In matters of ancient quantification one man reigns supreme. LC Stecchini, through his mastery of classical languages and his mathematical expertise, has made the study of Classical Measure his life’s work. (See his Appendix to Peter Tompkin’s ‘Secrets of the Great Pyramid’). Time, the calendar, weights and measures and maps may seem boring and to be taken for granted. However, they must be fundamental to the evaluation of Hypotheses of Cultural Origins. No fatwa by the Old Guard that ‘accurate measure must categorically be ruled out for ancient cultures’ should deflect us from a study of his computations. In absolute terms there is no room for altercation about Measure. It reflects That Which Is. Iversen’s ‘Canon and Proportions in Egyptian Art’ is one fine mainstream vindication of matters of precision in ancient times. And the cult wagon is rolling!
Military conquerors, who ask such questions as,
‘How far and in which direction must I move to win this battle?’, and
‘Now I’ve won it, what am I worth?’
have always been a conservative, secular force, operating behind the metaphysicians of Measure Theory. Stecchini has shown that weighs and measures are remarkably accurate and consistent over vast spans of time, that they relate to planetary and person size and that they are totally misapprehended and underrated as a tool to enquire into our ancient past.
Some aspects of Stecchini’s work are relevant here. Click to see related picture
1 It helps verify and illuminate the cartography of ancient maps. Those of Anatolia, being of especial interest.
2 The main Ancient Egyptian geodetic line, closely related to the south-north flow of the Nile and to the Great Pyramid, continues as a Great Circle, the Base Ancient Meridian of Zero Degrees.
3 Egyptian maps are also closely related to Latitude 30N and to the Northern Tropic base parallels. Stecchini presents a clear account of the complex problems of their definition.
4 Stecchini and others show how Egyptian hieroglyphs, monuments and pictorial set-pieces encode measure.
5 The essentially arbitrary, Zero Degrees, pole to pole to pole Great Circle is the starting point for a planetary mapping system.
6 The Egyptian Zero Meridian passed through the Nile Delta and crossed the west of Anatolia as 31, 30’E of our, Greenwich-based, Prime Meridian reckoning.
7 Its route was marked by omphalos survey points. The first of these was close to modern Manavgat: Further north Pessinus, and the junction of the E90 and E96 roads, had significance. The meridian passed close to Bolu, crossed the coast near Eregli, and intersected with the 45N Latitude between the Crimea and the Danube Delta.
8 Egyptian pictures exist showing techniques of this survey work. The Egyptian Hieroglyphic Symbol for the omphalos is a domed cylinder flanked with two carrier pigeons.
9 From Sardis, an important omphalos, carrier pigeons were frequently dispatched to other observatories. For example, those on the Greek mainland at Dodona and Delphi. Time and distance calculations could thus be made, and messages exchanged.
10 Oracles, methods of clairyoyance, later became associated with omphalos locations. Stecchini thinks the roulette wheel was originally a surveyor’s instrument.
11 The Ka’aba at Mecca, with its Black Stone is, according to cited Islamic sources, a carefully surveyed omphalos.
12 Much more quantificatory work regarding time and the calendar is integral to the above