It is now nearly five years since Rudolf Gantenbrink sent his little robot, Upuaut II, exploring up the southern shaft of the Queen's Chamber. The video pictures sent back gave the world a tantalising glimpse of what could be a hatch-way leading to one or more secret chambers inside the Great Pyramid. This month the subject of The pyramids and the mystery surrounding their construction once more comes into focus with the Giza debate. Whether rumours circulating, that further investigation as to what lies behind the "Gantenbrink door" will take place this year, are true remains to be seen. However, whatever the outcome of this work, Gantenbrink made another vital discovery that will go down in history when he found that this shaft was very much longer than previously thought. For though it doesn't penetrate to the outside of the pyramid, it is now known, thanks to his work, that it rises to a level above the floor of the King's Chamber. This is important as it makes it clear that the shaft, and its companion emanating from the northern wall of the same chamber, were not abandonned by their builders, as had previously been thought, when the Egyptians set about building the Grand Gallery and King's Chambers. As both the Queen's Chamber shafts were originally sealed at both ends (they were only opened in 1872), they could not have been intended for ventilation. They must have had some other function.
What exactly this function might have been remains a matter of conjecture, however an important discovery was made in 1964 by Victoria Trimble (now Professor of Astronomy at Maryland University). She discovered that whilst the northern "air-shaft" emanating from the King's Chamber pointed directly at the north pole, the southern shaft was orientated along the meridian to coincide with the culmination of Orion's Belt as it would have appeared in the sky at the time the pyramids were built (c.2500 BC). It was not until Robert Bauval, my co-author on The Orion Mystery, carried out further calculations in 1986 that anyone thought to see where in the sky the equivalent shaft from the Queen's Chamber pointed. He discovered that just as the King's Chamber shaft was pointing towards Orion's Belt, the constellation that the Egyptians associated with the god Osiris, so the southern shaft from the Queen's Chamber pointed towards the culmination of Sirius, the star associated with the goddess Isis, Osiris' consort. Later, whilst we were working on the book, we discovered that the northern shaft from the Queen's Chamber was also important as it pointed towards the culmination of a star called Kochab in the Little Bear constellation. This constellation was also important to the ancient Egyptians who fashioned ritualistic "adze" instruments out of meteoritic iron in its shape. These istruments were used by them in the important rebirth ceremony for the dead pharaoh called "The opening of the mouth". From all of this data we were able to put forward a convincing case that far from being abandoned, the Queen's Chamber was used for this ritual. This, we believe, took place at the very moment when Kochab aligned with this northern shaft and the Belt of Orion was seen rising in the eastern sky.
Even before these discoveries, Bauval had come to the conclusion that the Pyramids of Giza were laid out relative to one another in a pattern that was suggestive of the three stars comprising Orion's Belt. At Giza there are two large pyramids, those of Khufu and Khafra, which lie on a diagonal. The third pyramid, that of Menkaura, is much smaller than the other two and is off-set from the diagonal. This pattern seems to be quite intentional and mimics the way that the two brightest Belt stars, Alnitak and Alnilam are on one diagonal line whilst the third star, Mintaka, which is also less bright, is also off-set. From these beginnings it didn't take Bauval long to realise that the Pyramids of Giza were only part of a larger pattern embracing the entire Memphite Necropolis. With the Nile Valley viewed as an earthly Milky Way, the IVth Dynasty pyramids on its western bank seem to have been built to represent notable stars in the equivalent, heavenly region.
These discoveries would make little sense were it not that they fitted with what we know of Egyptian religion from the Pyramid Texts. Granted that these were written down a few generations after the building of the Great Pyramid but there can be little doubt that the religion of the IVth, Vth and VIth Dynasties was broadly speaking the same, even if the emphasis on one or another element may have shifted. For example the Pyramid Texts tell us in no uncertain terms that the pharaohs wanted to become stars-not just any old stars but stars of the Orion Constellation. For example Pyramid Text 882: "O king, you are this great star, the companion of Orion...". These discoveries, backed up by other researches concerning the Pyramid Texts and the known mythology and religious rituals of ancient Egypt, became the basis of The Orion Mystery. This book, published in February 1994 to coincide with the first broadcast of the BBC documentary we made, The Great Pyramid: gateway to the stars, became an immediate bestseller. Since then it has been translated into over a dozen languages.
The Orion Mystery remains controversial. The vast majority of its unbiased readers appreciate the originality of the ideas and discoveries it contains. However, some Egyptologists, usually those whose special interest isn't pyramids, have been less than enthusiastic. Indeed it would seem that some regard it as an almost personal insult that two "amateurs" should have written a best-selling book about ancient Egypt. In their defence it has to be said that much nonsense has, over the years, been written about the pyramids. This has muddied the water, so to speak, and their knee-jerk reaction was only to be expected. Often the most sceptical are those least in the know. On the whole real experts on pyramids have been more supportive of the Orion correlation theory. For example the late Professor I.E.S. Edwards, the former keeper of Egyptian antiquities at The British Museum and the author of The Pyramids of Egypt, for some fifteen years gave encouragement to Robert Bauval in his researches. Though by no means endorsing everything written in our book, he wrote to Robert Bauval on 16 October 1984: "...I am very much in agreement with your contention that the stars in Orion's Belt were an important element in the orientation of the Great Pyramid. I think you have made out a very convincing case that the other two pyramids at Giza were also influenced by it". (see "The Orion Mystery p.133). Professor Edwards was not alone in giving support to the correlation theory. Dr. Jaromir Malek, Director of the Griffith Institute at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, wrote in January 1995: "I wholeheartedly agree with you [Robert Bauval] that astronomical observations and mathematical calculations played an important part in the design, construction and perhaps even siting of Egyptian pyramids....I would be prepared to consider seriously the observation that the Giza pyramids were positioned or sited in a manner to represent the three stars of Orion.' (Ibid. p.134).
This open-minded attitude contrasts strongly with that of some regular posters to Internet news groups, who seem to have nothing better to do than to 'debunk' what is in their opinion a heresy: our suggestion that the IVth Dynasty pyramids were more than just large tomb-stones for megalomaniac pharaohs. They attack as implausible that the ancient Egyptians should have had the vision to build what amounts to a "Heaven on Earth" simply because they don't really have a grasp on how the Egyptians viewed both themselves and their country. Yet if they studied the Hermetic Tradition and in particular the Hermetica, which represent the last outpouring of Egyptian thought prior to the takeover of Egypt by Christianity, they would know that it is not far-fetched to suggest that the ancestors of these Egyptians built pyramids to represent stars. The key Hermetic dictum: "As above, so below" takes on a real and concrete meaning when viewed in this light.
Contrary to popular opinion, the ancient Egyptians were great astronomers and used the rising and setting of 36 "decan" stars as the basis of their clock. Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, was especially important to them as its Heliacal, or dawn rising marked the start of the sidereal year. These matters are well-known and easily understood by anyone versed in rudimentary astronomy. Unfortunately there seem to be far too many self-styled experts who are star-blind and who wouldn't recognise Sirius if it jumped up and bit them on the nose! This ignorance, coupled with a reluctance to get involved with the Hermetic Tradition, is the reason why many critics refuse to take The Orion Mystery seriously. Instead they cling to the preposterous theory that the pyramid shape represents rays of sunlight coming through the clouds, an event rarely witnessed in cloudless Egypt.
The discoveries contained in The Orion Mystery imply that the Egyptians were a thoughtful, deeply religious people. They believed that Heaven was to be found in the region of the sky occupied by Sirius, Orion and the Hyades. Accordingly, in the IVth Dynasty they built enormous pyramids to represent most of these stars. That their grand scheme was never fully completed does not invalidate their intention. After all many Medieval cathedrals remain only half built. By creating a "Heaven on Earth", the Egyptians seem to have believed they were establishing a link between our world and the world beyond. We can only assume that they did this because it was felt that this would make it easier for their souls to ascend to heaven after death. Who knows? perhaps they were right!
In 1986 a long article by Robert Chadwick appeared in the Egyptological magazine KMT, supposedly refuting The Orion Mystery. Here are replies to a number of questions I am frequently asked concerning both The Orion Mystery and ongoing pyramid research.
Q1) When will the "Gantenbrink door" be opened?
I don't know. Unfortunately it has been become as much a political issue as scientific. It is all down to the Egyptian authorities when they choose to do something about it. Rumour has it, though, that it may be later this year (1998). The whole world waits with baited breath.
Q2) What lies behind the "door"?
As it hasn't been opened (or if it has we have not been told about it) nobody knows for certain. Professor Edwards is on the record as saying there may be a statue of the pharaoh Khufu "gazing in the direction of Orion". In The Orion Mystery we suggested there may be a chamber containing the Benben stone. The clairvoyant Ann Walker says there is more than one chamber and they contain a treasure trove of material. These include a sarcophagus and two, large solid gold falcons. If this is true then we could be in for a discovery to rival that of Tutankamen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
Q3) If the Egyptians went to all the trouble of building pyramids to represent Orion, why did they leave out its two brightest stars: Betelgeuse and Rigel?
Again we cannot give a clear answer to this. It seems that the work was interrupted leaving the pyramids of Abu Ruwash and Zawayat al Aryan incomplete. They may have intended to build further pyramids to represent Betelgeuse and Rigel later but not got around to it before political, economic or other factors intervened. As the size of pyramids seems to be related to the brightness of the stars, they may have left these two till last as they would have been the largest of all. On the other hand, these stars may have been deliberately left out of the scheme. In Egyptian art it is often what is left out that is the clue to a deeper meaning. Perhaps we would find something under the sand if we searched the area where pyramids representing these stars ought to have been built.
Q4) But what about all the other pyramids in Egypt? Why only focus on those built by the IVth Dynasty?
It's a matter or scale and quality. The pyramids of the IVth Dynasty are unique. They are by far the largest and they are laid out with an accuracy unsurpassed either before or after. The pyramids of later dynasties are now little more than rubble heaps whilst those built before are "stepped" pyramids and not really true pyramids at all. The IVth Dynasty pyramids still stand proud and are indeed emblematic of Egypt.
Q5) Why did the Egyptians only attempt this once?
Perhaps once was enough. Later on they expressed themselves more through written texts rather than enormous heaps of stone. Their funerary rituals also seem to have become more elaborate as time went on. It would seem that the stark simplicity of IVth Dynasty pyramids gave way to other art forms. For those who are interested, I have found evidence that certain astronomical ideas connectd with the same Hermetic tradition found later expression in the monuments of eastern Turkey, (see my book Magi: the quest for a secret tradition).
Q6) Why don't the pyramids of Giza, Dashur and the other sites form an exact geographical match for the stars in question?
The ones at Giza do pretty well match the stars of Orion's Belt but they also seem to have had to conform to an exact geometrical pattern too. They are laid out on a grid that pre-determines where each one has to lie and this somewhat complicates the issue. Like all Egyptian art, pyramid building was done in conformity to a canon of proportion and measure. The positioning of the other pyramids is less exact because a) the distances are larger and therefore more difficult to determine on the ground; b) the land is undulating in places making life more difficult than if it were completely level; c) the area of the sky being mapped is curved in three dimensions making it difficult to map in only two; d) they didn't have maps of the precision of the "Ordnance Survey" at their disposal. Have you ever looked at pictures of ancient maps?
Q7) Why didn't they build a pyramid to represent Sirius, after all it is the brightest star and they did use to determine their calendar?
A7) Sirius isn't a Sehetu or Orion star. It seems to have been associated with the birth of pharaohs and is the star of Isis. As such it doesn't seem to have been connected with the idea of ascension and was therefore not where they wanted to go after death. The city of Letopolis would appear to have been linked with Sirius and it seems that there was once a meteorite kept there on a pedestal which may have had associations with Sirius.
Article first published in "Quest" magazine Vol.1 issue 10.
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© Adrian G. Gilbert 1997.