The message of the Sphinx: a quest for the hidden legacy of mankind by Graham Hancock; Robert Bauval Page A
Authors: Graham Hancock; Robert Bauval
Tags: General, Social Science, Juvenile Nonfiction, History, Sociology, Body, Ancient, middle east, Anthropology, History: World, Egypt, Antiquities, Archaeology, ancient Egypt, Body & Spirit: General, spirit: thought & practice, Mind, Great Pyramid (Egypt), Great Pyramid (Egypt) - Miscellanea, Egypt - Antiquities - Miscellanea, Great Sphinx (Egypt) - Miscellanea, Great Sphinx (Egypt), spirit: mysticism & self-awareness, Miscellanea
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ventilation is disproved by the fact that the Queen’s Chamber shafts were originally closed at both ends and by the complexity of the design—which would not have been necessary if simple ventilation had been the objective.
In later chapters we will be considering the implications of Dixon’s 1872 discovery, and the follow-up to it. The point that we wish to make here, however, is the obvious one that shafts which were originally closed at both ends could not possibly have been used, or intended, for ventilation. They must, therefore, have had some higher purpose—one that was thought by the builders to justify the enormous care, skill and effort involved in constructing them.
As we shall see, that ‘higher purpose’ can now be identified with certainty.
Chapter 4
Stars and Time
‘The various apparent movements of the heavenly bodies which are produced by the rotation and revolution of the earth, and the effects of precession, were familiar to the Egyptians ... They carefully studied what they saw, and put their knowledge together in the most convenient fashion, associating it with their strange imaginings and their system of worship ...’
J. Norman Lockyer, The Dawn Of Astronomy, 1894
It is humbling and awe-inspiring to stand at dawn between the paws of the Great Sphinx of Egypt and to look up as the rising sun illuminates its face. The colossal statue seems ancient—almost as old, one might imagine, as time itself. And, as we saw in Chapter 2, a mounting body of geological evidence suggests that it is ancient—vastly older than the 4500 years allocated to it by Egyptologists and perhaps dating back as far as the last Ice Age when no civilization capable of fashioning such a monument is supposed to have existed.
Such notions are of course controversial and hotly disputed. Moreover, as should be obvious by now, geology is incapable of providing us with a precise chronology and is particularly limited by the present state of our knowledge of palaeo-climatology. Indeed, the most we can say, on the sole basis of the monument’s erosion patterns, is that it does appear to have been carved at a much earlier date than Egyptologists believe but that its antiquity could range anywhere between 15,000 BC and 5000 BC.
There is, however, another science which, provided one essential precondition is fulfilled, can provide a much more accurate dating—to within a few decades—of uninscribed ancient stone monuments. This is the science of archaeoastronomy. The precondition upon which it depends for its successful functioning is that the monuments studied should have been accurately aligned to the stars or to the rising points of the sun by their builders.
15. On the summer solstice at the latitude of Giza the sun rises 28 degrees north of east, on the winter solstice it rises 28 degrees south of east and on the equinoxes it rises due east. The Great Sphinx of Giza is an astronomical monument orientated perfectly towards due east and thus serves as a superb equinoctial marker or ‘pointer’.
The Great Sphinx fulfils this precondition. It lies exactly along the east-west axis of the Giza necropolis with its patient and eternal gaze set perfectly towards due east. It is, therefore, a superb ‘equinoctial marker’: its eyes target the exact position of sunrise at dawn on the spring equinox.
To clarify matters a little, astronomers speak of four ‘cardinal moments’ in the year: the summer solstice—the longest day in the northern hemisphere—when the earth’s north pole points most directly at the sun, the winter solstice, the shortest day, when the pole points most directly away from the sun, and the spring and autumn equinoxes when the earth lies broadside-on to the sun and when night and day are of equal length.
On the summer solstice at the latitude of Giza, the sun rises about 28 degrees north of east. On the winter solstice it rises about 28 degrees south of east. By contrast, the main characteristic of
In later chapters we will be considering the implications of Dixon’s 1872 discovery, and the follow-up to it. The point that we wish to make here, however, is the obvious one that shafts which were originally closed at both ends could not possibly have been used, or intended, for ventilation. They must, therefore, have had some higher purpose—one that was thought by the builders to justify the enormous care, skill and effort involved in constructing them.
As we shall see, that ‘higher purpose’ can now be identified with certainty.
Chapter 4
Stars and Time
‘The various apparent movements of the heavenly bodies which are produced by the rotation and revolution of the earth, and the effects of precession, were familiar to the Egyptians ... They carefully studied what they saw, and put their knowledge together in the most convenient fashion, associating it with their strange imaginings and their system of worship ...’
J. Norman Lockyer, The Dawn Of Astronomy, 1894
It is humbling and awe-inspiring to stand at dawn between the paws of the Great Sphinx of Egypt and to look up as the rising sun illuminates its face. The colossal statue seems ancient—almost as old, one might imagine, as time itself. And, as we saw in Chapter 2, a mounting body of geological evidence suggests that it is ancient—vastly older than the 4500 years allocated to it by Egyptologists and perhaps dating back as far as the last Ice Age when no civilization capable of fashioning such a monument is supposed to have existed.
Such notions are of course controversial and hotly disputed. Moreover, as should be obvious by now, geology is incapable of providing us with a precise chronology and is particularly limited by the present state of our knowledge of palaeo-climatology. Indeed, the most we can say, on the sole basis of the monument’s erosion patterns, is that it does appear to have been carved at a much earlier date than Egyptologists believe but that its antiquity could range anywhere between 15,000 BC and 5000 BC.
There is, however, another science which, provided one essential precondition is fulfilled, can provide a much more accurate dating—to within a few decades—of uninscribed ancient stone monuments. This is the science of archaeoastronomy. The precondition upon which it depends for its successful functioning is that the monuments studied should have been accurately aligned to the stars or to the rising points of the sun by their builders.
15. On the summer solstice at the latitude of Giza the sun rises 28 degrees north of east, on the winter solstice it rises 28 degrees south of east and on the equinoxes it rises due east. The Great Sphinx of Giza is an astronomical monument orientated perfectly towards due east and thus serves as a superb equinoctial marker or ‘pointer’.
The Great Sphinx fulfils this precondition. It lies exactly along the east-west axis of the Giza necropolis with its patient and eternal gaze set perfectly towards due east. It is, therefore, a superb ‘equinoctial marker’: its eyes target the exact position of sunrise at dawn on the spring equinox.
To clarify matters a little, astronomers speak of four ‘cardinal moments’ in the year: the summer solstice—the longest day in the northern hemisphere—when the earth’s north pole points most directly at the sun, the winter solstice, the shortest day, when the pole points most directly away from the sun, and the spring and autumn equinoxes when the earth lies broadside-on to the sun and when night and day are of equal length.
On the summer solstice at the latitude of Giza, the sun rises about 28 degrees north of east. On the winter solstice it rises about 28 degrees south of east. By contrast, the main characteristic of
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