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Mathematics in Ancient Egypt (Part II)

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 Mathematics in Ancient Egypt:
(2650 B.C-50 B.C)
Assem Deif

Abstract: This article offers a guided tour to the mathematics of the II. Major Papyrus Scrolls
Ancient Egyptians from the 3rd dynasty to the Roman conquest. It
contains snapshots of their most innovative ideas, e.g. binary Very few scrolls remained which found their way to antique
multiplication, the Egyptian fractions with their practical usages and collectors. The most famous ones belong to the Middle
their geometry. It is shown that they were aware of the square root of
a number, the conic sections, etc...... They also excelled in various
Kingdom and are written in Hieratic. Apart from the earliest
domains like Architecture and Art. Akhmim tablets which date back to c. 1950 B.C and the
Egyptian Mathematical Leather Roll of which no specific date
Keywords: Egyptian papyri, Egyptian fractions, Conic sections, has been assigned, but most likely it dates to the 2nd
square root, surveying, color themes, Pi, Phi, Earth radius, intermediate period (see A. Imhausen (2003): Ägyptische
Algorithmen, Eine Untersuchung zu den mittelägyptischen
mathematischen Aufgabentexten, which also contains a listing
I. INTRODUCTION of known ancient Egyptian mathematical papyri and their
dates), there are some more recent ones; the most famous of
Ancient Egypt is the name given to a period that stretched which are:
from the early prehistoric settlements on the Nile valley
(called the Predynastic period) to the Roman conquest. As for
the Egyptian civilization it dates back to the 3rd millennium A. the Lahun papyrus
B.C (called the Early Dynastic Period). It coincides with the
rise of the hieroglyphic language, the numbering system, the It forms part of the Kahun Papyri and dates back to c. 1825
B.C. It contains an incomplete table of Egyptian fractions 2/n
burial into mastabas and above all the unification of the
(n=3,…,21) (a complete version is in the Rhind Papyrus).
northern and southern parts of Egypt by king Mina-Narmer.
Among the 6 mathematical fragments that are included, an
As for Mathematics, it started to flourish from the Old
Kingdom i.e. the 3rd dynasty when Egypt attained its first expression for the volume of a cylindrical granary of diameter
d and height h is given as
continuous peak of civilization in complexity and
achievement. Although some written evidence of mathematics
dates back to at least 3000 BC like tags denoting quantity of 64 2
V= d h . (1)
goods in Tomb U-j at Abydos or numerals on the Narmer 81
Macehead depicting offerings of 400,000 oxen, etc… , but it
was the age of the pyramids builders which constitutes the This gives Pi = 256/81; the same value deduced from the
beginning of Egypt's climax in mathematics and architecture. Rhind Papyrus (see sec. IV). Apart from the table of Egyptian
fractions and the volume of the cylindrical granary, the Lahun
Thus, the period, on which this study will focus, runs from fragments contain four other problems. One of them is the so-
2650 B.C (3rd dynasty) until 50 B.C. The latter date coincides called aha problem which asks one to solve for a certain
with the fall of the Library of Alexandria when the Roman quantity. Another one contains what seems to be an area
general Julius Caesar invaded Egypt. He was in pursuit of computation together with a problem concerning values of
Pompey whose fleet was anchoring in the harbor. During the ducks, geese and cranes. The problem resembles some of the
battle, some of the ships burst into flames. The fire spread to Rhind Papyrus.
the docks reaching the library that was erected near the
seashore. Most of the papyrus scrolls caught fire and Egypt
B. the Moscow papyrus
lost between 500,000 and 700,000 volumes; a devastating
event by any standard. Note that a volume is composed of
It dates back to c. 1700 B.C and is considered one of the oldest
many books or scrolls. The ancient writers did not seem to
preserved. It is divided into 25 problems; two of which are of
agree on the size of the library. The number 500,000 is the one
particular interest; namely numbers
usually accepted by modern writers. The number 700,000 is
10, 14.
attributed to the two historians and biographers Plutarch and
Gellius, see also in this respect the book of M. El-Abbadi In problem 10, an expression is given
(1992): Life and Fate of the Ancient Library of Alexandria. for the curved area of what seems to d
Although it was said that about 20,000 scrolls escaped fire and be a hemispheric basket with mouth
were transported to the Serapeum, a religious shrine, these d. The area is given by
scrolls suffered the same fate when the latter was later
destroyed by a Christian mob in 391 A.D. This second 128 2
A= d (2)
destruction constituted the end of the "Great Library". 81
which coincides exactly with 2πr 2 as the correct value for A younger than the preceding
(where π is taken like before). Although it was agreed upon two. From this scroll the
that the scribe sought to calculate the area of a hemisphere like mathematics of ancient
in above, yet some suggest the area to be of a half-cylinder of Egypt came to be known to
diameter d and height h cut longitudinally. If this is the case, us. It contains the
then A=(1/2)x256/81dh. Experts of Egyptian mathematics multiplication and division
have been raising a debate over the identification of such an of fractions, solving 1st
object since the publication of the papyrus by Struve in 1930. order equations, volume of
The majority however support the former view, see in this cube and cylinder, the area
respect L. Cooper (2010): A new interpretation of Problem 10 of a triangle, rectangle and
of the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus. Also R. Gillings in his circle, the arithmetic and
book (1982): Mathematics in the Time of the Pharaohs, geometric sequences and
supports the same view. finally the seked of
pyramid. The latter was the
Problem 14 in particular has received Egyptian unit for the gradient
b Rhind Papyrus
increased interest among historians or slope angles of pyramids and
and is considered the most difficult. cones. It is defined by the number of Palms one moves
The scribe aimed at calculating the h horizontally for a single cubit rise (equivalent to the cotangent
volume of a frustum; i.e. a truncated but unlike the latter its units are palms/cubits). Thus, a slope of
four-sided pyramid in which the upper 45 degrees although it has a cotangent of 1 it has a Seked of 7,
part is missing. The frustum had two as 7 Palms make up one cubit. The Great Pyramid has a seked
a
square bases of side length a and b of 5.5 because although the cotangent equals (220/280) cubit
and a height h. The scribe wrote an per cubit, it is equal to (11/14) x 7 = 11/2 palms/cubit.
expression for the volume V as
For multiplying two numbers, the papyrus - like the previous
h ones – described a method very much similar to a half-binary
V = (a 2 + ab + b 2 ) (3) multiplication.
3
It is not known how the Egyptians arrived at this formula. The Multiplicand
book of Imhausen lists many references that offer possible 1 8
solutions. A simple one we thought of, is that the scribe might
2 16
have extended the edges to meet at the apex, then draw a
similarity between two right-angled triangles (an exercise 4 32
which run prior to Euclid by 1400 years), a smaller one of 8 64
base resting on the upper frustum base and a bigger one of 16 128
base resting on the lower frustum base, from which (3) is
32 256
obtained by subtracting the volumes of the two constructed
pyramids. The bracket in (3) equals (a3-b3)/(a-b). Multiplier 45 360

C. the Berlin papyrus For example, to multiply 8x45, we put the multiplicand which
is 8 on top of a right column. We keep doubling it to 16 then
It dates back to the same period of the above one. In an 32, 64, etc.. We then put 1 on top of a left column and double
example, the area of a square of side length 10 is equated to it as well to 2 then 4, 8, etc…Then we watch for the multiplier
those of two smaller squares one has a side length x equals to which is 45. In binary the latter looks like (0,1,0,1,1,0,1); that
3/4 the other of side length y. So the scribe constructed two is, it has 1 in the 1st , 3rd , 4th and 6th places. The multiplier
equations: becomes equal to the sum of the numbers in the corresponding
rows of the left column. By summing up the corresponding
3 ones in the right column gives 360 as the product. It is worth
x 2 + y 2 = 100 , x = y (4)
4 noting that this technique was discovered 3000 years prior to
Leibniz who introduced binary numbers to the west.
of which he wrote the solution as x = 6 and y = 8 .

III. Egyptian Fractions

D. the Rhind papyrus
It is the most important preserved scroll. It was written by a Most of Ahmes papyrus is devoted to what is called today in
scribe called Ahmes who said he was copying an older one. It the literature an Egyptian fraction in which the Ancient
is known under the name of Rhind Papyrus after the person Egyptians excelled greatly. It is a fraction in which the
who bought it in Luxor, a British antique collector. Luckily, it numerator is 1 and the denominator a positive integer. It helps
was handed over to the British museum and is still there. The a supervisor to a group of workers to distribute evenly foods,
scroll dates back to c. 1550 B.C which means that it is supplies, tasks, etc… among the group. For example, to
distribute 5 loaves of bread between 8 workers, one can opt To ease the supervisor's task, Ahmes provides the above table
for the solution in which each loaf is divided into 8 pieces and for the decomposition of 2/n into Egyptian fractions, where n
each worker would receive one piece from each. is odd and runs from 3 until 101. For example, from the table
above
2 1 1 2 1 1
= + , = + (7)
9 6 18 25 15 75
etc…If the supervisor is faced with say 3/n then he writes it as
2/n + 1/n, in which the first fraction is obtained from the table,
and so on…

An Italian mathematician in the 12th century called Leonardo

di Piza (nicknamed Fibonacci) tried to imagine how Ahmes
constructed his table. In his book, the Liber Abacci, in which
i.e. according to the decomposition into 5 Egyptian fractions he also introduced the Hindu-Arabic numerals, Fibonacci
listed several simple methods for constructing Egyptian
5 1 1 1 1 1 fraction representations like those of Ahmes. He came up with
= + + + + (5)
8 8 8 8 8 8 what is now called a Greedy Algorithm by which for example

Ahmes on the contrary opted for a better and more practical 5 1 1 1

decomposition = + + (8)
7 2 5 70
5 1 1
= + (6) The algorithm runs as follows: we divide the denominator 7
8 2 8 by 5 to obtain 1.4 which we round it to 2 and write the 1st
Meaning that the first 4 loaves are divided only into 2 pieces fraction 1/2. Then we subtract 1/2 from 5/7 to obtain 3/14. So
each, whereas the 5th is divided into 8 pieces, as follows we divide 14 by 3 to obtain 4.666, again we round it to 5. Thus
we write the 2nd fraction as 1/5. The process will terminate
with 1/70.

1
70
Each worker will thus receive two pieces only: half from one
of the first 4 loaves and another piece from the 5th loaf. Sure,
this is a better decomposition; for he will receive fewer bread Ahmes instead, provided a different decomposition based
crumbs. upon the foregoing table, he could write

Divisor Unit Fractions Divisor Unit Fractions 5 1 4

3 2 6 53 30 318 795 = +
5 3 15 55 30 330 7 7 7
2
7 4 28 57 38 114
1
9
11
6
6
18
66
59
61
36
40
236
244
531
488 610 = + 2 
13 8 52 104 63 42 126 7 7
15 10 30 65 39 195
17 12 51 68 67 40 335 536 1 1 1 
19 12 76 114 69 46 138 = +2 + 
21
23
14
12
42
276
71
73
40
60
568
219
710
292 365
7  4 28 
25 15 75 75 50 150 1 1 1
27 18 54 77 44 308 = + + (9)
29
31
24
20
58
124
174
155
232 79
81
60
54
237
162
316 790 2 7 14
33 22 66 83 60 332 415 498
35 30 42 85 51 255 which by far looks more practical. Since by the greedy
37
39
24
26
111
78
296 87
89
58
60
174
356 534 890 algorithm, the 4th loaf didn't account for the shares of all of the
41
43
24
42
246
86
328
129 301
91
93
70
62
130
186
7 persons, only 5 of them. So, one has to provide 2 more equal
45 30 90 95 60 380 570 pieces from the 5th loaf. The latter is therefore divided into
47 30 141 470 97 56 679 776
49 28 196 99 66 198 half, then 1/5 twice in order to account for the shares of the
51 34 102 101 101 202 303 606 remaining 2 persons, and the remaining piece which equals
1/10 is subdivided into 7 pieces. On the contrary with Ahmes one can opt for the general decomposition 2/n=(2/A)(A/pq),
decomposition, each person gets directly a piece from the 4th see M. Gardner (2002): The Egyptian Mathematical Leather
loaf and 1/14 from the last one instead of 1/70. Roll, attested short term and long term, by letting
A = p + 1, p < q . This gives 2/n=[(2/(p+1)][(1/q)+1/(pq)]. For
example 2/21=1/14+1/42 (by taking p=3, q=7).
Although the above formula looks convenient; especially that
it generates all of the results of Ahmes table in the case of two
terms only, provided that p and q are primes, still three
1 exceptions remain persistent in which the above formula does
not produce Ahmes results, namely the three cases 2/35, 2/91,
14 2/95. For example, 2/35 when calculated using the above
scheme, it gives 2/35=1/21+1/105 although Ahmes gives
2/35=1/30 +1/42 which is by far superior. Scientists, when
finding no explanation, announced that Ahmes must have
The greedy algorithm can also yield ridiculous decompositions reverted to another decomposition (A=p+q) to give
like in the following case 2/n=[2/(p+q)] [(1/p)+(1/q)]; which is a special case of the
general formula for m/pq treated in H. Eves (1953): An
4 1 1 1 1 Introduction to the History of Mathematics. Eves was unaware
= + + + (10)
17 5 29 1233 3039345 of its relation to the Ahmes Papyrus, otherwise he could have
set m=2. Ahmes is thought to have applied this rule to 2/91 as
against well. Still a third method was needed for 2/95. From 2/19 =
4 1 1 1 1/12 + 1/76 + 1/114 from the Ahmes table, upon division by 5
= + + (11)
17 6 17 102 gives 2/95 = 1/60 + 1/380 + 1/570. Note that the last two unit
fractions add up to 1/228, which can be obtained using the
just by following Ahmes table; since from the table: same scheme for 2/35 and 2/91. This means that we are still
far from an exact prediction of the scribe's choice of his unit
4 2 1 1 1  fractions. Even, for the trivial cases n = 3, 5, 7, 11, we have to
= 2× = 2× + + 
17 17  12 51 68  resort to a fourth rule, e.g. 2/n=[2/(n+1)]+ [2/(n(n+1))],
1 2 1 etc…Note that these primes constitute the first set of primes
= + + tracked by Eratosthenes of Alexandria, who devised a simple
6 51 34
way to count them by sifting out the composite numbers in the
1 1 1 1
= + + + set of Natural Numbers. The algorithm was named after him
6 34 102 34 the sieve of Eratosthenes. As for the large primes, i.e. the
One very absurd decomposition by the Greedy algorithm is cases n=13, 17, 19,..…, 97, a fifth scheme had to be
introduced, that is 2/n=(1/a)+(2a-n)/an. For the latter
5 1 1 1 1 decomposition and the choice of a, the reader is referred to
= + + +
121 25 757 763309 8739601809 13 F. Hultsch (1895): Die Elemente der ägyptischen
1 Theilungsrechnung, see also M. Bruins (1957): Platon et la
+ table égyptienne 2/n. Even for the last and only single fraction
1527612795642093418846225
in Ahmes table 2/101 which is written as 2/101=1/101 +1/202
However, from Ahmes table +1/303+1/606, scientists had to find a scheme devoted to this
particular case alone inspired by the Egyptian Mathematical
5 1  1 2× 2  Leather Roll as outlined by M. Gardner. Thus, although we
=  + 
121 11  11 11  were able, at least in part, to reconstruct the arithmetical
11 1 1  results of Ahmes, they do not match any single identity and
=  + +  different methods are used for each type of denominators,
11  11 3 33 
whether prime or composite. Nevertheless, the motive or
1 1 1 underlying reason why the Egyptian scribe chose to express
= + +
33 121 363 fractional quantities as sums of unit fractions remains
unknown. So in fact no one was able yet to know why Ahmes
Mathematicians called Ahmes decomposition "minimal" and chose this particular code. So whereas there is no unified rule
"optimal". The fraction a/b is minimal if it is one which uses for all the decompositions, Ahmes followed some particular
the smallest number of unit fractions. It is optimal if it is criteria of his own, i.e. according to some preference in his
minimal and the smallest unit fraction is as large as possible. mind.
Mathematicians were able – one way or the other - to find Interestingly enough, a computer program was devised in
decompositions resembling those of Ahmes by suggesting 1967 and run on a KDF-9 machine, to calculate all possible
rules suitable for each case. For example for the case of unit fractions of dividing 2 by odd numbers 3,5,7,…,101 to
composite divisors, i.e. the case when n = pq (p and q primes), compare them with the scribe’s choice. After 5 hours of
extensive computation, among the 22,295 different Some interesting calculations found in the Akhmim Wooden
decompositions produced and considering that there was a Tablets are documented by H. Vymazalova (January 2002):
time span of almost 4000 years, the computer did not find, The Wooden Tablets from Cairo: The Use of the Grain Unit
according to Gillings a decomposition that is superior to that hk3t in ancient Egypt, explaining how the Hekat and its
given by the scribe. fractions was used in Ancient Egypt.
It is worth noting that any rational number can be decomposed Now suppose a farmer wishes to subdivide 65 hekats between
into a sum of Egyptian fractions with arbitrarily many terms. 70 persons. Each will receive 65/70 hekats, how did he
For example manage this problem considering that he weighs in eye of
Horus' units only, i.e. in multiples of 1/64 of a hekat and not
3 1 1 in 1/70. What he does according to M. Gardner (2006): An
= +
4 2 4 ancient Egyptian problem and its innovative arithmetic
solution, calling it Remainder Arithmetic, is the following:
1 1 1 1
= + + +
2 8 12 24
64 65 1  416 
1 1 1 1 1 1 × =  
= + + + + + (12) 64 70 64  7 
2 8 12 48 72 144
1  3
etc… Even the number 1 can be decomposed into an infinite
=  59 + 
64  7
number of Egyptian fractions like in the following geometric
series 59 1 30
= + ×
1 1 1 1 1 1 64 64 70
1= + + + + + + .... + 2 −n + .... ∞ (13)
2 4 8 16 32 64 59 1 15
= + ×
64 320 7
a series which appeared prior to 2000 B.C in its truncated 6
leading terms only. More fascinating, is its relation to what is 32 + 16 + 8 + 2 + 1 1  1
called in the Egyptian mythology the Eye of Horus. It signifies = + 2+ 
64 320  7
the Eye of the Providence, a belief which has survived in
Egypt until today. As we add all fractions together we realize 1 1 1 1 1 1
= + + + + + 2r0 + r0 (14)
they add up to 63/64, not to 64/64 which is 1. This small 2 4 8 32 64 7
difference acknowledged in the Old Kingdom has been
attributed to an Ancient Egyptians' belief in not being able to Eventually, each person would then receive: half a hekat, plus
attain perfection in life but in eternity. a quarter of it, plus an eighth part of it, plus a thirty-twoth part
of it, plus a sixty-fourth part of it with an additional 2
An interesting application to the eye of Horus is the division tablespoons of grains.
of a quantity of grains between a group of people. The ancient
Egyptians had a unit of volume called Hekat used solely for
grains or beer (about 4.8 liters). A variant of it is still current IV. Pi and Phi
in Egypt called keddah (1 hekat is about 2 keddah). A change
occurred in the New Kingdom during which the Pharaoh's Circles had always attracted the attention of man from earliest
control system was expanded to include external trade times because among all shapes of the same perimeter the
controls, and traditional internal controls, by creating a new circle encloses the largest area.
control unit called "oipe" containing 4 hekats. The Hekat was
Perhaps the most fascinating problem in Ahmes Papyrus is
also sub-divided into other units: the hin (1/10), dja (1/64) and
problem no 50 called the squaring of the circle. This problem
ro (1/320), the latter constitutes the smallest unit for
remains the most famous mathematical problem in the history
measuring grain volume, something like a tablespoon of
of mankind. It aims at constructing – using a straight edge
grains. As for the middle one, it is the unit used in medical
(ruler) and compass only – a square of area equal to that of a
prescriptions called the healing unit. The only fractions of a
given circle. This problem proved to be impossible only in the
hekat which were used in the market are 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16,
19th century when Linderman proved that Pi is not an
1/32 and 1/64 of a hekat called fractions of the eye of Horus..
algebraic number and the dream of the mathematicians came
to a halt.
8

1H 1H 1H 1H…
2 4 8
Yet the Ancient Egyptians provided a figure of merit for Pi. A comparative study of the Ancient Egyptian architectural
Note that the latter didn't show up explicitly in Ahmes papyrus media, he said: "we see that Vitruvius' architectural theory is
but rather implicit in his proof. Besides, the symbol for Pi that hardly his original thought. For instance, the analogy between
we know of as π was introduced only in 1706 by William a temple and a human body is already existent in Ancient
Jones and adopted later by Euler in the 18th century. Ahmes Egypt". The photos below depict the plans of three temples in
announced that a circle of diameter 9 units is equal almost in Egypt. From the left: Luxor temple, then Abu Simbel then the
area to that of a square of side length 8 units. So if we equate temple of house of Ptah in Nubia.

2
9
π   = 82 (15)
2

we obtain that Pi = 3.16. True, the Babylonians had a better

precision for Pi, but it is assumed that this is only a figure of
merit. This led Ahmes to express the area A of a circle with
diameter d approximately as
2
8 
A= d (16)
9 

Another constant is the Golden Ratio Phi (Greek symbol ϕ );

also called the Golden Section. Its first recorded definition This analogy is not confined to the Egyptian temples only. C.
was given by Euclid in The Elements under the name of the Bartlett (2014): The design of the Great Pyramid, suggests
extreme and mean ratio. If a chord is subdivided in the ratio that the Great Pyramid design was intentionally based on the
a:b such that b / a = (a + b) / b , 4th dynasty Egyptian canons of the proportion of the human

.
figure.
b a Another important appearance of Phi is in what is called today
the Kepler Triangle which is a right-angle triangle with
proportions
then it is easy to show that
c b
= (18)
b b a
= 1.618.... (17)
a
One can show – using Pythagoras φ b c φ
theorem – that
Scientists could track this ratio in plants, quasi-crystals, the
reproduction of animals, etc…. So they claimed that it is one
c b
of the main constants of the universe and the principal source = = ϕ (19) a
of proportion. This is why some call it the divine proportion. b a 1
Apart from the vast number of species which possess a certain
harmony in their proportions, the human body remains the Concerning Pythagoras theorem, it is debatable according to
most harmonious figure. The reason is that Phi governs many the historians whether it is his own, or was it known to the
of its proportions (e.g. height of navel to total height is 1/Phi, Ancient Egyptians. The reason is that some of the monuments'
with many other proportions). In the 20th century, the Swiss architecture obey this theorem, see C. Rossi (2004):
architect Le Corbusier proposed a certain design standard Architecture and Mathematics in Ancient Egypt. She even
calling it Modulor for setting a one-to-one correspondence of suggested that the slopes of some pyramids may be related to
any architectural design with the human body. In fact, this triangles formed by using Pythagorean triplets. The attestation
idea run much older in history when the Roman architect of the latter triplets in Ancient Egypt is generally accepted
Vitruvius (78-10B.C) author of De architectura suggested that from the 3rd century B.C, and even debatable before that date,
temples ought to be designed in accordance with the human see in this respect R. Parker (1972): Demotic Mathematical
body proportions. Even much older than Vitruvius by at least Papyri, in which the numbers involved correspond to some
1500 years; the plans of the Ancient Egyptian temples triplets like (3,4,5), (5,12,13), (20,21,29). Besides, it is
simulate the human body; a discovery made by an amateur doubtful that Pythagoras himself had a proof of it, his life was
Egyptologist Schwaller de Lubicz who visited Egypt in the obscure and he left no books. The first proof though to the
20th century and stayed in Luxor 15 years to measure the theorem appeared in the book of Euclid and it is the most
dimensions of its Temples. History tells us that Vitruvius involved one; for there are proofs of one line only. The three
toured North Africa. According to Y. Yasuoka (2017): On the figures below depict three simple proofs of Pythagoras
relationship between the architectural philosophy in Vitruvius theorem by equating areas and expanding the equation. To the
"De Architectura" and the surrounding architectural cultures: left: (a + b) 2 = c 2 + 4 × 12 ab . The middle is obtained by the
Indian astronomer Bhaskara in 1160: c 2 = (b − a ) 2 + 4 × 12 ab .
The right one is attributed to J. Garfield (an ex-president of the
USA): [(a + b) / 2](a + b) = 12 c 2 + 2 × 12 ab .
a
b c
b
a a b a c
5.7 cm
b
b c
c
a
b
a

In fact E. Loomis (1928): The Pythagorean Proposition, 9.5 cm

compiled some 367 different proofs of the theorem. So can
one argue that none of these proofs ever occurred to the mind representing the eye of Horus embraced between a vulture and
of an Ancient Egyptian; of course not. According to J. a cobra as the signs of protection and sovereignty has the
Strohmeier and P. Westbrook (1999): Divine Harmony: the dimensions H: 5.7cm, L: 9.5cm (ratio 3:5 exact). Note that the
life and Teachings of Pythagoras, Pythagoras stayed in Egypt two numbers 3 and 5 are two successive terms in a sequence
22 years with the Priests before leaving to Babylon and then known after Fibonacci in which every term is the sum of the 2
returning home at the age of 56. He went first to Heliopolis. previous ones. Its first terms are 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55,
At this time, the scientific and religious knowledge of Egypt 89. The ratios 1:2, 2:3, 3:5, 5:8, etc… approximate 1:Phi and
was preserved in four centers: Heliopolis, Memphis, tend to it in the limit. According to A. Choisy (1899): Histoire
Hermopolis and Thebes. The priests sent him to Memphis, de l’Architecture, the Egyptian temples appear to have been
who in turn directed him further up the Nile valley to Thebes built using simple proportions or like he said "rapports d'une
where he was assigned a strict program of study. There he remarquable simplicité" such as 1:2 or 3:5. Equally Badawy
mastered mathematics, among other sciences like architecture (1965): Ancient Egyptian Architectural Design, A Study of the
and music. Besides, it was not only him who visited Egypt, Harmonic System, analyzed several plans of Egyptian
many famous Greek scholars, many philosophers and monuments from the
historians too. Even some of their deities are the Egyptian Pre-Dynastic to the
deities. A theologian and historian St. Clement of Alexandria Ptolemaic period, in
(c. 150 – c. 215), said that if you are to write a book of one which he concluded that
thousand pages, you wouldn't be able to put down all the a set of rules are
names of the Greeks who came to Kemet (Egypt) to be dominant in the entire 0.6
educated. This historical statement was corroborated by R. history of Egyptian
Palmer and J. Colton (1984): A History of the Modern World; architecture; and that
attributing it to Herodotus who first said it, Plato confirmed it Phi was among them;
and Aristotle never denied it. We note that some of the famous especially the use of the 1
Greeks who visited Egypt – starting from Thales their first 5:8 triangle. Another
geometer in c. 600 B.C - are: Socrates who studied at the example governed by the ratio 1:Phi is the pectoral of King
Temple of Waset (Thebes) for 15 years; Plato was there for 11 Shoshenq II of the 22nd dynasty. The colors used by the two
years; Aristotle for 11-13 years; Hypocrates (father of artisans display some symbolism too.
medicine to the west) for 20 years; with most of the other
Greeks who also matriculated at Waset; they can fill an In modern times, mathematicians strived to find a relation
incomplete list. between Pi and Phi. It has been argued that this is not possible
since Phi is an algebraic number whereas Pi is not. But
With regard to the two ratios Pi and Phi, they remain shrouded mathematics told us also that a relation of this sort could exist.
in controversy as to whether the Ancient Egyptians knew them A famous example is the Euler identity
at all. Although Pi is not discerned explicitly like most of the
historians demand, it is inherent in the proof of the area of a e iπ + 1 = 0 (20)
circle in the Rhind Papyrus as equal to 256/81. Whether the
latter is only a figure of merit to use, or should be equal gathering two rational numbers 1 and 0 with two
instead to 22/7 is unimportant. As for Phi, one should bear in transcendental numbers π and e, the latter is Euler Number
mind that the Ancient Egyptian culture is a doctrine in which
science, mathematics, religion, philosophy and art were equal to 2.71828…. , i = − 1 . Let us resort to the Great
altogether fused into one harmonic mixture equaled to Pyramid and see if such relation exists within its dimensions
nowhere else in the entire world whether past or present. For being the greatest architecture feat in human history.
example, a pectoral from king Tut's treasures: piece no 256vvv For many reasons, the Great pyramid has created more debate
in the Howard Carter's archives: and more controversy than any other structure on Earth. It is
http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/256vvv-p0857.html definitely the outcome of advanced knowledge the Ancient
Egyptians must have possessed whether in mathematics or in Egyptologists to study the pyramids of Memphis and on top
geodesy. It is the greatest single building erected by mankind. the pyramid complex at Gizeh. He was a pioneer Egyptologist
It is constructed using 2,300,000 limestone blocks each of 2.5 known for his meticulous studies and full dedication despite
tons in average. The pyramid area can accommodate for St frequent bouts of ill-health. He conducted several excavations
Peter's in Rome, the cathedrals of Milan and Florence, the in Egypt and Palestine. He left a number of books and reports
Westminster Abbey and St Paul's in London altogether. If we including the multi-volume History of Egypt. He also made
add to its number of stones the number of its casing stones extensive measurements of all the inner and outer dimensions
144000 (Carefully interlocked giving a uniform smooth of the Pyramids of Gizeh. They were incorporated in this book
surface to all 4 sides so that the structure shines under the The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh. He developed the system
reflected light), the sum reaches about 2,444,000. By dividing of dating layers based on pottery and ceramic findings. His
this number by 20 (about the number of years Khufu reigned) most famous discovery was the stele of Merneptah the son and
transform it into minutes while assuming that the workers successor of Ramses II.
could persist working 8 hours per day with no resting days,
unless shifts were planned during the Nile flood when workers Petrie announced that the dimensions of the pyramids of Egypt
became more free, we obtain 2,444,000/(20x365x8x60) = 0.7 are usually a multiple of the number 4. This is possible, since
stone to be placed each min; or that every 10 minutes the it qualifies as one of the sacred numbers to the Ancient
workers should have placed 7 limestone blocks of such weight Egyptians. It represents the sons of Horus, the four
and at such an elevated altitude. Again the ramp on which the geographical orientations, the four constituents of the
stones are pulled (the theory assumed so far) required universe: air, earth, water and fire, etc…. Finally, upon
18,000,000 m3 of material which is 7 times the amount used measuring the dimensions of the Great Pyramid, he found the
for the pyramid itself. This needs a workforce of 240,000 to base side length to be equal to 440 cubits and its height 280
build it, but it would then require a workforce of more than cubits. Note that the cubit is the standard unit of length in
300,000 to dismantle it in at least 8 years. The pyramid's sides Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians, however, used cubits of two
agree in length within 1.5 cm. The error of the corners’ angles lengths. The shorter cubit is equal to 6 palms equivalent to the
is only 12". The casing stones mortar-filled joint is 0.5 mm length of the forearm (from elbow to the tip of the longest
(thickness of a human nail). The 105 m descending passage finger); i.e. about 45cm and this was employed chiefly in the
deviates from its central axis by 2.5 mm up and down as if measurement of monuments. The royal cubit instead contains
executed by the best laser-controlled drilling device. The 7 palms and is approximately 52.3cm long. This was the cubit
pyramid is said to be the most accurately aligned structure in in general use. Egyptologists didn't agree on its exact length
existence, facing true North with only 3/60th of a degree of some take it approximately as 52.4cm. The measurements
error (the misalignment in the telescope's sensor axis of the taken by Petrie were mainly in British inches for a greater
Paris observatory is 7min of arc, twice the pyramid's error, accuracy. The values we give here are their translation into
whereas the Meridian Building at Greenwich Observatory in cubits.
London has an inclination of 9min). Another perplexing Among many other things, Petrie confirmed an older
feature is the four air shafts, two in the King's Chamber and conjecture that by dividing the perimeter of the base by the
two in the Queen's. In each chamber, one is directed precisely height, one obtains 44/7 = 2Pi, or that Pi = 22/7 the known
to the North while the other is set precisely to the South. historical rational approximation to Pi. Although the next
Besides, their alignment was difficult to attain, especially more accurate rational is 355/113, but 22/7 is the most
during construction. Whether these shafts were intended for concise. His measurements coincided with those elaborated
ventilation or to serve a religious purpose remains a mystery. previously by an English astronomer Piazzi Smith (1864): Our
Again, the pyramid does not cast any shadow at noon during Inheritance in the Great Pyramid, confirming some deductive
the Spring Equinox. For all the above reasons along with proofs about the Great Pyramid made by John Taylor an
others, no convincing theory exists yet about how and why it English bookseller who never visited Egypt. Yet Taylor
was built. A great chance there is that one can discover an (1859): The Great Pyramid why was it built & who built it?
expression relating some mathematical constants. reported some maps he owned to prove that the Ancient
Egyptians were aware of the number Pi. By dividing the
S perimeter of the Pyramid by its height, he reached a close
approximation to 2Pi. The same conclusions were drawn by
51o50′34′′ Peter Tompkins (1971): Secrets of the Great Pyramid, upon
discussing at a considerable length its dimensions with its
35

280 c φ relationship to Pi and Phi.

6
c

D φ C
To guess how the Ancient Egyptians could have perhaps
O 1 arrived at this value of Pi, F. Gnaedinger (2001): volume 2, In
M the House of Seshat Symbol, Form and Number in Ancient
Egypt, ingeniously deduced it from the well-known grid
A 440 c B technique which the Ancient Egyptian artisan used as a
background for his drawings. He imagined a grid of 10 x 10
In this regard, a British Egyptologist named Petrie visited squares each measuring 1c x 1c. By drawing a circle within
Egypt in the late 19th century. He came like other the grid, the radius of the circle will measure 5c. The
periphery of the circle will pass by 12 points of the grid; 4 Great Pyramid. The following figures depict a photo of the
points are given by the axes, and 8 points are given by eight pyramid and the side lengths of its inner triangle.
triangles measuring 3:4:5 c
(arranged in the form of a 1 0c Again like for the Great Pyramid,
x
Maltese cross). The 12 points x xA 137.5 22 222.5 89
will therefore divide the x xB 4× = ≈π , = ≈ϕ (22)
periphery of the circle into 4 175 7 137.5 55
short arcs and 8 long ones. 10c x xC
By measuring them: the long
arc = 90 digits (28 digits x x
x x
make 1 cubit) and the small x
arc = 40 digits. Hence the

22
2.
circumference of the circle measures 4x40 + 8x90 = 880 digits 175 c

5
= 220/7 c. Dividing this measurement by the diameter 10 c,

c
gives Pi = 22/7 exactly.
One also notices that the inner triangle of the Great Pyramid is 137.5 c
a Kepler triangle; i.e. that its sides are proportional to
1 : ϕ : ϕ , from which we obtain that ϕ = 280 / 220 Moreover, by dividing half the pyramid base which is 137.5
= 14 / 11 . From the two values of Pi and Phi, it follows that by 4, one gets almost 34. The 3 numbers: 34, 55, 89 are 3
consecutive terms in the Fibonacci sequence.
π ϕ =4 (21)
V. Geometry
exactly. Now the correct value for this product using the true
values of Pi and Phi is 3.99616…. The reader will realize that Geometry has a root in surveying, and Egypt is the home of
the error is only of the order of 10-3. In fact, a recent author the first known surveyors. They helped establish the
presented different relation between Pi and Phi. For example bureaucracy of the kingdom, like taxation, etc… They were
he gave Phi = (7/5)(Pi/e) = 1.61802. Upon substituting in (21), called the surveyors of God because they did a great favor to
it gives 3.99615…; a little more accurate result. Yet we the kingdom. Usually, when the king intended to build a new
consider his expression for Phi to be of poor nature; as the monument, the surveyors were the first to arrive on site. The
author tried to search for a suitable number 7/5 to balance the king would also attend such ceremony of Rope stretching. The
equations. On the contrary the one of Eq. (21) relates Pi to Phi following painting depicts 6 surveyors - in the tomb of the
directly. Notice that the number 4 is a sacred number to the chief surveyor Menna - stretching a rope knotted at equal
Ancient Egyptians. Other authors suggested that Pi-Phi2 = intervals. Note that mathematics in ancient Egypt was focused
0.5235 (The Egyptian cubit in m). Again, this relation is easily upon solving mainly real world problems, rather than seeking
falsifiable. To start with, no one knows the exact value for the to discover proofs or principles.
cubit, some say 52.4cm, others 52.35cm. But more important
is that Pi-Phi2 has no units contrary to the right hand side
which has a unit of length.
Further, upon dividing half the pyramid base which is 220 c
by 4, one gets 55, whereas by dividing the slant height which
is 356 c by 4, one gets 89. The two numbers 55 and 89 are the
10th and 11th term in the Fibonacci sequence. They don't only
exist in the Great Pyramid but also in other pyramids.
Egyptologists called these pyramids the Pi pyramids. There Still in geometry, an ostracon was unveiled in Saqqara
are at least 4 of them in Memphis. They are the pyramid of belonging to the 3rd dynasty on which a curve is drawn and
Meidum (below with its inner triangle) erected by Senefru
Khufu's father and the founder of the 4th dynasty, the Great
pyramid, the pyramid of Hetepheres Khufu's mother and the 98d
68d
one of Nyuserre of the 5th dynasty in Abu Sir. In fact, Rossi in
her book pointed out that the 14:11 exterior slope of the Great 41d
Pyramid appeared in at least 10 other pyramids during the Old one
cubit
Kingdom. apart

It is noted that Senefru erected 3 pyramids, but the Meidum

monument is in our view the most interesting. Strange enough,
by multiplying all its dimensions by 1.6 which is Phi, things
fall into place; that is we obtain exactly the dimensions of the
from which emanate some vertical lines of one cubit apart of a pyramid, the diagonal of the base equals 622 c and 2 palms,
certain length each. The ostracon is kept right now in the meaning that 2 = 99 / 70 exactly.
museum of saqqara. The meaning of ostracon is that it is a
piece of stone usually of limestone with which the scribe Once more, F. Gnaedinger (January 2002): J. of ethnomath.,
spreads information, gives orders or performs arithmetic vol. 16/3, had a remarkable idea about the possibility of how
calculations. the ancient cultures calculated square roots. They could
construct a sequence of numbers – very much resembling the
From first glance, the curve looks like part of a circle. But the
way the Pascal triangle works - in which one puts 1 in the
points do not fit that. Yet, if one can show that it is a parabola,
first row, then 1, then the number of which we request its
then it means that the Ancient Egyptians were aware of the
conic sections 2500 years prior to Apollonius of Perga, the square root. From the table below, 2 becomes equal to the
Greek mathematician who lived in Alexandria 200 years after ratio of any two adjacent numbers in any one row. The
Euclid and who was credited as being the first scientist to have accuracy of which will improve as we move down the rows.
studied conic sections.
Only a few years ago, a group of American surveyors (as a 1 1 2
special communication conveyed to the author by one of the
2 3 4
surveyors) studied this ostracon and used AutoCAD to plot the
points as shown below and were able to show that they fit 5 7 10
exactly part of an ellipse of semi-major axis of 8c and a semi- 12 17 24
minor axis of 6c and with a minimal error.
29 41 58
(0,100) (28,97)
70 99 140
Y-axis
(56,87)

(84,70)
Again a right-angle isosceles triangle of 1 small cubit (6
100d palms) has a hypotenuse of 1 cubit, 2 palms and 2 fingers i.e.
97d (112,43)
87d 8.5 palms. So 2 = 8.5 / 6 = 17 / 12 . The reader will find the
70d two numbers 17 and 12 two adjacent numbers in Gnaedinger's
43d table.
140
2d

X-axis
VII. Nesting or Fractals
28d
Philosophers and historians decided that the notion of
innovation is a pure myth. When you watch a new
According to Rossi, an incidence was also discovered in the phenomenon, you get the feeling that you have come across it
Valley of the Kings near the tomb of Ramses VI. A sketch that before, or that there exits some sense of familiarity with it.
was carved in the rock, representing the outline of a vault The French have a sentence for that: "déjà vu" i.e. already
which was meant to cover the burial chamber, was part of an seen. The author had this link between a scientific phenomena
ellipse. Probably, it was traced first on the ground using a as well as an artistic one with remnants in Ancient Egypt. The
moving peg sliding freely inside a rope fixed at both first is called fractal. A fractal is a self-replicating pattern at
extremities at 2 foci. The drawing was then measured and every scale while keeping the same proportions. Scientists say
transferred to the wall. that the universe is fractal. An example in nature is ferns in
which new branches emanate but getting smaller and smaller.

VI. Square Roots

Did the Ancient Egyptians know the square root of a positive
number?. Yes they did. According to G. Robins and C. Shute,
C. (1990): Irrational Numbers and Pyramids, Discussions in
Egyptology, they had a unit called
Remen equal to 5 palms (a cubit
s
equals 7 palms, and a palm equals 4 en
m
digits). For them, a square having a Re
side length of one cubit i.e. 7 palms 2
has a diagonal equals to 2 remens,
i.e. 10 palms. This directly means 7 Palms Could fractals be linked with the Ancient Egyptian remnants?
that 2 = 10 / 7 written from Ahmes What about the 4 nesting shrines of King Tut, do they
table in Egyptian fractions as 1+1/4+1/7+1/28. In the Great resemble fractals in some finite sense. A shrine is a place
designed to contain a relic or cult image dedicated to a certain files/Carter_i_G_44verso.jpg) used for the cubit 52.3cm. But
deity. Inside the innermost shrine, being the smallest is the quoting D. Arnold (1991): Building in Egypt: Pharaonic Stone
sarcophagus of the king. Again, inside it, 3 nesting coffins like Masonry, "this size is contradicted by measuring existing
the Russian dolls of decreasing sizes. The last one contains the buildings, all of which seem to be built according to a cubit of
mummy which is wrapped in 9 bandages. 52.5cm". This conflict was resolved by J. Carlotti (1995):
Quelques réflexions sur les unités de mesure utilisées en
architecture à l'époque pharaonique. He said: "Une valeur de
la coudée royale au Nouvel Empire, comprise entre 0,523m et
0,525m a cependant été observée par de nombreux auteurs".
When using 52.3cm for the cubit, Carter gathered from the
measurements he took of the burial chamber that it measures
approximately 12c x 8c. I agree with him, because the ratio
3:2 is simple and fits well. In Choisy's book (see sec. IV), the
Egyptians appeared to have used ratios such as 2:1 or 5:3;
surely they must have used 3:2. Whether the carpenters used 6
palms for the cubit or 7, one expects that the external shrine of
dimensions 502cm x 334cm must comply with the same ratio;
which is exactly so (see the first table below taken from the
Carter archives). You can equally say, since the carpenters
decided to use this ratio for the external shrine, they suggested
King Tut Sarcophogus to the sculptors to chisel through the burial chamber in this
same ratio. The 2nd shrine which measures 382.7cm x 252.5cm
obeys the same ratio too. Now for the 3rd shrine, the ratio is
8:5. Again, this is another popular ratio; whether it is
purposely done or not, the artisans must have started to
increase the ratio of 3:2 to end up with one matching the
1st coffin 2.24 m long sarcophagus ratio which is about 9:5. Thus, the first 3 columns
in the table are Carter's ones; only the last column was
2nd coffin 2.04 m long deduced by the author. Note that the dimensions of the length,
long width and height of the shrines measured to the fractions of a
3rd coffin 1.88 m long meter can also be found in A. Piankoff (1952): Les Chapelles
de Tout-Ankh-Amon. Yet they differ widely from the mean
A Golden Death
Mask covering the
values given by Carter. In order to remove this conflict by
mummy of 1.68 m concluding which dimensions are more reliable, the author
long appealed to the authorities of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
which houses the 4 shrines in order to reproduce the same
data; and who gratefully granted him the permission to do so.
The shrines are preserved each in a glass house of its own,
except for a small door leading to each of them. The
measurements taken by the author differed very slightly from
Apart from having infinite replicas (called formation by those given by Carter (at most 1.5cm difference) while
iteration) which is not typically the case here, for a figure to matching exactly with the 4th outermost shrine. The very small
qualify as fractal, it must satisfy two main conditions: self- discrepancies won't affect the data in the table as we rounded
similarity and fractal dimension. Fractals should also possess a the measurements to the nearest palm only. Again, Carter
kind of symmetry; and this is one main property of the incorporated in his outer measurements the corner moulds and
Ancient Egyptian art. Fractals, although they are self- should be exempted from the length and width of the shrines.
replicating patterns smaller in scale, their shapes are similar to They add less than 2 cm (less than 1 digit) from each side.
the original source. This phenomenon is explicit in either the Subtracting them doesn't alter the readings either; because we
gilded wooden shrines or the nested coffins of the King. In the measure in cubits and whole of palms only. For the height, we
case of the shrines, they all have same proportions, same took it as the total height from ground to the top of cornice.
material, same colors, same shade, same density and We then transformed all the dimensions into Egyptian units of
thickness. To proceed, we shall opt for an Occam's razor length and rounded them to the nearest palm and the results
approach (the principle when in problem-solving, the simplest are given in the 2nd table below. We did the calculations twice;
solution tends to be the right one). One must remember that first when the cubit measures 52.3cm and again when it is
the wooden cubit deployed by the artisans is not to the least 52.5cm. Then we rectified the results in case they were found
calibrated like for instance the French meter; i.e. its readings different (they differ very slightly in fraction of a palm), so as
are not commensurate to any traceable national standards. to become biased to the one which seems more plausible. Note
Further, the artisans are free to use either one of the two that the inner walls dimensions of the stone sarcophagus are
wooden cubits of 6 or 7 palms each, so long as they kept using hypothesized by the author - based on the cornice width -
it. Carter in his diaries (http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/gif- since they are not given separately by Carter.
 Length Width Height L:W (about 6cm), the clearance between both all around is less
cm cm cm than 1 digit; meaning that the sarcophagus with its cornice
fits almost exactly inside the 4th innermost shrine.
Burial Chamber 637.5 408 368 3:2
1st Outermost Shrine 502 334 270.5 3:2 3. Sum of volumes in cubits3 of: Sarcophagus with Cornice
(41) + 4th Innermost Shrine (50) + 3rd Shrine (92) + 2nd
2nd Shrine 382.7 252.5 199 3:2
Shrine (134) = volume of the 1st Outermost Shrine (317).
3rd Shrine 337 209 188 8:5 The author couldn't explain this phenomenon. The volume
4th Innermost Shrine 293.5 162 152 9:5 of each is obtained from the product of Lcm x Wcm x
Sarcophagus with Cornice 274.25 147.5 147.8 9:5 Hcm / 52.33. If instead we use the Egyptian units from
Sarcophagus lid 250.7 122.7 10:5 start, a small discrepancy is noticed as we rounded the
Inner Walls of Sarcophagus ----- ----- ----- dimensions in the 2nd table to the nearest palm only
1st Outermost Coffin 223.5 83.8 13:5 excluding any additional digits (fingers).
2nd Coffin 204 68 15:5 Finally, whether these
rd
3 Innermost Gold Coffin 187.5 51.3 18:5 nested shrines and coffin
Mummy 167.6 39.3 21:5 resemble fractals is one
point we wish to investigate.
Length Width Height Vc3 As we said before, self
Burial Chamber 12c 8c 7c 672 similar structures are not
st
1 Outermost Shrine 9c 4p 6c 3p 5c 1p 317 fractals. It is true that
2nd Shrine 7c 2p 4c 6p 3c 6p 134
fractals are patterns that
exhibit self-similarity i.e.
3rd Shrine 6c 3p 4c 3c 4p 92
th
composed of parts whose
4 Innermost Shrine 5c 4p 3c 1p 2c 6p 50 shapes are similar to the
Sarcophagus with Cornice 5c 2p 2c 6p 2c 5p 41 whole yet smaller in scale,
Sarcophagus Lid 4c 6p 2c 3p but they must obey the
Inner Walls of Sarcophagus 4c 4p 2c second property of fractals:
1st Outermost coffin 4c 1p 1c 4p the fractal dimension. This we shall infer from the grid
2nd Coffin 3c 6p 1c 2p technique which the ancient Egyptians used to deduce their
rd
3 Innermost Gold Coffin 3c 4p 1c Canon of Proportions and by means of which the human
figure could be correctly represented; so that the different
Mummy 3c 2p 5p
parts of the human body correspond to the different squares in
Now from the above table, we can draw the following new the grid. Note that the structure under study can be slightly
conclusions: deformed or in an irregular or fragmented form, and remains
so, irrespective of the scale of examination. The coffins are
1. The difference in the outer dimensions from one row to the anthropoid replicas of the king. Starting from the 1st outermost
next in both the shrines and coffins is the same for both coffin, we shall count the no of square boxes N touching the
length and width. Only two exceptions occur, one between coffin, then scale the coffin with a scaling factor s and recount
the dimensions of the inside walls of the stone sarcophagus the new no of boxes. It is found for a grid composed of
and those of the lid which represent the groove's thickness squares of side length 1 palm, the no of boxes N for different
on which the lid rests. In the longitudinal direction (head scaling factor s are given by:
or toes) the thickness is 1p (from each side) against 1.5p in
the transverse direction; since according to mechanical s N s N s N
engineering it must withstand a larger percentage of the st
1 Outermost coffin 1 268 1/2 77 1/4 22
lid's weight. In fact, the author has a theory about the
reason why the lid was broken from the middle. I suppose 2nd Coffin 1 212 1/2 62 1/4 18
rd
it was lifted - during the inspection of the sarcophagus - 3 Innermost Gold Coffin 1 153 1/2 46 1/4 14
from the longitudinal direction, whereas it should have
been lifted from the transverse (crosswise) direction which In fractal geometry, the relation between the no of boxes N
supports the main weight. It was then probably left after and the scaling factor s is given by N = c s d , where d is the
the inspection to fall freely into the grove. Another fractal dimension and c is a constant. In logarithmic form, the
exception is between the dimensions of the 2nd shrine and relation becomes
the external one. They differ for some unexplained reason
by 16p in length but 11p in width. Strange this same log N = c ′ + d log(s )
difference is kept between the external shrine and the
burial chamber. From the above table:
2. The outer dimensions between the 4th innermost shrine and 1st Outermost coffin: c ′ = log(268) , d = 1.8 approximately
the cornice of the stone sarcophagus differ by 1 palm from
2nd Coffin: c′ = ln(212) , d = 1.77 approximately
all sides (whether in length, width, or height). But given
that the thickness of the shrine is a little less than 4 digits 3rd innermost Coffin: c ′ = ln(153) , d = 1.7 approximately
Note that the phenomenon of the nesting coffins occurs (1936): Ancient Egyptian paintings, validated the above
equally in other sarcophagi, i.e. it is not a speciality of kings information: "The range of colors employed was not large.
only like in the coffin set belonging to the temple singer The principal hues are yellow, red, blue and green (the 4 color
Tamutnofret, composed of an outer coffin, an inner coffin and harmonies), in addition to white and black". For paintings, the
a "mummy-cover" (a colors were made from mineral compounds; this is why they
full-length death mask kept their vibrant colors for thousands of years. For jewelries,
that was placed over the stones they used were semi-precious. The colors used in
the mummy). It can be either situation were not randomly chosen. For a deceased
dated back to the reign person, the color is different than the one used when
of Ramses II. A. portraying a deity. Usually green expresses delight, red for
Bettum (2013): Faces victory, yellow for eternity (funerary jewelry were made from
within Faces, the gold like the death mask), blue for heavens, black symbolizes
symbolic function of death and white for purity.
nested yellow coffins
in Ramesside Egypt, One notices that, although the painter had 6 colors at his
tried to provide an explanation for the multiple coffins in disposal, he was usually attached to 4 only at a time. In fact,
Ancient Egypt and its relation to other cultures. according to R. Kuehni (1980): Colors and Colorants in
Ancient Egypt, in which the author was referring to sir W. F.
Petrie's (1918): Egyptian Tales translated from the papyri, he
VII. The Four-Color Theorem said "The study of the tales, from 6th to the 12th dynasties,
indicates the presence of only four color names; there are
The other phenomenon is the code of colours in Ancient several uses of malachite, lapis lazuli, ebony and turquoise".
Egypt; for we know that colours play an essential part of life Upon watching the paintings and jewelleries of Ancient Egypt,
of the Ancient Egyptians. The author noticed that their artisans one notices that the Ancient Egyptian language possesses
and painters stick to only a few colours whether in types or usually 4 basic color terms. A typical example is the pendant
numbers. This reminded him of a mathematical theorem on the left of Princess Sit-Hathor of the 12th dynasty. The
named the 4-colour theorem. The latter was raised in the 19th artisan used 3 colorful semi-precious stones: Lapis-Lazuli,
century yet it was proven only in 1976. The proof was not carnelian (sometimes substituted by Jaspar red glass) and
mathematical but with the advent of extensive computations. turquoise with the 4th yellowish golden material.
This is why some mathematicians are sceptical about it.
Nowadays, the theorem is not so important to cartographers
because they can use as many colours as they wish, but the
theorem is sill very interesting.
The theorem is stated as follows: If one has a map composed
of many regions like the one of Africa and he wishes to colour
the regions such that no two adjacent ones i.e. sharing the
same border have the same colour, then 4 different colours are
sufficient to colour the whole map.

One may argue that since this is a piece of jewellery, then the
artisan is bound to use the semi-precious stones he could find
in Egypt; which must be a few. But in Egypt, one encounters a
multitude of other stones, e.g. Azurite, Malachite, Amazonite,
emerald, Peridot, Fluorite, Feldspar, obsidian, garnet, ebony,
etc… and the list is countless. Another example is the bracelet
of Queen Ahhotep of the 17th Dynasty on the right. It is
designed using the same 4 colors, and with the same stones.
The latter stones and colours are adopted in an endless number
of jewelleries, e.g. from the Carter's archives: the pieces.
Africa continent in 4 colours only 256vvv, 256nnn, 261m and 256a, etc... If the artisan decides to
replace some of them by other stones, he usually confines
himself to 4 colors. For piece 256vvv, see sec. IV. Piece
Now, the Egyptian painter's palette made from ivory had 256nnn is a Collar with Vulture and Cobra. Piece 261m
usually six colors in 6 holes: red, green, blue, yellow, black depicts goddesses Isis and Nephthys embracing a scarab and
and white (some have 5 holes only, e.g. the wooden paint box enclosed within a rectangular border reporting the 4 colors
of Vizier Amenemope in the 18th dynasty displayed in the used. In all pieces, the stones used are: lapis blue glass, jasper
Cleveland Museum of Art). N. Davies and A. Gardiner red glass (or carnelian) and turquoise blue glass along with the
Golden material. For the 4 colors, what about the paintings?. The same is witnessed in their vast
Carter adopted in his diaries (see majority. For instance, in the tomb of Queen Nefertari, there is
Card/Transcription No.: 256nnn- a painting depicting goddess Ma'at of justice, the one on the
5) only the following 4 colors' right above, the painter deployed 4 colours only. The
notation: L:= lapis blue glass, R:= additional white colour is the background used to cover the
jasper red glass, T:= turquoise dark stones in the dark rooms on which the artist shall paint;
blue glass, G:= gold. As for the making his colours more vibrant.
golden Mask (Piece no 256a), the
quartz was used in place of Note that the idea of using the least number of colours is not
carnelian. The 12 rows are made the property of the Ancient Egyptian painters and artisans
from stones with 3 colors, along only, but an idea that is shared by many modern European
with the yellow golden borders in painters. For example some painters like Van Gogh of the
between. In sequence: post-impressionist school in one of his chefs d'œuvre starry
night over the Rhone, he used mainly 2 primary colours with a
Row 1: Lapis lazuli Row 2: Quartz thick brush strokes: blue and yellow, and with a little of green
Row 3: Lapis lazuli Row 4: Green feldspar and black. He produced later his famous masterpiece starry
Row 5: Lapis lazuli Row 6: Quartz night. Artists gather that he may have used many shades of
Row 7: Lapis lazuli Row 8: Green feldspar blue: French ultramarine, Cobalt Blue, Prussian blue and some
Row 9: Lapis lazuli Row 10: Quartz Cerulean; so there may be more pigments present in the
Row 11: Lapis lazuli Row 12: Pendant. original than just one blue. Some suggested a combo of French
ultramarine and phthalo blue. No definite knowledge exists for
All the above 4 pieces are displayed in the Hall of Jewelleries the exact tones he used. Other painters Cézanne, Monet, .. of
of King Tut in the Egyptian Museum. Two more examples the impressionist school limit themselves too to a few number
displayed in Floor 2 Hall 4 is a of the primary and secondary colors. When Monet was asked
necklace (front) bearing the about the colors he used, he said: white lead, cadmium yellow,
Name of Senusret III and a vermilion, madder, cobalt blue and chrome green. Some even
bracelet (below) of Queen Weret abstract expressionists made use in their paintings of one
wife of Senusret II using the colour only - together with its shades - called monochrome
same stones (see also the pectoral painting. Our view is that the idea of making use of a small
of King Shoshenq II in sec. IV). number of colours especially 4 originated in Ancient Egypt. It
They are all made of gold, was already said that 4 was one of the sacred numbers to them.
carnelian, lapis lazuli and
feldspar/turquoise.
VIII. The Hellenistic period
The reader was promised a display of the mathematics of
Ancient Egypt from the 3rd dynasty until the fall of the Great
Library of Alexandria. Therefore few words should be said
about the Hellenistic period from c. 300 B.C (the arrival of
Alexander the Great) – c. 50 B.C (the Roman invasion by
Julius Caesar). This period is considered by the science
historians a Ptolemaic period. The reason is that the scientists
A beautiful example is an amulet of King Tut below on the
and scholars who frequented the library were mostly of Greek
left. An Amulet is a pendent that accompanies the mummy in
origin. For instance Archimedes came from Syracuse,
order to protect it during its transition to the afterlife (piece no
Apollonius from Perga, etc… They also support their view by
256qqq in the Carter's archives). Some call it Ancient
the fact that the books therein were mainly written in Greek
Egyptian fractal art because it resembles the pictures
with a few in the Egyptian language.
displayed by B. Mandelbrot the man who discovered fractals.
Again the artisan used here the same 4 colours. The author is of an opposite standpoint, i.e. he believes that
such period should be called Greco-Egyptian. If it was for the
names of the scientists, although some had a Greek name but
they could very well be Egyptians. For example, Ptolemy (c.
100 AD – c. 170) the most famous astronomer in the whole of
antiquity, the author of The Almagest, who lived in Alexandria
was Egyptian and originated in upper Egypt. An Egyptian of
today, by calling his daughter Nancy or Nadine does not mean
she is not Egyptian. What about the books in the library?
where did they originate from. It is said that Mark Antony
gifted Cleopatra the library of Pergamum which housed some
It might occur to the reader's mind that for making jewelleries, 200,000 books; a story that proved to be fake later. In another
the artisan is compelled to use pebbles of a specific kind, but story told by Galen (Greek physician) who lived in the second
century AD, he gives us some curious information on the libraries. He communicated with the neighboring Persians,
acquisition of books. He told us that the books found on the Babylonians and Chaldeans. As for the Egyptian works, they
ships arriving to Alexandria were requisitioned, copied and the were translated into Greek. According to Von Goodwin
copies were delivered to their owners, but not the (2011): The Egg Moon: Living the Question, a decree was
requisitioned originals. The author doubts very much this issued by Ptolemy III by which "All visitors to the city were
story, for we never heard that ships carry books rather than required to surrender all books and scrolls in their possession.
grains. Our view is shared by R. Bagnall, a professor of These writings were then swiftly copied by official scribes".
classics and history at Columbia University (2002): This process helped create a reservoir of books in the library
Alexandria: Library of Dreams. He judged this information as to make it grow at a staggering speed and to contain enormous
an "unbelievable anecdote". Even if some ships happened to amount of books.
carry books, would their entire cargos of books reach 700,000
volumes the amount recorded before the library was burned. Regarding the mathematics in this period, we prefer not to
So, where did this wealth of books come from? The truth is speak about the contribution of the Greek mathematicians;
that they came from different parts of Egypt and then rather about the Egyptians. As for Euclid whose origin is
translated into Greek. Bagnall postulated that about 450 Greek unknown (usually historians when doubting whether a
authors are known to have lived or were born in the 4th century scientist is Egyptian, they say his origin is unknown),
(Hellenic period), many of whom are known from only a few historians pointed out that his book The Elements is most
surviving lines of text. Another 175 lived or were born in the probably not his contribution; rather a compilation of the
3rd century B.C (Hellenistic period when the Library was knowledge that became known to him at the time. In any case,
founded), who probably wrote only a few scrolls. Even if all we prefer to speak about a scientist that we know is purely
these authors are allowed to have produced an average of 50 Egyptian by birth. There was one born in Cyrene (a place near
scrolls, their output would total only 31,250. the frontier of Libya) and his contribution to science was done
in Egypt. He was at one time the librarian; a position of very
The author view is also shared by G. Joseph (2011): The Crest high esteem. His nickname is Beta (the rooms in the academy
of the Peacock, as he admitted that historians (he was referring were numbered Alpha, Beta, etc…for example Apollonius
to O. Neugebauer (1969): The Exact sciences in Antiquity) lived in room Alpha). This great scientist is Eratosthenes. He
tended to downplay the African influence called the science of was the first Egyptian Geographer, but more than that, he did
Ptolemaic Egypt Greek, while they continued to label the the first exercise in geodesy acknowledged worldwide.
science and mathematics of Seleucid period as Mesopotamian
although the latter of that time was also under Greek rule.
Neugebauer will continue to retain the label Greek to describe ys
n ra
all mathematical works written in Greek, irrespective of their ll e l su
a
Par
geographical origins. However, in Joseph's view, a distinction Alexandria stick
should be drawn between Greek and Hellenistic o '
7 12
(Alexandrian); the latter mathematics would be firmly situated Aswan
500 miles
in Egyptian mathematics.
Earth Centre
Now, that we have made our case, we owe the reader a
convincing explanation for this enormous or rather
astronomical number of books the library had during the
Hellenistic era. The reason is simple; Egypt was a great centre
of learning at the time; which led the Greek Demetrius - a
disciple of Aristotle – to suggest to Ptolemy I Soter the chief
commander of Alexander the Great to erect a library in
Alexandria. The latter became then part of a larger research Eratosthenes wanted to calculate the circumference of our
institution called the Mouseion, where many of the most planet earth. He knows well that at the summer solstice, on
famous thinkers of the ancient world studied. Quoting M. El- tropic cancer, the sun will be at a 90 o angle from the earth –
Abbadi (2018 updated): The Library of Alexandria, directly overhead. So he dug a well in Aswan and waited until
Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Of languages other than Greek, the sun cast no shadows inside the well. Then he went to
Egyptian had the largest section. Ptolemy I is said to have Alexandria, which is by our units 500 miles away (distance in
encouraged Egyptian priests to accumulate records of their this period was measured in stadia, a stadion measures 200
past tradition and heritage and to render them available for use miles). There he measured the shadow of a stick or tower from
by Greek scholars". For instance, Manetho the famous which he calculated the angle by which the sunrays are
Egyptian historian who wrote the History of Egypt, was inclined to the earth radius, which is also equal to the angle at
invited to the library in 300 B.C to write his book in Greek, a the centre which subtends this distance. By dividing the arc
language he mastered well. Ptolemy II followed the track of length by the angle in radians, he obtained the earth radius.
his predecessor. Some of the stories that were told in antiquity Finally, by multiplying it by 2Pi he obtained the
reveal the passion of the Ptolemies to equip its library with the circumference, which he found it to be 25000 miles. The error
books which were in the known world. For example, Ptolemy according to our measurements of today is only 50 miles i.e.
II wrote to other colleagues' kings asking for works from their less than 0.2%
 IX. Conclusion Renaissance in the form we know today. The answer lies in
that sciences in the Hellenistic era were written in Greek, a
It is not easy to persuade the Egyptology community that the
language that was understood and thus translated into Latin or
Ancient Egyptians knew of Pi or Phi, neither do we support
Arabic. Hieroglyphs and hieratic not only they are unidentified
the claim that they designed their monuments based on these
to the western society, but are also written on fragile papyrus
two numbers. For the mere existence of those numbers in art
or parchment that did not survive. It was thus left to the
and architecture is not considered a proof. Yet, the vast
Greeks to reap the acclaim.
number of incidents in situ cannot be rendered to coincidence
alone. Note that archaeology is not an exact science but a Still, one main criticism directed to the Ancient Egyptian
speculative one. Concerning the Great Pyramid, the repeated mathematics is that it is non-symbolic in nature. A logical
visits of Egyptologists over nearly two centuries have made its proof must be symbolic if it is to be regarded as rigorous, and
dimensions a fully documented fact; especially that the that one or two specific examples using selected numbers
measurements were conducted by reputed scholars like F. cannot claim to be scientifically sound. But Gillings argued
Petrie. It is also more likely that the information reaching us of that a "non-symbolic proof can be quite rigorous, even when
their scientific skills must have vanished by time. Any script given for a particular value of the variable. The only
attesting to their mathematical capabilities must have perished requirements are that the particular value be typical and that
due to the fragile material on which they recorded their the generalization to any value be immediate". The scribes’
sciences. Yet a search is still going on by today's scientists in treatment follows such lines, or that the rigor of his argument
trying to fill the blanks in the history of the Egyptian is implicit in the deduction. What the Egyptian scribe did was
civilization. Many of them admit that what the west considers to describe in an ordered sequence the proper procedure i.e.
as originating mostly from Greece is inherited from the the steps necessary to solve a particular problem. At the
ancient Egyptians, see M. Bernal (1987): Black Athena, the conclusion, he adds a verification of proof to show that the
Afro-asiatic Roots of Classical Civilization. steps outlined did indeed lead to a correct solution of the
problem. Every time the scribe finishes his calculations, he
Note that early Greek historians e.g. Solon, Hecataeus,
says: you have correctly found it. The latter forms the basis of
Herodotus, Diodorus and Strabo agreed that all the prominent
the abbreviation Q.E.F of the Latin phrase Quod erat
Greek scientists, without a single exception, visited Egypt.
faciendum, a translation from the Greek sentence that was
Some scientists and philosophers stayed for more than 10
used by Euclid at the end of a mathematical justification to
years in Thebes. What they all agree upon, that one science in
mean "which was to be done". Again, another argument of
which the Greeks borrowed heavily from the Egyptians was
rigor which Ahmes used (e.g. problems 24-27) is the law of
medicine. Medicine flourished in Ancient Egypt as early as
contradiction in what was known as the double-false-position
the Old Kingdom. The Egyptian sage, architect and physician
Imhotep from the 3rd dynasty was worshipped in Greece under which furnishes the basis of the secant method we know
today, see J. Papakonstantinou and R. Tapia (2013): Origin
the name of Asclepius the god of medicine. Imhotep treated
and evolution of the secant method in one dimension.
hundreds of diseases, and is the owner of an oath that is
replicated later by the less comprehensive one of Hippocrates: One last remark concerns the number zero; and whether the
that any student graduating in medicine today has to swear by Ancient Egyptians used it. True, the zero as a placeholder
it. The oath of Hippocrates in its original form is: "I swear by doesn't exist in the Egyptian decimal system, yet they were
Apollo the healer, by Asclepius the god of medicine…", i.e. he aware of it as a concept. Its first occurrence was in the Old
swears by Imhotep and yet the Egyptian physicians of today Kingdom during construction sites where the sign nfr meant a
left his oath and cling to the one of Hippocrates. What is more zero point on the number lines serving as a guideline; so that
interesting is that when you read Imhotep oath (see A. Pickett, the lines above the zero level are labeled 1 cubit above zero, 2
A (1992): The oath of Imhotep: in recognition of African cubits above zero, etc…. The same symbol nfr was also used
contributions to Western medicine), you see a taste of to signify a zero remainder in an accountant sheet reaching us
monotheism contrary to the one of Hippocrates by which one from the Middle Kingdom, in which each entry coincides to
swears by the gods. In Imhotep it says: "I swear by this oath, each type of goods. After a certain amount of time, the
in recognition of Imhotep healer and physician with God as account was balanced. For each item, the income was added
my witness…." It is also alleged that Imhotep is the author of and the expenditure totaled. By subtracting both in each
the Edwin Smith's Papyrus in which more than 100 medical column, the account is closed out.
terms and injuries with prognosis and their treatments are
described. He performed many surgical operations with The author is professor of mathematics at Cairo University
medical tools still in use today; like forceps, scissors and and Misr University for Sciences and Technology
surgical blades. He also suggested many remedies of simple Email: [email protected]
disorders that are still practiced: castor oil for laxatives, honey
as an antimicrobial agent, acacia for cough, etc…; all are
Imhotep's teachings.
It seems therefore plausible that the Greeks borrowed other
sciences too. If this is the case, then it would be legitimate to
ask why most of the ancient Egyptians' written heritage was
lost but the Greek was preserved to reach European

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