Insolation Phase of the Pyramids

피라밋의 일조특성(日照特性) 연구

For all the variety of past studies on the pyramids of Old Kingdom of Egypt, they still basically remain in 'enigma and mystery' as Giedion rightly puts in. This paper deals directly with the three most obvious facts about the pyramids : their cardinal orientation, the varying slopes, and above all, their magnitude. The prominent triangles of their once polished faces were there to be seen from the Nile valley as they shined or shaded under the Sun. The northern faces, especially, went in and out of the Sun in accordence with the seasonal variation of the solar declination, The steeper northern faces which turned into shade in high summer noon could have been warning signs of oncoming inundation of Nile, and the milder slopes that suddenly began to shine in some early spring noons could have been the vernal alarms to awaken the peasants to their timely toil on the fresh land. Dates and hours of insolation on the northern faces of pyramids are graphically and numerically computed.