Artifact may be world's first protractor

Could this not have been just a childhood toy? It looks like a see-saw it kind of does so here are my thoughts first i though a whistle? then with the se saw remark i though of a way it could be used to check the level not sure if it will work because i havent tried but if it could be balanced the could measure the hight of each end about the surface this could tell if the surface was level or through some thinking there could be a formula for if one side is twice as high or a certian amount smaller it could be used to calculate the angle though to be done with acuracy it would either need a w... [More]

Herbs were smoked at the time by aspirating through a reed tube and the herbs placed in a lit charcoal tin. The pipe, or bong, was not bought to Egypt until several thousand years later. I think it looks like a toy or a replica of an implement to help them in the afterlife. They were really into irrigation. Could it have been something they used for drainage or moving water? Just a thought.

I think it looks like a toy or a replica of an implement to help them in the afterlife. They were really into irrigation. Could it have been something they used for drainage or moving water? Just a thought. imagine that thing sitting on a pole on the round side and in the holes on the end some string with equal sized weights. What would you have?

imagine that thing sitting on a pole on the round side and in the holes on the end some string with equal sized weights. What would you have? Well if I understand you right, you're talking a basic sun dial. H'm. Looks too bulky for that. JMO.

Well if I understand you right, you're talking a basic sun dial. H'm. Looks too bulky for that. JMO. No. I mean a tool that gives you a flat horizontal reference: The orange is our above tool, the black the elements needed to attach/place it on and the red the resulting line by virtue of the balance.

No. I mean a tool that gives you a flat horizontal reference: The orange is our above tool, the black the elements needed to attach/place it on and the red the resulting line by virtue of the balance. weights in question must be perfect and so must be the sting length plus lifting it onto a pole to do that every time? i think my idea is simpler and in a way better mostly because it doesnt involve a pole and can also tell angle edit: first time when you were describing it (without pic) i thought you meant a scale.... edit2: btw wouldnt they use something smaller for your idea? and what someone ... [More]

weights in question must be perfect and so must be the sting length plus lifting it onto a pole to do that every time? i think my idea is simpler and in a way better mostly because it doesnt involve a pole and can also tell angle edit: first time when you were describing it (without pic) i thought you meant a scale.... edit2: btw wouldnt they use something smaller for your idea? and what someone else said about a sundail? how deos it work as a sundail? wouldnt it be easier to use the post on its own? The perfection depends on the need. To weigh in the foundations of a building or the excavatio... [More]

The perfection depends on the need. To weigh in the foundations of a building or the excavation thereof, for example, does not really need a precision down to the last decimal point. a degree more or less is quite irrelevant over 100 feet. 5 degrees would make a optical difference. Besides, the Egyptians already had something you could use as a sundial: Every obelisk. my point being just because you could get it to balance doesnt mean it would be vertical like balancing a pencil on your finger it many balance but it wont always be vertical and again if you had to hoist that on a pole everytime... [More]

i agree with this theory it also makes the theaory that is just a case seem very lazy. we need this cleared up soon though

What's it made of? Stone I assume? How heavy is it? Light enough to easily carry around with just a few people? How well does it balance? Could the beam part support the weight of the circular bit if suspended between two objects? If we had a bit more information, we could easily come up with many more theories, or perhaps even come to a conclusion. Oh, and the second image gives a better idea of what the physicist means: I'm unsure if that is what this object was used for.. From the first picture, it just seems too large to be practical. And it looks like a little too much detail was carved i... [More]