Using a simple experiment, a researcher of the Egyptian pyramids described a method that the builders of the pyramids could use to achieve a perfect alignment of monuments to the cardinal points.
American engineer Glen R. Dash found a possible explanation for how the builders of the three largest Egyptian pyramids managed to orient the buildings to the cardinal points almost unmistakably. According to Dash, the builders accurately determined the necessary coordinates using a gnomon - a vertical pillar that casts a shadow. The research is published in The Journal of Ancient Egyptian Architecture.
It is known that the three largest pyramids of Ancient Egypt are oriented to the cardinal points with high accuracy: these are the pyramids of Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Khafre) in Giza and the "Pink Pyramid" in Dakhshur. According to Dash, the accuracy of their location reaches four arc minutes, that is, one fifteenth of a degree. There is a slight flaw in the arrangement of all three pyramids: they are slightly turned in a counterclockwise direction.
There are several hypotheses explaining how the Egyptians managed to position the pyramids with such precision. Most of them are quite complex, including the widespread hypothesis of "alignment" of the pyramids, taking into account the position of the North Star. Dash offered a simpler explanation: the builders could have applied a technique known as the Indian circle method. It allows you to determine the cardinal points using a vertical pillar, during the day at regular intervals, marking the points where the shadow from the pillar ends. These points are connected by a semicircle: a straight line passing through it points to the west and east. This simple method can be made even easier by observing the equinox, Dash said. On this day, a line drawn through the points of the gnomon's shadow practically repeats a straight line,drawn from west to east.
Measurement by the "Indian circular method".
Dash conducted his own experiment using this method on the 2016 autumnal equinox. He actually got an almost straight line, the deviation of the found points from the real directions was about seven arc minutes. Also, these points were slightly "turned" counterclockwise, as well as the coordinates of the pyramids.
The engineer explains: he has no exact confirmation that the Egyptians used this particular method, no evidence has survived. But this method is one of the simplest, therefore, with a high probability, builders could use it. At the same time, Dash believes that during the construction of the pyramids, several methods of finding the cardinal points could have been used.
Natalia Pelezneva
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