In the long and fascinating history of Ancient Egypt, there were figures without whom many monumental and artistic achievements would not have been possible. Moreover, without them, chaos would have taken over the Nile country year after year, making them essential for maintaining order. We are not talking about the pharaohs or the priests. We are referring to the harpedonaptai.

The harpedonaptai or rope stretchers were the surveyors responsible for measuring and delineating lands and constructions along the Nile. Whenever a construction project began, they were the ones who came with their tools to carry out the necessary measurements and lay the foundations of the work.

The precision and technique in their measurements were essential for Egyptian society, especially due to the annual floods of the Nile, which required the revaluation and redistribution of agricultural lands.

Copy of a painting from the tomb of the scribe Menna, in which the stretching of the rope is shown
Copy of a painting from the tomb of the scribe Menna, in which the stretching of the rope is shown. Credit: Charles Wilkinson / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

The need for expert surveyors arose largely due to the natural conditions and agricultural cycles of the Nile. Each year, the river’s floods inundated the fields, erasing the boundaries of the plots and forcing the Egyptians to constantly redefine the arable lands. This practice was not only crucial for agriculture but also formed the basis for tax collection, making surveying a task of vital importance for the pharaoh’s administration.

The figure of the harpedonaptai is already attested in ancient Egypt in documents dating back to King Scorpion, who lived around 3070 BC and could have been the first unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The main instrument of the harpedonaptai was the twelve-knot rope, used for precise measurement of lengths and angles. This rope was based on the principle of the 3:4:5 right triangle, later known as the Pythagorean triple. With this tool, surveyors could determine right angles essential for constructing buildings and monuments.

The ropes had different lengths and were marked to divide into specific segments. For example, the long rope of 84 shep (an Egyptian unit of measurement) was divided into sections of 7 shep each, while the medium and short ropes were divided into sections of 6 and 5 shep respectively. These segments allowed the harpedonaptai to perform detailed and precise measurements, adjusting the ropes as needed to achieve the required angles and lengths.

The goddess Seshat in the temple of Luxor
The goddess Seshat in the temple of Luxor. Credit: Jon Bodsworth / Wikimedia Commons

Precision was so crucial that before each measurement, the ropes underwent rigorous accuracy tests. This procedure, symbolized in many artistic representations over three thousand years, involved collaboration between the pharaoh and the goddess of wisdom, Seshat.

During this solemn occasion, the pharaoh, aided by high-ranking officials, stretched the rope between two posts, ensuring it was correctly calibrated before beginning any measurement work. Although the specific marks on the ropes have not always been identified in representations, these tests are believed to have been a ceremonial act symbolizing the start of a construction project. This ceremony is known as the stretching of the rope.

The oldest testimony of this ritual is found on a recycled block from a door jamb dated to the reign of King Khasekhemuy, the ninth king of the II Dynasty (2740-2721 BC), rediscovered in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.

More evidence of the ceremony in the Old Kingdom is found in frieze fragments from the Bent Pyramid Temple of Sneferu, the first king of the IV Dynasty (2614-2579 BC) in Dahshur, where the hieroglyphic name of the goddess Seshat is attested for the first time above her head, a feature repeated throughout all Dynasties. Another representation can be seen in an incomplete relief from the Temple of Nyuserra-Iny, king of the V Dynasty (2420-2380 BC) in Abu Gurab, the largest temple of the V Dynasty.

The Palermo Stone
The Palermo Stone. Credit: Internet Archive Book Images / Wikimedia Commons

In the Palermo Stone of the V Dynasty, a fragment of a stele recording the Annals of earlier pharaohs, the rite of the stretching of the rope is mentioned, linked to the Goddess Seshat, represented by a seven-pointed star and inverted cow horns, also known in the New Kingdom under the epithet Sefkhet-Abuy, meaning the one with seven horns.

Other examples are found in Medinet Habu, in the Temple of Thutmose III, and in the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut, where the first complete representations of this ceremony in the New Kingdom (Dynasties XVIII, XIX, and XX) exist.

However, the most complete evidence of the rite comes from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, where hieroglyphs provide more information about the ritual, temple alignments, and Egyptian astronomy.

The harpedonaptai also invented or contributed to the invention of innovative tools such as the Merkhet. This instrument allowed the measurement of slope angles and consisted of a horizontal bar and a suspended weight to ensure verticality. This device reflected the evolution of measurement techniques and their practical application in constructing complex structures like the pyramids.

An Egyptian Merkhet at the Science Museum in London
An Egyptian Merkhet at the Science Museum in London. Credit: The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

The Merkhet was based on the short rope and had a bar of 42 shep, with one half marked for precise measurements. The suspended weight at the end of the bar ensured the measurement was exact, allowing surveyors to determine slope angles with great precision.

To determine the angles, the harpedonaptai used two main methods. The first was based on measuring the the vertical distance in a right triangle in seked, a unit representing inclination. It was the normative method commonly used by priests in formal contexts. The second method was more practical and consisted of using measuring ropes to create right triangles and adjust the measurements according to the specific needs of the terrain or construction.

A notable example of these techniques’ application is the construction of the pyramids. The inclination of the faces of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, for example, was determined using a long rope and adjusting the angles according to the 3:4:5 triangle principle. This method ensured incredible precision, with deviations so minimal they still amaze modern engineers: the Great Pyramid of Khufu shows a deviation of less than 0.001 degrees from the original inclination.

Illustration of the ancient Egyptian measure of Seked compared to the slope of the Great Pyramid
Illustration of the ancient Egyptian measure of Seked compared to the slope of the Great Pyramid. Credit: Skylight 555 / Wikimedia Commons

The pyramids of Menkaure and Khafre also show similar precision, with barely perceptible deviations. In the case of Sneferu’s Red Pyramid, ground conditions caused settlements during construction, requiring adjustments to maintain the structure’s precision.

The work of the harpedonaptai was not only crucial for constructing impressive monuments but also laid the foundations of surveying and geometry in the ancient world, as their methods and tools significantly influenced the development of architecture and engineering in later civilizations, extending to Greece and India, where they stimulated the development of geometry and mathematics.

Both the knotted rope and the plumb line and 3:4:5 triangles of 12 knots are procedures still used today.

This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on July 16, 2024: Harpedonaptas, los imprescindibles “Estiradores de la Cuerda” del Antiguo Egipto

SOURCES

Alexander Puchkov, “Stretching of the cord” ceremony for astronomical orientation of the Old Kingdom pyramids

Xavi Bonet, «El estiramiento de la cuerda» y la alineación astronómica en Egipto

Walter G. Robillard, Donald A. Wilson, Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location

Michel Serres, Los orígenes de la geometría: Tercer libro de las fundaciones

Wikipedia, Harpedonapta

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