Local legends in and around the Nile Delta Region tells of a mysterious animal called the Man of the Sea that spoke to humans and possessed great knowledge of the ancient world. Much of the legend and mythos surrounding the Seaman has to do with the fact that there is so little hard evidence on the creature. Even though one was bred in captivity and was on display in aquariums across Japan, it remains a mystery as to what the creature is or how it will evolve. Sightings of the creature are rare and interaction with one in the wild is even more so.
Many of the theories brought forth by Dr. Jean Paul Gassé (credited with the discovery of Seaman) and the Anthro-Bio Archaeology community help to support the legend and are still hotly debated today.
Much of the speculation surrounds Seaman’s connection to ancient Egypt. The greatest mystery of the ancient Egyptian civilization is the sudden appearance of an advanced society in the middle of the desert. Normally, intermediate steps can be observed in the development of any civilization. There have been, however, absolutely no such discoveries that could explain the development of ancient Egypt. Some people have even tried to tie the existence of these creatures to creatures from outer space. The reasoning behind their theory was that the ancient Egyptian civilization appeared suddenly, with unknown origins and was technologically advanced enough to build pyramids -- a feat of engineering that is challenging enough with modern equipment and technology.
Images of Seaman began appearing in ancient Egypt around 2600 B.C., after the ancient third dynasty, as wall paintings. The third dynasty is famous for being the beginning of the rush to build pyramids. Prior to that time, there is no record of the existence of Seaman, and after the later half of the third dynasty hardly any drawings of Seaman exist. There are, moreover, absolutely no records of how the pyramids were constructed.
Dr. Gassé hypothesized that because this creature could interact and speak with human beings, it served as a medium to transmit human knowledge. He came to believe that the knowledge necessary to construct the pyramids was somehow entrusted in Seaman, and then spread to other ancient civilizations as well. Considering all the conditions, Professor Gassé constructed the hypothesis that a living creature (i.e. Seaman) could take the knowledge that existed during the third dynasty, and cross oceans to spread the knowledge to other lands. Gassé even started to believe that the creatures spread knowledge to other civilizations that propagated and flourished. Moreover, he felt that it was through Seaman that ancient Egyptian mathematics were transmitted.
A rare underwater photo... 
