Pyramidology was a movement that started with the publication of a book by John Taylor in 1859. Taylor was a devout Christian and a knowledgeable biblical scholar. He put together a logical proposition that the dimensions of the Great Pyramid were related directly to the system of weights and measures in use in Britain during the 19th Century and he “proved” this by quoting biblical passages that showed that it was descendants of Noah, “Sons of God”, who chose these values. Taylor claimed this to be “Scientific” proof of the existence of God and that a new science had been born.
Some salient points of Taylor’s theory are –
- The perimeter of the pyramid base is the same as the circumference of a circle with the height as radius.
- The area of each face is the square of the height.
- The volume of the King’s Chamber Sarcophagus is the same as 32 [British] Bushels of wheat.
- Each side is 1/480ths of 1° of the meridian passing through the Pyramid.
Piazzi Smyth read Taylor’s book, completely embraced the principles therein, and when Taylor died in 1864, Piazzi Smyth became the self-styled world-wide evangelist developing and promoting the theory, publishing his own book in that year. Of interest is that in respect of the relationship with the meridian, Piazzi Smyth corrected a slight inaccuracy by redefining the length of the inch and the corrected inch was called the “Pyramid Inch”.
He considered Pyramidology to be a Science and so he sought support from the Royal Society in London and the Royal Society of Edinburgh as he was a Fellow of both societies and they had been established to promote science.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh allowed him to make presentations on his theories, but they were not universally welcomed. In particular Sir James Young Simpson, the discoverer of the efficacy of chloroform as an anaesthetic, was a powerful adversary. Simpson said of Piazzi Smyth “his measurements were most exact, but whose logic was most wretched”. But Piazzi Smyth was not deterred, and he brought out a new edition of his book on the subject, specifically to refute Simpson’s arguments.
He was less well received in the Royal Society which barred him from entering their premises for the purpose of promoting Pyramidology. He appealed to the President, and when the President endorsed his Council in excluding Pyramidology from the Society, Piazzi Smyth summarily resigned from the Society. Later, for effect – particularly when dealing with his theories – he appended “ex F.R.S.” to his signature.
He never gave up on his firm belief that Pyramidology proved the existence of God and evidence of this can be seen in his gravestone, which he personally designed to adorn the grave in which he and his wife are interred.
Dr Bruce Vickery