fmetrol: "Can you tell me who, besides Friedman, has interpreted these three pairs of 3rd dynasty semi circular stones (dnbw) as territorial stone-markers. Are there any alternate interpretations?"


On the panels, its two sets of three, not three pairs, and they are only included on the panels showing the king running or striding.


Friedman mentions Spencer, JEA 64, 54 "The occasional use of the term dnbw to mean boundaries or 'limits' of a land no doubt developed from its use as a the name of the boundary -marker of the Heb-Sed, and not the other way around"


The symbolism of these objects may be more far reaching:

The two sets of three semi circular objects to the north and to the south of Netjerikhet, may have something to do with the annual N/S, S/N cycle of the sun - solar markers representing the extreme limits of the rising sun at the midsummer solstice in the north east, the midwinter solstice in the south east, and the midway point, the equinoxes due east.

The objects are roughly semi circular with a smaller semi circle in the centre - if the two halves were joined together it would be similar to an elongated version of the ideogram for 'sun' (N5). In MK and NK inscriptions the cartouche, an elongated shen 'ring' reflects the phrase 'all that the sun disk circles ('shen') (Quirke). The shen 'ring' is shown tucked under each of the half sky ideograms with the meaning of 'the limits of the sky'.


The sun's annual cycle - summer solstice, autumn equinox, winter solstice, and spring equinox was a possible source of inspiration for the choice of the two earliest plane-sided pyramid's ratios that define the slope of the faces.


Summer solstice: 14 hours from sunrise to sunset, 10 hours from sunset to sunrise, a ratio of 7 : 5.

(at the summer solstice, the sun rises at its extreme northernmost rising point on the eastern horizon, and has the longest day, and shortest night)


Winter solstice: 14 hours from sunset to sunrise, 10 hours from sunrise to sunset, a ratio of 7 : 5.

(at the winter solstice, the sun rises at its extreme southernmost rising point on the eastern horizon, and has the longest night and shortest day)


The lower part of the first true plane-sided pyramid has a slope with a ratio of 7 : 5 or sqd 5. (the top part has a shallower angle approx. 7:7.5 or sqd 7 1/2)


At the time of the summer solstice, the sun due east or west, had more or less the same angle above the horizon as the angle of incline of Sneferu's southern pyramid with its seked 5 defined slope. The architects may have noticed the sun's height above the horizon due east and west at this important time when the days were longest and the crucial inundation had begun in the south, closely approximated seked 5, which may also have partly influenced their choice of this seqed to define the slope of one of the first true plane-sided pyramids.


Sneferu's southern pyramid is really a pyramid within a pyramid. The inner 'pyramid' has a slope of about 60 degs. At the equinoxes, the sun due south was about 60 degs above the horizon.


The equinoxes: 12 hours from sunrise to sunset, 12 hours from sunset to sunrise, a ratio of 1 : 1. The second true plane-sided pyramid has a slope that corresponds a ratio of 1 : 1 or sqd 7.


Sneferu's southern pyramid combines both the solstice and the equinox ratios of day / night in the lower part of the pyramid with its 14:10 (7:5) or sqd 5 slope for the faces (solstice day / night ratio) and the 12:12 (1:1) or seked 7 slope of the corner edges. (equinox day / night ratio)


The same sqd 7 used for the corner edge slope of the southern pyramid, was also used for the slope of the faces of the northern pyramid.

CT




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2007 05:53AM by Chris Tedder.