| The
significance of the
wheels is of extreme
importance to the dating
of the Exodus and
determining which
dynasty was involved.
Back in the late 70's,
Ron actually retrieved a
hub of a wheel which had
the remains of 8 spokes
radiating outward from
it. He took this to
Cairo, to the office of
Nassif Mohammed Hassan,
the director of
Antiquities whom Ron had
been working with. Mr.
Hassan examined it and
immediately pronounced
it to be of the 18th
Dynasty of ancient
Egypt.
When
Ron asked him how he
knew this so readily,
Mr. Hassan explained
that the 8-spoked wheel
was only used during the
18th Dynasty. |
| Consider
the following:
"Egyptian
literary references to
chariots occur as early
as the reigns of Kamose,
the 17th Dynasty king
who took the first steps
in freeing Egypt from
the Hyksos, and Ahmose,
the founder of the 18th
Dynasty. Pictorial
representations,
however, do not appear
until slightly later in
the 18th
Dynasty...." (From
"Observations on
the Evolving Chariot
Wheel in the 18th
Dynasty" by James
K. Hoffmeier, JARCE #13,
1976)
For
more information on the
chariots of the Egyptian
army, let's go to the
Biblical account, when
Pharaoh and his army go
after the multitude:
"And
he made ready his
chariot, and took his
people with him: And he
took six hundred chosen
chariots, and all the
chariots of Egypt, and
captains over every one
of them."
.......Exodus 14:6,7
This
verse makes it quite
clear that the Pharaoh
took every chariot in
Egypt - his own, his
generals (or
"Captains")
and a group called his
"chosen"
chariots, which seem to
be in addition to his
regular army ("all
the chariots of
Egypt"). |
|
Research:
The Red Sea Crossing
Site
We
have continued extensive
research on this subject
and obtained some new
data which indicates
that the site of the
crossing of the Red Sea
was actually broader and
shallower than earlier
data indicated. New
interest in the Gulf of
Aqaba has been generated
due to the new
cooperation between
Jordan, Egypt and Israel
in promoting tourism in
the region. (The gulf is
bound by Egypt on the
west, Israel and Jordan
on the north, and Saudi
Arabia on the east.)
Tension
in the region between
the Saudis, Jordanians,
Egyptians and Israelis
has resulted in a very
limited knowledge of the
sea floor of the Gulf.
Of particular interest
is the fact that they
are planning an
extensive program of
scientific research in
the gulf, because,
"...we still lack
basic oceanographic
information about the
Gulf", Limnological
Research
Institute".
"Soundings"
and measurements taken
to date have been
admittedly inaccurate
because of many factors
- but foremost is the
fact that it is deep but
narrow (30 km. at the
widest point.)
Wyatt
Archaeological Research
contacted every
oceanographic institute
which could be found,
seeking the most recent
and accurate
information. Data was
provided from the ETOP05
data base which is
supposed to be the most
accurate available.
However, it isn’t as
detailed as we would
eventually like. (Refer
to "Data
announcement 88-MGG-02,
Digital relief of the
Surface of the Earth.
NOAA, National
Geophysical Data Center,
Boulder, Colorado.)
What
it DOES show is a swatch
of sea floor from
Nuweiba across to the
Saudi shore, which is
much shallower than the
sea on either side of
the underwater land
bridge. This swatch of
sea floor is roughly
between 7 and 10 miles
wide. On either side,
large cracks in the
earth extend down to
almost 3,000 feet to the
north, and 5,000 to the
south. This new
information is quite
exciting, because it
shows a consistent
pathway across the gulf
to the other shore that,
with the water removed,
could have easily been
traveled. When the
digital data was fed to
a topographical mapping
program, it revealed a
3-D model of the sea
floor in the Gulf. That
digital model can be
seen below. |
