin Map^[¹⁵¹⁰^] in 2002. Wendorf was a contributor to a 2005 paper entitled Astronomy of Nabta Playa delivered to the African Astronomical History Symposium in Cape Town^(g).>Wendorf also co-authored a paper with Romuald Schild in 2000 in which they offered a further detailed description of the site⁽ⁱ⁾.<

The importance of Nabta Playa was further highlighted in a 2010 book by Robert Bauval & Thomas G. Brophy, Black Genesis^[¹⁵⁰⁸^]. In it, they argue that the dark-skinned creators of Nabta Playa were the ancestors of the Egyptian culture, who migrated eastward as the Sahara dried up. The book has been reviewed favourably by Bruce Jeffries-Fox^(b) and very critically by Jason Colavito in four parts^(c-f). This was followed in 2012 by another book from Bauval & Brophy, Imhotep the African ^[¹⁵⁰⁹^], in which they explore further the development of ancient Egypt, particularly the part played by Imhotep.