Orion correlation theory
The Orion correlation theory is a fringe theory in Egyptology attempting to explain the arrangement of the Giza pyramid complex.
It posits that there is a correlation between the location of the three largest pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex and Orion's Belt of the constellation Orion, and that this correlation was intended as such by the original builders of the Giza pyramid complex. The stars of Orion were associated with Osiris, the god of rebirth and afterlife by the ancient Egyptians.[1][2][3] Depending on the version of the idea, additional pyramids can be included to complete the picture of the Orion constellation, and the Nile river can be included to match with the Milky Way.
The idea was first published in 1989 in Discussions in Egyptology, volume 13. It was the subject of the book The Orion Mystery, in 1994,[4] as well as a BBC documentary, The Great Pyramid: Gateway to the Stars (February 1994), and appears in some New Age books.[5][6]
History
The Orion correlation theory was put forward by
Their initial ideas regarding the alignment of the Giza pyramids with Orion: "...the three pyramids were a terrestrial map of the three stars of Orion's belt"[7] are later joined with speculation about the age of the Great Sphinx.[8] According to these works, the Great Sphinx was constructed c. 10,500 BC (Upper Paleolithic), and its lion-shape is maintained to be a definitive reference to the constellation of Leo. Furthermore, the orientation and dispositions of the Sphinx, the Giza pyramids and the Nile River relative to one another on the ground is put forward as an accurate reflection or "map" of the constellations of Leo, Orion (specifically, Orion's Belt) and the Milky Way respectively. As Hancock puts it in 1998's The Mars Mystery[9] (co-authored with Bauval):
...we have demonstrated with a substantial body of evidence that the pattern of stars that is "frozen" on the ground at Giza in the form of the three pyramids and the Sphinx represents the disposition of the constellations of Orion and Leo as they looked at the moment 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
precessional ages this was a 2,160-year period. It is generally calculated to have fallen between the Gregorian calendar dates of 10,970 and 8810 BC.[9]
The allusions to dates circa 12,500 years ago are significant to Hancock since this is the era he seeks to assign to the advanced progenitor civilization, now vanished, but which he contends through most of his works had existed and whose advanced technology influenced and shaped the development of the world's known civilizations of antiquity.
Critique
Arguments made by Hancock, Bauval, Anthony West and others concerning the significance of the proposed correlations have been described as a form of pseudoarchaeology.[11]
Among these are critiques from two
Krupp pointed out that the slightly bent line formed by the three pyramids was deviated towards the north, whereas the slight "kink" in the line of Orion's Belt was deformed to the south, and to match them up one or the other of them had to be turned upside-down. Ed Krupp repeated this "upside down" statement in the BBC documentary Atlantis Reborn (1999).
BBC documentary
On 4 November 1999, the BBC broadcast a documentary entitled Atlantis Reborn which tested the ideas of Robert Bauval and his colleague, Graham Hancock. Bauval and Hancock afterwards complained to the
A hearing followed and in November 2000 the BSC ruled in favour of the documentary makers on all but one of the ten principal complaints brought by Hancock and Bauval. The one complaint upheld regarded the omission of their rebuttal of a specific argument against the Orion Correlation Theory. In regard of the nine remaining principal complaints, the BSC ruled against Hancock and Bauval, concluding that they had not been treated unfairly in the criticism of their theories concerning carbon-dating, the Great Sphinx of Egypt, Cambodia's Angkor temples, Japan's Yonaguni formation and the mythical land of Atlantis.[16]
The BBC offered to broadcast a revised version of the documentary, which was welcomed by Hancock and Bauval. It was broadcast as Atlantis Reborn Again on 14 December 2000.[17] The revised documentary continued to present serious doubts about Bauval and Hancock's ideas, as held by astronomer Anthony Fairall, Ed Krupp of the Griffith Observatory, Egyptologist Kate Spence of Cambridge University and Eleanor Mannikka of the University of Michigan.[18]
Leo and the Sphinx
The Great Sphinx of Giza is commonly accepted by Egyptologists to represent the likeness of King Khafre[19] who is often credited as the builder as well. This would place the time of construction somewhere between 2520 BC and 2494 BC. Because the limited evidence giving provenance to Khafre is ambiguous, the idea of who built the Sphinx, and when, continues to be the subject of debate.
An argument put forward by Bauval and Hancock to support the Orion Correlation Theory is that the construction of the Great Sphinx was begun in 10,500 BC; that the Sphinx's lion-shape is a definitive reference to the constellation of Leo; and that the layout and orientation of the Sphinx, the Giza pyramid complex and the Nile River are an accurate reflection or "map" of the constellations of Leo, Orion (specifically, Orion's Belt) and the Milky Way, respectively.[20]
A date of 10,500 BC is chosen because they maintain this is the only time in the
The supposition that the Sphinx is far older has received very limited support from
References
- ISBN 0-425-19096-X
- ISBN 978-0-517-25912-2.
- ^ "Orion". Constellationsofwords.com. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
- ISBN 0-434-00074-4
- ISBN 978-0-609-80793-4.
- ISBN 978-1-931882-26-2.
- ^ Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock, 1995, p. 375
- Keeper of Genesis, Hancock and Bauval, 1996, 1997, in the US published as The Message of the Sphinx.
- ^ ISBN 9780140271751. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ (January 21, 2004) (2006) The Seven Wonders. The Great Pyramid of Giza Archived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISBN 978-0-415-30592-1. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ .
- ^ a b Krupp, E.C. (February 1997). "Pyramid marketing schemes". Sky & Telescope. 93 (2): 64.
- ISBN 9780517599037. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ a b Krupp, Ed (2002). "Astronomical Integrity at Giza". The Antiquity of Man. Archived from the original on 2018-06-02. Retrieved 2006-08-08.
- ^ Corporation, British Broadcasting. "BBC – Science & Nature – Horizon – Atlantis Reborn Again".
- ^ Corporation, British Broadcasting. "BBC – Science & Nature – Horizon – Atlantis Reborn Again".
- ^ Corporation, British Broadcasting. "BBC – Science & Nature – Horizon – Atlantis Reborn Again".
- ISBN 977-424-492-3
- ^ British Broadcasting Corporation. "BBC – Science & Nature – Horizon – Atlantis Reborn Again". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ Schoch, Robert (1999). The Date of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ K. Lal Gauri, John J. Sinai, and Jayanta K. Bandyopadhyay, "Geologic Weathering and Its Implications on the Age of the Sphinx". Geoarchaeology, Vol. 10, No. 2 (April 1995), pp. 119–133
- ^ James A. Harrell, "The Sphinx Controversy: Another Look at the Geological Evidence," KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 70–74.
External links
- "The Giza Pyramids as a Stellar Representation of Orion's Belt" by Robert Bauval
- "The Orion Correlation and Air-Shaft Theories" Archived 2012-07-12 at the Wayback Machine by John A.R. Legon
- "Pyramid Marketing Schemes" by E. C. Krupp
- "The Fundamental Flaws in the Orion-Giza Correlation Theory" by Ian Lawton