Solomon's Gold Mines in Ophir & Ancient Egypt's Land of Punt was in the Indus Valley Civilization!

 

 

The Land of Punt was a kingdom and trading partner of Ancient Egypt. And at times, the Egyptians called Punt Ta netjer, meaning "God's Land". This referred to the fact that it was among the regions of the Sun God, or the regions located in the direction of the sunrise, to the East of Egypt.

The earliest recorded ancient Egyptian expedition to Punt which returned with cargoes of incense as well as Puntites (the local people of Punt) was organized by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty (circa 25th century BC). However, gold from Punt is recorded as having been in Egypt as early as the time of Pharaoh Khufu circa 2589 to 2566 BC of the Fourth Dynasty. 

Subsequently, there were more expeditions to Punt in the Sixth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Eighteenth dynasties of Egypt. And during the Twelfth Dynasty circa 1991 BC to 1802 BC, trade with Punt was celebrated in popular literature via the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor in which Punt was described as an island inhabited by a giant intelligent serpent. 

In the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Hatshepsut circa 1507 to 1458 BC built a Red Sea fleet to facilitate trade and points south as far as Punt. This tells us that Punt was located not only east of Egypt as mentioned earlier, but  south of it as well. The trade with Punt continued into the start of the 20th dynasty before terminating prior to the end of Egypt's New Kingdom circa 1077 BC.

From all the descriptions of Punt thus given so far, one should deduce that the land of Punt was:

1. An island located south east of Egypt, and was inhabited by a legendary intelligent giant serpent.

2. Its civilization was at least as old as the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, that is, no later than the time of Pharaoh Khufu circa 2589 to 2566 BC. And during this time it was already producing gold and trading with Egypt.

3. Its civilization must have lasted at least until prior to the end of Egypt's New Kingdom circa 1077 BC.

In my previous video titled “Nefertiti - The Queen of Sheba”, I argued that Akhenaten’s historical reign (circa 1351 to 1334 BC) was dated more than 300 years too early by Egyptologists. This was caused by an erroneous interpretation of the KTU 1.78 astronomical text which Egyptologists used to date Akhenaten’s reign. This tablet mentions a solar eclipse in Ugarit which they dated May 3, 1375 BC. However, a very similar eclipse occurred on April 29, 1011 BC which I believe was the correct one instead. Let me explain and prove to you why. 

Using Stellarium and setting the Algorithm of delta T to JPL Horizons, the location to Ugarit with coordinates 35°  36' 07.2"N, 35° 46' 55.2"E, the date to May 3, 1375 BC (or -1374 in astronomical year numbering) and at 3:51:45 UTC, one can see a solar eclipse in Taurus with maximum solar obscuration of 95.81% occurring 55 minutes after sunrise. 

Now using Stellarium and setting the Algorithm of delta T to JPL Horizons, the location to Ugarit with coordinates 35° 36' 07.2"N, 35° 46' 55.2"E, but the date to April 29, 1011 BC (or -1010 in astronomical year numbering) and at 5:09:30 UTC instead, one can see a solar eclipse also in Taurus with maximum solar obscuration of 73.71% occurring 2 hours 11 minutes after sunrise, or only 1 hour 16 minutes later than the May 3, 1375 BC eclipse. 

Furthermore, May 3, 1375 BC and April 29, 1011 BC were both Nisan 30 of their corresponding years. Except that the April 29, 1011 BC eclipse happened 364 years after the May 3, 1375 BC eclipse. Now why do I think April 29, 1011 BC was the correct date for the eclipse? The english translation of the KTU 1.78 astronomical text is as follows:

SIX.DAY.NEW MOON.HIYYARU

ENTER.SUN.HER GATE.RESHEP

This astro-shorthand is believed to be written by an Egyptian and should be interpreted as hour six, day of the new moon of Hiyyaru when the sun entered into Hathor's (Her) Gate in Taurus (Reshep). Now what is hour six in ancient Egypt? It actually refers to the 6th Decan. The ancient Egyptians conveniently divided the 360 degree ecliptic into 36 parts of 10 degrees each, and the decans each appeared, geocentrically, to rise consecutively on the horizon throughout each daily earth rotation. The rising of each decan marked the beginning of a new decanal "hour". 

On the May 3, 1375 BC eclipse, the last decanal hour to rise above the horizon during the eclipse was the 4th Decan corresponding to 40° Right Ascension as measured from the First Point of Aries. During the April 29, 1011 BC eclipse, the last decanal hour to rise above the horizon during the eclipse was the 6th Decan corresponding to 60° Right Ascension. And the KTU 1.78 astronomical text specifically said that it was during the 6th Decan, not the 4th, that the recorded eclipse was observed. Thus, there can be no doubt about it, the April 29, 1011 BC eclipse was the one described in the KTU 1.78 astronomical text. 

Subtracting 364 years from the current historical dating of Akhenaten’s reign, we get the corrected period of 987 to 970 BC instead. And this makes Akhenaten a contemporary of King David (circa 1010 to 970 BC) as well as King Solomon (circa 970 to 931 BC). Now according to Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 8:165 to 173), the Queen of Sheba (a believer of the God of Israel) was the queen of Egypt and Ethiopia. I believe Nertiti, the wife of the monotheist Pharaoh Akhenaten, and contemporary of King Solomon, was the legendary Queen of Sheba. 

Note also that Akhenaten’s reign ended in 970 BC just when Solomon’s reign started. This means Nefertiti was no longer Queen of Egypt when she met King Solomon, but was already known as the Queen of Sheba (believed to be Saba, Ethiopia) after presumably marrying the King of Ethiopia soon after Akhenaten died.

If we now consistently apply this all important 364 years correction to Egyptian chronology, we get the corrected period of Pharaoh Khufu’s reign as circa 2225 to 2202 BC, Queen Hatshepsut’s reign as circa 1115 to 1094 BC, and the end of Egypt's New Kingdom circa 713 BC. This  means also that the land of Punt must have thrived as a major trading power no later than 2202 BC and lasted until at least 713 BC, or between Khufu’s reign and the end of the New Kingdom. Also, the Middle Kingdom dated by historians between 2055 to 1650 BC, during which time  the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor  was written, should now be dated between 1691 to 1286 BC instead.  

The exact location of Punt is debated by historians. Various locations have been offered pointing to both southeast of Egypt and a Red Sea coastal region, and these locations are: Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, northeast Ethiopia, Eritrea, and north-east Sudan. It is also possible that it covered both the Horn of Africa and Southern Arabia. However, if one looks at all these candidate locations for the land of Punt, none of them were islands. So in my opinion, none of the above could have been the land of Punt based on its description given in the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor. 

I believe Punt first started in the Indus Valley Civilisation no later than during Pharaoh Khufu’s reign circa 2225 to 2202 BC, but that the Puntites later migrated to the island of Sri Lanka in the time of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom sometime between 1691 to 1286 BC. 

The Indus Valley Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BC to 1300 BC, and in its mature form from 2600 BC to 1900 BC. Thus, the mature form of the Indus Valley Civilisation coincided with Pharaoh Khufu’s reign circa 2225 to 2202 BC. Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilisations of the Near East and South Asia, and of the three, the most widespread, with its sites spanning an area stretching from today's northeast Afghanistan, through much of Pakistan, and into western and northwestern India.

Harappa was the center of one of the core regions of the Indus Valley Civilization, located in central Punjab. Archeological excavations indicate that the decline of Harappa drove people eastward and southward. So what could have caused the Indus Valley Civilisation to collapse sometime 1300 BC driving its people eastward and southward to Sri Lanka? 

David Kaniewski, an archeologist at the University of Paul Sabatier-Toulouse in France collected ancient sediment cores from Larnaca Salt Lake, near Hala Sultan Tekke in Cyprus. The lake was once a harbor, but became landlocked thousands of years ago.

A decline in marine plankton and pollen from marine seagrass revealed that the lake was once a harbor that opened to the sea until around 1450 BC, when the harbor transformed over 100 years into a landlocked lagoon around 1350 BC. [Note that the Indus Valley Civilisation collapsed circa 1300 BC]. It also revealed that by 1200 BC, agriculture in the area dwindled and didn't rebound until about 850 BC. [Note again that the Puntites later migrated to the island of Sri Lanka sometime during the Middle Kingdom which ended around 1286 BC].

"This climate shift caused crop failures, dearth and famine, which precipitated or hastened socioeconomic crises and forced regional human migrations". The results bolster the notion that a massive drought caused the Bronze Age [civilizations which included the Indus Valley to] collapse.

Pharaoh Khufu’s expeditions to Punt circa 2225 to 2202 BC were long before the massive drought started around 1350 BC. Thus, Khufu traded with the Puntites while they were still in Harappa, the center of one of the core regions of the Indus Valley Civilization, located in central Punjab. 

The origin of Punjab’s name can probably be traced to the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic of ancient India, dated by popular tradition to 3102 BC. Thus, the name Punjab was ancient, and in my opinion it sounds very close to Punt. Also, Khufu imported gold from Punt, and one of the major periods of gold mining activities in India happened to be  the ancient period (dated 3900 BC to 600 AD). That being so, Punjab, in my opinion, qualifies as the land of Punt that supplied gold as early as during Khufu’s reign.  

Furthermore, Indian maritime history begins during the 3rd millennium BC when inhabitants of the Indus Valley initiated maritime trading contact with Mesopotamia. On the western end of the Indian Ocean region, the river valley civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley began to trade by sea. Artifacts and inscriptions dated to between 4000 and 3000 BC show that trade from Mesopotamia along the shores of the Arabian Gulf took place.

 

Note also that Queen Hatshepsut’s expeditions to Punt circa 1115 to 1094 BC (according to my dating) happened during the height of the massive drought circa 1200 to 850 BC. Thus, throughout her time the Puntites must have already migrated eastward to Sri Lanka. 

The Tale of The Ship-Wrecked Sailor is a story written in the time of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (which I dated circa 1691 to 1286 BC). During this period, the massive drought already started sometime 1350 BC. And if you still recall, the Indus Valley Civilisation already collapsed around 1300 BC. I believe this tale was written after the Puntite’s migration to Sri Lanka and towards the end of the Middle Kingdom. 

 

According to the tale, the land of Punt was an island inhabited by an intelligent giant serpent. Now there is only one island located southeast of Egypt and is also located very near east of Punjab (which I believe was once the center of the Indus Valley civilization of the Puntites). This island was known to be inhabited by an intelligent race of serpents as well, and this island was Sri Lanka.

According to the Mahavamsa, a Pali chronicle written in the 5th century AD, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. The Mahavamsa also recounts three legendary visits by the Buddha to the island of Sri Lanka. These stories describe the Buddha subduing or driving away the Yakshas and Nagas. Interestingly, the Naga people are generally being represented as a class of superhumans taking the form of serpents who inhabit a subterranean world. And the word "Naga'' literally means snake or serpent in Sanskrit.

Buddha is believed to have died at age 80 years. Within the Eastern Buddhist tradition of China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, the traditional date for the death of the Buddha was 949 BC while according to the Ka-tan system of time calculation in the Kalachakra tradition, Buddha is believed to have died around 833 BC. This means the expulsion of the Nagas by Buddha happened sometime between before 1029 BC at the earliest and upto 833 BC at the latest (which is also the widest possible range of Buddha’s lifetime according to tradition). 

Thus The Tale of The Ship-Wrecked Sailor which I dated about 1691 to 1286 BC, and which talked about the land of Punt being inhabited by an intelligent giant serpent,  happened long before Buddha drove away the Nagas from Sri Lanka.

According to the Mahāvaṃsa chronicle, Prince Vijaya was the first Sinhalese king. The Sinhalese are a member of a people originally from northern India, now forming the majority of the population of Sri Lanka. Legends say that he and several hundred followers came to Sri Lanka after they were banished from Sinhapura (which is believed to be located in eastern India). 

Vijaya's ship later reached Lanka, in the area known as Tambapanni on the day that Gautama Buddha died in northern India, variously dated between 949 to 833 BC. Tambapanni  means the color of copper or bronze because when Vijaya and his followers landed in Sri Lanka, and when their hands and feet touched the ground they became red with the dust of the red-earth. I believe the original Nagas inhabitants of Sri Lanka prior to Vijaya’s arrival may have covered themselves in red dust as a form of religious ritual. 

It is interesting to note that the people of Punt at first are depicted with dark-reddish complexions just like the inhabitants of Tambapanni. Now the religion or religions of the Indus Valley Civilization is a debated topic and remains a matter of speculation. However, contemporary scholars continue to probe the roles of the Indus Valley Civilization in the formation of Hinduism. 

The tilaka is a Hindu mark worn usually on the forehead, or sometimes another part of the body such as the neck, hand, chest or arm. It may be worn daily or for rites of passage or special spiritual and religious occasions only, depending on regional customs. Furthermore, different Hindu traditions use different materials to make the tilaka, but the most popular ones were the red pigment vermilion and the powdered red turmeric. 

The nittaewo (native to Sri Lanka) was described as being only between 3' and 4' in height, with the females being even shorter. They were covered in hair, which was often said to be reddish in color, and were said to have very short, powerful arms with short, long-clawed hands. Unlike monkeys, they always walked upright and had no tails. In other words, the nittaewo were the legendary ancient pygmies of Sri Lanka.

A pygmy was brought from Punt during Djedkare's time (5th Dynasty and historically dated 2414 to 2375 BC). Pepi II (historically dated 2278 to 2184 BC) in the 6th Dynasty sent Harkhuf to Punt, and he also brought back pygmies. It has often been suggested that the well known Egyptian pygmy god, Bes, may have also been a Punt import. It would seem probable that dwarfs and pygmies were indeed imported from Punt, for an inscription in the tomb of Harkhuf, and expedition leader under Pepy II, tells of his acquisition of a dwarf for that king.

The cult of Bes did not become widespread until during the New Kingdom (circa 1186 to 713 BC according to my dating). His appearance is that of a fat bearded dwarf, ugly to the point of being comical. Interestingly, there are also depictions of Bes with feline or leonine features. 

Now if you still recall, Prince Vijaya came to Sri Lanka on the day that Gautama Buddha died (circa 949 BC to 833 BC) after they were banished from Sinhapura (which literally means “lion city”). Sinhapura was the capital of the legendary king Sinhabahu (whose hands and feet were like a lion's paws), and who was the father of Vijaya.  King Sinhabahu’s father in turn was believed to be a lion.

I believe the Egyptian god Bes, a dwarf with leonine features, may have been Sinhabahu who lived prior to Buddha’s death circa 949 BC to 833 BC, and also during the period of the New Kingdom circa 1186 to 713 BC when the cult of Bes became widespread.

Historian Barbara Watterson describes the journey from Egypt to Punt based on the inscriptions from Hatshepsut's reign (which I dated circa 1115 to 1094 BC) as follows: “Five ships set out from a port on the Red Sea (possibly Quseir) to journey southwards to Suakin, where the expedition disembarked. The voyage had taken between 20 and 25 days, covering on average about 50 kilometers a day…” 

The distance between El Qoseir and Suakin is about 895 kilometers. At an average of 50 kilometers a day it would have taken just 18 days and not between 20 and 25 days to navigate this distance. Also, Barbara Watterson’s estimate of 50 kilometers a day travel distance for ships during Hatshepsut's reign is, in my opinion, an over underestimation. Let me explain.

The Phoenicians were master shipbuilders, navigators, sailors, craftsmen, and merchant traders. They learned to navigate by the stars. Their ships could travel 100 [nautical] miles or about 185.2 kilometers per day, which is more than 3.5 times Barbara Watterson’s estimate. By 1200 BC (or about 85 years before Hatshepsut’s reign), the Phoenicians had trading posts and colonies on many Aegean and Mediterranean islands, trading agreements with neighbors, and occupied quarters in Egyptian cities. Using Phoenician ships which were the best during Hatshepsut's reign, a 20 to 25 days voyage would have reached between 2000 to 2500 nautical miles or 3704 to 4630 kilometers already. 

I believe Barbara Watterson misinterpreted the journey to Punt as described on the inscriptions from Hatshepsut's reign. The 20 to 25 days journey was the time it took to travel using large Phoenician ships from Punt to Suakin, and not the other way around. Then from Suakin the mariners disembarked and traveled northward using smaller Egyptian ships to another port on the Red Sea. 

Thus a 20 to 25 days journey traveling at 100 nautical miles per day means the distance from Punt to Suakin was about 2000 to 2500 nautical miles. Using Google Earth, the distance between Suakin and Sri Lanka is about 2653 nautical miles. This distance would have taken a ship traveling at 100 nautical miles a day, about 26 to 27 days to traverse. One can only assume therefore that by the time of Queen Hatshepsut, Phoenician ships started traveling slightly more than 100 nautical miles per day.

The products of Punt (as depicted in the Hatshepsut illustrations) included gold, ebony, cinnamon, and aromatic resins such as myrrh and frankincense. The wild animals depicted in Punt included giraffes, baboons, hippopotami, and leopards. 

Hatshepsut’s reign which I dated circa 1115 to 1094 BC was already many years after the massive drought that started in 1350 BC and culminated in 1200 BC. Therefore the Puntites must have already migrated from Punjab to Sri Lanka during her time. Now the question is, did Sri Lanka have all the products depicted in the Hatshepsut illustrations? 

Sri Lanka is sitting on a pile of gold and is believed to have one of the largest gold deposits in Asia. During the Dutugemunu period in Sri Lanka (circa 161 BC to 137 BC), gold was mined where nuggets of different sizes were found. However, gold mining in Sri Lanka can be way older than this. As I already mentioned earlier, one of the major periods of gold mining activities in India, a close neighbor of Sri Lanka, happened to be the ancient period (dated 3900 BC to 600 AD).

Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood which is dense enough to sink in water. Species of ebony include Diospyros ebenum (Ceylon ebony), native to southern India and Sri Lanka.  Cinnamomum verum, called true cinnamon tree, is a small evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka. The inner bark of several other Cinnamomum species is also used to make cinnamon, but Cinnamomum verum has a subtler flavor that makes it preferred for certain recipes.

Although Sri Lanka is an island, it is believed that Sri Lanka was "more often than not, linked to southern India by a land bridge." Thus, animals endemic to India can be assumed to have thrived in Sri Lanka as well. The Sri Lankan leopard is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka and is one of the wild animals depicted in Punt. 

In the gem-rich alluvial gravel of Sri Lanka's famed Ratnapura District there have been found the remains of a hippopotamus with six incisor teeth. 

Giraffokeryx is an extinct genus of medium-sized giraffids known from the Miocene of the Indian subcontinent (which includes Sri Lanka). It resembled either an okapi or a small giraffe, and it is a possible ancestor of both. 

Reports of giant baboons come from Africa and India that are similar to fossil finds of a baboon that is supposed to be extinct. Thus, animals that currently only thrive in Africa, may have once thrived in Sri Lanka in the past via its land bridge with India, and it may have been only as recently as Hatshepsut’s time.

Commiphora caudata is the most abundant Asian species of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, and it can be found in Southern India and Sri Lanka. Furthermore, according to one of Hatshepsut’s inscriptions, thirty-one incense trees (identified as Boswellia) were brought back to Egypt from Punt. Boswellia serrata is a plant that produces Indian frankincense. The plant is native to much of India and the Punjab region that extends into Pakistan. 

Now Boswellia trees can produce exudates in good quality for only three years. After this period, the quality of the collected resin decreases considerably. Therefore, the tree should be left to rest for some years after the harvesting period. These three years limit for producing good quality exudates from Boswellia is Biblically relevant. 

King Solomon received a cargo from Ophir (which I believe to be one and the same as Punt) every three years (see 1 Kings 10: 11-22). The cargo consisted of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. In addition to these products, one very special import from Ophir that was taken in abundant quantities by Solomon were the almug trees: 

1 Kings 10: 11-12 And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees... And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

The solidity of almug trees must have been hard enough to be used as pillars and carvings. But what made these trees special to Solomon, in my opinion, is that they exuded a pleasant fragrance and were also resistant to decay. The Yerushalmi (Ketubot end of chapter 7) and Midrash (Bereshit Rabba 15a) identify the agarwood with almug trees. 

The almug tree should not be confused with the algum tree, or the oak tree, mentioned in 2 Chronicles, which was also imported by Solomon from Ophir (the Ceylon oak), although it was available in Lebanon as well (the Lebanon oak). Both types of reddish brown oak wood coming from Sri Lanka and Lebanon are very hard and resistant to insect and fungal attack. This is why they are commonly used in construction.

Agarwood, a fragrant dark resinous wood used in incense, perfume, and small carvings, is formed in the heartwood of aquilaria trees when they become infected with a type of mold. Heartwood is wood that as a result of a naturally occurring chemical transformation has become more resistant to decay. First-grade agarwood is one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world, with 2010 prices for superior pure material as high as $100,000/kg.

While most aquilaria trees that produce heartwood is native to southeast Asia, one species, the Gyrinops walla, is found in Sri Lanka. Also, India was the first country where the Oud trees, also known as Agarwood trees were first found and reported. The Aquilaria khasiana, one species of aquilaria trees, is found in Bangladesh and India.

Aquilaria trees take 5 to 7 years on average to grow naturally before being inoculated to produce resin. After being inoculated, only 85% of trees can survive and take two years to produce resins. So for high-quality agarwood, it takes 3 and a half years to harvest. And this perfectly explains why Solomon's expeditions to Ophir were conducted only once every three years as the Ophirians limited their export of agarwood to keep their supply sustainable.

Aside from gold, King Solomon also imported large quantities of silver from Ophir. Ridi Viharaya or Silver Temple is a 2nd-century BC Buddhist temple in the village of Ridigama, Sri Lanka. Built during the reign of Dutthagamani, the temple is considered as the place where the silver ore, which provided silver to complete Ruwanwelisaya; one of the largest stupa in Sri Lanka, was discovered. 

The Sri Lankan elephant (an obvious source of ivory which was one of the major exports of Ophir) is one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant, and is native to Sri Lanka. Also, one of two Asiatic species of peacocks is the blue or Indian peafowl originally of the Indian subcontinent of which Sri Lanka is a part of. 

Now notice that King Solomon’s encounter with the Queen of Sheba was discussed in chapter 10 of 1 Kings where also Solomon’s expeditions in Ophir was discussed. I mentioned earlier my belief that the Queen of Sheba was Nefertiti of Egypt, whose husband Akhenaten reigned 987 to 970 BC according to my correction of ancient Egyptian chronology. 

And If you still recall, Egypt’s trade with Punt terminated prior to the end of Egypt's New Kingdom circa 713 BC (according to my dating).  Solomon is believed to have reigned between 970 to 931 BC, and during this time Egypt was still actively trading with Punt. This is the reason why I believe Ophir was one and the same as Punt. 

On the murals of the Hatshepsut temple at Deir el-Bahri, the King and Queen of Punt are depicted along with their retinue. Due to her unusual appearance, the Queen was sometimes hypothesized to have had advanced steatopygia or elephantiasis. Steatopygia, a genetic characteristic leading to increased accumulation of adipose tissue in the buttock region, is most notably (but not solely) found among the Khoisan of Southern Africa. It has also been observed among the Pygmies of Central Africa and also the  Andamanese people of India, such as the Onge tribe in the Andaman Islands.

The Andamanese peoples are among the various groups considered Negrito, owing to their dark skin and diminutive stature. It is my belief that the Andamanese originally came from Sri Lanka and were the Puntites depicted in Hatshepsut’s inscriptions. They migrated east to the Andaman islands after their ancestors were driven out from Sri Lanka by Buddha. Allow me to explain. 

Queen Hatshepsut’s expeditions to Punt circa 1115 to1094 BC (according to my dating) happened more than a hundred years before Prince Vijaya came to Sri Lanka on the day that Gautama Buddha died (circa 949 BC to 833 BC). It is believed that four main clans lived in Sri Lanka before Vijaya explored the island. The four clans were the Yaksha, Naga, Deva, and Rakkha. Thus Hatshepsut’s navigators must have encountered at least one of these four indigenous clans, but which one? 

If you still recall, The Tale of The Ship-Wrecked Sailor which I dated about 1691 to 1286 BC, talked about the land of Punt being inhabited by an intelligent giant serpent. The Naga people are generally being represented as a class of superhumans taking the form of serpents who inhabit a subterranean world. 

In other words, they are shapeshifters. Thus, the people of Punt shown in Hatshepsut’s inscriptions must have been the Naga people. It is interesting to note also that the Naga people were believed to be traders, and this explains their more than a thousand years trade relationship with ancient Egypt in my opinion.

  

Furthermore, the expulsion of the Nagas by Buddha (which I talked about earlier in this video) happened sometime between 1029 BC at the earliest and upto 833 BC at the latest (which is basically the entire lifetime of Buddha according to his followers). Thus, Queen Hatshepsut’s expeditions to Punt circa 1115 to 1094 BC were more than 65 years before the Nagas were expelled  in Sri Lanka by Buddha. 

Now I believe the descendants of these Naga people eventually migrated to the Andaman archipelago after their ancestors’ expulsion from Sri Lanka. And this explains why the appearance of the Queen of Punt in Hatshepsut’s inscription, having advanced steatopygia, is prevalent among the Andamanese people. Also, the dark skin and diminutive stature of the Andamanese people matches exactly the pygmies imported by Egypt from the land of Punt.

Furthermore, in a sketch from the walls of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri, depicting a royal expedition to Punt, one can see a landscape of Punt, showing several houses on stilts. And just like the Puntites in Hatshepsut’s inscriptions, the Andamanese people also live in stilt houses up to this day. 

Finally, recent genome studies show that South Asians are descendants of an indigenous South Asian component (termed Ancient Ancestral South Indians), which is closest to modern isolated tribal groups from South India, and distantly related to the Andamanese. Thus supporting my belief that the Puntites of Sri Lanka during Hatshepsut’s reign eventually migrated to the Andaman islands.