If you ever see a picture of the pyramids in Egypt, you may notice one, or more, of the faces may be dark. If you can see several pyramids in one picture, you will see that all of them will have the same face that is dark. That is because they are all lined up with the sun the same way. At noon, when the sun is pointed straight down, at least three of the faces are lit. The moment the third face becomes illuminated, it is noon East Africa Time. It may be as much as ten minutes before noon in the summer and as much as ten minutes late in the winter.
A person, some distance away, who could see the enormous structure, would know it was noon. And another person who is looking at a different pyramid would also know it was noon at the (nearly) exact same time. Here was a way to synchronize time to within seconds, for a huge number of people over a wide region. Other shadow events may signify the beginning or end of the workday but these may vary depending on the angle of the pyramid. We have to imagine the crisp shadows that must have been seen with the smooth casing blocks in place, would have been much more dramatic than the rough structure we see today. The shadows work today as a clock and they would have worked as well when the pyramids were built. It is inconceivable that the ancients didn't notice the shadows could tell time. They went to a lot of trouble to align the structure with the sun so they all read the same. It would be difficult to argue that these clever people looked at the shadows go through their same motions everyday and nobody thought to use this widely visible phenomenon as a timepiece. And that is a coincidence that aligning the pyramids to provide a peaceful journey for the deceased accidentally made it valuable as a clock.
That some of the earliest structures are pyramids is simply because it is the most stable shape for stacking rectangular stones. The sharp edges and flat faces of a pyramid create shadows on the faces that move from one face to the next throughout the day. In the morning the eastern face is illuminated and at sunset it is the western face. At times in between we see the southern face light up. When multiple pyramids are in view, the shadows on one are the same as the shadows on every other one. That is because they were all built with the north face accurately pointed north. Since the sequence of shadows was the same each day and the pyramids can be seen at a distance and there are over 100 pyramids spread over a large area, the entire population would be synchronized in time. It could signal a gathering time for a religious ceremony, official announcement, entertainment activity, military action or anything that requires people to be somewhere at the same time. Or it shows when the markets are open or some shipment will arrive. It tells when to go to work, eat lunch and go home. It also can show a fixed time interval to gauge production. A foreman could count the blocks moved by different gangs or measure water flowing into an irrigation canal. This was a clock, of sorts, and was immensely beneficial.
There are six combinations of light and dark with three faces. At noon, all three faces are lit, but it doesn't last long. If the first moment all three faces light up is noted, that point in time can be within 1 or 2 minutes variation. The shadows change at 6 AM, 8 AM, 10 AM, 12 AM, 2 PM, 4 PM and 6 PM. That isn't much resolution but the degree of shading might give 3 points in between or 40 minutes resolution. Winter tends to delay times 10 minutes or so. The north face is dark all winter and lighter in the summer. The switch happens at either equinox and this was important to determine when seeds should be planted. I experimented with the sun feature in Google Earth to see the shadows on the pyramids. A slide control shows up on the screen that changes the time of day and one can see the shadows turn on and off. All the pyramids changed shadows at the same time.
The angle of the sides of the pyramid determine the length of the workday. One pyramid changes angle halfway up and the bottom gives a 7.2 hour workday while the upper part gives 11.5 hours. Another pyramid, called the stepped pyramid, actually spirals as the steps go up. The shadows run around the pyramid as the sun moves giving finer resolution.
The pyramids had functions other than just a clock. They have passages and rooms inside so they did something, whether it be a tomb, food stores, drinking water storage, factory or something else. But, if you are building a tall structure that can be seen for miles and when oriented properly will tell the time accurately, it would be foolish not to do so. And these people were not foolish. It also takes a network of pyramids so a person can look at a pyramid on the left and know that these shadows are identical to the shadows on the right pyramid that are hidden from view. Rumors say the casing stones originally had TIMEX carved on the face but I may be the source of that rumor.
The Great Pyramid actually has eight sides. Each face is sucked in about four feet at the center which forms a line straight up the middle. This is nearly invisible, ordinarily, but when the sun hits it just right and for a very short time, a shadow forms that shows the to halves. I believe this may have been to increase the resolution of the clock. It is visible once or twice a year at the equinox.
An obelisk is a thin tall structure that looks like the Washington Monument. Typically, Egyptologists tell us they cast a shadow that was used to tell time. Looking at a shadow on the ground requires someone to walk to the base. These obelisks have a pyramid on top that may have been the actual clock. The
shadows would act the same and could be seen by people from a distance.
In the pictures below, the one with a single pyramid lit on three faces. As soon as the left (west) face is lit, it is noon East Africa Time. In this case, the north face is dark so it is in the winter. Noon will actually be up to ten minutes late. The yellow picture just shows how the angle of the pyramid affects how long it takes for a shadow to change. This lengthens or shortens the work day. The picture showing eight sides of a pyramid is taken during either equinox. This lasts only a few minutes a year but it tells farmers when they should plant their crops.
A person, some distance away, who could see the enormous structure, would know it was noon. And another person who is looking at a different pyramid would also know it was noon at the (nearly) exact same time. Here was a way to synchronize time to within seconds, for a huge number of people over a wide region. Other shadow events may signify the beginning or end of the workday but these may vary depending on the angle of the pyramid. We have to imagine the crisp shadows that must have been seen with the smooth casing blocks in place, would have been much more dramatic than the rough structure we see today. The shadows work today as a clock and they would have worked as well when the pyramids were built. It is inconceivable that the ancients didn't notice the shadows could tell time. They went to a lot of trouble to align the structure with the sun so they all read the same. It would be difficult to argue that these clever people looked at the shadows go through their same motions everyday and nobody thought to use this widely visible phenomenon as a timepiece. And that is a coincidence that aligning the pyramids to provide a peaceful journey for the deceased accidentally made it valuable as a clock.
That some of the earliest structures are pyramids is simply because it is the most stable shape for stacking rectangular stones. The sharp edges and flat faces of a pyramid create shadows on the faces that move from one face to the next throughout the day. In the morning the eastern face is illuminated and at sunset it is the western face. At times in between we see the southern face light up. When multiple pyramids are in view, the shadows on one are the same as the shadows on every other one. That is because they were all built with the north face accurately pointed north. Since the sequence of shadows was the same each day and the pyramids can be seen at a distance and there are over 100 pyramids spread over a large area, the entire population would be synchronized in time. It could signal a gathering time for a religious ceremony, official announcement, entertainment activity, military action or anything that requires people to be somewhere at the same time. Or it shows when the markets are open or some shipment will arrive. It tells when to go to work, eat lunch and go home. It also can show a fixed time interval to gauge production. A foreman could count the blocks moved by different gangs or measure water flowing into an irrigation canal. This was a clock, of sorts, and was immensely beneficial.
There are six combinations of light and dark with three faces. At noon, all three faces are lit, but it doesn't last long. If the first moment all three faces light up is noted, that point in time can be within 1 or 2 minutes variation. The shadows change at 6 AM, 8 AM, 10 AM, 12 AM, 2 PM, 4 PM and 6 PM. That isn't much resolution but the degree of shading might give 3 points in between or 40 minutes resolution. Winter tends to delay times 10 minutes or so. The north face is dark all winter and lighter in the summer. The switch happens at either equinox and this was important to determine when seeds should be planted. I experimented with the sun feature in Google Earth to see the shadows on the pyramids. A slide control shows up on the screen that changes the time of day and one can see the shadows turn on and off. All the pyramids changed shadows at the same time.
The angle of the sides of the pyramid determine the length of the workday. One pyramid changes angle halfway up and the bottom gives a 7.2 hour workday while the upper part gives 11.5 hours. Another pyramid, called the stepped pyramid, actually spirals as the steps go up. The shadows run around the pyramid as the sun moves giving finer resolution.
The pyramids had functions other than just a clock. They have passages and rooms inside so they did something, whether it be a tomb, food stores, drinking water storage, factory or something else. But, if you are building a tall structure that can be seen for miles and when oriented properly will tell the time accurately, it would be foolish not to do so. And these people were not foolish. It also takes a network of pyramids so a person can look at a pyramid on the left and know that these shadows are identical to the shadows on the right pyramid that are hidden from view. Rumors say the casing stones originally had TIMEX carved on the face but I may be the source of that rumor.
The Great Pyramid actually has eight sides. Each face is sucked in about four feet at the center which forms a line straight up the middle. This is nearly invisible, ordinarily, but when the sun hits it just right and for a very short time, a shadow forms that shows the to halves. I believe this may have been to increase the resolution of the clock. It is visible once or twice a year at the equinox.
An obelisk is a thin tall structure that looks like the Washington Monument. Typically, Egyptologists tell us they cast a shadow that was used to tell time. Looking at a shadow on the ground requires someone to walk to the base. These obelisks have a pyramid on top that may have been the actual clock. The
shadows would act the same and could be seen by people from a distance.
In the pictures below, the one with a single pyramid lit on three faces. As soon as the left (west) face is lit, it is noon East Africa Time. In this case, the north face is dark so it is in the winter. Noon will actually be up to ten minutes late. The yellow picture just shows how the angle of the pyramid affects how long it takes for a shadow to change. This lengthens or shortens the work day. The picture showing eight sides of a pyramid is taken during either equinox. This lasts only a few minutes a year but it tells farmers when they should plant their crops.
