Science/Tech

Scientists Explain The Mysterious Egyptian Spiral Appearing on Google Maps

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Feb 26, 2014 09:46 AM EST

The mysterious spiral located in the Egyptian desert is actually "an environmental art installation" called Desert Breath. These spiral has perplexed Google Earth users for years and were thought to have a relation with the aliens. 

17 years ago in 1997, the Desert Breath was created by the D.A.ST. Arteam (Danae Stratou, Alexandra Stratou and Stella Constantinides) to address the desert "as a state of mind, a landscape of the mind."

A total of 100,000 square meters of area located in eastern Sahara desert is occupied by the Desert Breath which borders to the Red Sea in El Gounna, Egypt. Reportedly, the development of the project displaced around 8,000 cubic meters of sand. 

"The work functions on two different levels in terms of viewpoint: from above as a visual image, and from the ground, walking the spiral pathway, a physical experience," wrote an installation artist Danae Stratou on his blog

According to Stratou, because of gradual disintegration, the Desert Breath has become "an instrument to measure the passage of time."

Constructed as two interlocking spirals - one with vertical cones, the other with conical depressions in the desert floor - Desert Breath was originally designed with a small lake at its center, but recent images on Google Maps show that the lake has emptied, reported NBC News.

The fascination for the Google Earth, Google Maps and other online is generated by joining the mysterious images as well as environmental artworks. Creators noted that the entire structure is disintegrating gradually.

The creators of the Desert Breath have ruled out any political or cult-like aspirations though. 

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