The Egyptians bequeathed us a cultural heritage of great historical value. However, beyond the obelisks, the majestic golden figures, and the decipherment of their hieroglyphics, the Egyptian culture left us with more questions than answers. To this day, great mysteries such as the construction of the splendorous Pyramids of Giza remain unsolved, since it is not known exactly how the construction process was carried out, much less how they achieved an almost perfect alignment with the stars of the celestial vault. However, some scientists believe they have solved this enigma; according to them, the Egyptians were good readers of the Sun’s movements.
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The Pyramids of Giza have enchanted with their grandeur many personalities, such as Nikola Tesla, who had an obsession with them, as he considered them to be an unlimited source of energy. But another feature that has been a mystery to science is how the Egyptians managed to build the Pyramids of Giza perfectly aligned with the belt of the constellation Orion. A feat that seems more of the work of the gods themselves than of human beings, although science believes that they were rather great observers of the sky and not aliens as many like to believe.
Why do the pyramids point to Orion?
The Egyptians believed that the trinity that makes up Orion’s belt, stars that today we know as Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, were the dwelling place of some of their most important gods: Osiris and Isis. For this reason, they decided that the Pyramids of Giza should point in that direction, because when their pharaohs died, and their remains rested in such enormous mausoleums, then they could ascend directly to Osiris, who conducted the Final Judgment in the other world.
Religiously we find here an explanation of why the Egyptians decided to place their pyramids, but it does not explain how they did it without the minimum astronomical technology. According to research published in the Journal of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, in the absence of technology, the Egyptians used their knowledge of the sky to rely on the autumnal equinox to achieve an almost perfect alignment.
Connoisseurs of the Sun
Glen Dash, an archaeologist at Harvard University and leader of the research, suggests that the path the pyramids follow is coincident with the shadow cast by the sun during the autumnal equinoxes on the earth’s surface.
To test his theory, Dash used what is known as a ‘gnomon rod,’ which is a method that employs a rod buried perpendicularly to the ground to record patterns in the Sun’s shadow. The archaeologists used this simple but genius idea during an autumnal equinox and at the end of the day noticed that the patterns in the shadow traced a perfect line from east to west.
According to Dash, this is how the Egyptians 4,500 years ago, without the use of complex astronomical technology, it’s possible to masterfully align the Pyramids of Giza with the stars in the firmament.
Text courtesy of Ecoosfera