Saqqara Bird

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Saqqara Bird
MaterialWood
Width18 cm
Createdc. 200 BC
Discovered1898
Badrashin, Giza, Egypt
Present locationCairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt
The bird from the side

The Saqqara Bird is a

excavation of the tomb of Pa-di-Imen in Saqqara, Egypt. It has been dated to approximately 200 BCE, and is now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The Saqqara Bird has a wingspan of 18 cm (7.1 in) and weighs 39.12 g (1.380 oz).[1]
Its purpose is not understood because of a lack of period documentation.

Mainstream views

The Saqqara Bird may be a ceremonial object because the

waterfowl.[citation needed] Another hypothesis is that this bird was positioned on the masthead of sacred boats used during the Opet Festival.[2][3] Reliefs showing those boats are found in the Temple of Khonsu at Karnak and date to the late New Kingdom.[4]

Fringe views

Some have suggested that the Saqqara Bird may represent evidence that knowledge of the principles of

ancient Egyptians developed the first aircraft.[6]

According to Kevin Desmond writing about the history of airplanes, no evidence has been found suggesting that these claims are true.[7] As a result, the theory that the Saqqara Bird is a model of a flying machine is not accepted by mainstream Egyptologists. Richard P. Hallion notes that it is "far too heavy and unstable itself to fly".[8] Norman Levitt and Paul R. Gross comment "The evidence? If you build a copy of balsa wood (rather than the original sycamore), and then add a vertical stabilizer (not present in the original) to the tail, you get a so-so version of a toy glider!"[9]

Researchers at the Institute of Aerospace Technology Bremen conducted a CFD simulation of the artifact based on a 3D scan for the first time in 2023. The results showed that the artifact has a low maximum glide ratio and thus the glide properties are not sufficient for use as a

handglider. The center of mass of the artifact is also located at the trailing edge of the wing and thereby behind the neutral point. The resulting longitudinal stability does not meet modern aircraft design guidelines. In addition, the asymmetric lift distribution in spanwise direction leads to an uncontrolled roll moment, which results in the fact that the artifact cannot follow a straight flight path, but will fly a turn. Consequently, the results obtained by simulation cannot confirm that the Saqqara Bird was an object of ancient knowledge about aerodynamics.[10]

See also

References

  1. OCLC 1567664
    .
  2. ^ Larry Orcutt (2001). "Model Airplane?". Catchpenny Mysteries of Ancient Egypt. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  3. ^ "Khonsu Temple relief with three sacred boats". Archived from the original on 2012-06-02. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  4. ISBN 978-0-918986-20-7. Reproduction of the reliefs are visible at page 107 and following pages; available at isac.uchicago.edu
    .
  5. ^ "2002 Fall". American Society of Dowsers.
  6. ISBN 0-87855-941-8
    . Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  7. ISBN 978-1-4766-6961-8
    . Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  8. ISBN 978-0195160352
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-4214-0487-5
    . Retrieved 30 April 2022. The evidence? If you build a copy of balsa wood (rather than the original sycamore), and then add a vertical stabilizer (not present in the original) to the tail, you get a so-so version of a toy glider!
  10. S2CID 259765464
    .
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