"A Dissertation upon the Sacred Cubit of the Jews and the Cubits of several Nations: in which, from the Dimensions of the Greatest Pyramid, as taken by Mr. John Greaves, the ancient Cubit of Memphis is determined".
Newton had an obsession of establishing the value of the "cubit" of the ancient Egyptians. This was no mere curiosity. His Theory of Gravitation was dependent on an accurate knowledge of the circumference of the earth. The only figures he currently had were the inaccurate calculations of Eratosthenes and his followers. With these figures his theory did not work out.
Newton felt that if he could find the exact length of the Egyptian "cubit", this would allow him to find the exact length of their "stadium", reputed by others to bear a relation to a "geographical degree". This measurement, which he needed for his theory of gravitation, he believed to be somehow enshrined in the proportions of the Great Pyramid. Thus, he would have the necessary measurements for his Theory of Gravitation.
He used the measurements of the base of the pyramid arrived by Greaves and Burattini in his calculations. Since there was much accumulated debris at the base of the pyramid, there figures were inaccurate. Thus the false measurements of the base failed to give Newton the answer he was looking for.
Newton did not work on his Theory of Gravitation for the next several years. In 1671, a French astronomer, Jean Picard, accurately measured a degree of latitude to be 69.1 English statute miles. Using these figures, Newton was able to announce his theory of gravitation. It is that all bodies in the universe attract each other in proportion to the product of their mass and inversely proportional to the square of their distance apart.
The pyramids measurements were forgotten for the time being. In the 1800's there was a revival in looking for astronomical and geophysical values enshrined in the Great Pyramid of Giza.
In the 18th century many foreign visitors came to the great pyramid. They were scholars, scientists, historians, explorers, etc. One of the most famous visitors to the great pyramid was Napoleon Bonaparte. His military expedition to Egypt in 1798 was not only military but archeological as well. He took with him engineers, surveyors, astronomers, artists and archeologists. They surveyed, measured, explored, and made drawings of the great pyramid. Their work was published in many volumes from 1809 to 1822 by order of Napoleon.
There is an interesting note to this story about Napoleon on his visit to the great pyramid. He asked to be left alone in the King’s chamber. When he emerged, it was reported that he looked visibly shaken. When an aide asked him if he had witnessed anything mysterious, he replied that he had no comment, and that he never wanted the incident mentioned again. Years later, when he was on his deathbed, a close friend asked him what really happened in the King’s chamber. He was about to tell him and stopped. Then he shook his head and said, "No, what's the use. You'd never believe me." As far as we know, he never told anyone and took the secret to his grave. (It is interesting to note that there is an unsubstantiated story that Napoleon had hinted that he was given some vision of his destiny during his stay in the King's Chamber).
Alexander the Great also spent time alone in the King's Chamber like many famous people throughout history. What draws these individuals to this place?
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