New-York tribune., 1876-07-01
LETTERS FROM TIE PEOPLE.
.THE AGE OF A PYRAMID
DISAGREEMENT or TIE OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
ESTIMATE NOT TRUSTWORTHY.

DISAGREEMENT or TIE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. .
ESTIMATE NOT TRUSTWORTHY.
To the Editor OF The Trfo"ne'
SIR: The articles on the third pyramid, OF
pyramid of Mycerinus recently published IN lhE IkhS
USg May and June "a, calculated thoush ho' iu'
tentonally to mislead; and would make the following
suggestions and explanations:
The erection OF the third pyramid has been attributed
70 Menerches or Mycorinu since, on the lower part OF
the mummy case found In this pyramid by Col Howard
WISE Aug 9, 1887, there catouche reading pho-
neticallv, Ra-menke, by MetathesiS Mcnhahfe' the
dedicated Offering the sum-" and supposed TO corrc-
spond to the title which Eratosthenes gives to Moschers
viz Heod0tus" this MOscneris being the MuEefhos OF
Diodoms siculus and the fourth King Of the fourth
Menphite dynasty. The articles alluded to state III
very unsatisfactory way that NJ Chabas has discovered
an old astronomical tab which has fur shed the means
OF ascortainng very precisely the era OF KING ycernu
Granting that such a monument, cOomporary, exists
and that II has been rightly interpreted, yet the date
would lie uncertain TO the extent OF Sradic cycle
am however very tar from believing in the accuracy or
authenticity OF any such discovery. But recently
Mariette Bcy, on the authority Of some very mediocre
inscriptions scratched stone and sncep onouncod by
Brugsch to be Of modern date and Of 10 authority what
ever decided that the Sphinx older than the Great
Pyramid. Bunsen and BruSsch the former IN summing
up the final statements near the end OF his
fourth volume, and the latter in his history OF
Egypt, speak GispalaSnSly OF tue tSNptlu dstOh'''
and the very great disagreement between "authories
Shows that the whole subject of Egyptian chronology is
in a state Of most glorious confu ion. Mariette Bey
gives as results of his legations, 0735 B T. Tor inc
first Egyptian dynasty and for the OF Mycernus say
100 H. c.. Lepsids assigns for these two ep0chs oe9-
Il. c. ana so b. c.; Lane, Gardner Wilkinson, ana
Rawlinson give 200 B. c. and 2l00 b. C. NJ. Rcnan,
in Rere des De, NoadeS April 1865, gives for the date
Of Grca, Pyramid or part of fourth dynasty 5fOO
g. Co. while MahmOud By, in 1862, obtains for the
same period 1890 b. C aud another dstarber of MS
tory" Sir George Cornwall Lewis in his Historical
Survey the Astronomy of the Ancients IN ls0Z' DC
care that none are older than 1912 B. C. Returning to
~ Cnabqss discovery, the accounts OF which have ap-
pcartd In THE TRIBUNE, is led 10 believe tha the
astronomical unfolding of the discovery has been
made by Blot the great ench astronomer, whereas
Blot ed long before the discovery was maze. ihls en-
r ~lr,dc period particularly determining the EgYp
t,n rurai year and his own conclusion wa- tltt huch
ne WE 800 IL own 9cnrrIusiops on resue prcvI-
ufly obtained BY VI. Blot; q 10 state, or leave
~ Ct1l, - a. srti,riIr views The Fact is-and II may as
well be NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. yet all the readings, even
nrsid hV thc Observation-Disclosures that tIlcy cannot be de
rcndc upon to determine dates, and IN this particular
ease grautt that NJ ChdDls i rgnt ana lI lhe heiac
rl.ln. of Srius on the gt Eriph occurred somewhere
b.twcra 0J7 and 30lO b. c. this would bl equally true
irT date somewhere between 1903 ana l1ob r. Co ana
why may not take the later date as well as me
earlier the of Nyccrnusi worse star to compute
back from than Sirius could he selected It's peculiar
and somewhat Anomalous motions far from being
urcrstopI aud would amount in the long period named
say 3 OrI2, and moreover In addition TO TINS orins
arlr ouc-tnyd of the whole prcccssnna noN etAt me
trr Of h,lilca rising Itself IS matt = ~ great unC,
tantv, cosuical preceding the hclacu say 10 the
,iiy Mi. number of degrees below the horizon in order
that q star may he ~ all just before su'llSe ANY
lhug that vii throw the date of TIE lyiahlur ue5 ii
the time of the Dclu-c appears 20 bc gerry s.H iu
pa.aird quite plUbdbic apd true' Dut t'eIS INNS
JDJng toward q morr modern date or III ag ""y con
lrmlJory of She Biblical account Is aS prFlSehtl i-
uorcd or ridiculei. The fact Is, ana con >cnceis De
disputed, that II We reject the Hs,f.homGai J ,HJ
4 - h. c. obtained for the tim" 0t the erection OF Ih'
Great Pyramid. upon the rrnrlpe li down ph Hlr ohh
IIr,s0n.l n us computation Tor Col Howard Nyse uJi-
f.ry al Sea and atr, cr the epoch, of the allci dy-
n.-tit. may be assumed according to each may'nu-l
H,5,G Go,t,gc Genera " T., June 90, 1876.
IThc particulars of VI. Chaba|s discovery as we
stated in the articles referred Co. are very s'""ty
and unsatisfactory the report Of the s"'-i''s 'i
the 4cqd.mie d hncjg'i0as. We cannot undertake
to complete or explain thcm. But supposng the
astronomical data 80 lc correct, the later period OF
the hcIiacal rising Of Sirius on the 0th Lppt be
tween G63 aud 1866 B. C.l would not be equally
ie"-as H. L. y dc,llres-for the era of Nycerinus
for the records OF the Later Empire reach very nearly
20 that point 10 say nothing of the four or five cen
turic, of the Shepherd Dyua5ics and the decairnce
of the Early Empire. The l-her-Nosaic chronology
which our correspondent seems to accept, is nnch
TOO brief for the estimates of Lrp,iuS, Lane, NSn-
son, and Ra"iin,on, which ha quotes. The opinions
If scholars are rs greatly at variance in regard to
Biblical chronology befor. the time Of Abraham, rs
they are i'm regard To Egyptian history; and il we
.rr ever 10 aui.r 20 the clear md~pnahc truth, It
.nust re through thnt earnest ard honest research
which is able 10 hold itself free from ali wa. ring
chronological thco.ics.-Idl