![Orion Correlation 10,500 BC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Orion_Correlation_10%2C500_BC.png)
The Orion correlation theory is a
fringe theory
A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint which differs from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of scholarship, such a ...
in
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
explaining a possible purpose in the arrangement of the
Giza pyramid complex
The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...
.
It posits that there is a correlation between the location of the three largest
pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
s of the Giza pyramid complex and
Orion's Belt
Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak
Alnitak is a triple star system in the constellation of ...
of the
constellation Orion
Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. I ...
, 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
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
, the god of rebirth and afterlife by the ancient Egyptians.
[The Oxford Guide: Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology, Edited by Donald B. Redford, p302-307, Berkley, 2003, ] Depending on the version of the theory, additional pyramids can be included to complete the picture of the Orion constellation, and the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
river can be included to match with the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
.
The theory was first published in 1989 in ''Discussions in Egyptology'', volume 13. It was the subject of the book ''The Orion Mystery'', in 1994, as well as a BBC documentary, ''The Great Pyramid: Gateway to the Stars'' (February 1994), and appears in some
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
books.
History
The Orion correlation theory was put forward by
Robert Bauval
Robert Bauval (born 5 March 1948) is a Belgian author and lecturer, perhaps best known for the fringe Orion Correlation Theory regarding the Giza pyramid complex.
Early life
Bauval was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to parents of Belgian and M ...
, and mentioned that
Mintaka
Mintaka , designation Delta Orionis (δ Orionis, abbreviated Delta Ori, δ Ori) and 34 Orionis (34 Ori), is a multiple star system some 1,200 light-years from the Sun in the constellation of Orion. Together with Alnitak (Zeta Orio ...
, the dimmest and most westerly of the stars making up Orion's belt, was offset slightly from the others. Bauval then made a connection between the layout of the three main stars in Orion's belt and the layout of the three main pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex. He published this idea in 1989 in the journal ''Discussions in Egyptology'', volume 13. The idea has been further expounded by Bauval in collaboration with Adrian Gilbert (''The Orion Mystery'', 1994) and
Graham Hancock
Graham Bruce Hancock (born 2 August 1950) is a British writer who promotes pseudoscientific theories involving ancient civilizations and lost lands. Hancock speculates that an advanced ice age civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm, but th ...
(''
Keeper of Genesis
Graham Bruce Hancock (born 2 August 1950) is a British writer who promotes pseudoscientific theories involving ancient civilizations and lost lands. Hancock speculates that an advanced ice age civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm, but th ...
'', 1996), as well as in their separate publications. The basis of this theory concerns the proposition that the relative positions of three main
Ancient Egyptian pyramids on the
Giza plateau
The Giza Plateau ( ar, هضبة الجيزة) is a plateau in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, site of the Fourth Dynasty Giza Necropolis, which includes the Great Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries ...
was by design correlated with the relative positions of the three stars in the
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
of Orion which make up Orion's Belt, as these stars appeared in 10,000 BC.
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" are later joined with speculation about the age of the
Great Sphinx
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, E ...
. According to these works, the Great Sphinx was constructed c. 10,500 BC (
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
), and its
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
-shape is maintained to be a definitive reference to the
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
of
Leo. Furthermore, the orientation and dispositions of the Sphinx, the Giza pyramids and the
Nile River
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
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
Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak
Alnitak is a triple star system in the constellation of ...
) and the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
respectively. As Hancock puts it in 1998's ''The Mars Mystery''
(co-authored with Bauval):
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.
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
and
archaeological science maintain that available evidence indicates that the Giza pyramids were constructed during the
Fourth dynasty
The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other ...
period (3rd millennium BC
[(January 21, 2004) (2006) The Seven Wonders]
The Great Pyramid of Giza
.), while the exact date of the Great Sphinx is still unclear.
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
Pseudoarchaeology—also known as alternative archaeology, fringe archaeology, fantastic archaeology, cult archaeology, and spooky archaeology—is the interpretation of the past from outside the archaeological science community, which rejects ...
.
Among these are critiques from two
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
s,
Ed Krupp
Edwin Charles Krupp (born November 18, 1944) is an American astronomer, researcher, author, and popularizer of science. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of archaeoastronomy, the study of how ancient cultures viewed the sky ...
of
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, ...
in Los Angeles and
Tony Fairall of the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
, South Africa. Using
planetarium
A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation.
A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
equipment, Krupp and Fairall independently investigated the angle between the alignment of Orion's Belt and north during the era cited by Hancock, Bauval, et al. (which differs from the angle seen today or in the third millennium BC, because of the
precession of the equinoxes
In astronomy, axial precession is a gravity-induced, slow, and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In the absence of precession, the astronomical body's orbit would show axial parallelism. In particu ...
). They found that the angle was somewhat different from the "perfect match" thought to exist by Bauval and Hancock in the Orion correlation theory. They estimate 47–50 degrees per the planetarium measurements, compared to the 38-degree angle formed by the pyramids.
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.
Indeed, this is what was done in the original book by Bauval and Gilbert (The Orion Mystery), which compares images of the pyramids and Orion without revealing that the pyramids' map had been inverted.
Krupp and Fairall found other problems with their arguments, including noting that if the Sphinx is meant to represent the constellation of
Leo, then it should be on the opposite side of the Nile (the "Milky Way") from the pyramids ("Orion"),
that the
vernal equinox c. 10,500 BC was in
Virgo
Virgo may refer to:
*Virgo (astrology), the sixth astrological sign of the zodiac
*Virgo (constellation), a constellation
*Virgo Cluster, a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Virgo
*Virgo Stellar Stream, remains of a dwarf galaxy
*Virgo Supe ...
and not Leo,
and that in any case the constellations of the
Zodiac
The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
originate from Mesopotamia and were completely unknown in Egypt until the much later Graeco-Roman era.
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
Broadcasting Standards Commission
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers ...
(BSC) that they had been treated unfairly.
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.
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. 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.
Leo and the Sphinx
![Egypt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg)
The
Great Sphinx
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, E ...
is a colossal statue with the face of a man and the body of a
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
. Carved out of the surrounding
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
bedrock, it is long, wide, and has a height of , making it the largest single-stone statue in the world. The Great Sphinx is one of the world's largest and oldest statues, yet basic facts about it such as the real-life model for the face, when and why it was built, and by whom, are debated. These questions have collectively earned the title "
Riddle of the Sphinx
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
", a nod to its Greek namesake.
The Great Sphinx is commonly accepted by Egyptologists to represent the likeness of King
Khafre
Khafre (also read as Khafra and gr, Χεφρήν Khephren or Chephren) was an ancient Egyptian King (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Khufu and the successor of Djedefre. According to the ancient historia ...
(also known by the Hellenised version of his name, ''Chephren'') 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
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
-shape is a definitive reference to the
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
of
Leo; and that the layout and orientation of the Sphinx, the
Giza pyramid complex
The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...
and the
Nile River
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
are an accurate reflection or "map" of the constellations of Leo,
Orion (specifically, Orion's Belt) and the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
, respectively.
A date of 10,500 BC is chosen because they maintain this is the only time in the
precession of the equinoxes
In astronomy, axial precession is a gravity-induced, slow, and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In the absence of precession, the astronomical body's orbit would show axial parallelism. In particu ...
when the
astrological age
An astrological age is a time period in astrological theory which astrologers say, parallels major changes in the development of Earth's inhabitants, particularly relating to culture, society, and politics. There are twelve astrological ages corr ...
was
Leo and when that constellation rose directly east of the Sphinx at the
vernal equinox. They also suggest that in this epoch the angles between the three
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
s of Orion's Belt and the horizon were an "exact match" to the angles between the three main Giza pyramids. These propositions and other theories are used to support the overall belief in an advanced and ancient, but now vanished, global progenitor
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
.
The theory that the Sphinx is far older has received very limited support from
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
s.
Robert M. Schoch
Robert Milton Schoch is an American associate professor of Natural Sciences at the College of General Studies, Boston University. Schoch co-authored and expanded the fringe Sphinx water erosion hypothesis since 1990.
Education
Schoch received a ...
has argued that the effects of water
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
on the Sphinx and its surrounding enclosure mean that parts of the monument must originally have been carved at the latest between 7000–5000 BC.
Colin Reader has suggested a date only several hundred years prior to the commonly accepted date for construction. These views have been almost universally rejected by mainstream Egyptologists who, together with a number of geologists including James Harrell, Lal Gauri, John J. Sinai, and Jayanta K. Bandyopadhyay,
[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.] stand by the conventional dating for the monument. Their analyses attribute the apparently accelerated wear on the Sphinx variously to modern industrial pollution, qualitative differences between the layers of limestone in the monument itself, scouring by wind-borne sand, or temperature changes causing the stone to crack.
References
External links
{{Commons, Pseudoegyptology (Giza), Orion Correlation Theory
"The Giza Pyramids as a Stellar Representation of Orion's Belt"by
Robert Bauval
Robert Bauval (born 5 March 1948) is a Belgian author and lecturer, perhaps best known for the fringe Orion Correlation Theory regarding the Giza pyramid complex.
Early life
Bauval was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to parents of Belgian and M ...
"The Orion Correlation and Air-Shaft Theories"by John A.R. Legon
by E. C. Krupp
by Ian Lawton
1989 introductions
Orion (constellation)
Archaeological controversies
Pseudoscience
Pyramidology
Giza pyramid complex
Fringe theories