Saturday, 7 February 2026
Friday, 6 February 2026
From Dot to Cleopatra book reached Nigeria
I am pleased that through Books2Africa some of the last copies of my book "From Dot to Cleopatra" original paperback edition have reached happy readers in Nigeria.
This has encouraged me to release a new paperback edition and a hardcover edition both available on Amazon along with the Kindle edition.
Facebook deleted my account without good reason and refused my appeal - out-of-yor-face book
Facebbok suddenly deleted my account without warning or good reason beyond saying that I had broken their community rules - after almost twenty years with them, many thousandsof posts, a dozen pages and groups that I can l longer administrate, my life events, hundreds of photos and my friends list of over 2500, many of whom I no longer have any way of contacting. This came as a complete shock and distrurbing as they do not provide any means of contacting an actual human being, if any still work there.
Of course, I could try to set up a new profile but I have to ask myself "why bother?"
Thursday, 5 February 2026
Put It Right Yourself - ai generated song from my poem
https://www.buffry.org.uk/putitrightyourself.m4a
PUT IT RIGHT YOURSELF
by Alun Buffry
Look down for a moment at this Human race,
From origins to now, changes we trace,
That 'though most of the time we didn't want war,
We let politicians and military men store
Our weapons of hate - or protection they say,
In case we have enemies to strike at one day.
So, now we all stand facing each other,
Knowing all die if man strikes his brother.
Some people here shout about nuclear power;
The atoms are split not to make enemies cower;
Used instead to make heat, movement and light,
But some people feel radiation ain't right.
The burns, they tell us, will start with an itch,
Yet daily we continue to push down the switch,
For the sake of economy and to ease our lives,
To amuse the children and appease the wives.
None of us want deadly fumes in our heads,
Yet most of our cars are still pumping out lead,
And carbon monoxide and satanic gases
Which surround the globe and will choke the masses.
See - we all need to travel and warm up our homes.
It's so far from us that strange ozone.
The scientists, we hope, the solution will find,
While we run round like mad men to satisfy our minds.
We hide away the old, the mental, the spastics,
We dig our big holes and fill them with plastics,
We flush down the toilet with all kinds of shit,
Polluting the rivers and oceans with it.
The fish, they are dying, some species are lost,
We all say we're sorry but won't pay the cost;
Won't give up our luxuries, take care how we tread,
On this our planet, and live gently instead.
There up the road is a chemical factory,
The products, we think, are quite satisfactory.
The pollution it's causes around us, us bugs,
But it's all in the creation of bottles of drugs,
To cure all (they say) of illness and sores,
Forgetting to tell us the factory's the cause.
Ask how can we stop it, make the guilty atone,
When we are all using the same economics at home?
So, next time you notice the rivers all stink,
Remember at home what you put down the sink.
Next time that you feel that the air is impure,
Remember the fumes and the smoke that we pour,
Out of our chimneys and cars. Think of the mammals!
Remember each one of us is in essence an animal.
And if you choose now not to swim in the sea,
Remember the nasties were put there by thee.
One thing we all know in our heads is for sure,
A Huge sacrifice is needed and maybe much more.
We must think of the things that we use and we trash,
What we burn and destroy will have a backlash:
Poisoned air, water and radiation kill slow,
And the poor Human race has nowhere to go.
Unless each person can get into their head,
That the cause and effect will make it all dead.
Wednesday, 4 February 2026
New Analysis Suggests That The Great Pyramid Of Giza Is Potentially 20,000 Years Older Than Experts Thought
https://allthatsinteresting.com/when-was-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-built
New Analysis Suggests That The Great Pyramid Of Giza Is Potentially 20,000 Years Older Than Experts Thought
A new method that compares points of erosion on the Great Pyramid of Giza suggests that this iconic monument could have been constructed as early as 23000 B.C.E. — 20,000 years earlier than previously believed.
Cornell University LibraryThe Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx, pictured here in the late 19th century. New research purports to upend established theories about when the Great Pyramid of Giza was built.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, generally believed to have been built as the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu around 2575 B.C.E., is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. But what if it’s even older than that?
Alberto Donini, an engineer from the University of Bologna, recently applied a new dating system that he calls the “Relative Erosion Method” (REM) to the pyramid. Now, he’s claiming that his research suggests the famous landmark may have actually been built nearly 25,000 years ago.
When Was The Great Pyramid Of Giza Built? The Origins Of Egypt’s Ancient Wonder
Scientific studies of the pyramids at Giza have been ongoing for centuries, so the current timeline of their construction is widely accepted. As it stands, the Great Pyramid was seemingly built during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled over Egypt from roughly 2589 B.C.E. to 2566 B.C.E. The Pyramid of Khafre came shortly thereafter, followed by the Pyramid of Menkaure.
This timeline was determined using both historical records and scientific study. Ancient authors like Herodotus wrote that Khufu had the Great Pyramid constructed as his tomb, noting that he “brought the people to utter misery” by making them transport impossibly heavy limestone blocks from quarries — possibly located hundreds of miles away — in order to erect the 481-foot structure. Exactly how they managed this remains a mystery to this day, though several promising theories have been put forth, such as the use of a ramp system.
Public DomainA statue of Khufu at Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.
Then, in the 1800s, archaeologists discovered graffiti inside the Great Pyramid that mentioned Khufu by name. It was seemingly scrawled by the workers who built the monument, adding another layer of evidence that the structure was built during that pharaoh’s reign.
Archaeologists later used scientific methods to date the pyramid. They radiocarbon dated the mortar used to secure the stone blocks, which was made using ashes and thus contained organic matter. These results suggested that the mortar was likely mixed between 2620 and 2484 B.C.E., once again aligning with the reign of Khufu.
With so much proof pointing to a construction date of roughly 2575 B.C.E., it seems unlikely that there’s any additional information out there that could significantly change the timeline. However, Alberto Donini claims that his research could completely rewrite this story.
Why The Relative Erosion Method Could Complicate The Story Of How Old The Great Pyramid Of Giza Is
In a preliminary report on his research, Alberto Donini describes his new “Relative Erosion” dating method: “The REM is based on the ratio between two types of erosion affecting the same type of rock in the same location: one with a known date and the other with a date to be determined. The ratio is then used to calculate the age of the stone block under examination.”
When the pyramids of Giza were built, they were covered in a gleaming casing of smooth, polished, white limestone. Then, in 1303, a massive earthquake struck the region, knocking some of these stones to the ground. The fallen material was recycled to build palaces and mosques in Cairo, and in the years that followed, even more of the limestone was removed intentionally to use for decorative purposes. By 1400, much of it was gone.
Alberto DominiA small section of the Great Pyramid where the smooth, white limestone cladding still remains.
Donini began his research by comparing the areas of the Great Pyramid that were once covered by limestone with stones at the structure’s base that have always been exposed to the elements. By comparing the amount of erosion that’s taken place in the past seven centuries to the amount of erosion on the blocks that were never covered by limestone, Donini believed he could calculate when those original stones were placed.
Donini noted that erosion occurs by several means. Water is a major source, from runoff dripping onto surfaces to trickles of liquid seeping into small cracks, freezing, and expanding. Wind blowing rough sand from Egypt’s desert also wore down the limestone over time, as did temperature fluctuations, acid rain, and surface wear from humans touching and walking on the surfaces.
There were several factors that Domini took into account while making his calculations. First, he acknowledged that there’s been an increase in foot traffic in the modern era, leading to more surface erosion in recent years than in ancient times. There’s also likely been more acid rain since the Industrial Revolution. These elements could lead to an underestimation of the Great Pyramid’s age.
Alternatively, the climate was wetter in ancient times, so more rain then could have led to faster erosion rates than those seen in the past few centuries. This, in turn, could lead to an overestimation of the monument’s age.
Hardback Edition of From Dot to Cleopatra
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1919212949
From Dot to Cleopatra is precisely what it says: a hisstory of
ancient Egypt suitable for everyone from the holiday traveller to the
more serious student, it contains a wealth of information including
tables of Gods, Pharoahs and Pyramide as well as a guide to visiting the
ancient sites of modern Egypt.
Publisher's comments:
Alun
Buffry's From Dot to Cleopatra takes out the confusion and presents the
facts and the mystery in a plain-speaking guide which takes the reader
from year dot before the beginning of recorded history to the time of
Cleopatra's death. Thousands of years of Egyptian culture, with special
reference to the pyramids, are recounted in a manner which does not
baffle and assumes no previous knowledge of this history. The author
leads us comfortably through a whole field of fact and theory recorded
by antiquarians, archaeologists, pre-historians, treasure and fame
hunters, even a crank or two! Here are the names, Nomes, Pharaohs, gods,
kings, pyramids, obelisks, sphinxes and mummies, dynasty by dynasty:
here, too, the legends, discoveries and great questions. At home or
visiting Egypt, readers are saved much research as Alun Buffry gets to
the core. He's a scientist, so he doesn't accept things as true unless
they are proved, but he doesn't dismiss a theory because he doesn't
agree with it. He is a fireside fabler and chronicler too, bringing us
to our own conclusions as he tells the oldest stories which, with 'From
Dot to Cleopatra', anyone can follow. This is an up-to-date reference
book which can easily be read in a few days or dipped into for years. It
includes a guides to the monuments and, a bonus for serious
Egyptologists, the author's list of Pharaohs. You'll find plenty of
mystery with the history, enough to share the fascination in Ancient
Egypt which has lured explorers and amazed everyone else for centuries.
Reader's comments: "I was never very interested in Ancient Egypt until I
read "From Dot to Cleopatra", now I am fascinated by it." : Dr Anne
Biezanek "Knowing Alun personally I decided to read his book. I am not a
great reader but this was easy going. Every time I put it down I had to
pick it up again soon, until I finished it. Now I will read it again.
Alun writes as he talks, his humour is always there." : Jane Appleton,
Housewife "We both thoroughly enjoyed From Dot to Cleopatra": Rev Robin
and Rev Adrienne Scott "I can hardly believe how well you managed to
include so much information on such a huge subject in such a small book
in such a readable and presentable fashion." : John Adam, Web Designer.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
WHEN WAS DOT? FACT, THEORY AND FICTION THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS GODS AND
GODDESSES DIVINE PLAY TOMBS, PYRAMIDS AND MUMMIES THE GREAT PYRAMID OF
CHEOPS : FACTS A MILLENNIUM AND A HALF MOSES, MAGIC AND WRITING THE
EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY MORE RAMESSES THE LATE PERIOD AND THE GREEKS THE
PTOLEMIES CLEOPATRA, JULIUS AND MARCUS DAILY LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT
VISITING THE MONUMENTS GLOSSARY
First published in softback by
Frontier 2000 Publishing, in 1997, the paperback version was so popular
that it has been republished by ABeFree Publishing asa hardcover.
Monday, 26 January 2026
Alun Buffry - ai music and voice to poems
ai has put two of my poems to music - which I did because as yet nobody has doen so - well I am pleased
I CAN SEE YOU
THE RIVER OF LIFE; Whether we laugh or whether we cry
I hope you enjoy them
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