THE MATHEMATICS OF PYRAMID CONSTRUCTION IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the Mathematics associated with Pyramid construction in ancient Egypt from information preserved in Mathematical Papyri. An account of the evolution of the burial monument from the mastaba through the step pyramid to the true pyramid is given. The remarkable accuracy in the construction of right angles and the orientation of the pyramids is explored with reference to the Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu). The notion of the 'seked' (From the Mathematical Papyri of the Middle Kingdom) and its use in pyramid construction is explained. A theory as to how the volume of a truncated pyramid might have been deduced is presented.The study of the pyramid in Demotic Papyri is also mentioned.