Mintaka, the faintest and most westerly of the stars that make up Orion’s belt, was cited in Robert Bauval’s Orion correlation theory as being somewhat misaligned from the other stars. Bauval then drew a comparison between the arrangement of the three primary stars in Orion’s belt and the arrangement of the three primary pyramids at Giza. In the 13th volume of the journal Discussions in Egyptology, he published this concept in 1989. The concept has been developed further by Bauval both independently and in partnership with Adrian Gilbert and Graham Hancock (The Orion Mystery, 1994; Keeper of Genesis, 1996). The premise of this theory is based on the idea that the three major ancient Egyptian pyramids on the Giza plateau were intentionally positioned in relation to the three stars that make up Orion’s Belt in the constellation of Orion as they looked in 10,000 BC.
They also add speculation about the age of the Great Sphinx to their earlier theories concerning the alignment of the Giza pyramids with Orion: “…the three pyramids were a terrestrial map of the three stars of Orion’s belt.” These works believe that the Great Sphinx’s lion-like shape is a clear allusion to the constellation Leo and that it was built around 10,500 BC (Upper Paleolithic). Additionally, it is claimed that the placements and orientations of the Sphinx, the Giza pyramids, and the Nile River in relation to one another on the ground provide an exact “map” of the constellations of Leo, Orion (more precisely, Orion’s Belt), and the Milky Way, respectively. According to Hancock, who co-authored The Mars Mystery with Bauval in 1998,
…we have shown with a large body of evidence that the pattern of stars that is “frozen” on the ground at Giza in the shape of the three pyramids and the Sphinx depicts the alignment of the constellations of Orion and Leo at the time of sunrise on the spring equinox during the astronomical “Age of Leo” (i.e., the epoch in which the Sun was “housed” by Leo on the spring equinox.) This precessional era was 2,160 years long, just like all others. It is typically estimated to have occurred between the dates 10,970 and 8810 BC on the Gregorian calendar.
Hancock considers the references to dates around 12,500 years ago to be significant because this is the time period he wants to ascribe to the advanced progenitor civilization, which is now extinct but which, in most of his works, he maintains had existed and whose advanced technology had influenced and shaped the development of the world’s known ancient civilizations. While the precise era of the Great Sphinx’s construction is still unknown, Egyptology and archaeological science maintain that the Giza pyramids were built during the Fourth dynasty (3rd millennium BC) based on the evidence that is currently available.
In This Article...
Do the stars and the pyramids align?
Because they thought their pharaohs turned into stars in the northern sky once they passed away, the ancient Egyptians oriented their pyramids and temples toward the north.
The lesser pyramids, however, are all slightly off whereas the Great Pyramid is aligned with the north.
The locations of stars change every year. Since the axis of rotation of the Earth is not constant, they drift. The celestial north pole wasn’t discovered exactly between the two stars until 2467 BC.
According to Dr. Spence of Cambridge University, “after Khufu’s reign, the alignment of the pyramids became increasingly erroneous.” Her information indicates that between 2485 and 2475 BC, work on his tomb is likely to have begun.
Dating by stars
It is estimated that the Giza pyramids are 4,500 years old. According to one theory, the Egyptians used two stars to determine north.
The celestial pole, the fictitious axis that all stars revolve around, was close to separate positions where the two stars, Mizar and Kochab, were situated.
Are the pyramids aligned with the belt of Orion?
The evidence for this mystery wasn’t transmitted back to Earth by a telescope, but there are so many mysteries that lurk in the depths of space that humanity may never be able to solve them all, let alone find them all.
Ancient Egypt did not have access to modern telescopes that can see objects billions of light years away. Early astronomers studied the night sky, trying to place magnificent structures like the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx in alignment with the stars so they would endure the passage of time. The three stars in Orion’s Belt were lined up with the Giza pyramids. But what is the freshly discovered constellation, known only as “The Geese of Ra,” that appeared as Egyptologists dusted soot off the Temple of Khnum at Esna? Nobody knows, other than the ancient Egyptians who may have interpreted it as a vision of cosmic geese belonging to the Sun deity.
It is believed that Khnum, the ram-headed creator deity who is frequently connected to the flooding of the Nile that gives life, formed human bodies out of clay before implanting them in the wombs of their mothers. Heka, the deity of medicine and sorcery, was also honored in the temple at Esna alongside his wife, the lion-headed war goddess Mehnit. The cleaning and restoration of the temple had begun in 1976, but was put on hold for several years until it was eventually resumed in 2018. There was virtually an entire world hidden behind the sooty layers. Egyptologists are baffled by the appearance of imagery of well-known constellations like the Big Dipper (Mesekhtiu) and Orion (Sah), as well as objects like The Geese of Ra.
There are hieroglyphs and occasionally enigmatic images in the temple that identify the Geese of Ra and other nameless constellations, but there is no representation of the constellations themselves that reveals which stars the artists were referring to.
Signs and Qualities of the Zodiac
Four signs make up the zodiac: air, water, fire, and earth. Each sign of the zodiac has three characteristics: cardinal, fixed, and mutable. Leo is regarded as the fire sign’s fixed quality. Leo is thought to inspire passion and inventiveness.
The Time of Leo
The Age of Leo began as the Ice Age came to a close. The ice started to melt as the earth warmed up. At this point, the world would no longer be governed by vast herds of creatures, as was the case with woolly mammoths and saber-tooth tigers. The human race would rule the planet and become the dominant species.
According to legend, the Age of Leo spans the years 10,006 and 8006 BC.
It is often referred to as the Mesolithic era or the Stone Age.
The sun was worshipped at that time because it was when humans first learnt to hunt and harvest crops.
Leo and The Sun
The sun is supposed to preside over Leo. During the time of year when the Nile would flood the land, the sun and the constellation Leo coincide in Egypt. This was significant since the Nile was ancient Egypt’s source of life.
The goddess of fire and vengeance known as Sekhmet was even worshipped by the Egyptians.
She was Ra, the sun god’s daughter.
The Formation of the Leo Constellation
The origin of the constellation Leo is the subject of numerous tales. The myth about Hercules defeating the Nemean Lion is by far the most well-known.
The Nemean Lion and Hercules
A lion once harassed the residents of Nemea, an ancient city outside of Corinth. The lion’s skin was fashioned of pure gold, making it immune to human weaponry.
The Nemean Lion stalked the residents of the town for years.
No hunter from Nemea who attempted to slay the lion was successful. The citizens of Nemea pleaded with Hercules for assistance in their hour of need.
Hercules was on a path of repentance at the time.
It was widely known that Hera detested Hercules.
Who was to blame her?
She gave birth to her husband Zeus’s bastard son Hercules out of wedlock.
Hercules killed his own two children while under the influence of the madness for which she had cursed him.
Hercules’s regret set him on his path of repentance after his sanity was recovered (also known as the twelve labors of Hercules).
Hercules agreed to the Nemean people’s request and went on the hunt for the lion.
He fought the lion after he had cornered it in a cave outside of Nemea, but he was unsuccessful because the lion’s hide was thick.
Hercules charged the lion out of desperation.
He killed the lion by grabbing it by the neck and strangling it.
According to legend, Hera kept the Nemean lion as a pet because it was one of her favorite animals.
She memorialized her love for the golden lion by creating the Leo constellation in the midst of her sadness.
What direction does the Great Sphinx face?
The fabled creature known as the sphinx, which has a lion’s body and a human head, is depicted in the limestone statue known as the Great Sphinx of Giza. It is located on the Giza Plateau, on the western bank of the Nile, in Giza, Egypt, and faces directly west to east. The pharaoh Khafre appears to be represented by the Sphinx’s visage.
The Sphinx’s original form was carved out of the bedrock and later reconstructed with layers of limestone stones. From paw to tail, it is 73 meters (240 feet) long, 20 meters (66 feet) high, and 19 meters (62 feet) wide at the back of its thighs. Between the third and the tenth century AD, its nose was severed for an undetermined reason.
The Sphinx is one of the most recognizable figures in the world and the oldest colossal sculpture ever discovered in Egypt. According to the archeological evidence, it was made by Old Kingdom Egyptians under the rule of Khafre (c.
Why was the sphinx’s nose removed?
They visited the Sphinx and discovered that it had been revered as a god. That bothered him. To prove to the people that this is a stone and not a deity, he arrived with a metal and broke off the nose.
How old really is the Sphinx?
The Great Sphinx of Giza has long been estimated by Egyptologists and archaeologists to be 4,500 years old and to have been built around 2500 B.C. Recent research, however, points to a construction date for the Sphinx of 7000 B.C.
The hypothesis, which is still quite fresh, is supported by what is described as “precipitation-induced weathering on the higher areas of the Sphinx. According to archaeologists who support this theory, the last time the area had enough precipitation to produce this pattern of rainwater erosion on limestone was roughly 9,000 years ago, in 7000 B.C.
the reason why pyramids face north.
According to experts, the ancient Egyptians might have observed a single star circle this fictitious spot and positioned their pyramid such that it was in the center of the circle.
As an alternative, they might have determined north by following the Sun’s journey. In either case, they should have maintained a fairly constant level of accuracy over the whole pyramid-building era.
However, Kate Spence of Cambridge University notes that the accuracy wasn’t constant. Instead, the alignment of succeeding pyramids first gradually got better up until the Great Pyramid was constructed, then it got worse. This makes perfect sense, she claims, if the architects measured the alignment using not one but two stars, Kochab in Ursa Minor and Mizar in Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) (the Little Dipper).
Using contemporary technology, the astronomical clock is turned back to reveal that in the Old Kingdom sky, the two stars circled around the pole in opposition to one another. In other words, the north pole was in the path of an imaginary line connecting the stars. For the architects of the pyramids, both stars would indicate true north when they were vertically above one another.
But due to precession, the line connecting Kochab and Mizar only strayed into exact alignment with the north pole in 2467 BC before straying off (see graphic). According to Spence, the direction of succeeding pyramids follows this drift accurately, which accounts for the varying accuracy of north-south alignment.
If Spence is correct, it is now possible to date the pyramids to within five years using astronomical records. The Great Pyramid of Giza, for instance, was built between 2485 and 2475 BC.