Hi Mihos

You asked about readily readable maps and I gave you the example of the Great Pyramid. Perhaps because my interest is maps, what is "readily readable to me" is not to others.

There are AE maps in large quantities from at least the Third Dynasty, yet you won't find anything worth reading for the earliest period.

My interest in AE maps stems from reading Peter Tomkin's "Secrets of the Great Pyramid", nine years ago (so my recall may be a little rusty!). The French savant, Jomard suggested that the GP represented the upper hemisphere of the earth. Livio Stecchini stated that the AEs were surveying their land at an early time. They produced a central meridian at 31 degrees 14 minutes North and boundaries (marking the mouths of the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile) 1 degree 24 minutes west and east of the central meridian. A further boundary was a further 18 minutes to the east to mark the meridian at which the Nile entered Egypt at the First Cataract.

How to design a pyramid.

The first pyramid is Djoser's of the Third Dynasty. It sets the scale for the completed pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty. The scale uses 1 second of arc of latitude at the equator equals one degree of arc of either latitude or longitude. The initial building is approximately 2.05 seconds of arc using the west wall. This equates to 2 degrees 3 minutes of arc. Measurements are from the First Cataract northwards so this means a map reference of 26 degrees 3 minutes North. Using the west wall of the completed pyramids, one can easily get a latitude in Egypt. The most northerly point in Egypt is/was approximately 31 degrees 30 minutes North. Therefore the largest size of a pyramid is 7.5 seconds of arc. This is the length of the west wall of Khufu's pyramid as measured by Cole. In Djoser's pyramid only, the architect used longitude. The initial building was square and expanded into a rectangle. This was to provide a southern or northern wall (I don't have the data with me) that was 2.8 seconds of arc i.e. 2 degrees 48 minutes west to east for the boundaries of Egypt. Further expansion gives additional latitudes within Egypt.

This method of recording map information has its limitations as it only gives locations within Egypt. The next development was to change the passages from having steps to being smooth. To read the intended latitude, just add the word "north" after the angle, so for example, the first entrance passage to Khafre's is 21 degrees 40 minutes north, or the latitude of the Second Cataract. As this is outside of Egypt, the entrance starts outside the pyramid.

Khufu's pyramid goes even further. The about keys apply to the pyramid but there is now a twist where north becomes east and south becomes west. The height of the pyramid 146.6 metres +/-0.01 is 90 degrees north. Think Nile. The ascending passage starts at a height that converts to 2 degrees 30 minutes North (start of the White Nile). The base of the "Queen's Chamber" is at a height that is 12 degrees 6 minutes, the centre of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. The "step" is the difference between the centre of the lake and Socotra Island at the mouth of the Red Sea. The Gallery represent the Red Sea (height equals maximum width along a meridian i.e. north/south).

Base of the "King's Chamber" is 26 degrees 31 minutes 23 seconds north (the same latitude as given by the entrance passage. The roof of this chamber is 29 degrees 59 minutes the same as the actual latitude of the pyramid. The width of the King's Chamber is 2 degrees 48 minutes if measured using the width of the pyramid using a height that equates to 24 degrees north i.e. the base line that is used to produce a latitude from a pyramid base line.

The start of the Gallery seems to use the base and a circle divided by 366.24. I suspect that this may be because the degree was used for surveying on land but the starts were used for fixing a position when travel over water was required.

Having turned the GP through 90 degrees, the air shafts now point east and west. Look at the longitude of the central meridian of 31 degrees 14 minutes East and that of Lake Tana (37 degrees 28 minutes East if my memory serves me correctly). Might the 45 degree angle of the Kings Chamber south shaft indicate the central meridian? Might the mean differences north and south shaft, using all the measurements that are bandied around, be difference in longitude?

There is much more to the pyramids than just the Third and fourth Dynasties but I don't have time to post more. I sure that someone will have all the data to hand and be able to show that some of the map references produced by all three methods are the same.

For those who want maps that are not pyramids, try looking a AE art. The reason for the "conservative" approach is that the scale for both men and women is based upon Egyp and the Nile. This is best seen when change does occur during the Amana period. The sunken chest and swollen belly - compare the outline with the Nile and you will see the "map". Pyramid kilt - the base is 2 degrees 48 minutes with a extra 18 minutes added to one side (there is a line down the side of the kilt).

David

"When you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there".