Talk:Pyramid of Unas
Cult pyramid geometry is internally inconsistent: 69° slope cannot give height = base = 11.5 m
The Cult pyramid section states three figures that cannot all be true at once:
- base length = 11.5 m
- slope of the faces = 69°
- height = base = 11.5 m (from a "2:1 ratio-ed slope")
Using the same convention the article applies to the main pyramid (slope = arctan(height ÷ half-base); the main pyramid's 56° slope with half-base 28.875 m correctly gives 28.875 × tan 56° ≈ 42.8 m, matching the stated 43 m), the cult pyramid's figures do not reconcile:
- If the slope really is 69°, then height = 5.75 × tan 69° ≈ 15.0 m, not 11.5 m.
- If height really equals the base (11.5 m), then the slope is arctan(11.5 ÷ 5.75) = arctan 2 ≈ 63.4°, not 69°. This is also what a "2:1 ratio-ed slope" (rise 2 : run 1 of half-base) means.
So either the 69° figure is wrong, or the "height equal to the length of the base, i.e. 11.5 m" claim is wrong — the two cannot both describe the same pyramid.
Proposed fix: check the source (Labrousse, Lauer & Leclant 1977, p. 54) and correct whichever figure is misreported. If the source gives 69°, the stated height should be ~15 m and the "2:1 ratio" wording should be dropped; if the source gives a 2:1 ratio (h = b), the slope should read ~63° (arctan 2), not 69°.