Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid - Hardcover

Smyth, C. Piazzi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0833407201 ISBN 13: 9780833407207

Publisher: Garber Communications, 1980

Synopsis

Charles Piazzi Smyth corresponded with pyramid theorist John Taylor and was heavily influenced by him. Taylor theorized in his 1859 book "The Great Pyramid: Why Was It Built? & Who Built It?" that the Great Pyramid was planned and the building supervised by the biblical Noah. Refused a grant by the Royal Society, Smyth went on an expedition to Egypt in order to accurately measure every surface, dimension, and aspect of the Great Pyramid. He brought along equipment to measure the dimensions of the stones, the precise angle of sections such as the descending passage, and a specially designed camera to photograph both the interior and exterior of the pyramid. He also used other instruments to make astronomical calculations and determine the pyramid's accurate latitude and longitude.Smyth subsequently published his book "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid" in 1864 (which he expanded over the years and is also titled The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets and Mysteries Revealed). Despite his bad reputation in Egyptological circles today, he performed much valuable work at Giza. He made the most accurate measurements of the Great Pyramid that any explorer had made up to that time, and he photographed the interior passages, using a magnesium light, for the first time. For his works on the Great Pyramid, Smyth was awarded a gold medal by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, but in 1874, the Royal Society rejected his paper on the design of Khufu's pyramid, as they had Taylor's. The rejection of his ideas helped contribute to his resignation from his post as Royal Astronomer in 1888.

About this title

Book Description

Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900), Astronomer Royal for Scotland, was keenly interested in 'pyramidology': he was convinced that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built under divine guidance and contained scientific information. This 1864 work sets out his argument, based on the measurements he had made of the Pyramid.

About the Author

Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900) was a Victorian antiquarian-astronomer. He was born in Naples, Italy, to Captain (later Admiral) William Henry Smyth and his wife Annarella. He was called Piazzi after his godfather, the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi, whose acquaintance his father had made at Palermo when serving in the Mediterranean. In 1846 he was appointed Astronomer Royal for Scotland, based at the Calton Hill Observatory in Edinburgh, and professor of astronomy in the University of Edinburgh. Later, he wrote a popular account of a scientific voyage in Teneriffe, an astronomers Experiment. It was the first book ever illustrated by stereoscopic photographs ('photo-stereographs') and included 20 stereoviews of Teneriffe taken by the author using the wet collodion process. A stereoscope could be purchased which allowed the pictures to be viewed in 3-D without removing them from the book. In 1871 and 1872 Smyth investigated the spectra of the aurora, and zodiacal light. Smyth went on an expedition to Egypt to accurately measure every surface, dimension, and aspect of the Great Pyramid and subsequently published his book Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid in 1864. He died in 1900 and was buried at St. John's Church in the village of Sharow near Ripon. A small stone pyramid-shaped monument, topped by a Christian cross, marks his grave site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Garber Communications
• Publication date: 1980
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0833407201
• ISBN 13: 9780833407207
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 672