Abstract
Since long time various qualitative speculations have been proposed about the link between the three major Giza pyramids and the stars. In particular, according to a popular and controversial hypothesis (the so-called Orion Correlation Theory), a perfect coincidence would exist between the mutual positions of the three stars of the Orion Belt and those of the main Giza pyramids. In the present paper, this apparent coincidence has been subjected to some statistical verifications, in order to assess the probability that the correlation between stars and pyramids, both in relative position and in luminosity/height, can be merely due to the case. These statistical analyses have been performed by means of Monte Carlo simulations and have been coupled with previous astronomical/astrophysical tests of the presumed correlation, finding that the coincidence does not seem to be fortuitous and that it is compatible with the naked-eye astrometry and photometry of the Orion Belt stars. On the contrary, unlike what stated by another popular and controversial theory (the so-called Cygnus-Giza Correlation), we have found no coincidence between the mutual positions of the three pyramids and those of the three stars of the short arm of the asterism of Northern Cross, in the Cygnus constellation.
Highlights
IntroductionThe interest of the ancient Egyptians in the celestial phenomena is suggested by various inscriptions found out on the sarcophagi of the Middle Kingdom (1990-1780 BC) and in the tombs of the New Kingdom
The Orion Belt and the Egyptian AstronomyThe interest of the ancient Egyptians in the celestial phenomena is suggested by various inscriptions found out on the sarcophagi of the Middle Kingdom (1990-1780 BC) and in the tombs of the New Kingdom (1530-1080How to cite this paper: Orofino, V., & Bernardini, P. (2016)
The results found in the previous sections can be summarized as follows: a) the relative positions of the three Giza pyramids coincide, within the uncertainties of the naked-eye astrometric measurements, with the relative positions of the three stars of the Orion Belt; b) the visual magnitude of the stars of the Belt is presently correlated with the height of the corresponding pyramids evaluated with respect to a common reference level; c) using a simple Monte Carlo simulation, the probability that the correspondence between the Giza pyramids and the Orion Belt is just due to the case, has been estimated to be very low
Summary
The interest of the ancient Egyptians in the celestial phenomena is suggested by various inscriptions found out on the sarcophagi of the Middle Kingdom (1990-1780 BC) and in the tombs of the New Kingdom The ancient Egyptian well knew this kind of geometric-mathematical relationship that they used many times when, for example, they planned and carried out architectural structures with constant slope (where equal horizontal displacements correspond to equal vertical displacements), such as the same pyramids and the shafts and the corridors inside them This result removes one of the most serious objections to the OCT, which is the claimed lack of correlation between the size of Giza pyramids and the brightness of the Orion Belt stars, while it is in agreement with the qualitative conclusions of Bauval & Gilbert (1994)
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