46 Lessons in
Early Geometry, part 6/10 / provisional version in freestyle English / a
corrected version will follow in March, April or May (hopefully) / Franz
Gnaedinger / February 2003 / www.seshat.ch
early geometry 1 / early geometry 2
/ early geometry 3 / early
geometry 4 / early geometry 5 / early geometry 6 /
early geometry 7 / early geometry
8 / early geometry 9 / early
geometry 10
A Vision of Early Egypt 2 / A Vision
of Early Egypt 3
Lesson 25
Isaac Newton found that the King's Chamber in
the Great Pyramid at
Jean-Philip Lauer, who spent seventy years of
his long life restoring the monumental and graceful Djoser-Complex at
diagonal of the small wall 15 royal cubits 3 x 5 rc
length of the chamber 20 royal cubits 4 x 5 rc
cubic diagonal 25 royal cubits 5 x 5 rc
The diameter of the inscribed circle measures
15 plus 20 minus 25 = 10
royal cubits
Using the square 10 by 10 royal cubits, which
is contained in the double square of the King's Chamber, the inscribed circle
of the same diameter, the grid 10x10 royal cubits and the Sacred Triangle
One John Taylor introduced an imaginary circle
whose vertical diameter is given by the former height of the Great Pyramid.
Let us calculate the area of this circle.
The base of the GP measured 440 royal cubits.
The sekad measures 5 palms 2 fingers: while ascending by 1 royal cubit or 7
palms or 28 fingers a face recedes by 22 fingers or 5 palms 2 fingers. This
measurement of the slope yields a (former) height of 280 royal cubits.
The radius of the
140 rc x 140 rc x 22/7 = 61,600 square cubits
Now let us calculate the area of the
cross-section:
'2 x 280 rc x 440 rc = 61,600 square cubits
The cross-section and the imaginary circle have
the same area
area cross-section = area of the imaginary
circle
The imaginary circle can be seen as a
transformation of the pyramid's triangle, and this would have a symbolical
meaning.
An Egyptian pyramid was believed to be the body
of the deified king, so the above equation may be understood as Pharaoh's
transformation into Ra or Re, god of nature who appeared in the sun and whose
hieroglyph was a circle.
Furthermore, an Egyptian pyramid symbolized the
Primeval Hill that gave rise to all thing that are, first of all to the sky and
the sun.
A beautiful quote from Mark Twain, The
Innocents Abroad (Signet Classic), may show that the seemingly simple shape of
a pyramid is able to change, at least in the eye of a beholder, and so it might
well have been able of any transformation in the mind of an ancient believer:
"At a distance of a few miles the pyramids
rising above the palms looked very clean-cut, very grand and imposing, and very
soft and filmy as well. They swam in a rich haze that took from them all
suggestions of unfeeling stone and made them seem only the airy nothings of a
dream - structures which might blossom into tiers of vague arches or ornate
colonnades maybe, and change and change again into all graceful forms of
architecture, while we looked, and then melt deliciously away and blend with
the tremulous atmosphere."
Lesson 26
The Great Pyramid combines a pair of pyramids,
namely the 'solar' pyramid according to John Taylor, and the 'golden' pyramid
according to an information Herodotus received from an Egyptian priest.
Solar pyramid: the cross-section and the
imaginary circle whose vertical diameter is given by the height have the same
area. Base 440 royal cubits, height 280.01129... royal cubits or 5.9 centimeters more than 280 royal cubits. Using
the value 22/7 for pi we obtain a height of 280 royal cubits.
Golden pyramid: the area of a face equals the
squared height. The golden minor of the slope equals half the base, while the
golden major of the height serves as radius of the inscribed arc or hemisphere.
Base 440 royal cubits, height 279.84429... royal cubits or 8.15 centimeters
less than 280 royal cubits. Using the pseudo-triple 70-55-89 we obtain a height
of 4x70 = 280 rc, a base of 8x55 = 440 rc, and a slope of 4x89 = 356 rc, while
the radius of the imaginary hemisphere measures 173 royal cubits, according to
the golden sequence
9 + 16 = 25
16 + 25 = 41
25 + 41 = 66
41 + 66 = 107
66 + 107 = 173
107 + 173 = 280
The points wherein the hemisphere touches the
four faces divide the oblique heights into 136 + 220 = 280 royal cubits
according to this golden sequence:
4, 4, 8, 12, 20, 32, 52, 84, 136, 220, 356
Also the imaginary hemisphere might have a
symbolical meaning: it would represent the sky once enclosed in the Primeval
Hill; or (as an arc) the sky goddess Nut standing on one horizon, bending her
body and placing her hands on the opposite horizon.
Going a step further I like to say that not
only Ra/Re and Nut but the entire Ennead and Horus were symbolically present in
the Great Pyramid:
RA or RE --- present in the imaginary circle
whose vertical diameter is given by the pyramid's height
SHU, god of air and light --- his raised arms
are symbolized by the shafts of the King's Chamber
TEFNUT, goddess of fire and moisture --- her
raised arms are symbolized by the shafts of the so-called Queen's Chamber
GEB, god of the earth --- present in the
naturally grown limestone hill at the pyramid's base, or in the base itself
NUT, goddess of the sky, wife of Geb, bending
her starry body over the earth --- present in the imaginary hemisphere
OSIRIS, ISIS, SETH, NEPHTYS, children of Geb
and Nut --- present in the eastern, southern, western, northern face
respectively
HORUS --- present in the former pyramidion
Early geometry was guided by symbols (a firm
belief of mine). We have the square of the base: Geb. We have the four faces:
Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephtys. And we have an imaginary hemisphere standing on
the base and supporting the faces: Nut, wife of Geb, mother of Osiris and Isis,
Seth and Nephtys ... A mythological family giving rise to a geometrical
ensemble, so to speak.
Lesson 27
Imagine a model of the Great Pyramid whose base
measures 1 royal cubit. How high is the model? 7/11 royal cubit. Let me call
this measurement a Horus cubit and use it as a complementary measure:
7 royal cubits equal 11 Horus cubits
royal cubit
52.36 cm Horus cubit 33.36 cm
Using both measures we can define several
geometrical shapes quite easily and amazingly accurately:
diameter of a circle 1 Horus cubit, circumference 2 royal cubits
radius
of a circle 1 Horus cubit, area 2 Horus cubits x 1 royal cubit
diameter of a sphere 1 Horus cubit, surface 2 Horus cubits x 1 royal
cubit
diameter of a sphere 1 Horus cubit, volume of 3 spheres 1 Hc x 1 Hc x 1
rc
side of
a square 10 Horus cubits, diagonal 9 royal cubits
side of
a square 9 royal cubits, diagonal 20 Horus cubits
a
length 5 royal cubits, golden minor 3 Horus cubits
The Great Pyramid combines a pair of pyramids,
and so does the Grand Gallery.
The integral golden pyramid is based on the
pseudo-triple 70-55-89: height 4x70 rc, half base 4x55 rc, slope 4x89 rc. Use
the 89 royal cubits as the slope (ceiling) of the Grand Gallery and know that
the tangent of the angle of the rise measures slightly less than 1/2. You will
obtain these numbers:
rise 39 rc
run 80 rc slope 89 rc triple 39-80-89
The height of the Great Pyramid measures 280
royal cubits or 440 Horus cubits. Divide it by the number of the circle 22/7
and you obtain 140 Horus cubits. Use this measurement as the slope (ceiling) of
the Grand Gallery and you obtain these numbers:
rise 39.2 rc
run 80 rc slope 140 Hc
cosine
44/49 = 4rc/7Hc = 4 palms / 1
Horus cubit
Using a small unit measuring 1/55 rc = 1/35 Hc
we obtain a fascinating triangle:
oblique height 44x44 rise 44x49
run 44x100 slope 49x100
based on the pseudo-triple 539-1100-1225
The ceilings of the ideal galleries measure 89
royal cubits or 46.60 meters, and 140 Horus cubits or 46.648 meters, with an average length of 46.624 meters. The
length of the gallery built measures 46.71 meters according to Rainer
Stadelmann or 46.63 meters according to Karlheinz Schuessler. The difference
between the ideal average length and the actual length as given by Schuessler
measures only 6 millimeters.
The ideal galleries rise by 39 and 39.2 on 80
royal cubits, with an average rise of 39.1 on 80 royal cubits, yielding an
angle of 26 degrees 2 minutes 49.46 seconds. According to Stadelmann and
Schüssler the actual angle measures 26 degrees 2 minutes 30 seconds. The
difference between the ideal angle of the combined gallery and the actual angle
of the gallery built is less than 20 seconds or 1/3 minute or 1/180 degree.
Lesson 28
I ascribe my method of calculating the circle
to the
We have only a tiny ivory figurine of Khufu (
Hemon, I assume, designed the former cult
pyramid to the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur South, the Red Pyramid at Dahshur North,
and his masterwork the Great Pyramid at
Former cult pyramid at Dahshur South: base 100
royal cubits (Rainer Stadelmann), probable height 49 royal cubits, slope
practically 70 royal cubits, edge practically 86 royal cubits, radius of the
inscribed hemisphere practically 35 royal cubits.
The imaginary hemisphere symbolizes the sky
once enclosed in the Primeval Hill, or (as an arc) the sky goddess Nut standing
on one horizon, bending her body over the pyramid base (symbol of the earth,
her husband Geb) and placing her hands on the opposite horizon.
Red Pyramid: base 420 rc (Rainer Stadelmann),
height 200 rc (Stadelmann), slope 290 rc (triple 20-21-29), edge practically
358 rc, diagonal of the base practically 594 rc, radius of the inscribed sphere
84 rc (triple 20-21-29). The imaginary sphere would symbolize the sun once
enclosed in the Primeval Hill.
The center of the imaginary sphere, 84 royal
cubits above the base, may hold a statue of Sneferu, Khufu's father. The height
of the floor of the King's Chamber in Khufu's pyramid measures again 84 royal
cubits, in my opinion a reference to Sneferu.
There may also be some statues inside of the
Great Pyramid.
At the upper end of each lower shaft I expect
10 blocks and 10 purification chambers for the Pharaoh's ba (soul) with a total
length of 10 royal cubits, followed by a stone chest containing a 7 Horus
cubits or 233.32 cm tall statue of Khufu facing Cygnus, Deneb and Draco in the
North-East and Sirius in the South.
A further statue of Khufu may be found on top
of the imaginary hemisphere, where I expect a Sun Chamber of these
measurements: length 20 Horus cubits, width 16 Horus cubits, lateral height 12
Horus cubits, central height 15 royal cubits. Height of the floor above the
base 272 Horus cubits (according to the golden sequence 8, 8, 16, 24, 40, 64,
104, 168, 272, 440) or about 90.63 meters.
The statue would show Khufu as the Sun Child, again 7 Horus cubits or 233.32 cm
tall.
Horus was a falcon. The Horus cubit measures
33.32 cm and corresponds to the length of a kestrel or windhover. The seven
Horus cubits would be a special measurement: combining a sacred number, namely
7, with a holy measure, namely the Horus cubit.
Let me repeat my belief that early geometry was
guided by symbols.
Lesson 29
A single pyramid standing on the western bank
of the river Nile symbolized the Primeval Hill rising above the Primeval Water
Nu(n) and releasing the sky Hathor/Nut and the sun Ra or Re, while the 'stream'
of pyramids along the river linked the earthly presence of Osiris, namely the
Nile, whith his heavenly abode, namely Sahu/Orion:
O
Nile, earthly presence of Osiris (Plutarch)
O
O
O Maidum pyramid, Plejads
O raised left hand of
Sahu
O
O
(Lisht) ---- kha-channel --- ecliptic (Rolf Krauss)
O
O Bent Pyramid, Hyads (Robert
Bauval)
O Red Pyramid, Aldebaran (Robert
Bauval)
O left elbow of Sahu
O
O
Saqqara pyramids, Heka
O
head of Sahu
O
O Zawyet el-Aryan, Bellatrix (Robert Bauval)
O left shoulder of Sahu
O
O
O
Giza pyramids, Orion belt (Robert Bauval)
O
belt of Sahu
O
O
O Abu Rawash, Rigel (Robert Bauval)
O left upper tigh of Sahu
O
Pharaoh hoped to be reborn as Re-Osiris,
watching over his people during day as the sun, during night as Orion.
Sneferu's pyramids (Maidum, Dahshur) may be
seen as the earthly harbor of the heavenly kha-channel (band of the ecliptic,
Rolf Krauss), where the deified king went on his heavenly journey, uplifted by
the strong arm of Osiris.
Horus the Elder was an alter ego of Re and went
along with him in Re-Harakhty, while Horus the Younger was the son of Osiris
and Isis, who protected Osiris during his transformation from the king of the
Nile to Sahu/Orion ruler of the night sky and the duat (lower sky, below the
ecliptic, Rolf Krauss).
Horus in the pyramidion and in the Horus cubit
had the same task: protecting the king during the dangerous time of his
transformation from the earthly king of Lower and
Hemon, I believe, invented not only one but
seven Horus cubits of about the same length: A 7/11, B 12/19, C 13/20, D 18/29,
E 22/35, F 23/36, G 41/66 royal cubits.
Lesson 30
Hemon, I believe, invented seven Horus cubits,
which allowed him to solve several problems that involve irrational numbers,
and which, moreover, evoke the presence of the falcon god Horus, whose task it
was to protected Pharaoh during his precarious transformation from the king of
the
The seven Horus cubits measure A 7/11, B 12/19,
C 13/20, D 18/29, E 22/35, F 23/36, G 41/66 royal cubits.
Let me explain what we can do with the new
Horus cubits:
if a
rectangle measures 1 by 3 Horus cubits B, the diagonal measures 2 royal cubits
if a
rectangle measures 1 by 3 royal cubits, the diagonal measures 5 Horus cubits B
if the
diameter of a circle measures 6 royal cubits,
the
circumference measures 29 Horus cubits C
if the
diameter of a circle measures 20 Horus cubits D,
the
circumference measures 39 royal cubits
if the
diameter of a circle measures 1 royal cubit,
the
circumference measures 5 Horus cubits E
if the
side of a square measures 4 royal cubits, the diagonal measures 9 Horus cubits
E
if the
side of a square measures 9 Horus cubits E, the diagonal measures 8 royal
cubits
if a
rectangle measures 2 by 4 royal cubits, the diagonal measures 7 Horus cubits F
if a
rectangle measures 7 by 14 Horus cubits F, the diagonal measures 10 royal
cubits
if a
rectangle measures 5 by 10 royal cubits, the diagonal mesures 18 Horus cubits G
if a
rectangle measures 18 by 36 Horus cubits G, the diagonal measures 25 royal
cubits
The King's Chamber measures 10 by 20 royal
cubits, the diagonal measures 36 Horus cubits G, and the height 18 Horus cubits
G.
Imagine a sphere holding the King's Chamber.
Its diameter measures 25 royal cubits, while the circumference of the large
circle measures 125 Horus cubits E.
Imagine a sphere holding the hypothetical Sun
Chamber. Its diagonal measures 18 royal cubits, while the circumference of the
large circle measures 87 Horus cubits C, with a tiny mistake of less than two
millimeters.
Lesson 31
Today I like to show you that I derived the
seven hypothetical Horus cubits from the sarcophagus tub of rose granite in the
King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid. Measurements in centimeters given by
Rainer Stadelmann:
outer length 227.6 cm royal cubit rc = 52.36 cm
7 Horus cubits G 227.687 cm
HcG = 41/66 rc
7 Horus cubits D 227.495 cm
HcD = 18/29 rc
outer breadth 98.7 cm
3 Horus cubits E 98.736 cm
HcE = 22/35 rc
outer height 105.1 cm
22/7 Horus cubits F 105.136 cm
HcF = 23/36 rc
hypothetical outer height of the missing
lid 6/7 HcF
hypothetical height ot the closed sarcophagus 4 HcF
inner length 198.3 cm royal cubit rc 52.36 cm
6 Horus cubits B 198.417 cm
HcB = 12/19 rc
width 68.1 cm
2 Horus cubits C 68.068 cm
HcC = 13/20 rc
inner height 87.4 cm
21/8 Horus cubits A 87.465 cm
HcA = 7/11 rc
hypothetical inner height of the missing
lid 3/8 HcA
hypothetical inner height of the
sarcophagus 3 HcA
Outer and inner measurements of the closed
sarcophagus:
3 Horus cubits E x 4 Horus cubits F x 7 Horus
cubits G (D)
2 Horus cubits C x 3 Horus cubits A x 6 Horus
cubits B
or simply
3 by 4 by 7 Horus cubits
2 by 3 by 6 Horus cubits cubic diagonal 7 Horus cubits
If my reconstruction of the missing lid is
correct, and if we consider the Horus cubits as a single but varying measure
belonging to the god Horus, the closed sarcophagus measured 3 by 4 by 7 Horus
cubits, the cavity measured 2 by 3 by 6 Horus cubits, and the cubic diagonal of
the cavity measured 7 Horus cubits, according to the quadruple 2-3-6-7.
The chamber door is too small for the
sarcophagus, which must have been placed in the King's Chamber while the
pyramid was under construction. The careful dimensioning of the sarcophagus
shows that the Great Pyramid actually was a tomb.
Lesson 32
The Italian measures can easily be combined as
follows (I = Imperium Romanum, R =
I mille passuum 140,000 e 148,552.727... cm
I stadion 17,500 e 18,569.090... cm
I actus 3,360 e 3,565.265... cm
I pertica decempeda 280 e 297.105... cm
R canna Romana 210 e 222.829... cm
I passus 140 e 148.552... cm
I gradus 70 e 74.276... cm
F braccio Fiorentino ----- 55 e ------ 58.36
cm gauge measure
I cubitus 42 e 44.565... cm
I palmipes 35 e 37.138... cm
I pes 28 e 29.710... cm
R palmo Romano 21 e 22.282... cm
I palmus 7 e 7.427... cm
I digitus 7/4 e 1.856... cm
e 1.061090909... cm
The combined measures allow practical formulas:
diameter of a circle 1 palmipes, circumference 2 bracci Fiorentini
side of
a square 10 palmipedes, diagonal 9 bracci Fiorentini
golden
minor of 1 braccio Fiorentino = 1 palmo Romano
side of
an equilateral triangle 49 palmipedes, height 27 bracci Fiorentini
radius
of a circle 1 braccio, side of the inscribed decagon 1 braccio minus 1 palmo
Romano
radius
of a circle 11 bracci Fiorentini, side of the inscribed heptagon 15 palmipedes
Using the combined measures, the above
formulas, and the polygons provided by the triples 3-4-5, 7-24-25, 44-117-125 …
one can quite easily reconstruct the virtual buildings in the Renaissance book Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.
Pantheon // Castel del Monte /
Castel 2 / Castel 3 / Castel
4 / Castel 5 / Castel 6 / Castel 7 / Castel 8 / Castel 9 / Castel 10 // Leon Battista Alberti, Tempio
Malatestiano: Rimini 1 / Rimini
2 / Rimini 3 / Rimini 4
/ Rimini 5 / Rimini 6 / Rimini 7 / Rimini 8 / Rimini 9 / Rimini 10 / Rimini 11 / Rimini 12 / Rimini 13 / Rimini 14 //
Alberti, Basilica Sant’ Andrea, Mantua: Andrea 1 / Andrea 2 / Andrea 3 / Andrea 4 / Andrea 5 / Andrea 6 / Andrea 7 / Andrea 8 / Andrea 9 / Andrea 10 / Andrea 11 / Andrea 12 //
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: Kythera 1 / Kythera 2 / Kythera 3 / Kythera 4 / Kythera 5 / Kythera 6 / Kythera 7 / Kythera 8 / Kythera 9 / Kythera 10 / Kythera 11 // Emblem Polias / Emblem 2 // Geisteswissenschaften 2 / Geisteswissenschaften
3
Tomorrow we shall move on to the famous
Egyptian series of the Horus Eye and enter the realm of down under algebra, another wonderland of number patterns, which
may well provide an answer to a philosophical question of Ancient Egypt: How
did the Many rise from the One?
early geometry 1 / early geometry 2
/ early geometry 3 / early
geometry 4 / early geometry 5 / early geometry 6 /
early geometry 7 / early geometry
8 / early geometry 9 / early
geometry 10
