Egyptians record encountering these seafaring groups who seem to swoop in out of nowhere, wreak absolute havoc on them, and then vanish as quick as they arrived. An attractive theory I read was that these might have been Vikings, as they were known to be accomplished sailors and very warlike, but it's also been pointed out that the waters around Africa is pretty far out of the way from Scandinavia.

What does the evidence say? Are we any closer to knowing?