As we know, Ancient Egyptian civilisation lasted unfathomably long, over 3000 years in total from the time of the first Pharaoh to the last. Common ways you see this put into perspective are the following:
• Cleopatra VII lived closer to today than she did to the building of the Pyramids.
• Mammoths were still alive when the Pyramids were built.
So I ask you - what did Egyptians, both rulers and common folk, know of their history and the events in it long after they had happened? We know that they were meticulous record-keepers from the beginning, and that their religion hardly changed up until its extinction in the Roman era. So is it possible that the Egyptians of the Roman era would know the purpose of and the story behind the Great Pyramids, or Abu Simbel, or Amarna?
I also wonder if there have been any comprehensive histories discovered on tablet or papyrus, that would prove that Egyptians (at least elites) knew of what would be ancient history to them, such as Narmer and the early dynasties.
Answers and discussion should be interesting, thanks!
You’ve asked about three specific sites, and the Egyptians themselves loved the number three, so I will answer this question in three parts, which will hopefully supplement u/toldinstone’s lovely, scenic response in the other thread.
The Great Pyramids: as u/toldinstone points out, these were incredibly well known throughout antiquity. Herodotus (accurately) notes that the largest of these belonged to Khufu (Greek Kheops), but then goes on to talk about how Khufu was a terrible ruler who oppressed his people (2.124-7; for more on the ethics of pyramid building see my answer here https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/wig2uy/comment/ijgfl1b/?context=3). There is no evidence for any of his claims, and certainly the temples continued to function as usual during his reign, so where Herodotus got this from is a mystery, and probably relies to some extent on Greek prejudices and stereotypes of Eastern excess and tyranny.
Nevertheless, his presentation of Khufu is paralleled in some Egyptian sources. The Egyptian historian Manetho, who was a high-ranking official in Ptolemy I’s court, composed a Greek history of Egypt in which he listed and narrated the various kings. This is lost, but an epitome (summary) of his work was written by Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 200 AD) and Eusebius (c. 300 AD), both of which were then preserved by George Syncellus (c. 800 AD), who was trying to prove that Jesus was born 5500 years after God created the world, and therefore needed evidence for a long, long time to have passed before this. Africanus’ epitome is (generally thought to be) better, or at least more faithful to Manetho’s original text. The entry for Khufu is as follows:
‘Souphis, 63 years. He erected the greatest pyramid, which Herodotus says was created by Kheops. But he also became disdainful towards the gods, and composed the Sacred Book’
(Souphis and Kheops are the same name, but two thousand years does strange things to pronunciation). In this case Eusebius adds a crucial detail, which is that Khufu composed the ‘Sacred Book’ after repenting.
Now, Manetho engaged extensively with Herodotus, and in fact wrote an entire work called Against Herodotus, so it’s plausible he included this detail to align his work with Herodotus’, and connect Greek and Egyptian history (which was essentially the purpose of his synchronic history). The ’Sacred Book’ is harder to explain with regards to Herodotus, and for this we have to turn to Papyrus Westcar, a Middle Egyptian story written probably around 800 years after Khufu. His name is accurately preserved, as are the names of his ancestors, sons, and 5th Dynasty successors, so there’s clearly a good knowledge of Egyptian regal history here. Khufu in this story is evidently not a negative figure: he’s essentially just bored and wanting to be entertained, and makes plenty of offerings to deceased kings and humans. But he is curiously interested in secret knowledge, and how to obtain it. His son Hordjedef promises to bring him a man named Djedi, who can reattach severed heads, enchant lions, and apparently knows secrets about Thoth. As soon as Khufu is told this, he goes on the hunt:
Now, the Person of the Dual King Khufu, the justified, spent the day seeking for himself these private areas of the sanctuary of Thoth, to make for himself something similar for his tomb.
(Note that Khufu wants this information for his pyramid tomb, and there’s a strong sepulchral theme running throughout the text).
Hordjedef brings Djedi, Djedi does his tricks, and then Khufu asks him about the secrets of Thoth:
“Now, this is what is said: that you know the number of the private areas of the sanctuary of Thoth.” And so Djedi said: “Be favourable! I do not know the number thereof, sovereign l.p.h., my lord. But I do know the place in which this knowledge is.” And so his Person said: “Where?” And so this Djedi said: “There is a chest there of flint in a room called the Inventory of Heliopolis, and look, it is in this chest.” Then Djedi said: “O sovereign l.p.h., my lord, look, I am not the one who will bring it to you.” And so his Person said: “Who then is it who can bring it to me?” And so Djedi said: “It is the eldest of the three children who are in the womb of Ruddjedet who will bring it to you.”
These three children are Userref, Sahre, and Keku (corresponding to the first three 5th Dynasty kings Userkaf, Sahure, Neferirkare Kakai), and they’re all children of Re, the sun god. Solar cult was heavily promoted in Egypt during the 5th Dynasty, and this link was still known by the Egyptians 700 years later (even if their names are a little off). So a connection between Khufu, his pyramid, and the desire for mystical knowledge seems to have been a very old one, which was still acknowledged by Manetho.
You might enjoy /r/toldinstone's answer on a similar question.