In the summer of 1798, thirty thousand French soldiers landed in Egypt under the command of Napoleon, who was only 28 years old. I imagine there are tons of what we now call geopolitical interests in this bold move, but we’re dealing with something very specific: there were about 150 experts (mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, archaeologists, geographers, historians) with them. , etc.) …) who thoroughly analyzed the mysteries of the land of the pyramidshieroglyphs and ancestral gods.

There, “Egyptian fire” was brought back to modern Europe. There are many mysteries surrounding the pyramids. Since then, thousands of people have dedicated their lives to solving some of the greatest mysteries in ancient history. Often without finding an answer. The perfect example is the alignment of the pyramids.

Today, aligning structures of this size may seem relatively simple. However, it is very difficult to do this without modern technology. However, each of the sides of the Great Pyramid of Giza is almost perfectly aligned with the main points. And when I saidalmost perfectly aligned“I mean by “better precision than four minutes of arc or one-fifteenth of a degree.”

And it’s no coincidence: this happens in at least the three largest Egyptian pyramids. In fact, as Glen Dash explains in ‘The Journal of Ancient Egypt Architecture’, all three structures show the same type of error: “they are rotated slightly counterclockwise from the main points”.

How could they do this? Like I said, it’s a mystery. It’s a mystery in the sense that we haven’t found any codex or documentation describing the methodology they followed. Therefore, the estimation of the mechanism is very “reverse engineering“: trying to reproduce the same results with technology we believed was available at the time.

looking for answer

Many explanations have been made: from the use of the pole star, from the Sun’s shadow, or from aliens. However, none of these explanations proved very popular with experts: they were either too complex or did not produce good results. The one about aliens explains the simple and of course correct; but it needs aliens.

Glen Dash decided to explore another idea: What if the autumnal equinox allowed this kind of alignment? On the contrary, the idea was not entirely original. It has been done many times, but no clear way has been found to achieve the necessary precision. His methodology used a gnomon (that is, a stick or stiletto nailed to a fixed position on the floor or wall).

Wilma Wetterstrom

Using the gnomon and periodically recording the shadow’s path, Dash was able to create an almost perfect line running east to west.

The interesting thing about this methodology is that, as Dash points out, it’s not perfect: it produces a small counterclockwise error. The same insects that the pyramids have.. This is exactly what makes the system worth examining. And a lot of work will be required as it’s hard to be clear unless an architectural “Rosetta stone” turns up. So far we have a very good candidate.

on Xataka | We have spent centuries wondering how the Egyptian pyramids were built. These are the best theories

Image | Andres Dallimonti