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Nexus Netw J (2014) 16:299311 DOI 10.1007/s00004-014-0193-9
RESEARCH
Christopher Bartlett
Published online: 14 May 2014 Kim Williams Books, Turin 2014
Abstract This paper examines the geometrical design of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It discusses theories derived from the golden ratio and pi which seek to explain the Great Pyramids plan and the most recent surveys of its dimensions. The paper concludes by offering a theory which suggests that the Great Pyramids design was intentionally based on the 4th Dynasty Egyptian canons of the proportion of the human gure.
Keywords Geometry Golden section Fibonacci numbers
Incommensurable ratios Pyramid Metrology
Introduction
The Great Pyramid stands on the Giza Plateau, outside Cairo, Egypt. Accuracy in orientation, shape, measurements and precise tolerances on this immense structure obviously seemed of paramount importance to its architects. It covers 13 acres but its orientation to north deviates only 30 600 (within the NS margins that NASA uses). The maximum difference in the side measurements (230 m each) is just4.4 cm, and the space between blocks is 1/50th of an inch. It was built for Pharaoh Khufu in the 4th dynasty, 4,707 years ago,1 taking perhaps 20 years from 2694 BC to complete. The 2,300,000 blocks each weigh from 2.5 to 80 tons. It required a build rate of an average size block every 23 min in a 10-h day. As the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World it is still the worlds largest
1 Based on recent carbon dating (Smith: 280).
C. Bartlett (&)1316 Ivy Hill Road, Hunt Valley, MD 21030, USA e-mail: [email protected]
The Design of The Great Pyramid of Khufu
300 C. Bartlett
building, if now not the tallest. It is an enigmatic feat of architecture that has
captured the imagination of people for centuries.
There are two primary opinions in contention for a theory of the geometrical design of the Great Pyramid. One is that the Great Pyramid of Khufu was designed based on the proportions of the golden ratio, specically that the cross-section triangle forms a golden ratio triangle. There is also a strong following for a pi (p)
theory that argues that the height of the pyramid is equal to the radius of the circle that has a circumference equal to the...