Chris Tedder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi MJ,
>
>
> Your basic assumption that the design of the
> interior layout of Khufu’ pyramid used a cubit of
> 524mm is well evidenced. Some might quibble over
> fractions of a millimeter, but 524mm is derived
> from the dimensions of the sarcophagus chamber,
> and is probably one of the most reliable
> indications of the length of the cubit used.
>
>
>
> Units of linear measurements used in architectural
> design can have some odd twists however. For
> example, here in Finland we use the metric system
> where the metre is the standard unit of length.
> But if the dimensions of the interior layouts of
> modern buildings are examined, the basic unit of
> linear measure that will become apparent is 0.3m,
> a multiple of 0.6m, 0.9m, 1.2m, 1.5m, 1.8m, 2.1m.
> However, over longer distances, multiples of whole
> metres will probably make an appearance.
>
>
> I have not examined the interior dimensions of
> Khufu’s pyramid with this mind, but I just
> wondered if anything similar is apparent in your
> research.

Hello Chris,

Thanks for the feedback – it’s all grist to the mill.
Apologies for the delay in responding to your post, I got sidetracked, had an emotional crisis, and got sidetracked again …

The type of pattern you mention is something I’ve not heard of before, so I don’t really know whether or not something like it appears in Khufu’s pyramid.
However, a preliminary check of the data I’ve got stored in a spreadsheet (extremely useful for playing ‘what if … in seconds instead of days) suggests that this type of pattern is not there – this is not to say that it isn’t.
I shall be keeping an eye out for it from now on.


> As you may remember, I can replicate the interior
> layout of Khufu’s pyramid without using any
> measurements at all - once the seqed for the slope
> is determined, the overall basic layout can be
> replicated using simple geometry, after which the
> layout can be scaled up to fit the site by
> assigning a measurement to, for example, the
> height or base side of the pyramid.

I’m afraid I can’t recall this, Chris.
Please could you provide a link to it so that I can refresh my memory?


> Your research has the potential of providing
> valuable clues as to how the architect/s designed
> the complex interior layout of Khufu’s ‘house of
> eternity’, so I hope you can share your findings
> some time soon.

It explains why, for example, there is step (approx 19.5”/495mms high) in the Queen’s Chamber Passage and why it is at the position that it is; why the Niche in the Queen’s Chamber is off-centre; why the northern end of the Antechamber is built in limestone and not granite as the bulk of the chamber is; why the sarcophagus is the size that it is; how the Great Step evolved from a 5.6”/142mms by 11.2”/284mms by 41.3”/1048mms ledge.


> The ancient Egyptians appear to have been
> striving for perfection in their funerary
> architecture, as it was an important component of
> their afterlife an idealized perfect world defined
> often with mathematical precision.
>
> The Egyptologist Stephen Quirke on the AE
> afterlfe: “One of the most striking features of
> these accounts of the unknowable is the
> mathematical precision, both in the naming and in
> actual measurements.”
>
>
> The important staple crops of emmer and barley
> cultivated by the king in his celestial paradise,
> as described in the 'pyramid / coffin texts', were
> supernaturally large compared with natural crops.
> The height of emmer in the 'Marsh of Reeds' is 7
> cubits (3.7m) The stalk is 5 cubits and the ear 2
> cubits. The ratio of the overall height of emmer
> in relation to the stalk is 7:5, the same ratio
> used to define the slope of the first true
> plane-sided pyramid.
>
> The height of barley was 4 cubits (2m) The stalk
> was 3 cubits and the ear 1 cubit. The overall
> height in relation to the stalk is 4:3, a common
> ratio used in OK pyramid designs.
>
>
> The number 309 occurs in the 'The Book of what is
> in the Duat' that describes the twelve hour
> journey of the sun through the Duat. During the
> second hour, the sun travels through the watery
> expanse called Wernes, and in the third hour
> through the Waters of Osiris. The part of the Duat
> covered in the second hour is 309 iteru (6180000
> cubits or about 3236 km), and the part of the Duat
> covered in the third hour is also 309 iteru - the
> number 309 was significant to the AE in the
> context of their calendar.
>
>
>
> The AE already in the OK had organized the year
> into 12 x 30 day months + 5 days = 365 days, about
> 1/4 day short of the true length of the year.
> Their 30 day month was an idealized month - the
> average month was actually 29.53 days long and the
> 12 month lunar year, 354 days long - 11 days short
> of the solar year. Its difficult to reconcile
> these two cycles, but its clear from late papyrus
> texts that the AE were aware of the problem and
> realized the 'civil' calendar's year of 365 days,
> and the lunar monthly cycle of 29.53059 days,
> synchronize after 9125 days - 309 lunar months is
> 9124.95231 days, and 25 ancient Egyptian 'civil'
> years is 9125 days.
>
>
> Both calendar calculations and the mathematical
> precision of their idealized afterworld, most
> likely influenced the architectural design of the
> royal funerary complex - and its probably
> significant in this context that the 'overseer of
> all the king's works' was also 'Greatest of the
> Five in the House of Thoth' - privy to the
> knowledge of the mysteries and secret knowledge
> needed to design the royal funerary complex.
>
>
> The Egyptologist Jaromir Malek on Khufu's pyramid
> wrote of the "astonishing mathematical properties
> of its design, and the perfection and accuracy of
> its construction...".. but added the cautionary
> note that these "still invite unscientific
> explanations" - this is obviously an area of
> research where we need to tread very carefully.

This is all most helpful, Chris.
Malek is quite right, it is necessary to tread carefully.
Unfortunately, some researchers take this to its extreme and argue that mathematics did not play a significant role in the designing/planning of a pyramid and passages and chambers.
Very much a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Regards,

MJ