15.06.2013 Views

Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt

Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt

Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Sirius coincided with New Year’s Day (1 Thoth) <strong>of</strong> the calendar <strong>of</strong> ancient <strong>Egypt</strong>, but can we track these cycles back to<br />

Zep Tepi, the First Time . . . to the Year Zero <strong>of</strong> this calendar?<br />

THE GREAT PYRAMID AND ZEP TEPI<br />

In 1987, Robert Bauval sent a paper to the academic journal Discussions in <strong>Egypt</strong>ology presenting a new and<br />

controversial theory on the Giza pyramids. <strong>The</strong> theory had been developed when, in 1983, Bauval was working in Saudi<br />

Arabia in the construction industry. One night while there, in the open desert, he made an unusual discovery involving the<br />

stars <strong>of</strong> Orion’s belt and the Giza pyramids. While looking at the three stars <strong>of</strong> Orion’s belt, it struck him that their<br />

pattern and also their position relative to the Milky Way uncannily resembled the pattern formed by the three pyramids <strong>of</strong><br />

Giza and their position relative to the Nile. This curious similarity did not seem a coincidence, for not only did the<br />

ancient Pyramid Texts identify Orion with the god Osiris, who in turn was identified with the departed kings, but the<br />

ancient <strong>Egypt</strong>ians also specified Orion as being in the celestial Duat. 63 <strong>The</strong> correlation between the three stars <strong>of</strong> Orion’s<br />

belt and the three pyramids <strong>of</strong> Giza was striking, if only for one reason: Orion’s belt is made up <strong>of</strong> two bright stars and a<br />

less bright third star. This last is slightly <strong>of</strong>fset to the left <strong>of</strong> the extended alignment created by the two other stars, much<br />

the same way that the third, smaller pyramid is slightly <strong>of</strong>fset from the other two.<br />

A fact that adds to this correlation was discovered in 1964 by two academics from UCLA, the <strong>Egypt</strong>ologist<br />

Alexander Badawi and the astronomer Virginia Trimble, who proved that a narrow shaft emanating southward and<br />

upward from the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid had once pointed to Orion’s belt in about 2500 BCE, the date<br />

traditionally ascribed to the building <strong>of</strong> this monument. Later, in 1990, Bauval published another article in Discussions<br />

in <strong>Egypt</strong>ology showing that from the Queen’s Chamber is another shaft that points to the star Sirius at that same date. In<br />

1994, Bauval published <strong>The</strong> Orion Mystery, which presented his theory to the general public. *57<br />

Figure 6.1. <strong>The</strong> pyramids <strong>of</strong> Giza and the stars <strong>of</strong> Orion’s belt as they appeared in 2500 BCE and 11,500 BCE<br />

<strong>The</strong> book, which has been the subject <strong>of</strong> numerous television documentaries, caused quite a stir at the time <strong>of</strong> its<br />

publiction and is still the subject <strong>of</strong> much controversy. More recently, in his book <strong>The</strong> <strong>Egypt</strong> Code, Bauval puts forward<br />

the final conclusion that the Giza pyramids may have been modeled on an image <strong>of</strong> Orion’s belt not at the time <strong>of</strong> their<br />

presumed construction circa 2500 BCE, but at a much earlier time, circa 11,450 BCE. In other words, in deciphering the<br />

astronomy embedded in the design <strong>of</strong> the Giza pyramids, we can note the locking <strong>of</strong> two dates: 2500 BCE, which marks<br />

the time <strong>of</strong> construction, and 11,500 BCE, which marks the significant time that might allude to the First Time—Zep<br />

Tepi. This is our reasoning: If today you observe from the location <strong>of</strong> Giza the star Sirius cross the meridian it will be at<br />

43 degrees altitude. If you could see the same event in 2500 BCE when the Great Pyramid was built, Sirius would have<br />

culminated at 39.5 degrees altitude, which is where the south shaft <strong>of</strong> the Queen’s Chamber was aimed. Going even<br />

further in time the altitude <strong>of</strong> Sirius would drop and drop until, at about 11,500 BCE, Sirius would be just 1 degree<br />

altitude. Beyond this date Sirius would not have been seen at all because it would not break above the horizon.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!