Ben Carson's Unusual Theory About Egyptian Pyramids

— -- Republican front-runner Ben Carson reinforced his longstanding belief that Egyptian pyramids were built by the biblical figure Joseph to store grain. Archaeologists have long asserted that these tombs were constructed for pharaohs.

"It’s still my belief, yes," the retired neurosurgeon told reporters Wednesday at a book tour stop in Naples, Fla. "Well, the pyramids were made in a way that they had hermetically sealed compartments. You would need that if you were trying to preserve grain for a long period of time."

Carson first articulated his theory at a 1998 commencement speech at Andrews University, a school founded by Seventh-day Adventists.

In the commencement video, Carson laid out his theory that the pyramids were constructed for grain storage.

“My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain,” Carson said in the video. "Now all the archaeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. And I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain."

He continued: “And when you look at the way that the pyramids are made, with many chambers that are hermetically sealed, they’d have to be that way for various reasons. And various scientists have said ‘Well you know there were alien beings that came down and they have special knowledge' and that’s how —- you know, it doesn’t require an alien being when God is with you.”

Donald Trump weighed in on Carson's comments Thursday morning, telling MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough that he was already aware of Carson's bizarre pyramid theory.

“He’s informed me about the pyramids,” Trump told Scarborough. “I think I’ll have to put that in my repertoire about Ben. That was a strange deal.”

BuzzFeed first reported Carson’s pyramid comments on Wednesday.