Giza pyramids mystery

[Big Bad Voodoo]

Hello UMers,

Maybe it was discussed before in dozens thread about pyramids but I failed to found it.

Anyway,as I understood pyramids in Giza are align to true north.

Why?

I didnt found any logical idea.

Question hit me when I was reading this article

http://www.newscient...-precision.html

The tombs are aligned north-south with an accuracy of up to 0.05 degrees. How the Egyptians did this has been unclear. Today, you could align a building north-south by pointing the sides towards the pole star, which sits roughly at true north. However, a wobble in the Earth's axis of rotation (called precession), means that the positions of the stars changes gradually over time.In the third millennium BC, no star sat at the north pole.

Thanks.

Edited April 29, 2012 by Melo

[Conrad Clough]

perhaps they aligned them with the bank of the Nile, the Nile flows North, and perhaps it was just a coincidence that the angle was nearly true north at that point.

[kmt_sesh]

I wouldn't look at north as the important aspect, necessarily. More important in the Egyptian mind was east-west. East represented life and resurrection, and west death and the afterlife. The most important features of the Great Pyramid complex, for example, are the cultic temples arranged to the east, in which the soul of the deceased king was tended. The west end of the mortuary temple, which abuts the pyramid, featured the offering chapel and false door through which the king's soul could emerge to receive offerings.

As far as that goes, thinking in terms of north as predominant is a bit of cultural bias on the part of most of us Westerners. In the ancient Egyptian mind, south was more important than north. It was the direction from which the life-giving Nile flowed.

[Time Spy]

I wouldn't look at north as the important aspect, necessarily. More important in the Egyptian mind was east-west. East represented life and resurrection, and west death and the afterlife. The most important features of the Great Pyramid complex, for example, are the cultic temples arranged to the east, in which the soul of the deceased king was tended. The west end of the mortuary temple, which abuts the pyramid, featured the offering chapel and false door through which the king's soul could emerge to receive offerings.

As far as that goes, thinking in terms of north as predominant is a bit of cultural bias on the part of most of us Westerners. In the ancient Egyptian mind, south was more important than north. It was the direction from which the life-giving Nile flowed.

Very good point Kmt. The Nile was the life giving flood of the land. It did indeed lapped at the paws of the Sphinx in those days, and it built a great nation. Nevertheless, Ra crossed the sky each night in order to keep peace throughout the land while in route to the west. However Ra knew from experience there was life in the East or the West, however you decern the global displacement. That life was a threat to them, while in those ancient days, far acoss the great seas, not evident or realized until many centuries later (although still misunderstood) Nevertheless, there were those who kept that peace and understanding, whether anyone can decipher the cartouches to resignated the fact, or just accept the seemingly obvious, though wrong in perspecive to historical reality.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Time Spy

[Conrad Clough]

I wouldn't look at north as the important aspect, necessarily. More important in the Egyptian mind was east-west. East represented life and resurrection, and west death and the afterlife. The most important features of the Great Pyramid complex, for example, are the cultic temples arranged to the east, in which the soul of the deceased king was tended. The west end of the mortuary temple, which abuts the pyramid, featured the offering chapel and false door through which the king's soul could emerge to receive offerings.

As far as that goes, thinking in terms of north as predominant is a bit of cultural bias on the part of most of us Westerners. In the ancient Egyptian mind, south was more important than north. It was the direction from which the life-giving Nile flowed.

That makes a lot of sense actually... if you are orienting a square structure precisly east-west then by extension the other orientation of the building will be precisly north-south.

[Time Spy]

Yeah right, just north and south, simple as that. Just because two and half million stones were layed precisely on top themselves with chambers and sharts for access into them were cut in presicion along the way, there is no reason to expect any other relative comparison, simple as that. Right give me a break, when will we at least look to learn and then listen from history. The construction of the alignement was PRECISELY, do yoiu hear me, PRECISELY to the arrangement of the constellation Orion. Yes there was a reason, and yes they were ancient power absorbing rescipricators. They were 'looking for the truth'. The History Channel is real good at 'weezing another's Gig', even if there synopisis is way of base. I tried to them so, anyway...

The Pyramids produced electricty for a reason. The power was accessed to reflect and harness the energy the Earth consumed and resolved as a reminder in respect to time, simple as that. Nothing can be hidden from the eye of time, and it can be replayed in an entirety. What you do today not only reflects that which will happen tomorrow, but more importantly the direction you will be taking next. Life is a reflection of the present and it is what you make of it, so make it, and be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

There are those who have lived a thousand lives on sands of distant shores. while in other times and realms... tww

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUMcA--ejOc

[ShadowSot]

. Just because two and half million stones

not quite.

layed precisely on top themselves

Nope.

chambers and sharts for access into them were cut in presicion along the way

I don't know how sharts work into it, but chambers usually are pretty well cut. And usually done fairly precisely when they are expected to be used.

there is no reason to expect any other relative comparison, simple as that

Except their mythology concerning their god king and the East and West side of the Nile.

The construction of the alignement was PRECISELY, do yoiu hear me, PRECISELY to the arrangement of the constellation Orion.

Except inverted and spaced out terribly. Oh, and onlyif youignore the satillite pyramids and the pyramid of that one pharoah which was later dissaembled and Kmt_Sesh willlashme for forgetting.

Yes there was a reason, and yes they were ancient power absorbing rescipricators.

Ah right. Limestone rock is good for that.

The power was accessed to reflect and harness the energy the Earth consumed and resolved as a reminder in respect to time, simple as that.

Ok, now you are blagerantly ripping off Terry Pratchett here, and not being good about it.

And seriously? History Channel? Owned by the same company that brought you Hannah Montana and Garage Wars?

New age koan.

Nice koan there.

[Flibbertigibbet]

It's not difficult to determine due east. It's the direction the sun rises at the equinox.

[lightly]

Not to be disagreeable, as i'm just trying to understand . So, while it's true that the sun rises directly on the Equator, due east, at both Equinox.. wouldn't standing anywhere other than on the Equator, at equinox, make sunrise appear at an angle from due East?

Whereas, anywhere on earth, at Equinox, at precisely mid day, when that can be determined, shadows point precisely North.... or South, depending on which hemisphere your in?

*

Edited April 30, 2012 by lightly

[Flibbertigibbet]

Not to be disagreeable, as i'm just trying to understand . So, while it's true that the sun rises directly on the Equator, due east, at both Equinox.. wouldn't standing anywhere other than on the Equator, at equinox, make sunrise appear at an angle from due East?

Whereas, anywhere on earth, at Equinox, at precisely mid day, when that can be determined, shadows point precisely North.... or South, depending on which hemisphere your in?

*

Just found something about it here. The sun rises due east at the equinoxes wherever on the earth you are.

http://earthsky.org/space/does-the-sun-rise-due-east-and-set-due-west-at-the-equinox

[lightly]

Just found something about it here. The sun rises due east at the equinoxes wherever on the earth you are.

http://earthsky.org/...-at-the-equinox

Yes, it does. ..But, as i said earlier "So, while it's true that the sun rises directly on the Equator, due east, at both Equinox.. wouldn't standing anywhere other than on the Equator, at equinox, make sunrise appear at an angle from due East?

For instance, if we were standing at the north pole... would the sun rise due east of us?

The angle of it's rising , from our perspective , increases or decreases in relation to our Longitude?

Add the wobble of our earth on it's axis and all four directions, in relation to the sun, are ever changing and cyclical? North and south circle about and east and west rise and fall?

Which completely confounds me when considering the constancy of pyramid shadows and new grange winter solstice illuminations of it's interior.

[Flibbertigibbet]

Yes, it does. ..But, as i said earlier "So, while it's true that the sun rises directly on the Equator, due east, at both Equinox.. wouldn't standing anywhere other than on the Equator, at equinox, make sunrise appear at an angle from due East?

For instance, if we were standing at the north pole... would the sun rise due east of us?

The angle of it's rising , from our perspective , increases or decreases in relation to our Longitude?

Add the wobble of our earth on it's axis and all four directions, in relation to the sun, are ever changing and cyclical? North and south circle about and east and west rise and fall?

Which completely confounds me when considering the constancy of pyramid shadows and new grange winter solstice illuminations of it's interior.

No, it always appears due east at the point of sunrise, wherever you are. The angle you're thinking of means that it doesn't go up in a straight line, so it quickly moves away from due east, but at the moment of sunrise, it's due east of you, wherever you are. This is why ancient monuments like stone circles took great pains to pinpoint exactly which day the equinox was (which is easy enough over the space of a few years if you have permanent markers). The north pole is an exception only because the sun doesn't rise there at all at the equinox.

[Conrad Clough]

The north pole is an exception only because the sun doesn't rise there at all at the equinox.

Well that plus the fact that when you are literally standing at the north (or south) pole there is no 'East' all directions are South (or North).

[Karlis]

This website was the first one I came across in Google, explaining the alignments, etc.

Source: <http://www.cheops-pyramide.ch/khufu-pyramid/pyramid-alignment.html>

Thoughts about the information available there, and at its various links?

[Flibbertigibbet]

Well that plus the fact that when you are literally standing at the north (or south) pole there is no 'East' all directions are South (or North).

Well yes, which is saying the same thing, in a different way. The sun rises in the east at the equinox. At the north pole there is no east, and therefore no sunrise at the equinox.

[Big Bad Voodoo]

Its hard to believe to me that they hit true north with alignment just by coincidence.

[Flibbertigibbet]

Its hard to believe to me that they hit true north with alignment just by coincidence.

Yes, very hard to believe. They clearly didn't.

[MadMike740]

that article is over 5 years old...lol.

[kmt_sesh]

Its hard to believe to me that they hit true north with alignment just by coincidence.

No, definitely not a coincidence. They were shooting for accurate alignment with the cardinal directions so the monument would be oriented correctly. Most state temples and high-ranking tombs were aligned to the cardinal directions.

As for establishing true north, modern science is not required. Any number of methods will achieve it. The average Boy Scout ought to be able to do it.

[questionmark]

No, definitely not a coincidence. They were shooting for accurate alignment with the cardinal directions so the monument would be oriented correctly. Most state temples and high-ranking tombs were aligned to the cardinal directions.

As for establishing true north, modern science is not required. Any number of methods will achieve it. The average Boy Scout ought to be able to do it.

Wherein the classical North Star method works quite well and has been known since the stone age.

[Flibbertigibbet]

Wherein the classical North Star method works quite well and has been known since the stone age.

The north star moves with the precession of the equinoxes, or put another way, there isn't always a north star.

[Mentalcase]

The north star moves with the precession of the equinoxes, or put another way, there isn't always a north star.

There is. It changes, but there is always a star in that region, no matter what. Or, should I say, no matter how bright.

[Conrad Clough]

Wherein the classical North Star method works quite well and has been known since the stone age.

as has already been poiinted out on this thread, the 'north star' (polaris) has not always been above the geodetic true north pole, in fact 5000 years ago the star Thuban was the closest star to the geodetic north pole, its closest aproach to true north was in 2787 BP and for a period of time on either side of that (a couple hundred years or so) it was as close to true north as polaris is today.

[Karlis]

Wherein the classical North Star method works quite well and has been known since the stone age.

Questionmark, at the time of the estimated time of building the Pyramid, the North Star was about two degrees off True North. Therefore the North (Polar) Star could not have been used for calculating True North.

Your thoughts on that?

Karlis

[Flibbertigibbet]

There is. It changes, but there is always a star in that region, no matter what. Or, should I say, no matter how bright.

Since there are gaps between visible stars, it is clear there is not always a star aligned due north. Sometimes there's just a gap. In any case, if you didn't already know which direction due north was, how would you know which of the stars in that area were aligned to it?