The Orion Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids (Paperback)

by Robert Bauval (Author), Adrian Gilbert (Author) "In 1979, at London-Heathrow airport, I bought a book called The Sirius Mystery by Robert Temple..." (more)
Key Phrases: southern shaft, astral rebirth, precessional calculations, Fourth Dynasty, Pyramid Age, Orion's Belt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews
This fascinating archaeological detective story argues that the great pyramids of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty (c. 26002400 b.c.) were vast astronomically sophisticated temples, rather than the pharaonic tombs depicted by conventional Egyptology. In March 1993, a tiny remote-controlled robot created by Rudolf Gantenbrink, a German robotics engineer, traveled up airshafts within the Great Pyramid of Giza and relayed to scientists video pictures of a hitherto unknown sealed door within the pyramid. Bauval, a British engineer and writer who has been investigating the pyramids for more than ten years, and Gilbert, a British publishing consultant, use Gantenbrink's tantalizing discovery as a launching pad for an extended analysis of the purpose of the mysterious airshafts, which lead from the Great Pyramid's chambers to its exterior, and of the placement of other Fourth Dynasty pyramids. They were sited, the authors argue, to coincide with the key stars of Orion, a constellation that had religious significance for the Egyptians. Bauval and Gilbert claim that the shafts were pointed directly at important stars in Orion--that is, at those stars as they were placed in ancient times. Using astronomical data about stellar movement, they argue that the Orion stars coincide exactly with the pyramids' positions in approximately 10,400 b.c.--a period the Egyptians called the First Time, when they believed the god Osiris ruled the Earth. The authors also speculate that the mysterious space within the Great Pyramid discovered by Gantenbrink contains the mythical Benben stone, which the Egyptians linked to the creation of the world. The book's contentions are sometimes far-fetched and certainly unlikely to put scholarly controversy about the pyramids to rest. Still, this is an enjoyably radical rethinking of the mystery of the pyramids, with some ingenious arguments made in lucid style. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
A revolutionary book that explains the most enigmatic and fascinating wonder of the ancient world: the Pyramids of Egypt. "[An] absorbing and fascinating work of archaeological detection...clearly and rivetingly told...the book is highly and compulsively readable."--London Sunday Times. 16-page black-and-white inserts.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (August 22, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517884542
• ISBN-13: 978-0517884546
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,207 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #17 in	Books > History > Ancient > Egypt
  #30 in	Books > History > Africa > Egypt
  #44 in	Books > Science > Archaeology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice try to upset egyptologists, August 11, 2000

By	vlad "vbelozeroff" (Moscow, Russia) - See all my reviews

The nature of the pyramids is still a mystery, no matter how much the official Egyptology believes in its tomb theory and in the dates when the Fourth Dynasty built those enormous constructions.

You just have to visit Giza to realize there is something very strange, very impressive and so much beyond our understanding about Khufu, Khefren and Menkaure pyramids. You can even go to Meidum, Saqqara, or visit the Bent pyramid and the Red one to strenghten the impression about the Giza pyramids: they are simply unique, and that is really difficult to answer the questions like when and why were they constructed.

The Bauval's theory is well-shaped and rather smart enough. It may be one to entertain readers, or it may be true - one can hardly find out the truth right away. But it is really strong and explains so many things that were never explained before.

The importance of the theory, and the book as the whole, however, is in the different field: it shakes up the mainstream Egyptology, it wakes it, as well as other people, up, and it opens our eyes making us see that there is always a place for an alternate reality, and there is always a chance to explain what the official science fails to explain.

The book places a lot of evidence again that the ancient egyptians, or the people lived there before them, possessed the knowledge so much underestimated by modern egyptologists, the knowledge that was really huge and comparable with a today's one. That makes the book another breakthrough in the process of discussing the history of humankind.

The book will remind you now that it is not an easy way to argue with, or contradict the established scientific theory. The saddest story of all times is Gantenbrink's tries to solve some of the Great pyramid's puzzles: since 1994 nobody, including egyptian egyptologists, has ever let him continue his investigations, no matter how hard he tried to get the permission, or how perfect his robot finally became.

The Orion Mystery may be considered another brick in the building of the real science. A must-read for everyone who does not feel indifferent to the problems of history and modern science.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History revised, November 29, 1999

By	L. Blumenthal "lynn" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book not only takes apart the basic history of Egypt you learned in school, it introduces the radical concept that the Eygyptians weren't a). stupid, b). primitive, or c). superstitious twits.

Bauval shows how the pyramids were arranged so precisely because they were creating a heaven on earth--they reflect the patterns of Orion's belt on the ground. This had deep significance to a race of people who believed ''as above, so below.''

The reader who claims that Bauval now refutes his own Orion theory is sadly misinformed. Anyone who is interested can go read Bauval's letter to the BBC at www.grahamhancock.com. Apparently, the ''Horizon'' program, in its zeal to knock both Hancock (not a pseudo-scientist but a talented journalist)badly mis-represented Bauval's theories to the British viewing public.

But read it for yourself. I think the sequel, ''The Message of the Sphinx,''is even better.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read with new and fresh ideas!, July 14, 2002

By A Customer

I find "THE ORION MYSTERY" an interesting book, and was quite hard to put down after reading the 1st chapter. Robert Bauval introduces new revolutionary theories that the Egyptians were not a heliocentric (solar-based) culture but an astral (star-based) one. Also included in his book are interesting details of the Upuaut 2 robotic exploration of the shafts in the Great Pyramid of Khufu. His writing was very down-to-earth and not confusing or scientific - a wonderful book for anyone interested in Egypt and the pyramids.