Archaeocryptography (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, ''arkhaios'', "ancient" and (''kruptós''), "hidden, secret"; and (''graphein''), "to write") is the

study Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Observational study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study (art), a drawing or series of drawin ...

of decoding a monument or structure by determining the underlying mathematical order beneath the proportions, size, and placement to find any re-occurring or unusual data in respect to that which is being studied, or within another monument or structure. Archaeocryptography is not a recognized branch of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

or of any other academic discipline. It is an example of

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

pseudoarchaeology Pseudoarchaeology—also known as alternative archaeology, fringe archaeology, fantastic archaeology, cult archaeology, and spooky archaeology—is the interpretation of the past from outside the archaeological science community, which rejects ...

that employs contrived calculations involving many free parameters to achieve an impressive-looking result.

Description

The word ''archaeocryptography'' is derived from ''archaeology'', which is the study of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

activity in the past, and ''

cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adve ...

'', which is the study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties.

Methods

Archaeocryptologists try to find underlying correlations in respect that which is being studied or decoded. Some factors taken into consideration while deciphering an object, structure or

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

ic monument can include the features such as faces, stairs, sides, and terraces. The

geolocation Geopositioning, also known as geotracking, geolocalization, geolocating, geolocation, or geoposition fixing, is the process of determining or estimating the geographic position of an object. Geopositioning yields a set of geographic coordinates ...

or mathematical operations are performed on latitude and longitude coordinates as well as astronomical alignments, such as are found with

archaeoastronomy Archaeoastronomy (also spelled archeoastronomy) is the interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultu ...

. The incorporation of grids, the use of numerical ordering, mathematical constants, Biblical

gematria Gematria (; he, גמטריא or gimatria , plural or , ''gimatriot'') is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase according to an alphanumerical cipher. A single word can yield several values depending on the cipher ...

, and any other re-occurring number that might stand out from the decoding process are determining factors. Archaeocryptologists then can use different mathematical formulas to find correlations within that which is being studied or between other monuments or structures that share any underlying factors. Popular examples are the

Orion correlation theory The Orion correlation theory is a fringe theory in Egyptology explaining a possible purpose in the arrangement of the Giza pyramid complex. It posits that there is a correlation between the location of the three largest pyramids of the Giza pyram ...

between the

Giza pyramid complex The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of ...

and the three middle stars of the

constellation Orion Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. ...

, and also theories about the region of

Cydonia Cydonia may refer to: Music * ''Cydonia'' (album), a 2001 album by The Orb * "Cydonia", a track by heavy metal band Crimson Glory from '' Astronomica'' Places and jurisdictions * Kydonia or Cydonia, an ancient city state on Crete, at moder ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

History

The coining of the word ''archaeocryptography'' is often attributed to Carl P. Munck, who after retiring from the United States military in the late 1970s began studying

cartographic Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

material, among other topics, trying to search for better answers as to why certain megalithic monuments exist. This led him to a formula he believes architects used to place and design various megalithic monuments. Munck's theory claims that calculations using selected numbers or dimensions found in megalithic monuments or

Egyptian pyramids The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Sources cite at least 118 identified "Egyptian" pyramids. Approximately 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush, now located in the modern country of Sudan. ...

yield the

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north po ...

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek let ...

of the site. However, in Munck's findings, the

prime meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

does not run through

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

, but through the

Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient Worl ...

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9. ...

. His theory is known simply as "The Code" and asserts that an ancient numerological system known as

is used in the manipulation of numbers to other key locations, mathematical components and positions of sites in the geometry of their construction. The theory later become popularized and among other practitioners and researchers in pseudo-scientific fields, such as Michael Lawrence Morton, Richard C. Hoagland, Bruce Cathie, and Hugh Harleston Jr. They adapted archaeocryptography to their own studies, developing different theories and books based on the topic.

In literary studies

The marginal, or even fictional, status of archaeocryptography was suggested in

Zachary Mason Zachary Mason (born 1974) is a computer scientist and novelist. He wrote the New York Times bestselling '' The Lost Books of the Odyssey'' (2007; revised edition 2010), a variation on Homer, and ''Void Star'' (2017), a science fiction novel about ...

's novel ''

The Lost Books of the Odyssey ''The Lost Books of the Odyssey'' is a 2007 novel by Zachary Mason, republished in 2010. It is a reimagination of Homer's ''Odyssey''. Mason, who wrote the book while working full-time, won first prize and initial publication in a 2007 competitio ...

'', which purports to be a collection of lost works which the author describes as being as old as the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

and which he claims to have decoded from a manuscript he had uncovered. In the author's biography at the conclusion of the book he describes himself as "the John Shade Professor of Archaeocryptography and Paleomathematics at Magdalen College, Oxford". The "lost books" were actually written by Mason and, as reviewers have noted, Mason is a novelist and computer scientist who lives in California,

John Shade ''Pale Fire'' is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic col ...

is a fictional poet in

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...

's ''

Pale Fire ''Pale Fire'' is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic col ...

'', and no such professorship exists.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links