Arecent analysis of the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa at Aswan has revealed that ancient Egyptian engineers possessed an uncanny sense of space.A team headed by University of Jaen cartographer Antonio Mozas-Calvache used laser scanning and photogrammetry to create 3-D models of 3 tombs at the necropolis that were cut in precisely the exact same stone face throughout the 12th Dynasty(ca.1981-1802 B.C.).
The entrances to the large tombs that were constructed for local governors andtheir families-were separated by about 65 feet. However, the models showed that the interiors of the complexes were so close together that among those tombs were separated by only four inches in two places. “Originally, we didn’t feel these outcomes,”says Mozas-Calvache. “We assumed that both tombs were close, but not so near. “After rechecking their data, the researchers determined that the tombs were indeed constructed to within only one hand width apart.
