The Message Of The Sphinx Part 16

And it would, of course, have its counterpart on the ground at Giza, in the vicinity of the lion-bodied Sphinx.

Chapter 17.

The Place of the 'First Time'

'Know that we would be universal scientists if it were given to us to inhabit the sacred land of Egypt ...'

Manetho, Egyptian high priest, third century bc 'I have come to this place more n.o.ble than any place ...'

Pyramid Texts The epoch of the 'First Time', Zep Tepi, was frequently referred to as the 'First Time of Horus', the 'First Time of Re' and the 'First Time of Osiris'.[646] The implication of this terminology is that the position of the (vernal) sun along the ecliptic path, which denoted the 'First Time', was also seen to be marked-perhaps 'controlled' would be a better word-by the position of Osiris-Orion at the meridian.

As we have seen, the ancient brotherhood of astronomer-priests who designed the Great Pyramid, and who were later responsible for the compilation of the Pyramid Texts, were well aware of Orion's slow precessional drift 'upwards'-'northwards' in the allegorical language of the texts-when the constellation was sighted at the meridian over long periods of time. They also knew that they were 'fixing' a specific location to which the 'body of the G.o.d' had drifted (and a specific date in time-2500 bc in our calendar) when they targeted the meridian at 45 degrees with the southern shaft of the King's Chamber. They knew, in other words, that the belt stars would rise to higher alt.i.tudes above the horizon (i.e. drift further 'north') in future epochs and, conversely, that they had been at lower alt.i.tudes (i.e. 'further south') in previous epochs. The reader will recall from Chapter 1 that the lowest ('southernmost') point in the entire precessional cycle of Orion's belt-the 'First Time of Osiris' in allegorical terms-occurred in 10,500 bc. Most mysteriously, it is the precise disposition of these stars in the sky at that date that is frozen on the ground in the form of the three great Pyramids of Giza.

It was the mystery of this perfect meridian-to-meridian match, together with the equinoctial alignment of the lion-bodied Sphinx (and the vast antiquity of that monument as indicated by geology) that provoked us to undertake the present investigation. For while we did not dispute the orthodox Egyptological dating of the Pyramids to the epoch of 2500 bc, we had a strong intuition that their layout in the image of Orion's belt some 8000 years earlier was most unlikely to have come about by chance.

We are now satisfied that chance was not involved. After factoring-in the data preserved in the vast storehouses of ancient Egyptian funerary 'software', it seems to us obvious that what was created-or rather completed-at Giza in 2500 bc was an entirely deliberate work of sky-ground dualism. It was a model (on a lavish scale intended to do justice to its cosmic original) of the 'kingdom' established by Osiris in the sky-Duat in the remote epoch 'when his name became Orion'-i.e. in his 'First Time'. It was also, for all time, the 'Kingdom of Osiris' on the ground-'when his name became Sokar' (in the lower Duat, i.e. the Memphite necropolis).

It may have been the case that the ground-plan of the three great Pyramids was physically established in 10,500 bc-perhaps in the form of low platforms. Or it may have been that precise astronomical records from that epoch were preserved and handed down to the astronomer-priests of Heliopolis by the 'Followers of Horus'. Either way, we are still reasonably certain that the Pyramids themselves were largely built in 2500 bc when Egyptologists say they were. We are also sure, however, that the site was already vastly ancient by then and had been the domain of the 'Followers'-the Sages, the 'Senior Ones'-for the previous 8000 years.

We think the evidence suggests a continuous transmission of advanced scientific and engineering knowledge over that huge gulf of time, and thus the continuous presence in Egypt, from the Palaeolithic into the Dynastic Period, of highly enlightened and sophisticated individuals-those shadowy Akhus said in the texts to have possessed 'a knowledge of divine origin'.

Fine-tuning Leo

The basis for this conjecture, above and beyond the astronomical alignments of the Giza necropolis, is the geological condition of the Sphinx which we have described in Part I. To state matters briefly: the signs of intense precipitation-induced weathering visible to this day on the great monument itself, and on the rock-hewn trench surrounding it, are consistent with an age of more than 12,000 years.

The genesis date indicated by astronomy for the site as a whole is 10,500 bc. That is what the layout of the Pyramids says, even if they themselves are younger. And that, too, as we saw in Chapter 3, is what is proclaimed by the due-east orientation of the Sphinx. Its astronomical and leonine symbolism does not make any sense unless it was built as an equinoctial marker for the Age of Leo.

But when, exactly, in the Age of Leo? The constellation spans 30 degrees along the ecliptic and housed the sun on the vernal equinox from 10,960 bc to 8800 bc-a period of 2160 years. So when in that period?

There is no way to answer this question on the basis of the alignments of the Sphinx alone, or on the basis of what one may deduce from its alignments and its geology viewed together. What is needed is precisely what the 'Followers of Horus' provided us with-a thought-tool with which to fine-tune the date. That thought-tool is the sliding scale of Orion's belt and the date that it fine-tunes for the Great Sphinx is 10,500 bc.

But it also does something else. As the scale 'slides' down the meridian it also 'pushes' the vernal point steadily eastwards along the ecliptic, bringing it to rest in 10,500 bc (the 'bottom of the scale') at a specific stellar address that can be identified by precessional calculations.

In terms of the sky-ground dualism of the initiatory quest of the Horus-King, it is obvious that the vernal point's 'stellar address' in 10,500 bc-i.e. its precise whereabouts on the ecliptic within the constellation of Leo-is likely to have a terrestrial a.n.a.logue. Once we know what's what with the sky, in other words, we should know where to look on the ground.

And would it be entirely unreasonable to suppose that what we would find there, if we had calculated exactly where to look, might turn out to be a physical entrance into that mythical 'place more n.o.ble than any place', the 'Splendid Place of the "First Time" '?

Setting stars

As though to reward such conjectures, like a one-armed bandit coughing up the jackpot, all the bells and lights of the Giza necropolis start ringing and flas.h.i.+ng at once when the sliding scale of Orion's belt is pushed down to its 'First Time' in 10,500 bc.

We already know from Chapter 3 that what the princ.i.p.al monuments seem to model is an unusual astronomical conjunction that occurred at the spring equinox in that distant epoch. Not only did the Great Sphinx gaze at his own celestial counterpart in the sky but also the moment of sunrise (at the point on the horizon targeted by the Sphinx's gaze) coincided, to the second, with the meridian-transit of Orion's belt (which is what the three Pyramids model).

If these were the only correspondences they would already be too detailed to be attributed to coincidence. But there is a great deal more. For example, immediately south of the third and smallest of the three great Pyramids is a group of three 'satellite' pyramids. Egyptologists generally refer to them as the 'tombs' of queens of the Pharaoh Menkaure. Since they contain no inscriptions, nor the slightest trace of human remains or funerary equipment, such an attribution can never be anything more than a matter of opinion. However these 'satellite' pyramids do have an unambiguous astronomical alignment: they form a row running east-west-the equinox sunrise-sunset direction.

The British geometrician and pyramid researcher, Robin Cook, has recently shown that these three satellite pyramids bear a designed relations.h.i.+p to the Giza necropolis as a whole.[647] They appear to be located on the boundary of a circle, or artificial 'horizon', the focus of which is the Pyramid of Khafre and the circ.u.mference of which envelops the whole necropolis. An angle of 27 degrees west of south[648]-corresponding to an azimuth of 207 degrees[649]-seems to be defined by a straight line extending from the meridian axis of the Pyramid of Khafre to these three 'satellite' pyramids of Menkaure.[650] In general the satellites give the impression of being 'reduced models' of the three Great Pyramids. What is notably different however, is that the latter lie at an angle of 45 degrees to the meridian, while the former run from east to west at right-angles to the meridian. This apparent architectural anomaly, together with their curious location at azimuth 207 degrees on the artificial 'horizon' of Giza, begs an obvious question: are we again looking at datable sky event frozen in architecture?

59. Epoch of 10,500 bc: setting of the three stars of Orion's belt in line with the three satellite Pyramids on the southern rim of the Horizon of Giza.

The computer confirms that we are. In 10,500 bc, on the real horizon of Giza, the lowest of the three stars of Orion's belt, Al Nitak, set at 27 degrees west of south-i.e. at azimuth 207 degrees. Moreover, the belt stars at that moment would have formed an axis running east-west-the alignment that is mimicked by the three satellite pyramids.

Sirius

Another bit of the 10,500 bc 'jackpot of correspondences' concerns the star Sirius, which symbolizes the very heart of the ancient Egyptian mystery.

All stars, including our own sun (and our solar system with it) move through s.p.a.ce. Because of the vast distances involved, however (hundreds and often thousands of light-years), this 'proper motion' registers barely perceptible effects on the positions in the sky of the majority of stars as viewed from earth. Where these stars are concerned the only significant factor is precession (which, as we know, is a perceived 'motion' that is actually caused by a wobble on the axis of the earth).

Sirius is one of the major exceptions to this rule. As many readers will be aware, it is the brightest star in the sky. It is also one of the nearest stars to earth, being only 8.4 light-years away. Because of this proximity it registers a very large 'proper motion' in s.p.a.ce relative to our own solar system-large enough to bring about observable changes in its celestial address, over and above those caused by precession, within just a few thousand years.

To be specific about this, the proper motion of Sirius is estimated to be in the range of 1.21 arc-seconds per year (about 1 degree every 3000 years). This means that for an epoch as far back as 10,500 bc, the change in its celestial co-ordinates resulting from proper motion could exceed 3 full degrees of arc, i.e. about six times the apparent diameter of the moon.[651]

Once this rapid and noticeable rate of movement is taken into account alongside the effects of precession, computer simulations indicate a rather intriguing state of affairs. Calculations show that when Sirius reached its 'First Time'-i.e. its lowest alt.i.tude above the horizon-viewers at the lat.i.tude of Giza (30 degrees north) would have seen it resting exactly on the horizon. Moreover it was from this lat.i.tude, and this lat.i.tude only, that such a conjunction of star and horizon could be witnessed. The implication is that a special co-relations.h.i.+p exists between the lat.i.tude of Giza and the star Sirius at its 'First Time'.[652]

60. Artist's impression of the 'First Time' of Sirius, in the epoch of 10,500 bc, when the bright star of Isis would have been seen to be resting exactly on the horizon.

Because of its large proper motion there is uncertainty over when exactly the 'First Time' of Sirius would have occurred. There is no doubt, however, that it would have been somewhere between 11,500 and 10,500 bc.[653] We wonder, therefore, whether the decision to establish the sacred site of Giza at 30 degrees north lat.i.tude could have been connected to this 'First Time' of Sirius? And we recall that in 1993 Rudolf Gantenbrink's robot camera discovered a mysterious 'door' inside the Great Pyramid, more than 200 feet along the narrow southern shaft of the Queen's Chamber.[654] The shaft in which the 'door' was found was, of course, targeted on the meridian-transit of Sirius in 2500 bc.

Cross-quarter causeways

Amongst the strangest and most unaccountable features of the Giza necropolis are the ma.s.sive causeways that link each of the three great Pyramids with the Nile Valley below. Today only fragments of their floorings remain, but as late as the fifth century bc at least one causeway, that of the Great Pyramid, was still almost intact. We know this because it was seen and described by the Greek historian Herodotus (484-420 bc)-who reflected that its construction almost matched, in engineering prowess and architectural splendour, that of the Great Pyramid itself.[655]

Recent archaeological research has confirmed that the information provided by Herodotus is correct. Moreover, we now know that the roofs of the causeways were spangled on their undersides with patterns of stars[656]-highly appropriate symbolism if, as we believe is the case, these grand and curious corridors were designed to serve as Viae Sacrae-ceremonial 'roadways' which initiates would follow on their way to the 'Pyramid-stars' of Rostau-Giza.[657]

The causeway from the Third Pyramid (the Pyramid of Menkaure) is directed due-east,[658] like the gaze of the Sphinx, and thus conforms to the general north-south and east-west grid structure of the Giza necropolis. By contrast the two causeways linked to the other two Pyramids definitely do not conform to that grid structure. As a result of the work of geometrician John Legon, who has undertaken a detailed a.n.a.lysis of the site-plans and grids provided by modern Egyptologists (such as Selim Ha.s.san, Reisner, Holscher, Ricke and Lauer), we now know that this anomalous nonconformity nevertheless incorporates its own strict symmetry: 'while the causeway of the Third Pyramid is aligned due east-west, the causeways of the Second and Great Pyramids both have a bearing of 14 degrees-the former to the south and the latter to the north of due east.'[659]

61. The course of the sun throughout the year as viewed from the lat.i.tude of Giza. A full range of 56 degrees is defined between summer solstice at 28 degrees north of east and winter solstice at 28 degrees south of east (with the equinox, of course, at due east). The 'cross-quarter' sunrises therefore occur at 14 degrees north of east and 14 degrees south of east respectively, thus dividing the sun's range along the horizon into four equal parts.

62. The Khufu causeway runs 14 degrees north of east in perfect alignment with the cross-quarter sunrise that falls between the spring equinox and the summer solstice (and thus also, on the sun's 'return journey', between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox).

63. The Menkaure causeway runs due east in perfect alignment with sunrise on the spring equinox and on the autumn equinox.

64. The Khafre causeway runs 14 degrees south of east in perfect alignment with the cross-quarter sunrise that falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox (and thus also, on the sun's 'return journey', between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice).

Legon has also provided conclusive evidence that the design of the Khufu and Khafre causeways is in fact integrated with the geometry of the Giza complex as a whole-and not merely with that of the individual Pyramids themselves. Furthermore, far from being conditioned by the topography of the site (as had previously been supposed) the direction of these causeways (14 degrees north and south of east respectively) shows every sign of being part of a 'unified plan' whose 'hidden purpose' and impetus 'possibly resided with the priests of Heliopolis'.[660]

But what 'hidden purpose' could dictate the decision to direct one causeway due east, another 14 degrees south of due east, and a third 14 degrees north of due east?

When sunrise is observed conscientiously throughout the course of the year from the lat.i.tude of Giza, the answer to this question becomes obvious. Here, as everywhere else on the planet, the sun rises due east-in line with the Menkaure causeway (and the gaze of the Sphinx)-on the spring equinox. What is unique about the lat.i.tude of Giza, as we have noted several times previously, is that on the summer solstice (the longest day of the year) the sun rises 28 degrees to the north of due east whilst on the winter solstice (the shortest day) it rises 28 degrees to the south of due east. This gives a full variation of 56 degrees and it is a simple matter of fact that what astronomers refer to as the 'cross-quarters' of this variation, i.e. the sunrise-points located exactly half way between each equinox and solstice, are at 14 degrees north of due east and 14 degrees south of due east respectively. In short the three causeways signal and bracket the equinox with two gigantic 'arrows' pointed at the cross-quarter sunrises and a third arrow (the Menkaure causeway) pointed at the equinox sunrise itself. In this fas.h.i.+on the sun's range throughout the year along the eastern horizon is architecturally divided into four equal segments each with a range of 14 degrees-i.e. into its astronomical 'cross-quarters'.

Now a focus on the cross-quarter days, together with the equinoxes and solstices, is an extremely well-doc.u.mented phenomenon amongst many ancient astronomically minded peoples (dictating the alignment of their temples and the dates of their most important festivals).[661] It is therefore not surprising to find such a focus expressed in the architecture of the Giza necropolis. Neither should we be surprised by the accuracy with which the causeways define the cross-quarters since all the other alignments of the necropolis were achieved with equally high precision.

65. Epoch of 10,500 bc: the rising of Leo on the cross-quarter sunrise between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This sunrise occurs at 14 degrees south of east, the point on the horizon targeted by the Khafre causeway.

66. Epoch of 10,500 bc: gaze of the Sphinx on the cross-quarter sunrise between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Note the profile of the constellation of Leo with only its head, back and shoulders protruding above the sky-horizon and compare with the profile of the Sphinx, as viewed from the south.

67. The Great Sphinx in the 'ground-horizon' of Giza, with only its ma.s.sive head, back and shoulders protruding into view above ground level. Once again the images in the sky and on the ground 'lock' at 10,500 bc.

There is one feature of the layout, however, that is truly exceptional and remarkable.

Computer reconstructions of the ancient skies reveal that if we could travel back in time to the cross-quarter day that fell between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox in 10,500 bc, and position ourselves at the 'top', i.e. the western end, of the Khafre causeway gazing along it towards the edge of the 'Horizon' of Giza, then we would witness the following celestial events at dawn: 1. The sun would rise at 14 degrees south of east in direct alignment with the causeway;[662]

2. Immediately to the left of this point would be the great constellation of Leo-Horakhti, with only its ma.s.sive head and shoulders protruding above the horizon line (it would, in other words, appear to be partially sunk, or 'buried' in the 'Horizon of the Sky').

Now let us look down from the sky to the ground. Following the southeasterly direction of the causeway from the same viewpoint we note that it sinks down with the general slope of the Giza plateau and pa.s.ses just to the south of the southern edge of the Sphinx enclosure. The Sphinx itself-Hor-em-Akhet-stands partially sunk, or 'buried' in that enclosure (and thus in the 'Horizon of Giza') with only its ma.s.sive head and shoulders protruding out of the groundline.

Once again the images of sky and ground match perfectly at 10,500 bc and in no other epoch ...

Treasure map

We said earlier that in the architectural-astronomical system of the Pyramid builders the position of the vernal point along the ecliptic which denoted the 'Splendid Place of the "First Time" ' was considered to be 'controlled' by the position of Osiris-Orion at the meridian: 'slide' Orion's belt up from its location at 2500 bc and the vernal point is 'pushed' westwards around the ecliptic (and forward in time) in the direction Taurusa Ariesa Piscesa Aquarius; 'slide' it down and the vernal point is pushed 'east', i.e. back in time, in the direction Taurusa Geminia Cancera Leo. So in 10,500 bc, with the belt stars fully 'slid down' to their lowest possible alt.i.tude above the horizon, how far around the ecliptic has the vernal point been 'pushed? We know it is in Leo. But where in Leo?

Computer simulations show that it lay exactly 111.111 degrees east of the station that it had occupied at 2500 bc. Then it had been at the head of the Hyades-Taurus close to the right bank of the Milky Way; 8000 years earlier it lay directly under the rear paws of the constellation of Leo.

As we have hinted, this is a location that is likely to have a terrestrial 'double'. The three stars of Orion's belt have their terrestrial doubles in the form of the three Great Pyramids. The constellation of Leo-Horakhti has its terrestrial double in the form of Hor-em-Akhet, i.e. the Great Sphinx. The 'Horizon of the Sky' has its terrestrial double in the form of the 'Horizon of Giza'. And the Great Sphinx crouches literally within this 'Horizon'.

It was to the breast of the Great Sphinx, at the summer solstice in the Pyramid Age, that the quest of the Horus-King led. There he encountered the Akhus: 'How has this happened to you', say they, the Akhus with their mouths equipped, 'that you have come to this place more n.o.ble than any place?'

'I have come ... because the reed floats of the sky were set down for Re [the sun-disc and cosmic 'double' of the Horus-King] that Re might cross [the Milky Way] on them to Horakhti at the Horizon' ...[663]

In other words, the Horus-King has successfully understood and used the clues provided in the ritual. He has noted and followed the path of the sun during the solar year from its starting point-designated in the texts as being beside the Hyades-Taurus, i.e. the 'Bull of the Sky'-and thence across the Milky Way until the moment of its conjunction with Regulus, the heart-star of Leo. He has then taken this celestial treasure map, transposed its co-ordinates to the ground, made his way across the River Nile and ascended to the Giza plateau, coming eventually to the breast of the Sphinx.

We think that he received there the necessary clues or instructions to find the entrance to the terrestrial Duat, to the 'Kingdom of Osiris' on the ground-in short to the 'Splendid Place of the "First Time" ' where he would have to go in order to complete his quest. And we suggest that these clues were designed to encourage him to track the vernal point, just as we have done, to the location that it would have occupied in 10,500 bc when Orion's belt had reached the lowest point in its precessional cycle.

In other words it is our hypothesis that the Giza monuments, the past, present and future skies that lie above them, and the ancient funerary texts that interlink them, convey the lineaments of a message. In attempting to read this message we have done no more than follow the initiation 'journey' of the Horus-Kings of Egypt. And like the ancient Horus-Kings we, too, have arrived at a most intriguing crossroad. The trail of initiation has guided us, directed us and finally lured us to stand in front of the Great Sphinx and, like Oedipus, to confront the ultimate riddles: 'Where did we come from?' 'Where are we to go to?'

The gaze of the Sphinx urges us to see through the shadowy veil and seek the 'First Time'. But, having done that, it also provokes us to ask whether there might not in fact be something at Giza, something physical, that would give form to the site's strange aura of vast and exceptional antiquity.

We remember a pa.s.sage from the Coffin Texts which invites us to consider the possibility that some great 'secret' of Osiris may remain hidden within or beneath the monuments of Rostau-Giza in a 'sealed' container: 'This is the sealed thing, which is in darkness, with fire about it, which contains the efflux of Osiris, and it is put in Rostau. It has been hidden since it fell from him, and it is what came down from him onto the desert of sand; it means that what belonged to him was put in Rostau ...'[664]

What can it be that was put in Rostau?

What hidden thing with fire about it?

And where in darkness does it lie?

If we look at our computer simulation of the skies over Giza in 10,500 bc the answer appears to be staring us in the face. In that year, in the predawn on the spring equinox, the constellation of Leo could be seen rising slowly in the east. By around 5 a.m. it was fully risen, exactly straddling due east-a lion in the sky, with its belly resting on the horizon. At the same moment, the sun-marking the vernal point-lay some 12 degrees beneath its rear paws.

68. The Horus-King's treasure map: the heliacal rising of Leo on the spring equinox in 10,500 bc. The sun, marking the vernal point, lies below the horizon, some 12 degrees beneath the constellation's rear paws. When this image is transposed to the ground, the logic of the Horus-King's quest suggests the possibility of a hidden chamber deep in the bedrock of the Giza plateau, approximately too feet beneath the rear paws of the Sphinx.

When we translate this sky-image onto the ground, in the form of a colossal, leonine, equinoctial monument with its belly resting on the bedrock of the real physical environment of the 'Horizon of Giza', we do indeed find ourselves looking at the Horus-King's treasure map. It is a map, not buried in the earth but cunningly concealed in time, where 'X' almost literally 'marks a spot' directly under the rear paws of the Great Sphinx of Egypt at a depth, we would guess, of about 100 feet.

69. Possible locations of an underground system of pa.s.sageways and chambers beneath the Great Sphinx suggested by astronomical correlations and by seismographic tests (see Part I of the present work).

If we have read the message of the 'Followers of Horus' right, then there is something of momentous importance there, waiting to be found-by seismic surveys, by drilling and excavations, in short by a rediscovery and exploration of the hidden corridors and chambers of the earthly 'Kingdom of Osiris'.

It could be the ultimate prize.