Mystery of pyramid hieroglyphs: It all adds up

Mysterious hieroglyphs written in red paint on the floor of a hidden chamber in Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza are just numbers, according to a mathematical analysis of the 4,500-year-old mausoleum.

Luca Miatello, an independent researcher who specializes on ancient Egyptian mathematics, believes he has some answers.

“The markings are hieratic numerical signs. They read from right to left, meaning 100, 20, 1. The builders simply recorded the total length of the shaft: 121 cubits,” Miatello told Discovery News.

The royal cubit, the ancient Egyptian unit of measurement used in the construction of the pyramid, was between 20.6 to 20.64 inches in length, and was subdivided into seven palms of four digits (four fingers) each, making it a 28-part measure.