One of the most interesting facts about the Egyptian Pyramids is the 'scale up and scale down' history of pyramid building. In just 60 years, based on historical accounts, the Egyptians went from a pyramid containing 330,000 cubic meters of material t0 one containing 2,600,000 cubic meters of material(Giza/ 4th Dynasty). In addition the complexity of construction progressed on a similar order. In the intervening time frame only two other pyramids were attempted and they were left incomplete both with less than 50,000 cubic meters of material. What happened that would have made this possible? We know even today that technology does not appear magically and certainly even if it did it would not be applied in a short period of time. The human time frame and change does not allow that to happen. What is of more interest is that shortly after the Giza Plateau Pyramids the Egyptinas seem to have, once again, lost their ability to construct. Of the 22 known pyramids that followed the largest is said to have contained about 275,000 cubic centermeters of materal and most all of the 22 are in worse condition than those of Giza.  If one did not know better it would seem that some bit of magic occured during the 4th Dynasty not to be heard from again. Is this like our Space Program that had its 4th Dynasty magic time in the 1960's only to lose its way? Or is it because of some other more profound reason. This is I think worth exploring as within it may lie a key to productivity and progress.        

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As a part of the Burning Forest series I am creating a series of paintings depicting ruins of old and a vision of what the ruins of today might look like sometime in the not to distant future. The ruins of old in most cases reflect great architecture, character and the great materials used in construction. The ruins are as compelling as tghe original structures ( In some cases more compelling!).  Of today's ruins I cannot say the same. In most cases I think they will look like trash heaps and will not in any case have the perpetuity of those of anitquity. What does this say of civilization? Are our principles and values reflected in the buildings that we create? Are they as flimsy, transitory and disposable as the structures in which we live and work? Does this tell us something in regards to what we might need to change? These are all questions that I reflect upon as I try to invision what will be left once we are gone.   

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Lack of information, or emptiness, is one of the key precepts of Chinese aesthetics. It is the experience of having done the work of art that is important and not the work itself. Is that the case with the Pyramids? Was it more important to the builders to have done it than to have recorded the how and why? In the arts it is the undsaid that carries the energy through the piece. As Simon Leys relates in his book The Burning Forest, 

" It should be observed tht it is precisely emptiness that provides the best conductor for this current'.

This energy is Qi. So perhaps it is this the lack of information that is the best conductor of the current of purpose and awe that is expericned when confronted with the great Pyramid. It and not the Pyrmaid is the underlyng energy with which we are confronted.  

 

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" Extant Egyptian records, whether written or pictorial, throw no light on the methods employed by the builders of the pyramids either in planning or in constructing their monumental works."

So says I.E.S. Edwards in his famous book The Pyramids or Egypt. Logically this makes no sense. But whatever information they used to construct the pyramids on the Giza Plateau must also have been quickly lost as the preceding contructions reveal a lack of the same sophistication of construction methods.

It also makes no sense that within the great pyramid and others there is no writing or pictorial illustration. If we are to believe that the purpose of the pyramid was as a tomb then why did they not follow the same procss as was later followed in the Valley of the Kings. There the tombs were fully decorated? This lack of records or other ornamentation in regards to purpose and the methods of contruction may provide a clue rather than a mystery. What can we suggest if we look on this lack of information as a clue.

1. The information used to construct the Giza complex came from somewhere and was lost quickly.

2. Wherever the information came from it is not apparent from other sites of antiquity that have been excavated.

3. No burial has been found in any of the Giza Pyramids or, I believe in any of the others.

4. No technology has been uncovered that would suggest methods that would allow the construction of these objects on such a grand scale. Some ideas have been suggested but none is productive enough to have been the method used. 

5. Such knowledge/ information would seem to be a treasure of any civilization and would most likely be protected and passed down to succeeding generations.

6. There is no mention from succeeding generations that they recieved any information on how to build the pyramids.

7. Pyramids that followed the construciton of the Giza Plateau seem to be trial and error projects to reverse engineer the Giza constructions.

8. If the number of people suggested particiatied in the construction of the Giza Complex it would seem likely that one of more would have in some way recorded some information in regards to the construction.

9. The constructions seem to have come out of nowhere. There is no construction information available that records the earlier pyramid building leading up to the Pyramids at Giza.

10. The Giza Constructions are like seeing a balance sheet of a small company that during a particular quarter grows immeasurably and then shrinks back to its original state by the next quarter with no explanation. How could life have proceeded normally in the face of such an achievement?

11. To the lack of information is the clue. It tells us that something extraordinary happened that for some reason came from nowhere, was not recoreded and was never successfully replicated.

 

This mystery is a part of my directon in exploring the ruins of past and future.  I paint these ruins, as a part of the new Burning Forest Series based on the essense of what I feel versus what I know.  As I saw them for the first time a year and a half ago they are, and will remain, one of the most fascinating challenges both artistically and  intellectually.                   

 

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Painting the pyramids made me think in different terms as regards meaning and purpose. As monuments meant to last an eternity they must have some meaning that goes beyond their 'local' purpose. I think it is to represent man who has the potential of being the ultimate order from chaos machine. I have written previously in regards to the structrue of the pyramid and that of man. Knowing that the ancients related the pyramid and its shape to the idea of order from chaos I wonder if this is but another reminder of our eternal purpose.   

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The golden section to some has represented logos or the male reproductive action. According to Peter Tompkins, in his book on the Secrets of the Great Pyramid, it not only represents this but also the logos of the gospel of St. John. How did the Egyptians see the golden section and why is it embedded in the construction mathematics of the Great Pyramid? Why do paintings that use the golden section and othe works of art appeal? I think that it is embedded in our sense of beauty and reflects a key to  the underlying structure of the universe. It is one of those universal 'somethings' that make sense and yet cannot be explained. The concept that I think it reflects is that of 'something from nothing' which as the scientists now tell us is the truth of our universe. As we now understand the negative energies exacty offset the postive.  You begin with nothing and you end up with something. A something that is endless as is the creative funtion that the Egyptians believed the golden section to be.      

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Having visited the Kings Chamber in the great pyramid I must admit that it first appears to be more of a sensory deprivation chamber than a place of burial. The Egyptian culture was focused on how the interior life manifested itself in outward actions. Therefore I  would not be surprised if these chambers, which we know were used for initiation rights, were also used by the priests to help their royal counterparts reach a deeper level of inner being. A level were a greater harmony exists and the truth can be seen. Silencing the five senses is necessary for this to be achieved and the chamber that I experienced would have been a perfect laboratory for the experiment. 

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   As reported by Petrie, in his classic book from the 1800's on the Pyramids,  the equisite detail and painstaking pursuit of perfection make these constructions both inspiring and enigmatic. A quote from the book.

" Hence the mean thickness of the joints there is '020'; therefore the mean variation of the cuttting of the stone from a straight line and from a true square, is but '01 on lenght of 75 inches up the face, an amount of accuracy equal to most modern opticians' straight edges of such a lenth."

It is inspiring because it shows what can be achieved with care and attention to detail. It is enigmatic when one wonders why it was considered necessary to dress the stones to this degree of accurracy and how it was done on a such a large scale over a prolonged period of time. Working with businesses today, as a consultant, I can report that to have employees apply themselves consistently over a period as short as one day is an issue. So as we go deeper into the mystery of these monuments we find even more unanswsered questions.     

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 Pythagoras gained a lot of his insight and direction from the Egyptians. One of the most important Pythagorean symbols was the tetractys. It is a pyramid shaped symbol made up of the first four whole numbers. One was for unity. Two was the dyad, the first principle of dichotomy. Three was the symbol of beginnings, middle and end(the process of things in time and space) and fourth was the number of points that it took to construct a pyramid. Togehter these numbers add up to ten which is the perfect number and basis for all of his system and ours.

"I swear by the discover of the tetractys, which is the spring of all wisdom, the perennial fount and root of nature."

If this came from the Egyptians belief system then perhaps we have some more insight into the nature and symbolism of the pyramids.

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A question that has always haunted me is why the builders used such large blocks in the construction? Logic would tell us that if at their size and weight(minimum 2.5 tons) it was difficult for them to handle they would have reduced their size to facilitate construction. The only conclusion that I can make is that they must not have had trouble working with such large masses or else the construction plan itself required the larger size. Why not make them the size of standard building blocks?

If anyone can shed light on this conundrum please let me know!

 

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