42 Equinox and Solstice Points on Egyptian Zodiacs
In this section we will discuss briefly the background behind our new unified interpretation of the symbols of Egyptian zodiacs. The precise astronomical meaning of the symbolism on Egyptian zodiacs was not systematically investigated by previous researchers and consequently, their astronomical dating contains flaws. Let us notice that on many Egyptian zodiacs one can find the same or similar symbols. Sometimes, these symbols are almost identical or just slightly modified. Moreover, there are...
521 Decans on the Long Denderah Zodiac
On some Egyptian zodiacs, in particular on the zodiacs of Thebes type, instead of the constellations the ecliptic is divided into 36 parts, each of them representing a sector 10o long in average see Figure 5.19 . The time needed for Sun to travel across such a sector is approximately 10 days in average. For these reasons we will call these sectors decans. For each of the twelve zodiac constellations correspond in average three decans. It is quite probable that on some Thebes type zodiacs the...
9 Wpp
1 See 4 , Vol. 6, pp. 653, 658, 678. It is clearly a situation where two possible meanings could be associated with the same jackal-headed figure, so Saturn and Mercury could be confused. There is some explanation for it. If we look at Figure 5.32, we notice that there is another god called Seth, with almost identical appearance as Anubis. Although the head of Seth is described by Egyptologists as an imaginary composite animal's head, it is difficult not to see striking similarities to the head...
543 Seth Anubis and Thoth as Egyptian Symbols of Saturn and Mercury
The identification of Saturn with the jackal-headed figure turns out to correspond well with the ancient Egyptian mythology. It is accepted that the jackal-headed figure on ancient Egyptian drawings represents the god Anubis17 see Figure 5.32 , which is, according to the Pyramid Texts, the main god of the dead18. On the other hand, Saturn was also considered to be a god of the dead19, what was also stressed on the medieval representations of Saturn by the presence of a scythe as its attribute...
4 1
Figure 2.9 Photograph of a fragment of the Long Denderah zodiac. Taken from 10 , page 37 Figure 2.9 Photograph of a fragment of the Long Denderah zodiac. Taken from 10 , page 37 dious. We must say that the dating of the Denderah temple was a questionable process from its beginning to the end. An inscription inside the temple indicated that this temple was built by the famous pharaoh Khufu himself from the 6th dynasty according to Egyptologists, he reigned around the year 3000 B.C. , who was the...
41
Figure 1.18 An astronomical chart by A. Durer that was published in the first edition of the Almagest Figure 1.18 An astronomical chart by A. Durer that was published in the first edition of the Almagest the latitudes, leading to a suspicion that they were obtained by a method quite usual in the Middle Ages by measuring equatorial coordinates and subsequently recalculating them into ecliptical ones. Since the calculations of the ecliptic longitudes were much more complicated, larger errors...
32 Two Esna Zodiacs
Esna lies 53 kilometers south of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile river, exactly at the place where Nile begins a big semicircle meander around a stony hills area. This was the burial place for Pharaohs and there is also located the famous Valley of the Kings. It is surrounded by many ancient Egyptian temples, structures and monuments. Denderah is located on the north side of this semicircular area, which is not so far from Esna. Let us point out that most of the ancient Egyptian zodiacs come...
24 Pictures of Egyptian Zodiacs used for Dating in this Book
Investigation of an Egyptian zodiac for the purpose of astronomical decoding requires the most careful analysis of its smallest details. Our study of Egyptian zodiacs shows that some of the details, which at the first glance may seem to be unimportant, in fact are crucial for the correct decoding of the zodiac's astronomical meaning. Therefore, the astronomical dating should be done based on the most accurate and detailed pictures of the zodiacs. The most valuable are the large and detailed...
161 Coordinate System used in the Almagest
The state of preservation of the Almagest is extraordinary, and it seems that in spite that it had been rewritten many times since the 2nd century, its observational data shows inexplicable accuracy. Notice that it is natural to expect that numerous typographical errors must have been made when the catalogue was copied. It is also strange that the star catalogue uses the spring equinox as the reference point for the measurements of the longitudes, which involved additional difficulties that...
13 Questionable Authenticity of the Fundamental Ancient Manuscripts
In modern historiography there is an astonishing lack of information describing the circumstances in which the ancient manuscripts were discovered. The overwhelming majority of these documents appeared only after the dark ages, in the epoch of the Renaissance, in an environment that wasn't helpful to a critical analysis of their datings. Let us mention two 19th century renowned historians P. Hochart and J. Ross who published, in the years 1882-1885 and 1878 respectively, their findings about...
23 Our New Approach to Dating Egyptian Zodiacs
Difficulties, that were described in the previous section 2.2, can be removed by using our new method of decoding and dating ancient Egyptian zodiacs. Namely, we adopt a formal routine to decode not only horoscopes contained in Egyptian zodiacs but also additional astronomical information frequently included in these zodiacs. Let us point out that usually there is enough of additional information to eliminate all incorrect solutions and determine the date of the zodiac uniquely. When dealing...
20
The Holy Roman-German Jewish Kingdom According to Figure 1.24 Parallel between the Holy Roman-German Empire and Jewish Kingdom Figure 1.24 Parallel between the Holy Roman-German Empire and Jewish Kingdom principle was empirically checked using the reliable historical data of 16th - 19th centuries, and its correctness was confirmed. Therefore, the locations of the maxima constitute the numerical data that can be associated with the text X in order to characterize the epoch it is referring to. An...
Ad302
8.4 Two Zodiacs from the Petosiris Tomb 8.4.1 Story of the Discovery and Analysis of the Petosiris Zodiacs. 305 8.4.2 General Description of the Petosiris Tomb and Its Zodiacs 306 8.4.3 Planetary Symbols on the Petosiris Zodiacs 8.4.4 Constellations Symbols. Equinoctial Break on the Zodiac P2 316 8.4.5 Constellations Figures on the Inner Petosiris Zodiac P2 317 8.4.6 The Main Horoscope on the Inner Zodiac 8.4.7 Symbols of Equinoxes, Solstices, Partial Horoscopes and Supplementary Scenes on the...
16 The Controversy over Ptolemys Almagest
The details related to the astronomical and mathematical analysis of the Almagest were published in the book by A.T. Fomenko, V.V. Kalashnikov and G.V. Nosovskiy Geometrical and Statistical Methods of Analysis of Star configurations. Dating Ptolemy's Almagest39 It is traditionally assumed that Claudius Ptolemy was an Egyptian astronomer, mathematician, and geographer of Greek descent who worked in Alexandria during the 2nd century AD. His major astronomical work, the star catalogue Almagest...
12 Who were the Critics of Scaligers Chronology
Questions and doubts regarding the correctness of the presently accepted chronology aren't just a recent phenomenon. They were raised as soon as it was first published. In fact, there were also other competing hypothesis indicating a young age of the written history. Let us cite from the Morozov's book 4 6 Professor de Arcilla of Salamanca University published two of his works Programma Historiae Universalis and Divinae Florae Historicae in the 16th century, where he stated that the whole of...
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Professor Y.V. Tatarinov from Moscow State University for his help in collecting material about the Egyptian zodiacs. Special thanks go to Mane Leung, who created the Windows interface for the program HOROS, which was used for the dating of the zodiacs presented in this book. We are also thankful to our colleagues from the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta, for their interest and support, in...
11 Creation of the Contemporary Chronology of the Ancient Times
Let us discuss briefly the current state of the presently accepted chronology of the ancient and medieval history. The chronology is simply an order of historical events in a certain region arranged on the time line. It also indicates the time interval between a particular historical even and the present era. Almost all the most fundamental historical conclusions and interpretations depend on the dating of related historical events. The chronology is the core of the historical knowledge. The...
Contents
1 The Problems of Historical Chronology 1 1.1 Creation of the Contemporary Chronology of the Ancient Times 2 1.2 Who were the Critics of Scaliger's 1.3 Questionable Authenticity of the Fundamental Ancient Manuscripts 8 1.4 Medieval Anachronisms and Measuring Time in the Middle Ages 10 1.5 Vowels in Ancient 1.6 The Controversy over Ptolemy's 1.6.1 Coordinate System used in the 1.6.2 North Star as the First Star of the Catalogue Almagest 14 1.6.3 Statistical Analysis of the Star Catalogue 1.7...