Do any of you have connections with any contemporary Egyptian mathematicians? I'm asking because I'm curious about the wooden "quarter circles" (not really quarter circles but that's apparently what they're called) that have been found near the pyramids and that may have played a role in their construction. Knowing the precise dimensions of these objects might enable one to assess some theories of their purpose (such as Gerard Fonte's theory that the bounding arcs were approximate catenaries, and that large blocks of limestone were rolled end over end along tracks made of the catenaries). Fonte tells me that these relics are not on display, but are held by the Egyptian government. I am quite politically naive, but I'm guessing that an Egyptian mathematician with an interest in understanding ancient Egyptian technology would stand a chance of gaining access to the quarter-circles and taking some photographs (or at least recording their dimensions). Jim Propp