Book about various discoveries in Ancient Egypt, written by Wim Zitman

Where the astronomical knowledge of Ancient Egypt is concerned, modern science has got it completely wrong. This is Wim Zitman’s thesis in his book Het Horus Enigma (‘The Horus Enigma’). According to current scientific views, any knowledge of the stars this millennia-old civilization might have had was of a deplorable level. As a result, we are in a sense confronted today with two Ancient Egyptian civilizations: the real one, and one that over time has been created by Egyptology. In this book, Zitman proves that the Ancient Egyptians did in fact possess extensive astronomical knowledge, and he introduces us to what he believes the true Ancient Egyptian civilization was really like.

Zitman thus claims that according to current scientific doctrine the Ancient Egyptians had little or no knowledge of astronomy. This conviction is based on the assumption that their lack of even the most rudimentary knowledge of mathematics and therefore also of geometry would have made it absolutely impossible for them to carry out astronomical measurements. The creation of star charts, mapping the course of planets or the accurate depiction of constellations was beyond them, let alone geometrical and stereographic projections on the surface of the earth.

‘Created’ Civilization
It is starting from this point of view, Zitman argues, that Egyptology has ‘created’ this ancient civilization. The author, who studied civil engineering and astronomy and specialized in Egyptology, points out that in their research Egyptologists are predominantly led by the available ancient texts. However, language is only one of a number of sources that we need to study to truly understand a civilization. To be able to translate these texts accurately and thus to really be able to fathom the civilization, one needs to know what they actually refer to, what their true content is, one needs to become familiar with the mind-set of those who created them.

One central idea
According to Zitman, this mind-set can only be grasped if we start from astronomy. As with other ancient cultures, like those of China, Mesopotamia, India, and meso-America, the central idea in the mind-set of the Ancient Egyptians was the star-religion. This all-determining aspect has been left out of the equation by Egyptologists, even to the point of total denial. The lack of any systematic knowledge of this star-religion on the part of Egyptologists has marred the interpretation of countless texts by pulling them out of their proper context. Thus, in the course of time, a model of Ancient Egyptian civilization has been created that according to Zitman is at odds with the real Egypt and fails to do it justice. Using a wide range of illustrations, sources, findings from his own research and measurements, Zitman shows just how wide of the mark this model is from what he believes the Ancient Egyptian civilization really looked like.

As Above, So Below
The Egyptians developed an all-encompassing system, based on cosmic order. Their world view was based on the principle of the unity between heaven and earth, the sky and the ground below: as above, so below. This was expressed in texts and in books, and in their architecture this inter-connectedness was literally mirrored: the state of Egypt as an artificial image of the cosmos, the might of the heavens reflected in the infrastructure on earth. Zitman mentions: all pyramids corresponding to stars in the night sky, principally to the constellation of Orion, including the field of Giza. Besides, the first sun-dial on earth was the bent pyramid of Dashur. The Gods had really found a home in Egypt. An ingenious feat, Zitman calls it Egypt: “Image of Heaven”.

Calendar
The Ancient Egyptians were the first people to possess highly accurate knowledge of the night sky. By ordering it, grouping the stars into constellations and figuring out the orbits of the planets, plotting their course in the sky and that of the sun and the moon, the Egyptians managed to develop a 365-day calendar, the calendar our present-day annual calendar is based on. Their year consisted of twelve months of thirty days each, to which they added five separate days. Their day, like ours, counted 24 hours. The heavenly sphere of 360 degrees was subdivided into 36 periods of 10 days each, known as decans. Each of these horoscopes (incidentally, the words horoscope and Horus are etymologically related) of 10 degrees had their own Gods. Each decan exerted its own influence on all life on earth. The Egyptians believed man’s life was ruled by these decans. The God associated with a person’s day of birth determined their fate.

For initiates
Those who are looking for an easy-going read, for a smooth ‘popular-scientific story’ will have to think twice before they decide to read The Horus Enigma. A great deal of prior knowledge is required and the book contains a fair amount of technical scientific information, notions, references, enumerations, etc. That is why, in my opinion, the book is of great additional value particularly for those initiated in Egyptology and astronomy. Those who have engrossed themselves in the subject and who are familiar with the issue of the astronomical knowledge of the Egyptians will probably relish it.

For the interested non-specialist lay person like myself, however, the book is mainly an interesting first acquaintance with the main outlines. The book is certainly not inaccessible, but the huge amount and the density of the information, and Zitman’s in-depth argumentation referred to above do not always contribute to the book’s readability. As a result, a lot of information escapes those who are less familiar with the subject matter. This is a pity, because Zitman’s message is an interesting one.