The Great Pyramid-Ancient Observatory?

Has any one heard the theory that the Great pyramid was used as an Astronomical Observatory? This seems to be the most logical explanation to me so far.
With the pyramid approximately half built (summit of the Grand gallery)with a truncated top they used the Grand Gallery to observe the stars, a meridian slot .The observer would have been able to watch the transit of each star as it passed. A reflecting pool at the bottom would have been used to note the exact time of its transit.
This theory also explains the notches cut along the Gallery ramp, 27 watchers used the notches for a bench.
This would have been a very accurate method of recording the heavens.

alternatively you could use a stick and a piece of string

Originally posted by Marduk
alternatively you could use a stick and a piece of string

Oh come one, it could be true that it was used as an Astromical Observatory ( partly ).

Though a stick and a piece of string is good idea, perhaps they didn't know that specific technics yet in the old time, they have to build gigantic building that sacrificed many lifes to do the job.
That's why pyramid is so gigantic.

You could be wrong, but to me you are always wrong.

Yea you can find the north star with a string but the Egyptians knew about the 26000 year precession of the equinoxes. And I dont think you can do that with a string. To me that takes very precise measurements. The pyramid is as close to a modern telescope as you can get.


This is an interior view of the Grand gallery showing how it could have been used to observe the sky at night.



There is also a theory that the chamber beneath was used to take the time measurements where it remains 68 degrees and constant barometric pressure is held. Which would be required to take exact time measurments.



This is how the pyramid originally looked.

Originally posted by earth2
Has any one heard the theory that the Great pyramid was used as an Astronomical Observatory?

No, haven't heard that one.

This seems to be the most logical explanation to me so far.

They didn't make any good star maps (unlike the Sumerians, who did have observatories) and they didn't record the movement of the planets with any accuracy. Societies with sophisticated observatories do both those things.

With the pyramid approximately half built (summit of the Grand gallery)with a truncated top they used the Grand Gallery to observe the stars, a meridian slot .The observer would have been able to watch the transit of each star as it passed. A reflecting pool at the bottom would have been used to note the exact time of its transit.
This theory also explains the notches cut along the Gallery ramp, 27 watchers used the notches for a bench.
This would have been a very accurate method of recording the heavens.

Aye... but take a look at the maps of the sky we have from the ancient Egyptians:
www.moses-egypt.net...

They're not very accurate. It's hard to make out what they assigned to which groups of stars (the lion *might* be our constellation, Scorpio) and what distance they are from each other.

And they don't seem to have known about the precession of the equinoxes. The Maya did, however. They had superb observatories.