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Last Post 3/21/2008 8:44 AM by  Kris Sigsbee
ancient sites
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Anonymous





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3/20/2008 9:49 AM

    Hi,

    Have the egyptian pyramids been linked to any solar obseravtions, or in connection with other sites outside of egypt?


    David Alexander



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    3/20/2008 9:58 AM

    I am not entirely sure how much the pyramids had to do with solar observations or sun worship but many of the pyramids lie along the path of solar eclipses. One of the most powerful Egyptian gods was Ra the Sun god, of course, so the Sun was very important to them. Horus and Atum were also different names for the Sun the first associated with sunrise and the other with the evening Sun.

    David


    Kris Sigsbee



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    3/21/2008 8:44 AM

    Hello,

    I'm not an expert on this topic, but I think it is very interesting because I took a lot of anthropology courses in college.

    The pyramids were built primarily to be the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs, so I don't think they were used to study the sun or other objects in the sky. However, as David pointed out, the sun god Ra and other gods that represented different aspects of the sun were very important to the ancient Egyptians. There are other archaeological sites in Egypt that may have been related to early observations of the motions of the sun and other objects in the sky. An Egyptian "stonehenge" type structure can be found in a large basin known as Nabta Playa. The temple at Abu Simbel had a special alignment with the sun to celebrate the birth and coronation of Rameses II. The temple of the sun god Amon-Re at Karnak also appears to have special alignments with the sun at certain times of the year. You can read more about these site here:

    Nabta Playa - http://sunearthday.nasa.g...ions/egypt_stone.htm

    Abu Simbel - http://sunearthday.nasa.g...ations/abusimbel.htm

    El Karnak - http://sunearthday.nasa.g...cations/elkarnak.htm

    Kris



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