Pyramids

Were the Giza Pyramids Built Before the Flood?

by	Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

Q:

If the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza were built around 4,600 years ago¹ and the Flood was about 4,400 years ago, does that mean the pyramids were built prior to and survived the Flood?

A:

First, keep in mind that, although roughly 2,400 B.C. is generally accepted as the date of the Flood, the chronologies of Genesis 11 allow for an expansion of a few hundred years.² Also keep in mind that dating techniques that are used to determine the age of ancient materials, such as carbon dating and tree ring analysis, rely on the assumption of uniformitarianism.³ These methods would be invalid if a worldwide catastrophic Flood occurred followed by a Flood-induced Ice Age. If the Flood actually occurred, and nuclear decay rates were accelerated during and after its occurrence for a period of time (and sub-annual tree rings were forming due to the Ice Age) as many creationists contend, all ages dating before roughly 1,000-1,500 B.C. would be inflated, giving an appearance of age beyond their true age.

Also, when we examine the layers of rock that form the continents upon which we reside, there is little doubt that the Cambrian strata—the beginning of the Paleozoic Era—represent the commencement of the biblical Flood.⁴ The rock layers throughout the Paleozoic, and overlying Mesozoic layers, approximately represent the sediment that was deposited during the Flood. Above those layers are the rocks of the Cenozoic era, which were laid down after the Flood. The Giza Pyramids were built in the Cenozoic layers (during the Eocene period⁵) that were deposited after the Flood—implying that the Giza Pyramids were not built before the Flood. The date of their construction has possibly been inflated based on uniformitarian dating schemes.

Endnotes

¹ Brian Handwerk (2017), “Pyramids at Giza,” National Geographic, March 23, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/archaeology/giza-pyramids/.

² Jeff Miller (2019), “21 Reasons to Believe the Earth is Young,” Reason & Revelation, 39[1]:10.

³ Mike Houts (2015), “Assumptions and the Age of the Earth,” Reason & Revelation, 35[3]:26-34.

⁴ S.A. Austin and K.P. Wise (1994), “The Pre-Flood/Flood Boundary: as Defined in Grand Canyon, Arizona and Eastern Mojave Desert, California,” Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Creationism, Technical Symposium Sessions (Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship), pp. 37-47.

⁵ M.M. El Aref and E. Refai (1987), “Paleokarst Processes in the Eocene Limestones of the Pyramids Plateau, Giza, Egypt,” Journal of African Earth Sciences, 6[3]:367-377, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0899536287900790.

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