Staff of Ra and the map room

[John McClane]

Here’s something that’s always bothered me with Raiders. Why did the Egyptians need a map room to show the location of the well of souls?

[Indydan13]

For the same reason we have time capsules...for the future. The Egyptians might have known that many would need to find the Well in the future so as a precaution, they made a map.

Another reason might be that not everyone might have known where the well is or what it is and the map was made to let others know where it is if they don't already know or get lost.

[Mola Ram]

They didn't need a map room. The map room and Staff of Ra was just their mode of encryption, if you will. Their way of ensuring that the Ark didn't fall into the wrong hands.

[John McClane]

So the map room is only like 100 meters from the well of souls.

[Mola Ram]

Perhaps, but that was hardly common knowledge.

[theinfiniteweird]

I only know about archeology what I have seen on TV. Laymans terms and all. So let me ask a question that I don't know the answer to because I'm not an archeology buff. Are map rooms like this one common? If so, that'd explain why they had a map room in the first place.

[TombReader]

Originally Posted by temple of john

what I always wondered was when Indy escapes from the well of souls, he dislodges a brick from a wall and then just climbs out into the open...

He crashed that statue into the wall,so they actually left by going out whatever was next door to the Well of Souls.That particular building may have been explored by the Nazi's,but since it was apparently sealed off from the WoS,they would not have found anything.

'Are map rooms like this one common? If so, that'd explain why they had a map room in the first place?'

Good question.In my experience,no they are not.I would guess that the Staff of Ra was not made by a Pharaoh.IIRC,the inscription is an early form of Hebrew(in Phoenician script).Why would Egyptian royalty use that?It's very likely that the artifact was created by someone who was close to the Pharoah(they would have to be in order to know where the Ark was) but still loyal to his/her Christian faith.We don't even know that the Map room was created for the purpose of revealing the ark,do we?It could have originally been used for something else but whoever made the headpiece sort of hi-jacked it for their own purpose.A little out there,I know.

[Aaron H]

Originally Posted by TombReader

but still loyal to his/her Christian faith.

I persume you mean Jewish faith.

[TombReader]

Yeah....I guess that I meant Christian in the sense that it's a Judeo-Christian artifact.