Despite his reputation for incredible precision, skeptics believe Norden simply made a mistake.Įxcept, in Norden’s account, he specifically describes “seven or eight” smaller satellite pyramids as distinctive and supplementary, “nothing in comparison” to the four great pyramids. They assert that he must simply have confused one of Giza’s smaller satellite pyramids for a fourth great pyramid. Some modern skeptics of Norden’s work have provided an answer. Wait, four great pyramids? What was he talking about? How could Norden, with his prodigious and internationally recognized talent, have documented four pyramids, when everyone familiar with the Giza Plateau in modern times knows that there are three? It is, moreover, situated out of the line of the others, being more to the west … it makes a series with the three others.” The fourth pyramid has been made, upwards above the middle, of a stone blacker than the common granite and harder to work with. It has, however, one particular feature that deserves attention which is, that its summit is terminated by a single great stone, which seems to have served as a pedestal … It is without coating, closed, and resembles the others, but has no temple like the first. “The fourth pyramid is a hundred feet lower than the third. Norden directs much of this examination and admiration to the fourth pyramid, which he describes in detail. The two others are much less, but have some particularities, which occasion their being examined and admired.” The two most northerly pyramids are the greatest and have five hundred feet perpendicular height. “The principal pyramids are at the east, south-east of Giza … There are four of them they deserve the greatest attention of the curious although, we see seven or eight others in the neighborhood, they are nothing in comparison to the former. To this day, one particular aspect of Norden’s Voyage stands out – the way in which he described Egypt’s Giza Plateau. Upon his return to Europe in 1738, this incredible record was published in what became Norden’s seminal work, Voyage d’Egypte et de Nubie, while Norden himself was elected as a member of the prestigious Royal Society of London. Few Europeans had ever seen Egypt like Norden had, and fewer still had recorded their experience. Stuck in Egypt and with little else to do, Norden had the opportunity to construct a comprehensive record of everything he saw, the people, architecture, and monuments around him, along with detailed hand-drawn maps. Yet, the expedition’s bad luck turned out to be Norden’s good fortune, the stroke of fate that completed his evolution from prodigy to legend. The expedition reached Egypt in June of 1737, but as it traveled south, it quickly fell upon bad luck, problems with weather, problems with their ship, which prevented the party from traveling further. He was to join an expedition down through Egypt to the mysterious kingdoms of Ethiopia and Sudan, serving as the king’s official representative and attempting to forge economic ties. By 1737, Norden’s work was so well-respected that he was personally chosen by the king for a very special mission.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |