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Ian, The answer to your question is no, the Great Pyramid should not be taken out of context with the other pyramids. Also, in my book I did not place the Great Pyramid at an earlier time than the other pyramids. If you will read page 71, you will see what my position is regarding the age of the pyramid. I believe that our differences are fundamental and based on our own personal perspectives of what context should take precedence over the other. You seem to put more weight on the cultural context for which a powerful consensus has evolved over many years. My own perspective is one that sweeps away this 19th and 20th century construct of what this culture was and how the pyramids came to be, and which concentrates on the engineering and physical realities of the stone artifacts that tell me that there is much more to be gained in understanding the pyramid builders by studying their engineering feats. Such a study will then put the pyramids in the correct context, as to both the culture and the physical capabilities of their creators. Pot sherds, hieroglyphs and reliefs tell us a story of the culture that created them. They are open to interpretation and that interpretation may be slightly off key. They also may not necessarily be contemporaneous with the building of the pyramids. As I wrote in my original article on Advanced Machining in Ancient Egypt in 1984, "the language of science and technology does not have the same freedom as speech." What this means is that if an engineering study of the artifacts reveals technologies that differ from those technologies that emerge from a study of hieroglyphs, reliefs, and remaining artifacts, such as primitive tools, then the engineering study and all it reveals should take precedence, because the data can be interpreted more accurately. Speaking as an engineer, this is my firm, unshakable belief. Does this mean that I believe my interpretation is bullet proof? No. Just as with any initial design concept of a functioning device, there will always be some minor modifications. Flawed, though, as it may be in some aspects, it is a lot closer than what has been offered before.
Best Wishes, |