Glossary · S
Seked
Also called sekad, seqed
The Egyptian measure of a slope: the horizontal run, in palms and fingers, for one cubit (seven palms) of vertical rise. The smaller the seked, the steeper the face; the Great Pyramid has a seked of 5½ palms.
See also: Royal cubit, Batter
Rules that use the word
The seked of a pyramid. Specify the slope of a pyramid face by its seked: the number of palms (and fingers) by which the face runs inward for every cubit of rise. The height follows from half the base divided by the seked, times seven.
The Great Pyramid: 440 cubits by 280. The Great Pyramid of Khufu was laid out 440 royal cubits square and 280 cubits high, a seked of exactly 5½ palms and a slope of about 51°50′.
The bent pyramid: changing the seked in mid-course. When a steep pyramid shows signs of distress, flatten the slope of the upper part: Sneferu’s pyramid at Dahshur rises at about 54° for its lower part and about 43° above.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters Proportion and Number, The Ancient World.
A feature of Ancient Egyptian architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Scotia · Screens passage · Scroll · Segmental pediment · Semicircular arch · Semidome · Şerefe · Serliana