<p>Many of the worlds oldest megaliths are aligned with the cardinal points like the Great Pyramid which is said to be within an accuracy of better than four minutes of arc, or one-fifteenth of one degree and other megaliths which were solar/lunar, equinox/solstice aligned when built, would these various  megalithic alignments show the actual movement of tectonic plates they sit upon?
If the African plate is estimated to move 6-7mm per year would not the alignment of the Great Pyramid be affected? Thus proving the rate of movement of the said plate? And still it is said that the pyramid is of the same accuracy as when first measured by researchers/explorers.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-20T02:02:02.093Z
short answer the accuracy of the pyramid is no where near enough to measure plate motion. one fifteenth of one degree is huge amount of slop on a planetary scale.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-20T13:34:08.603Z
@John On the other hand, I've heard the Pyramids aren't "perfectly aligned with North". And I've heard different teaching professors put this down to precession of the Earth; and plate tectonics; over 4000+yrs. Of course the "perfect alignment" is nonsense that only comes from conspiracy theorists (our ancestors were too stupid => must have been aliens etc etc).
winwaed
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-20T19:19:20.880Z
It would also depend on the direction the plate is moving.  If the African plate's motion has a large northern component, the alignment of the pyramids would not be much affected: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Plate#Modern_movements
jamesqf
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-20T19:56:47.630Z
@winwaed they probably are aligned within h the limits of hte builders technology, It is not rare for cultures to align important building with significant directions. Washington DC was built to align with certain stars, for instance.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T01:08:13.213Z
If we're talking about the Seven Wonders of the World, then three of them were destroyed in earthquakes. So yes, the movement of the tectonic plates did "affect their alignment" from vertical structures to horizontal rubble piles.
Gimelist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-03-21T18:59:06.300Z
@John: And many American cities have street grids that are aligned north-south and east-west.
jamesqf
<tectonics>
Given the movement of the tectonic plates in the past 5,000 years, how can the alignments of megaliths around the planet still be accurate?
William
# Given the movement of the tectonic plates in the past 5,000 years, how can the alignments of megaliths around the planet still be accurate?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-03-19)

Many of the worlds oldest megaliths are aligned with the cardinal points like the Great Pyramid which is said to be within an accuracy of better than four minutes of arc, or one-fifteenth of one degree and other megaliths which were solar/lunar, equinox/solstice aligned when built, would these various megalithic alignments show the actual movement of tectonic plates they sit upon?
If the African plate is estimated to move 6-7mm per year would not the alignment of the Great Pyramid be affected? Thus proving the rate of movement of the said plate? And still it is said that the pyramid is of the same accuracy as when first measured by researchers/explorers.

**Tags:** tectonics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: short answer the accuracy of the pyramid is no where near enough to measure plate motion. one fifteenth of one degree is huge amount of slop on a planetary scale.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 On the other hand, I've heard the Pyramids aren't "perfectly aligned with North". And I've heard different teaching professors put this down to precession of the Earth; and plate tectonics; over 4000+yrs. Of course the "perfect alignment" is nonsense that only comes from conspiracy theorists (our ancestors were too stupid => must have been aliens etc etc).  
> **username_3**: It would also depend on the direction the plate is moving.  If the African plate's motion has a large northern component, the alignment of the pyramids would not be much affected: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Plate#Modern_movements  
> **username_1**: @username_2 they probably are aligned within h the limits of hte builders technology, It is not rare for cultures to align important building with significant directions. Washington DC was built to align with certain stars, for instance.  
> **username_4**: If we're talking about the Seven Wonders of the World, then three of them were destroyed in earthquakes. So yes, the movement of the tectonic plates did "affect their alignment" from vertical structures to horizontal rubble piles.  
> **username_3**: @username_1: And many American cities have street grids that are aligned north-south and east-west.  

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## 0 answers

