Jeanette Blain | Staff Writer | @JeanetteBlain
On Oct 6, the Utah Valley University College of Aviation and Captain Jim Green, department chair of academics, hosted Dr. Maureen Clemmons as she addressed an audience of 35 people in Sorenson Student Center room 206a.
The ancient Egyptians were master sailors and according to Dr. Clemmons they would have used that technology, in the form of kites, to harness wind-power in order to lift massive obelisks and pyramid stones.
Clemmons’s account of how she developed her “kite-theory” was energetic. Volunteers from the audience helped her demonstrate how ancient tools might have been used to control the kites and guide heavy stones. She also showed videos of successful field tests and highlighted hieroglyphic evidence that she believes supports her theory.
“It’s interesting to realize that you’re listening to someone who could revolutionize Egyptology,” said attendee Crista Casper, development officer for the College of Aviation.
Although Clemmons is not an Egyptologist, she has an Ed.D. in organizational change and is passionate about innovation. She is an explorer at heart and has done extensive research to support her claims. She and her team of like-minded experts hope to raise $500,000 to expand that research. They believe that her dedication to scientific rigor will separate her from other “Pyramidiots” (outsiders who make unscientific claims based on fantasy) and eventually sway the opinions of traditional Egyptologists, who have remained skeptical.
“Ancient Egypt, like UVU, was overrun by engineers,” Dr. Clemmons said, gaining some laughs from the audience. “If they didn’t need to use thousands of slaves to push massive stones uphill in the oppressive heat, they wouldn’t have.”
