Cheops, situate at the point A, common to both main triangles, governing the position of the other pyramids, is likely to be a sort of mean between these two pyramids in his slope ratios.
Reasoning thus, with the addition of the knowledge I possessed of the angular estimates of these slopes made by those who had visited the ground, and a useful start for my ratios gained by the reduction of base measures already known into R.B. cubits, giving 420 as a general base for Cheops and Cephren at one level, and taking 210 cubits as the base of Mycerinus (half the base of Cephren, as generally admitted), I had something solid and substantial to go upon. I commenced with Mycerinus. (See Fig. 71.)
(Mycerīnus) Fig. 71.
LHNM represents the base of the pyramid. On the half-base AC I described a 3, 4, 5 triangle ABC. I then projected the line CF = BC to be the altitude of the pyramid. Thus I erected the triangle BFC, ratio of BC to CF being 1 to 1. From this datum I arrived at the triangles BEA, ADC, and GKH. GK, EA, and AD, each represent apothem of pyramid; CF, and CD, altitude; and HK, edge.
The length of the line AD being √(AC² + CD²), the length of the line HK being √(HG² + GK²), and line CH (half diagonal of base) being √(CG² + GH²). These measures reduced to R.B. cubits, calling the line AC = ratio 4 = 105 cubits, half-base of pyramid, give the following results:—
| R. B.CUBITS. | BRITISH FEET. | ||
| Half-base | LA = | 105·000 = | 176·925 |
| Apothem | EA = | 168·082 = | 283·218 |
| Edge | HK = | 198·183 = | 333·937 |
| Altitude | CD = | 131·250 = | 221·156 |
| Half diag. of base | CH = | 148·4924 = | 250·209 |
and thus I acquired the ratios:—
| Half-base | : Altitude | :: Apothem | : Base. |
| = 20 | : 25 | :: 32 | : 40 nearly. |
To place the lines of the diagram in their actual solid position—Let AB, BC, CA and HG be hinges attaching the planes AEB, BFC, CDA and HKG to the base LHNM. Lift the plane BCF on its hinge till the point F is vertical over the centre C. Lift plane CDA on its hinge, till point D is vertical over the centre C; then will line CD touch CF, and become one line. Now lift the plane AEB on its hinge, until point E is vertical over the centre C, and plane HKG on its hinge till point K is vertical over the centre C; then will points E, F, D and K, all meet at one point above the centre C, and all the lines will be in their proper places.