Pyramid

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This article is about pyramid-shaped structures. For the geometric term, see Pyramid (geometry). For other uses, see Pyramid (disambiguation).

The Egyptian pyramids of the Giza Necropolis, as seen from the air

Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan

Prasat Thom temple at Koh Ker

Pyramids of Güímar, Tenerife (Spain)

Madghacen king's burial conical pyramids of ancient Algeria (Numidia)

A pyramid (from Greek: πυραμίς pyramis^[1]) is a structure whose shape is roughly that of a pyramid in the geometric sense; that is, its outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single point at the top. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three outer triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square pyramid, with square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version.

A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground,^[2] and with the pyramidion on top means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. This distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures.

Pyramids have been built by civilizations in many parts of the world. For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids—first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, both of Egypt, the latter the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining. Khufu's Pyramid is built mainly of limestone (with large red granite blocks used in some interior chambers), and is considered an architectural masterpiece. It contains around 1,300,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tonnes (5,500 lb) to 15 tonnes (33,000 lb) and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230 m (755 ft), covering 13 acres. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees. The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5 m (488 ft), but today it is only 137 m (455 ft) high, the 9 m (33 ft) that is missing is due to the theft of the fine quality white Tura limestone covering, or casing stones, for construction in Cairo. It is still the tallest pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla.

Contents  [hide]  1 Ancient monuments 1.1 Mesopotamia 1.2 Egypt 1.3 Sudan 1.4 Nigeria 1.5 Greece 1.6 Spain 1.7 China 1.8 Mesoamerica 1.9 North America 1.10 Roman Empire 1.11 Medieval Europe 1.12 India 1.13 Indonesia 1.14 Peru 2 Modern pyramids 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References

Ancient monuments [edit]

See also: List of ancient pyramids by country (disambiguation)

Mesopotamia [edit]

Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran.

The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called ziggurats. In ancient times, these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period^[3] during the fourth millennium BCE. The earliest ziggurats began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period.^[4] The latest Mesopotamian ziggurats date from the 6th century BCE. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the top, but there is no archaeological evidence for this and the only textual evidence is from Herodotus.^[5] Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid

Egypt [edit]

The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids — huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. They are shaped as a reference to the rays of the sun. Most pyramids had a polished, highly reflective white limestone surface, in order to give them a shining appearance when viewed from a distance. The capstone was usually made of hard stone - granite or basalt - and could be plated with gold, silver, or electrum and would also be highly reflective.^[6]

After 2700 BCE, the Egyptians began building pyramids, until about 1700 BCE. The first pyramid was built during the Third Dynasty by king Djoser and his architect Imhotep, as a step pyramid by stacking six mastabas. The largest Egyptian pyramids are the pyramids at Giza. "The Egyptian sun god Ra, considered the father of all pharaohs, was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before creating all other gods. The pyramid’s shape is thought to have symbolized the sun’s rays" (Donald B. Redford, Ph.D., Penn State).^[6]

The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575-2150 BCE.^[7] Ancient Egyptian pyramids were in most cases placed western of the river Nile because the divine pharaoh’s soul was meant to join with the sun during its descent before continuing with the sun in its eternal round.^[6]

As of 2008, some 135 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.^[8][9] The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. Until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in CE 1311, it was the tallest building in the world. The base is over 52,600 square metres (566,000 sq ft) in area. While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world.^[10]

The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the only one to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone, containing great quantities of fossilized seashells.^[11] Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used for construction in Cairo.

The ancient pyramids of Egypt

Most pyramids are located near Cairo, with only one royal pyramid being located south of Cairo, at the Abydos temple complex. The pyramid at Abydos, Egypt were commissioned by Ahmose I who founded the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom.^[12]

The building of pyramids began in the Third Dynasty with the reign of King Djoser.^[13] Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids, with subsequent kings adding to the number of pyramids until the end of the Middle Kingdom. The last king to build royal pyramids was Ahmose,^[14] with later kings hiding their tombs in the hills, like in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's West Bank.^[15]

In Medinat Habu, or Deir el-Medina, smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids were also built by the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the Late Period, though their pyramids had steeper sides.^[16]

Sudan [edit]

Nubian Pyramids at Meroe with pylon-like entrances.

Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 220 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones. They were monuments to dead kings and queens.^[17] Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as late as CE 300.

Nigeria [edit]

One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude, in Abuja, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.^[18]

Greece [edit]

Pausanias (2nd century CE) mentions two buildings resembling pyramids, one, 19 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the still standing structure at Hellenikon,^[19] a common tomb for soldiers who died in a legendary struggle for the throne of Argos and another which he was told was the tomb of Argives killed in a battle around 669/8 BCE. Neither of these still survive and there is no evidence that they resembled Egyptian pyramids.

Pyramid of Hellinikon

There are also at least two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Hellenikon and the other at Ligourio/Ligurio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. They do have inwardly sloping walls but other than those there is no obvious resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. They had large central rooms (unlike Egyptian pyramids) and the Hellenikon structure is rectangular rather than square, 12.5 by 14 metres (41 by 46 ft) which means that the sides could not have met at a point.^[20] The stone used to build the pyramids was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza.

There are no remains or graves in or near the structures. Instead, the rooms that the walls housed were made to be locked from the inside. This coupled with the platform roof, means that one of the functions these structures could have served was as watchtowers. Another possibility for the buildings is that they are shrines to heroes and soldiers of ancient times, but the lock on the inside makes no sense for such a purpose.

The dating of these "pyramids" has been made from the pot shards excavated from the floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been estimated around the 5th and 4th centuries. Normally this technique is used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try to date stone flakes from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not these "pyramids" are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena controversy.^[21] The basis for their use of thermoluminescence in order to date these structures is a new method of collecting samples for testing. Scientists from laboratories hired out by the recent excavators of the site, The Academy of Athens, say that they can use the electrons trapped on the inner surface of the stones to positively identify the date that the stones were quarried and put together^{[citation needed]}.

Mary Lefkowitz has criticised this research. She suggests that some of the research was done not to determine the reliability of the dating method, as was suggested, but to back up an assumption of age and to make certain points about pyramids and Greek civilization. She notes that not only are the results not very precise, but that other structures mentioned in the research are not in fact pyramids, e.g. a tomb alleged to be the tomb of Amphion and Zethus near Thebes, a structure at Stylidha (Thessaly) which is just a long wall, etc. She also notes the possibility that the stones that were dated might have been recycled from earlier constructions. She also notes that earlier research from the 1930s, confirmed in the 1980s by Fracchia was ignored. She argues that they undertook their research using a novel and previously untested methodology in order to confirm a predetermined theory about the age of these structures.^[22]

Liritzis responded in a journal article published in 2011, stating that Lefkowitz failed to understand and misinterpreted the methodology.^[23]

Spain [edit]

The Pyramids of Güímar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of Güímar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The structures have been dated to the 19th century and their original function explained as a byproduct of contemporary agricultural techniques.

Local traditions as well as surviving images indicate that similar structures (also known as, "Morras", "Majanos", "Molleros", or "Paredones") could once have been found in many locations on the island. However, over time they have been dismantled and used as a cheap building material. In Güímar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.

China [edit]

Ancient Korean tomb in Ji'an, Northeastern China

There are many square flat-topped mound tombs in China. The First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (circa 221 BCE, who unified the 7 pre-Imperial Kingdoms) was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped pyramidal earthworks.

Mesoamerica [edit]

Pyramid in the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, Mexico

A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid.

The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. Constructed from the 3rd century BCE to the 9th century CE, this pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan is also located in Mexico. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the Xitle Volcano in the 1st century BCE. There are several circular stepped pyramids called Guachimontones in Teuchitlán, Jalisco as well.

Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of human sacrifice. For the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed about 80,400 people over the course of four days.^[24]

North America [edit]

A diagram showing the various components of Eastern North American platform mounds

Many pre-Columbian Native American societies of ancient North America built large pyramidal earth structures known as platform mounds. Among the largest and best-known of these structures is Monks Mound at the site of Cahokia, completed around 1100 CE, which has a base larger than that of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Many of the mounds underwent multiple episodes of mound construction at periodic intervals, some becoming quite large. They are believed to have played a central role in the mound-building peoples' religious life and documented uses include semi-public chief's house platforms, public temple platforms, mortuary platforms, charnel house platforms, earth lodge/town house platforms, residence platforms, square ground and rotunda platforms, and dance platforms.^[25][26][27] Cultures who built substructure mounds include the Troyville culture, Coles Creek culture, Plaquemine culture and Mississippian cultures.

Roman Empire [edit]

Pyramid of Cestius in Rome

The 27-metre-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the 1st century BCE and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named Meta Romuli, standing in the Ager Vaticanus (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th century.

There is also a Roman era pyramid built in Falicon, France.^[28] There were many more pyramids built in France in this period.

Medieval Europe [edit]

Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g. as the tower of Oviedo's Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador.

India [edit]

The main gopura of the Thanjavur Temple pyramid.

Many giant granite temple pyramids were made in South India during the Chola Empire, many of which are still in religious use today. Examples of such pyramid temples include Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. However the largest temple pyramid in the area is Sri Rangam in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. The Thanjavur temple was built by Raja raja Chola in 11th century. The Brihadisvara Temple was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987; the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were added as extensions to the site in 2004.^[29]

Indonesia [edit]

Borobudur, Central Java.

Next to menhir, stone table, and stone statue; Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia also featured earth and stone step pyramid structures called Punden Berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan, Cisolok and Gunung Padang, West Java. The construction of stone pyramids is based on the native beliefs that mountains and high places are the abode for the spirit of the ancestors.

The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java. However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid.

Peru [edit]

• Caral
• Túcume

Modern pyramids [edit]

Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee

Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan

Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California

• The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, in the court of the Louvre Museum, is a 20.6 meter (about 70 foot) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum. It was designed by the American architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1989.
• The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story true pyramid with light beaming from the top.
• The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (a city named after the ancient Egyptian capital whose name itself was derived from the name of one of its pyramids). Built in 1991, it was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.
• The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States, is an 18-story-tall blue true pyramid.
• The 48-story Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, designed by William Pereira, one of the city's symbols.
• The 105-story Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, Northern Korea.
• A former museum/monument in Tirana, Albania is commonly known as the "Pyramid of Tirana." It differs from typical pyramids in having a radial rather than square or rectangular shape, and gently sloped sides that make it short in comparison to the size of its base.
• The Slovak Radio Building in Bratislava, Slovakia. This building is shaped like an inverted pyramid.
• The Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah, used for instruction in the Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with Modern Mummification.
• The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• The Pyramids at Osho Commune in Pune, India (for meditation purposes).
• The three pyramids of Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas.
• The Co-Op Bank Pyramid or Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, England is a large pyramid-shaped office block in Stockport in England. (The surrounding part of the valley of the upper Mersey has sometimes been called the "Kings Valley" after the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.)
• The Ames Monument in southeastern Wyoming honoring the brothers who financed the Union Pacific Railroad.
• The Ballandean Pyramid, at Ballandean in rural Queensland is a 15 meter folly pyramid made from blocks of local granite.
• The Karlsruhe Pyramid is a pyramid made of red sandstone, located in the centre of the market square of Karlsruhe, Germany. It was erected in the years 1823–1825 over the vault of the city's founder, Margrave Charles III William (1679–1738).
• The GoJa Music Hall in Prague.
• The Muttart Conservatory greenhouses in Edmonton, Alberta.
• Small pyramids similar to those of the Louvre can be found outside the lobby of the Citicorp Building in Long Island City, Queens NY.
• The Pyramids of the City Stars Complex in Cairo, Egypt.
• Pyramid building belonging to The Digital Group (TDG), at Hinjwadi, Pune, India.^[30]
• The Steelcase Corporate Development Center near Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Sunway Pyramid shopping mall in Selangor, Malaysia.
• Hanoi Museum with an overall design of a reversed Pyramid.
• The Pyramide des Ha! Ha! by artist Jean-Jules Soucy fr:Jean-Jules Soucy in La Baie, Quebec is made out of 3 000 give way signs.^[31]
• The "Pyramid" culture-entertainment complex and Monument of Kazan siege (Church of Image of Edessa) in Kazan, Russia.
• The "Phorum" of Expocentre business-exhibition complex in Moscow, Russia.
• Few pyramids of the Marco-city shopping-entertainment complex in Vitebsk, Belarus.^[32]
• The Time pyramid in Wemding, Germany, a pyramid begun in 1993 and scheduled for completion in the year 3183.^[33]
• Triangle, a proposed skyscraper in Paris.
• The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid, a proposed project for construction of a massive pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan.
• The tomb of Quintino Sella, outside the monumental cemetery of Oropa.^{[34][dead link]}

Gallery [edit]

Comparison of approximate profiles of Pyramid with some notable pyramidal or near-pyramidal buildings. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data is available.

• 

  Pyramid of Khafra

• 

  Shaohao Tomb, Qufu, China

• 

  Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, United Kingdom

• 

  Karlsruhe Pyramid, Germany

• 

  The Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee

• 

  Hanoi Museum in Hanoi, Vietnam features an overall design of a reversed Pyramid.

• 

  Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans

• 

  The Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah

• 

  Zafer Plaza shopping center in Bursa, Turkey

• 

  Slovak Radio Building, Bratislava, Slovakia.

• 

  Monument of Kazan siege (Church of Image of Edessa) in Kazan, Russia.

• 

  "Pyramid" culture-entertainment complex in Kazan, Russia.

See also [edit]

• Bosnian pyramid
• List of megalithic sites
• Pyramid (disambiguation) for other uses of the word pyramid.
• Pyramid (geometry) for the pyramid as a 3-dimensional shape in geometry.
• Pyramid power
• Pyramidion
• Pyramids of Güímar
• Step pyramid
• Tomb
• Triadic pyramid
• Ziggurat

Pirámide de La Danta

Pyramids of Güímar

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The Pyramids of Güímar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of Güímar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. There are claims that the structures have been dated to the 19th century and their original function explained as a byproduct of contemporary agricultural techniques. However, results of excavations have so far proved inconclusive.

Other pyramids employing the same methods and materials of construction can be found in various sites on Tenerife. In Güímar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.

Contents  [hide]  1 Research history 1.1 Thor Heyerdahl 1.2 Astronomical research and Freemasonry 1.3 Archaeological excavations 2 Conclusions 3 Ethnographic park 4 References 4.1 Further reading 5 External links

Research history [edit]

Thor Heyerdahl [edit]

In 1990, adventurer and publisher, Thor Heyerdahl, became aware of the "Canarian Pyramids" by reading an article written by Francisco Padrón in the Tenerife newspaper "Diario de Avisos" detailing "real pyramids on the Canaries".^[1] As Heyerdahl had hypothesized a transatlantic link between Egypt and Central America, he became intrigued by the Güímar pyramids and relocated to Tenerife. There Heyerdahl researched possible parallels between the Canarian terrace structures and pyramid structures in Egypt and Central America in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonial areas.

Heyerdahl hypothesised that the Canarian pyramids formed a temporal and geographic stopping point on voyages between ancient Egypt and the Maya civilization, initiating a controversy in which historians, esoterics, archaeologists, astronomers, and those with a general interest in history took part.^[2][3]

Astronomical research and Freemasonry [edit]

In 1991, research by Juan Antonio Belmonte Avilés, Antonio Aparicio Juan and César Esteban López, researchers of the Canary Institute of Astrophysics, shown that the long sides of some of the terrace structures at Güímar marked the direction of both solstices. The main limiting wall points to the sunset in the Summer solstice and the pyramids have stairs on their western side which face the direction of the rising sun on the Winter solstice. Also, standing on the platform of the largest pyramid on the day of the Summer solstice it is possible to experience a double sunset, as first the sun sets behind a mountain top, then it emerges again from behind the mountain and sets a second time behind a neighbouring peak.^[4] However, considering the room for interpretation, it is impossible based solely on these observations to conclude what was the intention of the builders or the building date.^[5]

In 2005, a book was published in Spanish by Aparicio and Esteban titled The Pyramids of Güímar: Myth and Reality. Aparicio and Esteban suggest that the solstitial orientations of the pyramids were potentially motivated by the Freemasons symbolism. These authors argue that solstices are very important in the symbolism of Freemasonry and that the owner of the land in the epoch in which the pyramids were built was himself a freemason. This motivation would be only an aesthetic one and would not modify in any rate the fundamental motivation (agriculture) and date of construction.

Archaeological excavations [edit]

Between 1991 and 1998, with the agreement of Thor Heyerdahl, multiple excavations of the site by archaeologists of the University of La Laguna (Departamento de Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua) took place. In 1996 the results of the 1991 excavation were presented at a colloquium and in 1998 Session published the inconclusive proof delivered by the dating of the pyramids.^[6] According to the preceding geophysical Georadar-Survey eight locations adjacent to the pyramids, each with an area of 25 m², were investigated in layers down to the solid lava-floor. In doing so it was possible to establish three specific sediment layers. Starting from the top these were:

1) A layer of thickness averaging 20 cm, consisting of humus-rich earth with many plant remains and roots; tracks from ploughing were clearly identifiable as were a broad spectrum of readily datable finds from the second half of the 20th century.
2) A layer of thickness averaging 25 cm, similar in composition to the first layer, however containing less humus and a larger amount of small stones; a large variety of finds which could be dated to the 19th and 20th century were found, of which an official seal from 1848 deserves particular mention.
3) A layer of thickness between 25 and 150 cm, composed out of small volcanic rocks, most likely put in place in one movement, which levelled the uneven stone underneath; the stones contained only very few finds, mostly a small number of pottery shards, of which some was local and some imported, both kinds were roughly estimated as belonging to the 19th century; however, the ground directly beneath the pyramids themselves have yet to be excavated.

Furthermore, under the border edge of one of the pyramids a natural lava cave was discovered, which had been walled up and gave up finds from the time of the Guanches. Since the pyramids lie stratigraphically above the cave, the Guanche finds from between 600 and 1000 AD can only support conclusions on the date of human use of the cave.

Conclusions [edit]

Pyramids of Güímar

The archaeologists involved maintain that the creation of the terrace structures followed from the practices of the 19th century rural population, who created these structures while clearing cultivatable land of stones, as they piled the stones into these terrace shapes. The excavations and subsequent research support a date for the construction of the structures no earlier than the 19th century.

Heyerdahl suggested that the structures were not haphazardly piled-up stones. Heyerdahl maintained a belief in the hypothesis that the pyramids were connected with Guanches until his death. The association of the Guanches and the pyramids continues to be elaborated upon both in "Pyramid park" and on its official website.

Aparicio and Esteban's theory connects the facts that the pyramids were built in the 19th century with the acknowledgement that they are not simply piles of stones.

Ethnographic park [edit]

Following the completion of the excavations in 1998, the 65,000 m² area surrounding the pyramids was made accessible to the public. Heyerdahl received financial support from his friend the Canarian businessman Fred Olsen, who owns the largest transport company in the Canaries and whose family came to the islands from Norway in the 20th century. An information centre provides visitors with information about Heyerdahl’s research trips and his previous ideas regarding the pyramids. Two pavilions contain exhibits relating to Heyerdahl along with models of his boats; a replica of the Ra II in its original size, amongst others. In spite of the conclusions regarding the age of the pyramids outlined above, Heyerdahl continued to maintain a belief "in a possible relationship between the existence of the pyramids and the pre Hispanic civilisation on Tenerife".^[7] The objects found in the Guanche cave are shown in the "museum" in heavily enlarged photos, whilst the imported ceramics from the 19th century are mentioned only briefly on an information board – without illustration. The official website states that the museum includes "the results of the excavation campaigns undertaken at the Park". But the results dating the pyramids to the 19th century are not mentioned.

References [edit]

1. ^ Antonio Aparicio Juan/César Esteban López, Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2005, ISBN 978-84-7926-510-6, p. 30-31.
2. ^ Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: Arqueología de las Islas Canarias", in: Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie I, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Bd. 10, 1997, S. 467.
3. ^ Antonio Aparicio Juan/César Esteban López, Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2005, ISBN 978-84-7926-510-6, p. 35-52.
4. ^ J. A. Belmonte, A. Aparicio and C. Esteban, A solsticial marker in Tenerife: the Majanos de Chacona, in: Archaeoastronomy (supplement of Journal for the History of Astronomy), No. 18, 1993, p. 65.
5. ^ Antonio Aparicio Juan/César Esteban López, Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2005, ISBN 978-84-7926-510-6, p. 42-43.
6. ^ Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez/Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos, El complejo de las morras de Chacona (Güímar, Tenerife): resultados del proyecto de investigación, XII Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana (1996), Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, vol. 1.
7. ^ Flyer from the "pyramid park" in Güímar, received on the 16.02.2008 at the ticket booth: Pirámides de Güímar. Parque Etnográfico. DEUTSCH. No year, no locale.

Further reading [edit]

• Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez/Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: El complejo de las morras de Chacona (Güímar, Tenerife): resultados del proyecto de investigación, XII Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana (1996), Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, Volume 1.
• Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos/Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez: El difusionismo atlántico y las pirámides de Chacona, in: Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo y Domingo Sola Antequera: Arte y Sociedad del Egipto antiguo. Madrid 2000, ISBN 978-84-7490-604-2, S. 241-253.
• Antonio Aparicio Juan/César Esteban López: Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2005, ISBN 978-84-7926-510-6.
• http://eye-on-wales.com/2012/05/06/making-up-pyramids/
• Short summary from Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad in Spanish.
• Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: Arqueología de las Islas Canarias", in: Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie I, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Bd. 10, 1997, S. 447-478.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramids_of_G%C3%BC%C3%ADmar

Pyramid of Cestius

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Pyramid of Cestius
The Pyramid of Cestius
Location	Regione XIII Aventinus
Built in	c. 12 BC
Built by/for	Gaius Cestius
Type of structure	Pyramid
Related	List of ancient monuments in Rome
Pyramid of Cestius

The Pyramid of Cestius (in Italian, Piramide di Caio Cestio or Piramide Cestia) is an ancient pyramid in Rome, Italy, near the Porta San Paolo and the Protestant Cemetery. It stands at a fork between two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via della Marmorata. Due to its incorporation into the city's fortifications, it is today one of the best-preserved ancient buildings in Rome.

Contents  [hide]  1 Physical attributes 2 Inscriptions 3 History 4 References 5 External links

Physical attributes [edit]

The pyramid was built about 18 BC–12 BC as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a magistrate and member of one of the four great religious corporations in Rome, the Septemviri Epulonum. It is of brick-faced concrete covered with slabs of white marble standing on a travertine foundation, measuring 100 Roman feet (29.6 m) square at the base and standing 125 Roman feet (37 m) high.^[1]

In the interior is the burial chamber, a simple barrel-vaulted rectangular cavity measuring 5.95 metres long, 4.10 m wide and 4.80 m high. When it was (re)discovered in 1660, the chamber was found to be decorated with frescoes, which were recorded by Pietro Santi Bartoli, but only the scantest traces of these now remain. There was no trace left of any other contents in the tomb, which had been plundered in antiquity. The tomb had been sealed when it was built, with no exterior entrance; it is not possible for visitors to access the interior,^[1] except by special permission typically only granted to scholars.

Inscriptions [edit]

A dedicatory inscription is carved into the east and west flanks of the pyramid, so as to be visible from both sides. It reads:

C · CESTIVS · L · F · POB · EPULO · PR · TR · PL

VII · VIR · EPOLONVM

Gaius Cestius, son of Lucius, of the gens Pobilia, member of the College of Epulones, praetor, tribune of the plebs, septemvir of the Epulones ^[1][2]

Night view from Porta San Paolo

Below the inscription on the east-facing side is a second inscription recording the circumstances of the tomb's construction. This reads:

OPVS · APSOLVTVM · EX · TESTAMENTO · DIEBVS · CCCXXX

ARBITRATV

PONTI · P · F · CLA · MELAE · HEREDIS · ET · POTHI · L

The work was completed, in accordance with the will, in 330 days, by the decision of the heir [Lucius] Pontus Mela, son of Publius of the Claudia, and Pothus, freedman ^[1]

Another inscription on the east face is of modern origins, having been carved on the orders of Pope Alexander VII in 1663. Reading INSTAVRATVM · AN · DOMINI · MDCLXIII, it commemorates excavation and restoration work carried out in and around the tomb between 1660–62.^[1]

At the time of its construction, the Pyramid of Cestius would have stood in open countryside (tombs being forbidden within the city walls). Rome grew enormously during the imperial period, and, by the 3rd century AD, the pyramid would have been surrounded by buildings. It originally stood in a low-walled enclosure, flanked by statues, columns and other tombs.^[3] Two marble bases were found next to the pyramid during excavations in the 1660s, complete with fragments of the bronze statues that originally had stood on their tops. The bases carried an inscription recorded by Bartoli in an engraving of 1697:

The pyramid was incorporated into the Aurelian Walls and is close to Porta San Paolo (on the right).

M · VALERIVS · MESSALLA · CORVINVS ·

P · RVTILIVS · LVPVS · L · IVNIVS · SILANVS ·

L · PONTIVS · MELA · D · MARIVS ·

NIGER · HEREDES · C · CESTI · ET ·

L · CESTIVS · QVAE · EX · PARTE · AD ·

EVM · FRATRIS · HEREDITAS ·

M · AGRIPPAE · MVNERE · PER ·

VENIT · EX · EA · PECVNIA · QVAM ·

PRO · SVIS · PARTIEVS · RECEPER ·

EX · VENDITIONE · ATTALICOR ·

QVAE · EIS · PER · EDICTVM ·

AEDILIS · IN · SEPVLCRVM ·

C · CESTI · EX · TESTAMENTO ·

EIVS · INFERRE · NON · LICVIT ·

This identifies Cestius' heirs as Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus, a famous general; Publius Rutilius Lupus, an orator whose father of the same name had been consul in 90 BC; and Lucius Junius Silanus, a member of the distinguished gens Junia. The heirs had set up the statues and bases using money raised from the sale of valuable cloths (attalici). Cestius had stated in his will that the cloths were to be deposited in the tomb, but this practice had been forbidden by a recent edict passed by the aediles.^[1]

History [edit]

Pyramid of Cestius by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (18th century).

Pyramid of Cestius and environs by Giuseppe Vasi (18th century).

The sharply pointed shape of the pyramid is strongly reminiscent of the pyramids of Nubia, in particular of the kingdom of Meroë, which had been attacked by Rome in 23 BC. The similarity suggests that Cestius had possibly served in that campaign and perhaps intended the pyramid to serve as a commemoration. His pyramid was not the only one in Rome; a larger one—the so-called "pyramid of Romulus"—of similar form but unknown origins stood between the Vatican and the Mausoleum of Hadrian but was demolished in the 16th century.^[1]

Some writers have questioned whether the Roman pyramids were modelled on the much less steeply pointed Egyptian pyramids exemplified by the famous pyramids of Giza. However, the relatively shallow Giza-type pyramids were not exclusively used by the Egyptians; steeper pyramids of the Nubian type were favoured by the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt that had been brought to an end in the Roman conquest of 30 BC. The pyramid was, in any case, built during a period when Rome was going through a fad for all things Egyptian. The Circus Maximus was adorned by Augustus with an Egyptian obelisk, and pyramids were built elsewhere in the Roman Empire around this time; the Falicon pyramid near Nice in France was suspected by some to have been constructed by Roman legionaries who followed an Egyptian cult,^[4] but more recent research has indicated that it was actually built between 1803 and 1812.^[5]

During the construction of the Aurelian Walls between 271 and 275, the pyramid was incorporated into the walls to form a triangular bastion. It was one of many structures in the city to be reused to form part of the new walls, probably to reduce the cost and enable the structure to be built more quickly. It still forms part of a well-preserved stretch of the walls, a short distance from the Porta San Paolo.^[6]

The origins of the pyramid were forgotten during the Middle Ages. The inhabitants of Rome came to believe that it was the tomb of Remus (Meta Remi) and that its counterpart near the Vatican was the tomb of Romulus, a belief recorded by Petrarch.^[7][8] Its true provenance was clarified by Pope Alexander VII's excavations in the 1660s, which cleared the vegetation that had overgrown the pyramid, uncovered the inscriptions on its faces, tunnelled into the tomb's burial chamber and found the bases of two bronze statues that had stood alongside the pyramid.^[1]

The pyramid was an essential sight for many who undertook the Grand Tour in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was much admired by architects, becoming the primary model for pyramids built in the West during this period.^[9] Percy Bysshe Shelley described it as "one keen pyramid with wedge sublime" in Adonaïs, his 1821 elegy for John Keats. In turn the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy saw the pyramid during a visit to the nearby Protestant Cemetery in 1887 and was inspired to write a poem, Rome: At the Pyramid of Cestius near the Graves of Shelley and Keats, in which he wondered: "Who, then was Cestius, / and what is he to me?"^[10]

In 2001, the pyramid's entrance and interior underwent restoration. In 2011, further work was announced to clean and restore the pyramid's badly damaged marble cladding, through which water seepage has endangered the frescoes within. The restoration is sponsored by Japanese businessman Yuzu Yakhi, whose €1-million donation resulted in a call for tenders to carry out the work issued by the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma ^[11] whose officials drew up the project and are supervising such an intervention along with the Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage.^[12] Restoration works started in March 2013.^[13]

The pyramid is the namesake of the Piramide station of the Rome Metro.

Comparison of approximate profiles of Pyramid of Cestius with some notable pyramidal or near-pyramidal buildings. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data is available.

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Claridge, Amanda (1998). Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, First, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 59, 364–366. ISBN 0-19-288003-9
2. ^ Di Meo, Chiara: La piramide di Caio Cestio e il cimitero acattolico del Testaccio: trasformazione di un'immagine tra vedutismo e genius loci. Rome: Palombi Fratelli, 2008
3. ^ Lawrence J. F Keppie, Understanding Roman Inscriptions, pp. 104–105. Routledge, 1991. ISBN 0-415-15143-0
4. ^ James Stevens Curl, The Egyptian Revival: Ancient Egypt as the Inspiration for Design Motifs in the West, pp. 39–40. Routledge, 2005. ISBN 0-415-36118-4
5. ^ "La pyramide de Falicon et la grotte des Ratapignata". 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-06. 
6. ^ Aldrete, Gregory S (2004). Daily Life In The Roman City: Rome, Pompeii, And Ostia, Greenwood Press, 2004, pp. 41–42. ISBN 0-313-33174-X
7. ^ Eileen Gardiner, Francis Morgan Nichols, The Marvels of Rome, p. 86. Italica Press, Incorporated, 1986. ISBN 0-934977-02-X
8. ^ Augustus J.C. Hare, Walks in Rome, p. 268. Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. ISBN 1-4021-7139-0
9. ^ Jean-Marcel Humbert, Clifford A. Price, Imhotep Today: Egyptianizing Architecture, p. 27. Routledge Cavendish, 2003. ISBN 1-84472-006-3
10. ^ Radford, Andrew (2008). "'Fallen Angels': Hardy's Shelleyan Critique in the Final Wessex Novels". In Radford, Andrew; Sandy, Mark. Romantic echoes in the Victorian era. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-7546-5788-0. 
11. ^ "The Restoration of the Pyramid of Caius Cestius". Official Website of the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma. 
12. ^ "Restoration of Rome's Pyramid". Wanted in Rome. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
13. ^ Larcan, Laura (13 March 2013). "Al via il restauro della Piramide Cestia, viaggio all'interno del monumento". Il Messaggero. Retrieved 30 March 2013.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Cestius

by if(screen) { topPos=0; leftPos=0; } // Open full page // // Open to size // var newWin1=null; function getPage(thePage,wt,ht) { leftPos= 0; topPos = 0; if ( newWin1 && !newWin1.closed ) { newWin1.close(); } newWin1 = window.open(thePage,'aWin','toolbars=no, resizeable=no,scrollbars=yes,left='+leftPos+',top='+topPos+',width='+wt+',height='+ht); } // --> Gary A. David

In a recent issue of Archaeology magazine Farouk El-Baz of Boston University suggests that the three major pyramids of the Giza Plateau may have been modeled after the naturally occurring, conical hills found near the Kharga Oasis almost 150 miles west of Luxor.

He also notes that the hieroglyph meaning “desert hills” has a pointed shape. 1

On the other side of the globe on the high desert of American Southwest three great mountains rising out of the San

Francisco Peaks eerily echo the Egyptian triad.

The basaltic cinder cone of Humphreys Peak (12,633 feet in elevation, the highest point in the Arizona) dominates this arid landscape.

The slightly lower Agassiz Peak (12,356 feet) is about a mile and a half due south, while Fremont Peak (11,969 feet) rests a mile further southeast.

These mountains are the winter home of the Hopi kachinas, intercessory spirits (rather than gods per se) that take the form of any object or energy in the universe. Shortly after the winter solstice these divine beings travel to the if(screen) { topPos=0; leftPos=0; } // Open full page // // Open to size // var newWin1=null; function getPage(thePage,wt,ht) { leftPos= 0; topPos = 0; if ( newWin1 && !newWin1.closed ) { newWin1.close(); } newWin1 = window.open(thePage,'aWin','toolbars=no, resizeable=no,scrollbars=no,left='+leftPos+',top='+topPos+',width='+wt+',height='+ht); } // --> about 70 miles to the northeast. three Hopi Mesas

There they assist in the germination and growth of corn, squash, beans and other crops during the spring and early summer.

From late April until July Hopi men don kachina masks, not to impersonate these spiritual helpers but to actually become them. Dancing from dawn until dusk in the village plaza under the brutal desert sun, they coax moisture from the few clouds drifting overhead.

Then upon the arrival of the monsoons in mid to late July, the kachinas return to their mountain habitat for the remainder of the year.

The relationship between the Egyptian desert hills and the three monumental pyramids may be similar to that between the volcanic mountains of Arizona and the three major Mesas where the Hopi settled about 900 years ago.

Although the Mesas are natural land forms rather than humanmade structures, the villages built atop them in effect sanctify the surrounding geography.

The center of the Hopi universe, called Tuuwanasavi, is comprised of the if(screen) { topPos=0; leftPos=0; } // Open full page // // Open to size // var newWin1=null; function getPage(thePage,wt,ht) { leftPos= 0; topPos = 0; if ( newWin1 && !newWin1.closed ) { newWin1.close(); } newWin1 = window.open(thePage,'aWin','toolbars=no, resizeable=no,scrollbars=yes,left='+leftPos+',top='+topPos+',width='+wt+',height='+ht); } // --> . First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa

The Egyptian term for the underworld is Duat, whose gateway is Giza. Like the Giza pyramids, the Tuuwanasavi corresponds to the three stars in the Belt of Orion, which is the visual focus and spiritual heart of the constellation. (See my articles regarding the Orion correlation of Arizona in if(screen) { topPos=0; leftPos=0; } // Open full page // // Open to size // var newWin1=null; function getPage(thePage,wt,ht) { leftPos= 0; topPos = 0; if ( newWin1 && !newWin1.closed ) { newWin1.close(); } newWin1 = window.open(thePage,'aWin','toolbars=no, resizeable=no,scrollbars=yes,left='+leftPos+',top='+topPos+',width='+wt+',height='+ht); } // --> and Volume 7/Number 46 of Ancient American.) Issue 37 of Atlantis Rising

The Mesas function as natural ziggurats, lifting the supplicant even closer to the celestial forces that must be appeased in order to gain the blessing of rainfall.

Scholar Vincent Scully explains the cultural significance of these land forms.

“Once we see the mesas as more than simply man-chosen but almost literally man-constructed - at the very least, man-finished, as the Hopi see them - their true scale in Hopi culture opens to our understanding.

 

We remember moreover that there is no semantic distinction for the Hopi between the works of nature and those of mankind. Hence the collaboration of the mesas is between commensurable beings. The Hopi are one with the rock.” 2.

For the Hopi the choosing and finishing of the Mesas is tantamount to the construction of the true pyramids of Egypt or the stepped pyramids of Mesoamerica.

The ancient Hopi petroglyph representing either “mesa” or “rain cloud” is the stepped pyramid, the exact copy of the Egyptian double staircase hieroglyph.

The Egyptian word Aatt means both the necropolis of the pyramid region and the Other World. It is formed by using both the double staircase hieroglyph and the pointed desert hills hieroglyph mentioned above. 3.

The souls of the pharaohs took flight from their pyramids to the stars in the same way that the otherworldly kachinas soar upon terraced storm clouds.

The Hopi word aatsava means “between” and the related word atsva means “above” or “on top,” thereby stressing the verticality of the mesa/pyramid. Incidentally, the primary Egyptian example of the stepped pyramid is found at Saqqara. The Hopi word saaqa means “ladder” or “stepladder.”

In both the Egyptian and the Hopi cultures, pyramids have an avian association. The Bennu bird, also known as the phoenix, was sometimes depicted as a gray heron perched atop a pyramid or obelisk. Periodically regenerated from its ashes, this sacred fowl is a primary symbol of eternal life.

The Bennu was even instrumental in the creation of the cosmos. The Shu Texts describes “...that breath of life which emerged from the throat of the Benu Bird, the son of Rê in whom Atum appeared in the primeval nought, infinity, darkness and nowhere.” 4.

Rising from the primordial abyss, the hikê (life-breath) is carried in the beak of the sacred bird of rebirth. It is perhaps more than a coincidence that the Hopi word hik’si echoes the Egyptian word hikê both phonetically and semantically.

The powerful image of a bird perched on the apex of a pyramid also appears on a Hopi artifact. In the early twentieth century near the present town of Winslow, Arizona the renowned archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes unearthed a stone slab covering a grave at Chevelon Ruin. 5. On one side of the painted slab a white rectangular border with black on the outside encloses three isosceles triangles or pyramids of nearly equal size.

On a yellow background each of these black pyramids contains a white square located near the base. A red bird, perhaps a macaw or parrot, is perched atop all three of these pyramids. Each of the stylized birds has a triangular body, the base of which forms its dorsal side. The body’s apex (where its feet would be) touches each pyramid’s apex. Only the bird at the center has eyes.

Facing to the right, they all have bifurcated tails and curving beaks. The four colors used on this slab are the traditional Hopi directional colors: yellow (northwest), black (southwest), red (southeast), and white (northeast). 6.

What is the meaning of these figures? Fewkes suggests that the triangles are simply rain clouds. The white square at the heart of each pyramid signifies inner space, perhaps an Underworld of sorts. The three pyramids possibly designate the three major promontories in the San Francisco Peaks as well as the three Hopi Mesas.

The exotic parrot or scarlet macaw represents the moisture of the tropical jungles far to the southeast, the direction symbolically implied by their redness.

This is also the region of the Mayan stepped pyramids. Used in prayer stick making and other ceremonies, the multi-hued feathers of these birds may symbolize the nadir, the Underworld direction of “many colors.” 7. Whole bodies of both parrots and macaws have been found in burial sites throughout the Southwest.

Fewkes also discovered other grave slabs at Chevelon with circular holes worn into them, ranging in size from a broomstick to an arm’s width. Somewhat condescending vis-à-vis the modern Hopi, he remarks on their purpose:

“Explanations more or less fanciful have been suggested for these perforated stones, one of which was that the rock had been placed above the body and the hole in it was for the escape of the soul or breath-body.” 8.

Given this evidence, the three birds atop their pyramids in Arizona most likely performed same function as did the journeying soul of the Bennu in Egypt - the omnipresent quest for immortality.
 
The Bennu iconography is also associated with the Benben, a black conical stone, possibly meteoric, used as a pyramidion, or apex of a pyramid. The Egyptian word ben denotes both the nominative “seed” or “semen” and the infinitive “to copulate” or “to impregnate”-- all particularly apropos of the phallic obelisk. 9.

In addition, the cognate ben-t means “cincture, belt, girdle,” 10. and might refer obliquely to Orion’s Belt.

Alnitak, the most eastern star of the Belt (corresponding to the Great Pyramid, or Khufu), literally means “the Girdle,” while Mintaka, the most western star (corresponding to Menkaure) is called “the Belt.” 11.

As with every truly divine omnipotence, the positive aspects are counter-balanced with the negative. Hence the word ben also means “evil, wickedness,” and the words ben-t or benut can also refer to “pustule, boil, abscess, or pus” 12. --all of which are attributes of the Hopi god of the Underworld and death, Masau’u. No “b” sound exists in the Hopi language, but the related word poengoe means “boil” or “abscess.”

Whether or not the pyramid shaped hills of the Sahara served as models for the massive structures at Giza is still debated. Because the winter and summer homes of the kachinas are the San Francisco Peaks and the Hopi Mesas respectively, this tribe most likely acknowledged the relationship between the three natural mountains and the three ceremonialized Mesas. Similarly, these Mesas reflect the three Belt stars of Orion.

Correlations abound, both on earth and in heaven. To live between the two realms upon this vast desert is to feel deep in one’s bones the hermetic maxim “As above, so below.”

 SPAIN, Andalucia

Andreas Scholz/Germany has sent us these fotos from Rodalquilar/Andalucia. The town is famous for its (abandoned) gold mines. And the "pyramids" ? Ancient structures or mine deposits?