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Ancient chronology

Astronomical orientation of the pyramids

Nature volume 412, pages 699–700 (2001)Cite this article

Spence replies

Rawlins and Pickering also question whether orientations could be achieved during the short period when the two stars are in simultaneous transit. This would not be a problem as, assuming that the plumb line was hung from a frame, the sighting device could be adjusted to keep the plumb line equidistant between the two stars for several minutes as they came into simultaneous transit. The alignment could also have been checked on successive nights to ensure that it was exact. The fact that this method has a short and clearly defined period (the stars move rapidly out of plumb in opposite directions), within which the alignment is established, is one of the reasons why it is such an accurate method of orientation. The stars used are very bright and low light on a plumb line would not have substantially affected visibility.

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Figure 1: Astronomical modelling of the simultaneous-transit method of orientation.

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  1. Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 9DA, UK

    Kate Spence

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Correspondence to Kate Spence.

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Spence, K. Astronomical orientation of the pyramids. Nature 412, 699–700 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35089140

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