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THE SECRET OF THE PYRAMID 57<br />
greatly by the two semifaces forming the dihedral and thus observations<br />
of the sun, moon, and stars by the line of the apothem<br />
are made much easier. Especially this applies to observations of<br />
the stars Sirius, which was the base for the Sothic year, and<br />
Alpha Draconis, the star that was the north polar star in those<br />
days. The shght dihedral of the faces also reduces the volume of<br />
the pyramid to make it exactly 18 million cubic cubits, which for<br />
some unknown but probably religious or astronomical reason<br />
was of utmost importance to ancient Egyptians.<br />
It is not possible now to measure the exact recession of the<br />
apothem because all the exterior stone plates have been carried<br />
away, but the dimension can be calculated with great precision.<br />
With a base of 440 cubits and a height of 280 cubits, the surface<br />
of the base has to be reduced by 743 square cubits to<br />
obtain a<br />
volume of 18 million cubic cubits. That results in shortening the<br />
apothem by 0.521 cubits and receding its base by exactly 0.844<br />
cubits.<br />
The most astonishing result of this arrangement is that it<br />
pushes back the two half bases of the pyramid by a quarter degree<br />
so that the two halves form an angle of Vi degree. This results<br />
in a difference of 2 minutes of solar clock time and could<br />
have served the ancient astronomers to set their water clocks<br />
or hourglasses to the exact solar time.<br />
Let us have a look now at the angle of inclination of the faces.<br />
With the dimensions of 220 cubits and 280 cubits, the angle is<br />
5i°5o'34", or 52° in round numbers, which leads to another interesting<br />
discovery. We know now that in the distant past the<br />
poles of our planet have wandered considerably. According to<br />
the latest geological data, the poles seem to stand still for a period<br />
of about 30,000 years, then move around for 6,000 years<br />
and lie still in the new place for another 30,000 years. These<br />
cycles are in harmony with the solar constant and the ice ages.<br />
It is now estimated that the present positions of our poles were<br />
Originally, the Pyramid of Cheops had a base side of 219.392 meters,<br />
or 418.5 cubits; a base area of 53,188 square meters, or 193,600<br />
square cubits; and a volume of 2,592,000 cubic meters, or 18 milHon<br />
cubic cubits. The cubit used in this pyramid had a length of 524.148<br />
millimeters.
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