Karnak

Before sinking, some Atlanteans, including an ancestor of the narrator, fled to Egypt during Osiris’ reign, building Karnak—a grand city of pillars and arches. Now in ruins, Karnak reflects a lost age of greatness under the stars

Selestor‘s Men of Atlantis

If we follow the timeline of the OAHSPE Bible, we find that the reign of Osiris was around ~7,250 BCE untill ~3,950. BCE. Begat by Apollo; associated with idols/heavenly figures like Vishnu, Etau, Ram, Osiris in Orachnebauhgalah.

Summary of the excerpt about Karnak from Selestor’s Men of Atlantis:

The passage presents a mystical, poetic account claiming that the knowledge to build Karnak originated in Atlantis. An Atlantean (an ancestor of the narrator’s father) recorded on parchment the secrets of hewing massive pillars from rock and the “way of reading poise” (the principles of balance and construction). His sons carried on this knowledge. While Atlantis still stood in glory, this ancestor and a band of others fled by boat and reached Egypt during the reign of the young Osiris, who ruled the state his father had established on Egyptian shores. It was this Atlantean expertise that enabled the building of Karnak.

Karnak is described as a place of unmatched grandeur: its pillared arches seem to touch the sky, born from a mind that drew sublime thoughts “from atom’s realm” into solid, beautiful form. It became a vast city of palaces, temples, and tombs. Yet the text emphasizes its tragic fate—linked by “stern decree” to the Ages, now reduced to roofless ruins where night, stars, and the mocking moon shine through broken arches and pillars. Only fragments remain, speaking “in tongue of ruin.”

The mood of the original builders still lingers around the crumbling stones, creating a tantalizing yet cold and gnawing reminder of a lost age. Human greatness is portrayed as ultimately a “mock”—impressive but impermanent. In its time, however, Karnak stood like a warrior-shield, fiercely guarding the immense treasures (specifically “emeralds”) within its temples from greedy invaders.

In short, the book frames Karnak not as a purely Egyptian achievement, but as a surviving monument of Atlantean engineering and spiritual greatness, now hauntingly ruined yet still evocative of that vanished glory.

The vast remains of cities and temples in Mexico and Yucatan also strangely resemble those of Egypt, the ruins of Teotihuacan having frequently been compared to those of Karnak. 

The “false arch”—horizontal courses of stone, each slightly overlapping the other—is found to be identical in Central America, in the oldest buildings of Greece, and in Etruscan remains. The mound builders of both eastern and western continents formed similar tumuli over their dead, and laid the bodies in similar stone coffins.

Both continents have their great serpent-mounds; compare that of Adams Co., Ohio, with the fine serpent-mound discovered in Argyleshire, or the less perfect specimen at Avebury in Wilts. The very carving and decoration of the temples of America, Egypt and India have much in common, while some of the mural decorations are absolutely identical.

W. Scott-Elliot

Archaeological understanding of the Karnak Temple Complex

Archaeological understanding of the Karnak Temple Complex (as of 2026) is exceptionally detailed, thanks to over 150 years of systematic excavations, restorations, and recent geoarchaeological work.

Karnak is the largest religious complex ever built in the ancient world. Located on the east bank of the Nile in modern Luxor (ancient Thebes), it forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis” (inscribed 1979). The site covers roughly 200–600 acres (sources vary on exact boundaries) and includes four main precincts—primarily the Precinct of Amun-Ra (the largest and most visited), plus those of Mut, Montu, and the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV—along with pylons, courtyards, hypostyle halls, obelisks, chapels, and sacred lakes. It was dedicated mainly to the Theban Triad (Amun-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu) and served as a major religious, political, and economic center for over 2,000 years.

Origins and Early Development

Until recently, the site’s earliest phases were debated. A major 2025 geoarchaeological study (published in Antiquity)—the most comprehensive ever—analyzed 61 sediment cores and tens of thousands of pottery fragments. It showed the area was uninhabitable (perennially flooded by fast-flowing Nile channels) before ~2520 BCE (±420 years). Around that time, shifting river channels created a fluvial island or high-ground terrace, making permanent occupation possible. The earliest pottery dates to ~2305–1980 BCE (late Old Kingdom to early Middle Kingdom). This island setting may deliberately echo ancient Egyptian creation myths of the “primeval mound” rising from the Waters of Chaos.

Firm royal construction began in the Middle Kingdom. The earliest surviving evidence is a column fragment from Intef II (c. 2112–2063 BCE), but major building started under Senusret I (c. 1971 BCE). For the next 1,500+ years, roughly 30 pharaohs added to or modified the complex.

Main Construction Phases

• Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BCE): Foundations of the Amun-Ra temple established.
• New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BCE): Golden age of expansion. Key contributors include Hatshepsut (obelisks and chapels), Thutmose III (Festival Hall), Amenhotep III, Seti I and Ramesses II (the famous Hypostyle Hall with 134 columns), and later rulers. This era produced most of the visible monumental architecture.
• Later Periods: Continued work into the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period, Ptolemaic era, and even Roman times (e.g., a 2026-restored stele depicting Emperor Tiberius as pharaoh performing rituals before Amun, Mut, and Khonsu).

Construction techniques involved massive sandstone blocks, precise engineering, and reuse of earlier materials. The complex grew outward with new pylons, courts, and temples layered over older ones as the Nile landscape evolved.

Religious, Political, and Cultural Significance

Karnak was far more than a temple, it was the “Estate of Amun,” a powerful institution controlling vast land, resources, and labor. Pharaohs used it to legitimize rule, record military victories (e.g., Shoshenq I’s reliefs), and perform rituals tied to maat (cosmic order). Sacred lakes were central to purification rites; the complex also included administrative buildings, priestly quarters, and processional avenues.

Recent Discoveries and Ongoing Work (2020s)

• 2025 Geoarchaeological Study: Revolutionized understanding of the site’s Nile-dependent origins and mythological links.
• January 2026: Egyptian-Chinese mission discovered a previously unknown monumental sacred lake in the Montu Temple precinct (north Karnak), creating a unique north-south pair of lakes within the enclosure walls. This adds to knowledge of ritual water systems.
• Ongoing French-Egyptian Center for the Study of the Temples of Karnak (CFEETK) restorations (e.g., 2022–2025 work on Ramesses III’s gate revealed the Tiberius stele).
• Extensive documentation, 3D modeling, and digital reconstruction continue; the site remains actively studied and partially restored for preservation and tourism.

In summary, modern archaeology portrays Karnak not as a single “temple” but as a dynamic, evolving sacred landscape shaped by the Nile, royal patronage, and religious cosmology over millennia. It is one of the best-documented and most visited ancient sites in Egypt, with ongoing research still refining its earliest phases and hidden features.