Authors: Robert Bauval
The Egypt Code (23 page)
Plan of the Satet temple
In 1983 the astronomer Ron Wells from the University of California took an interest in the Satis temple and decided to investigate its alignments.
34
Wells had a hunch that the 2,800-years evolution of this temple, coupled with the fact that Satis was closely associated with the Nile’s flood and thus the heliacal rising of Sirius, might yield some interesting astronomical results. Wells knew that the last temple of Satis on this site was built in the Ptolemaic period, and it was obvious to him - even when looking with the naked eye - that its axis was aligned a few degrees further north than the axis of the earlier temple built underneath it. Wells had a hunch that this northerly shift could be explained by the northerly shift of Sirius caused by precession. Making use of the pole star, Polaris (Alpha Ursa Minor), to establish true north, he calculated that the orientation of the Ptolemaic temple was 24.65° south-of-east and that the axis of the earlier New Kingdom temple underneath was 30.60° south-of-east. To his astonishment, he found that this 5.95° difference exactly matched the precessional drift of Sirius during the time between the building of the two temples.
35
Although the axis of the early-dynasty temple further underneath could not be determined with accuracy, it was obvious that it was deviated even more to the south than the earlier temples above it, confirming that the ancient Egyptian surveyors had been aware of the effect of precession on the star Sirius and, more intriguingly, had also tracked it for nearly three millennia.
36
34
Wells had a hunch that the 2,800-years evolution of this temple, coupled with the fact that Satis was closely associated with the Nile’s flood and thus the heliacal rising of Sirius, might yield some interesting astronomical results. Wells knew that the last temple of Satis on this site was built in the Ptolemaic period, and it was obvious to him - even when looking with the naked eye - that its axis was aligned a few degrees further north than the axis of the earlier temple built underneath it. Wells had a hunch that this northerly shift could be explained by the northerly shift of Sirius caused by precession. Making use of the pole star, Polaris (Alpha Ursa Minor), to establish true north, he calculated that the orientation of the Ptolemaic temple was 24.65° south-of-east and that the axis of the earlier New Kingdom temple underneath was 30.60° south-of-east. To his astonishment, he found that this 5.95° difference exactly matched the precessional drift of Sirius during the time between the building of the two temples.
35
Although the axis of the early-dynasty temple further underneath could not be determined with accuracy, it was obvious that it was deviated even more to the south than the earlier temples above it, confirming that the ancient Egyptian surveyors had been aware of the effect of precession on the star Sirius and, more intriguingly, had also tracked it for nearly three millennia.
36
The same curious tracking of Sirius is also evident at Dendera. This region in northern Upper Egypt is near the modern town of Qena, some 60 kilometres north of Luxor as the crow flies. Known as Iunet or Tentere (Tentyris in Greek) in ancient times, it was the capital of the Sixth Nome of Upper Egypt. Today a visit to Dendera starts at Luxor, where your taxi or coach must join a convoy under the protection of armed policemen. Apart from this amusing inconvenience, the drive along the Nile is marvellous, as this part of Upper Egypt is rich in agricultural land and pretty traditional villages along the way. At Qena you cross the Nile over a modern bridge to the west side where the great temple complex of Hathor stands in glorious isolation at the edge of the western desert.
A goddess whose origin goes back into prehistory, Hathor ranked very high in the Egyptian pantheon. She was the great cow-eared goddess, protector of lovers and dancers, patron of merrymaking and sexuality. Her name literally meant ‘House of Horus’ (
Hat-Hor
),
37
and as such, she was regarded as the divine nurse (some say mother) of the reigning Horus-king. Hathor was very closely associated with the goddess Isis, wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Indeed, so close were Hathor and Isis that in Ptolemaic times their names were either fused or interchangeable, as the following inscription at Dendera relating to Hathor clearly shows: ‘The beautiful one who appears in heaven, the truth which regulates the world at the head of the sun barge, the queen and mistress of awe, the ruler (of gods and) goddess, Isis the Great, the mother of gods.’
38
In very early times the city of Memphis was an important centre of worship for Hathor, and there she was known as the ‘Lady of the Sycamore’. But by the time of the Old Kingdom her cult centre was well established at Dendera.
Hat-Hor
),
37
and as such, she was regarded as the divine nurse (some say mother) of the reigning Horus-king. Hathor was very closely associated with the goddess Isis, wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Indeed, so close were Hathor and Isis that in Ptolemaic times their names were either fused or interchangeable, as the following inscription at Dendera relating to Hathor clearly shows: ‘The beautiful one who appears in heaven, the truth which regulates the world at the head of the sun barge, the queen and mistress of awe, the ruler (of gods and) goddess, Isis the Great, the mother of gods.’
38
In very early times the city of Memphis was an important centre of worship for Hathor, and there she was known as the ‘Lady of the Sycamore’. But by the time of the Old Kingdom her cult centre was well established at Dendera.
The great antiquity of Dendera is attested by tombs there that go back to the first dynasties.
39
The temple of Hathor as we see it today was founded by Ptolemy XII Auletes in 54 BC and further developed during the Roman period, but it is known that there existed an older temple at this site dating from the reign of Thothmoses III (
c.
1450 BC). Also, an inscription on a wall at Dendera mentions the pharaoh Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty (
c
. 2350 BC), suggestive of an even earlier origin for the temple. There are also inscriptions in one of the crypts that speak of the time of the legendary Shemsu-Hor, or ‘Followers of Horus’ (although Egyptologists discount them as being ‘mythical’ ancestors).
40
Indeed, one of the inscriptions claims that the original blueprint of the temple was drawn by the Shemsu-Hor themselves and was preserved on the temple walls by King Pepi I:
39
The temple of Hathor as we see it today was founded by Ptolemy XII Auletes in 54 BC and further developed during the Roman period, but it is known that there existed an older temple at this site dating from the reign of Thothmoses III (
c.
1450 BC). Also, an inscription on a wall at Dendera mentions the pharaoh Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty (
c
. 2350 BC), suggestive of an even earlier origin for the temple. There are also inscriptions in one of the crypts that speak of the time of the legendary Shemsu-Hor, or ‘Followers of Horus’ (although Egyptologists discount them as being ‘mythical’ ancestors).
40
Indeed, one of the inscriptions claims that the original blueprint of the temple was drawn by the Shemsu-Hor themselves and was preserved on the temple walls by King Pepi I:
King Tuthmoses III has caused this building to be erected in memory of his mother, the goddess Hathor, the Lady of Dendera, the Eye of the Sun, the Heavenly Queen of the Gods. The ground plan was found in the city of Dendera, in archaic drawing on a leather roll of the time of the Shemsu-Hor (Followers of Horus); it was (also) found in the interior of a brick wall in the south side of the temple in the reign of king Pepi.
41
The Dendera complex is normally approached through an imposing arch on the north side of the boundary wall that leads into a vast open courtyard. The great temple of Hathor, which is aligned roughly south-north, is reached along a processional road starting from the arch. Upon arriving at its huge gate, you are confronted by six imposing columns whose four-sided capitals are carved with faces of Hathor. These columns support the huge beams that span the north side of the temple’s roof. There are a further 18 columns in the first hypostyle hall, and six more in the inner hypostyle hall. Immediately to the west of the open courtyard is a
mammisi
, or ‘birth house’, built in Roman times. And to the west of the main temple is another of these mysterious
mammisi
, built by Nectanebo I, as well as a sanatorium. Further along the west side of the temple is a sacred lake (now dry, with palm trees growing in it). To the rear of the main temple is a small temple which stands alone and, curiously, has its own monumental entrance in the east side of the boundary wall of the complex. This is also a
mammisi
of sorts with a very special claim: it is said to be the birthplace of Isis, and thus is also known as the temple of Isis. It is the alignment of this particular temple which we shall now examine carefully.
mammisi
, or ‘birth house’, built in Roman times. And to the west of the main temple is another of these mysterious
mammisi
, built by Nectanebo I, as well as a sanatorium. Further along the west side of the temple is a sacred lake (now dry, with palm trees growing in it). To the rear of the main temple is a small temple which stands alone and, curiously, has its own monumental entrance in the east side of the boundary wall of the complex. This is also a
mammisi
of sorts with a very special claim: it is said to be the birthplace of Isis, and thus is also known as the temple of Isis. It is the alignment of this particular temple which we shall now examine carefully.
The temple of Isis is unique in that its outer area is aligned west-east while its inner area is aligned south-north and is thus parallel to the axis of the main temple of Hathor. The impression one gets is that something in the eastern horizon was meant to be observed simultaneously with something else seen in the northern horizon. But what?
In 1891, the astronomer Sir Norman Lockyer took particular notice of the temple of Isis when he came across the writings of the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, who seemed to have given this little temple a direct connection with the star Sirius. In one of his works Mariette had pointed out that the temple ‘is to the south-west of the temple of Hathor, its portal is turned to the east, and the sun shines on its portal when it rises to illuminate the world’. Here is Mariette’s own translation of the inscription that implied this cosmic function:
‘She (i.e. the star of Isis) shines into her temple on New Year’s Day, and she mingles her light with that of her Father Ra on the horizon.’
42
From this inscription there can be little doubt that the ancient scribe was describing the heliacal rising of Sirius at dawn.
43
For the reader will recall how the heliacal rising of Sirius marked the New Year’s Day when the calendar was invented in
c
. 2781 BC (which seems to be the same New Year’s Day now celebrated at Dendera). Apparently every New Year’s Day an effigy representing the
ba
(star soul) of Hathor-Isis was taken on to the roof of the temple at dawn so that the light of the rising sun could mingle with it. Now, as the astronomer Edwin Krupp pointed out, ‘some traditions preserved at Dendera are thousands of years old’.
44
He also agreed that these inscriptions ‘describe metaphorically the heliacal rising of Sirius’, and quoted one such inscription himself:
‘She (i.e. the star of Isis) shines into her temple on New Year’s Day, and she mingles her light with that of her Father Ra on the horizon.’
42
From this inscription there can be little doubt that the ancient scribe was describing the heliacal rising of Sirius at dawn.
43
For the reader will recall how the heliacal rising of Sirius marked the New Year’s Day when the calendar was invented in
c
. 2781 BC (which seems to be the same New Year’s Day now celebrated at Dendera). Apparently every New Year’s Day an effigy representing the
ba
(star soul) of Hathor-Isis was taken on to the roof of the temple at dawn so that the light of the rising sun could mingle with it. Now, as the astronomer Edwin Krupp pointed out, ‘some traditions preserved at Dendera are thousands of years old’.
44
He also agreed that these inscriptions ‘describe metaphorically the heliacal rising of Sirius’, and quoted one such inscription himself:
Radiant rises the golden one (Hathor-Isis-Sirius) above the head of her father (near but in advance of the sun) and her mysterious form is at the head of his solar boat . . . As her fellow divinities (the other stars) unite with her father’s rays and as they merge with the glittering of his disk, Dendera is joyful . . . There is a festive mood as they behold the Great One, the firmly striding creator of feasts in the holy city, on that beautiful day of the New Year . . .
45
According to Krupp,
The heliacal rising of Sirius involves only a brief appearance of the star before it is lost in the light of the sun. The event is a union, or marriage, which, when consummated, recreates the world order by celebrating the sun’s ‘birthday’, the New Year. Certainly this astronomical event was watched from the roof of Dendera temple . . .
46
It was Norman Lockyer, however, who was the first to notice that the east-west axis of the small temple of Isis had an orientation of about 18° 30′ south-of-east, which, as we shall soon see, gave it a direct link to very important stellar targets. Typically Egyptologists had not bothered to check the orientation of the temple (or any other temple) because at the time they had assumed (wrongly) that all temples were simply meant to face the Nile without any other meaning to their orientations. In the region of Dendera, however, the Nile takes a sharp turn westwards from its normal northerly flow. From Dendera it thus runs east to west for about 20 kilometres before resuming its south-north flow near the town of Nag Hammadi. Between Dendera and Gebel Law the Nile runs roughly at 18° south-of-west, which means that someone standing at the eastern gate of the Dendera complex and facing the temple of Isis would be looking in its direction of flow. Lockyer had a strong hunch that this unique orientation had something to do with the rising of Sirius at the time the temple was built. Indeed, calculations shows that in 54 BC - the date of the founding of the Ptolemaic temple - Sirius rose at 18° 30′ south-of-east and thus was in alignment with the axis of the temple of Isis.
47
Lockyer’s conclusion was that ‘the temple of Isis at Denderah was built to watch it [Sirius]’.
48
47
Lockyer’s conclusion was that ‘the temple of Isis at Denderah was built to watch it [Sirius]’.
48
There are other inscriptions at Dendera that confirm that the axis of the main temple of Hathor was aligned northwards towards the Plough using the traditional ‘stretching of the cord’ ceremony. Lockyer determined that it was 18° 30′ east-of-north, and aligned to the star Dubhe in the Plough.
49
But he was working with an outmoded chronology, so I decided to check for myself this alignment. Using StarryNight Pro. V.4 to reconstruct the sky of 54 BC above Dendera, I could immediately see that the Plough was, as Lockyer had said, east-of-north. But what I found out was that when Sirius was rising in the east, one of the bright stars in the Plough known as Merak (ß Ursa Major) was positioned at 18° 30′ east-of-north, thus not only marking the rising of Sirius but also forming a right angle with it. Curiously, there exist drawings from the same period that show a figure of a man wearing a hawk-mask clearly representing the Horus-king and using a rod or spear to prod the top of the bull’s thigh, which is surrounded by seven bright stars - clearly the Plough - as if he is indicating to someone (Seshat perhaps?) where to aim or align the temple or pyramid. The place to which the tip of the rod is pointing is, interestingly, where the star Merak should be.
50
49
But he was working with an outmoded chronology, so I decided to check for myself this alignment. Using StarryNight Pro. V.4 to reconstruct the sky of 54 BC above Dendera, I could immediately see that the Plough was, as Lockyer had said, east-of-north. But what I found out was that when Sirius was rising in the east, one of the bright stars in the Plough known as Merak (ß Ursa Major) was positioned at 18° 30′ east-of-north, thus not only marking the rising of Sirius but also forming a right angle with it. Curiously, there exist drawings from the same period that show a figure of a man wearing a hawk-mask clearly representing the Horus-king and using a rod or spear to prod the top of the bull’s thigh, which is surrounded by seven bright stars - clearly the Plough - as if he is indicating to someone (Seshat perhaps?) where to aim or align the temple or pyramid. The place to which the tip of the rod is pointing is, interestingly, where the star Merak should be.
50
It seemed nearly certain that the ancient surveyors had aligned the axes of both temples simultaneously: the temple of Hathor towards Merak in the Plough and the temple of Isis towards Sirius at rising (we should recall that a very similar scheme was applied to the alignment of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, this time, however, using the star Al Kaid in the Plough to mark the rising of Sirius in the east). Inscriptions at Dendera are very suggestive of such a simultaneous sighting procedure towards east and north:
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