Authors: Robert Bauval

The Egypt Code (41 page)

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Fig. 9
Portion of the sky at the latitude of Copenhagen, in 2000 BC.

Unfortunately, we do not know the level of astronomical knowledge of the Celtic astronomers, because most of the information we have on them comes from secondary sources, especially (curiously indeed) from the stoic Hellenistic writer Posidonio, besides the Roman sources like Caesar’s writings. However, some primary information is available, like e.g. the
Coligny Calendar
, a lunar calendar written in Roman characters but in the Gallic language. In addition, the lore of astronomy in Bronze Age in North Europe has still to reveal his secrets, as shows the recent discovery of the so called Nebra Disk, a 16th century BC Bronze disk showing 32 stars, a crescent and the sun and probably representing a particular sky on a particular day.

Fig. 10
The central plaque of the Gundestrup cauldron and the corresponding
astronomical interpretation. The picture on the right is the same as that in
Fig. 9
, with
only the relevant constellations shown. Reading in clockwise direction in a spiral from
the pole (Ursa) we find Lacerta, Canis Major, Orion (actually Perseus if one has to
proceed on the spiral) and Taurus.

In any case, it is again difficult to believe (at least to me) that also the Celts did rapidly filtrate the discovery by Hipparchus, in such a way that an artist of the first century BC decided to represent a precessional event occurring 2000 years before in his masterpiece.

5 Concluding Remarks

All in all, there is
no
clear, absolute evidence of the discovery of precession before Hellenistic times or in pre-Columbian culture. There is, however, at least in my view, a clear evidence that simple astronomical phenomena, such as heliacal rising of bright stars or the movement of the equinoctial point through zodiacal constellations were traced for a sufficient amount of time and with a sufficient precision to lead many ancient astronomers to the discovery that ‘something was happening’ with a very slow velocity with respect to human life.

More research focussed on this issue is certainly needed, first of all in Egypt. In fact, the problem of the stellar alignment of Egyptian temples should be reconsidered taking into account that the chronology of Egypt is much more clear and accurate than it was in Lockyer times, and controlling the assertions of Lockyer from a
quantitative
point of view (for instance following the subsequent enlargements of the Luxor temple in terms of precessional movement of the stars). Theoretical research is also needed to relate in a secure way decanal lists coming from different centuries.

The need for further research holds true also in Malta, and in all the places which show an interest of the builders for alignments changing in time due to precession.

References

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APPENDIX 3

An Overview of the Orion Correlation Theory (OCT): Was the angle of observation 52.2 degrees south of east?

By Chris Tedder

The following article has been published by Chris Tedder and is here reproduced with his kind permission in full and without any alteration.

Background

In 1983, Robert Bauval noticed the similarity between the three-star asterism in Orion, and the site layout of the three pyramid complexes on the Giza plateau. This observation became the core idea of the Orion Correlation Theory (OCT). Following a recommendation by Dr Edwards, Robert Bauval’s paper, ‘A Master Plan for the Three Pyramids of Giza Based on the Configuration of the Three Stars of the Belt of Orion’, was published in the journal,
Discussions in Egyptology
, Vol. 13, 1989.

A wider thematic vision?

No plans or documents have survived in the archaeological record that can shed light on the rationale behind the revolutionary design of the true plane-sided pyramid - the central component of the royal funerary complex, or that can provide textual evidence for a possible thematic vision for the Giza group, or links with other pyramid fields along the western escarpment. This lack of textual evidence limits our ability to interpret the archaeological remains of this exciting period of innovative architectural developments. However, various clues found in the layout of the three complexes, in the ancient Egyptian sky and in the earliest surviving royal funerary texts inscribed within pyramids from the end of the Fifth Dynasty, might suggest a wider thematic vision for the Giza group. These texts provide the ideological background for the idea of an overall thematic vision inspired by the large striking constellation of Orion, or more specifically, the distinctive three-star asterism in Orion commonly known as Orion’s Belt.