recent archaeological discoveries

Wednesday, May 05, 2010
The Mysterious 'Miami Circle'




atlasobscura
-
Property developer Michael Bauman was in for a real surprise when
he purchased a plot of land in downtown Miami in 1998. Bauman's plans
for the land were seemingly simple: demolish a 1950-era apartment
complex and build a luxury condominium in its place.

During a
routine archaeological survey of the site, however, hundreds of
mysterious holes were discovered in a layer of Oolitic limestone bedrock
and Bauman's development plans immediately came to a halt. Through
further investigation, twenty-four of the largest holes comprised a
perfect circle, 38 feet (12 m) in diameter, and excavation results found
a variety of artifacts ranging from human teeth to ancient tools.

Included
in the artifacts were pieces of burnt wood which, after being tested
for radiocarbon dating, are believed to be 1800-2000 years old. To date,
Miami Circle is the only known evidence in the United States of a
prehistoric structure built into bedrock. Evidence from this mysterious
prehistoric "footprint" predates other known settlements along the East
Coast.

The site is believed to have once been occupied by the
Tequesta Indians, a local tribe whose known tools matched some of the
shark
tooth-related artifacts found during excavation. Theorists have
suggested that the holes were structural postholes or part of the
foundation
for a building. Some believe the building was used for ceremonial
purposes, as animal bones and unused tools appeared to be
offerings.

Among
these tools were two axe-heads made from basalt,a hard stone that is
not indigenous to Florida. The finding of these
tools contradicts
the theory that the site was occupied by the Tequesta,however, as the
volcanic rock is believed to have been from a location in Macon, Georgia
- some 600 miles (970 km) away from the site.

Themysterious
origin of the site has led to its nickname as "America's Stonehenge",
(though there are a number of sites nicknamed this) and
some critics
and conspiracy theorists have offered alternative theories.Aliens,
Mayans and septic tanks are among some of the suggested origins or the
holes.

The State of Florida eventually purchased the land from
Baumann after a series of high-profile disputes between NativeAmerican
groups, contractors, and historic preservation committees. Miami Circle,
otherwise known as Brickell Point or the Miami River
Circle, was
declared a National Historic Landmark in early 2009 and is currently
under a 44-year lease agreement with the Historical Museum of Southern
Florida. Visitors interested in the history of the Miami Circlecan view
artifacts on display through the museum's permanent exhibition: "First
Arrivals: The Archaeology of Southern Florida."
_____________________

'MIAMI
CIRCLE' FACTS

The Miami Circle was
discovered in August/September, 1998, during routine archaeo-logical
investigations conducted at the site of six low-rise, 1950-era apartment
buildings (Brickell Point Apartments), which were razed to make way for
construction of two high-rise apartment towers. Surveyor Ted Riggs
uncovered an arc-like section and was convinced this would be a circle
incised into the stone, underneath the three feet of overlying Earth.

The
Miami Circle is located within archaeological site 8DA1212, aka "Miami
Midden #2" or "The Brickell Point Site." It is situated on a 2.2 +/-
acre parcel that is located along the southern bank of the Miami River,
where the River meets Biscayne Bay. The Miami Circle is characterized
primarily by a series of 24 main basin "rectangles" which have been cut
almost 2 feet deep into the site's oolitic limestone bedrock , 6 smaller
ones, and hundredsof random "post holes." The 30 large and small
"rectangular basins" form a ring geometry approximately 37 feet in
diameter, with the approximately 500 smaller round holes scattered
randomly across the
entire circle's width, if not beyond.

Considering
the amount of modern construction (and demolition) that has taken place
on top of the
site, the Miami Circle is remarkably intact -- with
approximately 85% ofit preserved. The Brickell Point property contains
intact prehistoric
midden deposits on at least 50% - 75% of the
parcel. This material contains a tremendous quantity of well-preserved
shell, bone, ceramics,
and other artifacts deposited during several
centuries of human occupation.

The "mainstream" opinion says "the
Tequesta Indians,a group of Southern Florida native Americans who
inhabited the area
from about 2000 years ago to after the Spanish
arrived -- spanning roughly the same dates as the artifacts recovered
from the Circle's
"holes." A minority opinion (Riggs, Hoagland, et
al) says MUCH older .. by a sophisticated people who lived here long
before the Tequestas were in the area ... perhaps as much as 10,000 to
13,000 years ago.

Archaeological evidence suggests the Miami
Circle marks the footprint [foundation] of a large, prehistoric
structure, possibly the "foundations for a 'Coucil House,' or other
ceremonial structure created by native Americans known
as the
Tequesta. The evidence also suggests that the Miami Circle had
ceremonial importance to the Tequesta:

* Cardinal points (i.e.
North, South, East, and West) along the Miami Circle appear to have
beenspecially denoted. In particular, an eye-shaped hole was cut into
the bedrock at the Circle's eastern point. Its shape was unique among
hundreds of holes uncovered at the site.

* Two possible animal
offerings, a complete sea turtle carapace and the articulated remains of
a shark more than six feet in length, were found within the Circle's
interior. Each was oriented east-west, a practice often associated
withprehistoric human burials.

* Several teeth belonging to an
extinct species of seal were found within the Miami Circle. Spanish
explorer's accounts indicate that the consumption of monk seals, or
"seawolves," were reserved for the elite class.

* Two
finely-craftedstone axes were found found along the Miami Circle's
eastern portion. One of these was recovered from within a posthole cut
into the bedrock, and possibly represents an offering. Both axes were
made of basalt, a volcanic rock that is not native toFlorida.

The
minority scientists say that the structure's puzzling ring-shaped array
of 30 rectangular "basins" are more analogous to England's "Stonehenge"
-- once serving as the "foundation slots" for a ring of 30 upright
stones, which once stood in the currently surviving geometric bedrock
basins "an archeo-astronomical "stonehenge-like device," for observing
the solstices and equinoxes, as well as other astronomically-based
ceremonial uses ..."

At present, two radiocarbon date
determinations have been completed. Charcoal samples collected from
within one of the Miami Circle's cut basins and from the midden within
the Miami Circle both dated to circa 100 A.D. Human occupation of the
site may date to well over two thousands years ago.

The Miami
Circle archaeological site is regarded as being of local, regional, and
statewide significance. The Miami Circle may also be of national
significance, as it is believed to be the only cut-in-rock prehistoric
structural footprint ever found in eastern North America. The site
potentially qualifies for listing in the National Register of Historic
Places. If we fail to preserve the Circle, a priceless , untouched
example
of a previously unsuspected sophistication in "archaic North American
architecture," as well as important new clues as to the reasonsfor
astronomically-based indigenous ceremonial centers will be lost.

The Miami Circle, though architecturally unique (carved basins in the
limestone bedrock), has at least one other potetially significant analog
in North America: the ancient circle of wooden post holes -- called
"Woodhenge 2" -- placed on the summit of a massive earthen "Indian
Mound"
known as "Cahokia," located across the river from St.Louis, Missouri.

The
Mayor of Miami-Dade County, the Honorable Alex Penelas, signed an
"eminent domain decree" last February, setting in motion a legal process
for County acquisition and preservation of the Miami River Circle site.
An "eminent domain" trial is set to begin October 4th to decide the
actual purchase price of the land. If the County cannot raise the
necessary funds in time (the exact amount to be dermined by the jury),
the land will then revert back to the developer:Michael Baumann.. The
County needs massive financial help, as the current "save the circle"
fund is far short of even what the developer originally paid for the
land.

The developer, Michael Bauman, originally paid slightly
over 8 million dollars for the 2.2 acre site at the mouth of the Miami
River. He is now claiming additional costs in architetural development,
lost revenues due to the eminent domain proceeding, etc., totalling in
excess of 50million dollars. Ultimately,based on evidence presented by
the County and the developer at trial, a jury of twelve men and woman
selected from the normal jury pool in the Miami area will decide what
the Circle site is worth in today's market -- and award Mr.Baumann
according compensation.

Sources:
www.miamicircle.org
www.archaeology.org
atlasobscura.com
www.sptimes.com

The
Mysterious 'Miami Circle'

‘Nazca Lines’ discovered in Kazakhstan






The Kazakh lines show a strange figure crouching between two structures.
Image by N. Dorogov

2009 09 26
By Michael Cohen | AllNewsWeb.com

Media outlets as well as the official government website in Kazakhstan
are reporting the surprise discovery of local geoglyphs or ‘Nazca
Lines’.

Geoglyphs are drawings created on the ground by arranging stones or
removing the top layers of earth. These designs typically cover large
areas.

The most famous geoglyphs are those found in the Nazca desert in Peru.
These show hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, llamas, and
lizards.
The Kazakhstan Geoglyphs (photo above, thanks to photojournalist N.
Dorogov) appear to depict a humanoid figure wedged between two unusual
structures. The drawings are located in the remote Karatau Mountains in
South Kazakhstan.

Geoglyphs are of interest to UFO researchers, some of whom believe they
might be messages or markers created by ancient people for the benefit
of visiting extraterrestrials. It is alleged by these UFO scholars that
in times of distress these were a way of asking ‘Star Gods’ to return
and Assist these early societies, however this hypothesis has not been
proven.

It is expected that some scholars of extraterrestrial matters will claim
that the being shown in the drawing might well depict an alien that
once visited the area and interacted with the locals.

Kazhakstan is an area of intense UFO sightings and activity. Recently
the Kazakhstan Government toyed with the idea of creating a UFO landing
field and an alien embassy.

Colossal statue of Thoth discovered at temple of Amenhotep III in
Luxor
By Ann Wuyts
Monday, 17 May 2010

The 3.5 metre tall red granite statue is one of several artefacts discovered in the area since excavations began. The head of a 2.5 metre high
statue depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep III in a standing position – possibly the best preserved depiction of the pharaoh’s face found to date - was unearthed at the King's funeral temple at Kom El-Hettan only months ago. A statue of the
god Thoth in the shape of a baboon was also discovered. Last year two black granite statues of Amenhotep III were found at the temple, as well as a5 metre high statue similar to the Thoth statue just found.

Amenhotep III ruled Egypt between 1390 BC and 1352 BC, and recent DNA and forensic research suggests that he was probably the grandfather of Tutankhamun. His temple was built closer to the river than any other temple at Thebes - right on the edge of the floodplain – and within 200 yearsit had collapsed. Many of its stones were subsequently removed for the building projects of later pharaohs.

The famous Colossi of Memnon, two 18-metre-high stone statues of Amenhotep III, are all that remains of the pharaoh's mortuary temple,once the largest religious complex in ancient Egypt.

In a statement, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Dr Zahi Hawass said that evidence found during the excavation suggests that more colossi could yet be found at the site. Afifi Rohayem, assistant director of the excavations, suggests that an avenue of Thoth statues could be found on the original path leading to Amenhotep III's funerary temple.

Since 1998, the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III has been on the World Monument Fund's list of the planet's 100 most endangered monuments. Extensive excavation and restoration works at the temple site are taking place.

“I believe that in less than 20 years we will have achieved our objectives here,” Dr Hourig Sourouzian, head of the conservation project, said in a video interview with Heritage Key. The final stage of the works at Amenhotep III's mortuary temple will be the creation of an open-air museum.
Video:
Dr Hourig Sourouzian reveals the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III
ColossalHead from Statue of King Tut's Granddad Found at Amenhotep III
Funerary
Temple Site
LostWorld of Old Europe to be found at Oxfor

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology

Recent excavation of a neolithic tomb reveals significant
archaeological evidence of the Yangshao / Huaxia culture. Especially in
the totem of Dragon and Tiger. The same totemic symbol found in Zhou
dynasty royal tomb, Zeng Hou'yi tomb (曾侯乙墓). This may offer new clue to
the origin of dragon symbol, besides pushing back the known history of
dragon figure back 7000 years, it gives possible new interpretation of
the astronomy in neolithic period.

[nature_science] Significant
Archaeological Discovery of Yangshao Culture
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Coast to Coast AM - 01 Mar 2010 - Forbidden Archaeology &
Devolution part 1/11


Dissident intellectual Michael Cremo discussed his continuing work
in forbidden archaeology - artifacts and discoveries that don't fit
into the conventional timelines and theories in academic and

scientific communities. He also spoke about his theory of 'Human
Devolution,' and his study of Vedic scriptures. We are currently in the
Vedic cosmological cycle called Kali-yuga, which
incorporates both
catastrophes, as well as enlightenment, he noted.

Ancient
Sanskrit material refers to humans existing for millions of years, and
this led Cremo to seek out physical evidence to support the idea of
extreme human antiquity. Among the evidence he
found were metallic
grooved spheres uncovered in South African mines, that seemed to be
manmade, yet were in strata that dated them back some two billion years.
Cremo speculated that the spheres
might have been game pieces from
that era. He also cited a case in Oklahoma from the 1920s when miners
went down about two miles and found a solid polished wall-- the depth
suggested the wall was
made some 200 million years ago, he said.

Explaining
his theory of devolution, he said "we don't evolve up from matter, as
scientists today now believe, but rather we devolve or come down from a
position of pure consciousness." However,
he thinks this process can
be reversed, and that is, in fact, the real purpose of human
existence-- to get past material distractions and restore one's
consciousness to its original pure state.

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King Solomon's Wall Found—Proof of Bible Tale?

A 3,000-year-old defensive wall might be unprecedented archaeological support for a Bible passage on King Solomon.


Pictured on February 22, a newly excavated Jerusalem site includes a wall claimed to have been built by the biblical King Solomon.
Photograph by Menahem Kahana, AFP, Getty Images

Mati Milstein in Tel Aviv, Israel for National Geographic News
Published February 26, 2010

A 3,000-year-old defensive wall possiblybuilt by King Solomon has been unearthed in Jerusalem,according to the Israeli
archaeologist who led the excavation. The discovery appears to validate a Bible passage, she says.
The tenth-century B.C. wall is 230 feet (70 meters) long and about 6 meters (20 feet) tall. It stands along what was then the edge of
Jerusalem—between the Temple Mount, still Jerusalem's paramount landmark, and the ancient City of David, today a modern-day Arab
neighborhood called Silwan.

The stone barrier is part of a defensive complex that includes a gatehouse, an adjacent building, and a guard tower, which has been only partially excavated, according to Eilat Mazar, who led the dig for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Over the years, the structures have been partially demolished—their building materials scavenged for later structures—and what remained was buried under rubble, Mazar said.

The Bible's First Book of Kings—widely believed to have been written centuries after the time period in question—says Solomon, king of Israel, built a defensive wall in Jerusalem. The new discovery is the first archaeological evidence of this structure, Mazar says.(Related: "KingSolomon's Mines Rediscovered?")

Bearing Out a Bible Passage?
Ancient artifacts found in and around the complex pointed Mazar to the tenth-century B.C.date.
"We don't have many kings during the tenth century that could have built such a structure, basically just David and Solomon," she said.
According to the Bible, King David, of David-and-Goliath fame, was the father of King Solomon, who is said to have built the First Temple of Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.Ceramics found near the wall helped narrow the date down, being of a level of sophistication common
to the second half of the tenth century B.C.—King Solomon's time, according to Mazar.

Three-foot-tall (one-meter-tall) earthenware storage vessels were found near the gatehouse, one of them with a Hebrew inscription indicating the container belonged to a high-ranking government official. Figurines typical of tenth-century B.C. Jerusalem—including four-legged animals and large-breasted women likely symbolizing fertility—were also uncovered, as were jar handles bearing
impressions reading "to the king" and various Hebrew names, she said.

The artifacts may hint at the area's street life in biblical times. Here ancient Jerusalemites would have gathered around the wall's city gate to trade, settle disputes via street-side judges, engage in ritual practices, and stock up on water and supplies for treksout of the city, Mazar said.(Also see "Solomon'sTemple Artifacts Found by Muslim Workers.")

HowReliable Is the Bible?
Tel Aviv Universityarchaeologist Israel Finkelstein, who was not involved in the excavation, agrees that it's possible King Solomon constructed the wall.But Finkelstein cautioned against leaning too heavily on the Bible to Interpret the findings. (Related travel blog post: "In
Israel, the Bible Is our GPS.")
Familiaritywith religious or historic texts connected to any given site is important, he said, but their usefulness can vary."It depends upon the text. Each has its own characteristics, each needs to be approached differently," he said. "There is the question as to when it was written—300 years after, or at the time of the events? What are its goals and its ideology? Why was it written?"For her part, Mazar believes it's natural for archaeologists excavating in the Holy Land to consult with biblical texts along with other ancient documents."I don't believe there is an archaeologist who would excavate a site upon which texts have been written without being familiar with those texts," she said.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com

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Mask of the Mummy
Photograph courtesy John Stafford, Stanford Schoolof Medicine

• There's a real crocodile behind that mask,
  according to new computed tomography (CT) scans of a 2,000-year-old Egyptian
  mummy (pictured). The 8-foot-long (2.4-meter-long) artifact—wrapped in
  once colorful linen and outfitted with a stylized mask—is one of two
  crocodile mummy bundles scanned this month at the Stanford School of Medicine in
  California.Scans of the bundle above show a "mishmash
  of bony parts" from at least two Nile
  crocodiles, including two skulls, a shoulder bone, and possibly a
  femur, according to conservator Allison Lewis, a fellow at the Phoebe A. Hearst
  Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley, California, where the mummies
  are kept.Their origins unknown, the mummy bundles were purchased
  by philanthropist Phoebe Hearst in Egypt at the turn of the 20th
  century. The artifacts were recently restored and studied before going
  on display this week in the museum's new exhibition, "Conservator's
  Art: Preserving Egypt's Past."Mummifying animals was a
  common practice among ancient Egyptians, who embalmed thousands of
  crocodiles and buried them in mass graves as offerings to the crocodile
  god Sobek, according to the museum. (See "Mummy
  Birds Recovered From Egypt Factory.")—Christine
  Dell'Amore
  
  Published April 30, 2010
  

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

Thank you for opening this thread Spiritwarrior



Archaeologists Claim They've Found Lost City Of Atlantis

http://www.heralddeparis.com/previously-undiscovered-ancient-city-found-on-caribbean-sea-floor/65855





WASHINGTON, DC (Herald de Paris) - EXCLUSIVE - Researchers have revealed the first images from the Caribbean sea floor of what they believe are the archaeological remains of an ancient civilization. Guarding the location’s coordinates carefully, the project’s leader, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, says the city could be thousands of years old; possibly even pre-dating the ancient Egyptian pyramids, at Giza.
The site was found using advanced satellite imagery, and is not in any way associated with the alleged site found by Russian explorers near Cuba in 2001, at a depth of 2300 feet. “To be seen on satellite, our site is much shallower.” The team is currently seeking funding to mount an expedition to confirm and explore what appears to be a vast underwater city. “You have to be careful working with satellite images in such a location,” the project’s principle researcher said, “The digital matrix sometimes misinterprets its data, and shows ruins as solid masses. The thing is, we’ve found structure – what appears to be a tall, narrow pyramid; large platform structures with small buildings on them; we’ve even found standing parallel post and beam construction in the rubble of what appears to be a fallen building. You can’t have post and beam without human involvement.”
Asked if this city is the legendary city of Atlantis, the researchers immediately said no. “The romanticized ideal of Atlantis probably never existed, nor will anyone ever strap on a SCUBA tank, jump in the water, and find a city gateway that says, ‘Welcome to Atlantis.’ However, we do believe that this city may have been one of many cities of an advanced, seafaring, trade-based civilization, which may have been visited by their Eurocentric counterparts.”
It is unknown at this time how the city came to be on the sea floor, and not on dry land. “We have several theories.”
The team hopes to conduct a massive mapping and research expedition, to learn as much as possible about who these people were, before turning the site over to the Caribbean island’s home government. “Whatever we’ve found does not belong to us,” the project’s leader said, “It belongs to the people of this island, and to the world at-large. If any pieces are brought to the surface, they belong in the hands of a museum.”


Love Always
mudra

Very interesting thread - right up my alley, thank you! I have a couple of links to add for your enjoyment.



See more on this site:

http://www.satellitediscoveries.com/discoveries/line_network/main.html

If you click the upper left (where it says 'Discovery projects) there are more interesting anomalies linked. Also, if you have Google Earth you can follow these links on this page:

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showthreaded&Number=241620

Each of them has a down-loadable link which automatically leads to a bookmarked anomalous site on Google Earth. Also, some day when you have a little time on your hand with nothing to do, go down along the coast of Chile and explore by going inland and back to the coast until you get way down to the southernmost tip of South America. You will discover all kinds of visible markings on hillsides and in the deserts (both ancient and more recent, lol). You might want to start with the Nasca Lines to begin with. Also there is all kinds of interesting things to discover in the deserts of California and Nevada - just do a low fly over and you will discover much of interest.

Enjoy!

Love Always
mudra

Orcadian
stones
Though
the Orkneys
are on the northern frontiers in Europe, they
nevertheless form
an integral part of the European megalithic civilisation
–
and are on par with monuments in the heartland of that
civilisation.
What was it that made the Orkneys exceptional?
Philip
Coppens


The
Orkney Islands sit on the northern tip of the British
mainland.
It is rumoured that one inhabitant once wrote “Bergen,
Norway”
as his nearest train station, rather than Edinburgh –
let
alone London as the nearest capital. The islands seem
remote and
yet they are the centre of a megalithic community whose
traces
remain clearly distinguishable in the landscape.
The Ring of Brodgar, one of the highlights of any visit
to the
islands, has an area of 90,790 square feet (8,435 m²)

and thus ranks third in size after the Outer Circle at
Avebury
and the Great Circle at Stanton Drew, in what many
consider to
be the true heart of the Megalithic World, the coastal
areas of
south-western England and French Brittany. Though
Europe’s
western facing Atlantic coasts, from Orkney down to
Morocco, are
known to have communicated throughout Megalithic times
and are
considered to be “one”, the question remains why this
civilisation stretched so far north. Or to rephrase the
problem:
it is not odd to find megalithic monuments in the
Orkneys, but
why are they so monumental – on par with monuments found

in the heartland of this civilisation? For some, it has
lead to
theories that suggest that the Orkneys were a staging
post for
ancient sea routes to the Americas – in Megalithic times

– which is not that farfetched as the islands were
indeed
such posts in post-Columbian days. Today, it is known
that this
megalithic civilisation, from at least 3000 BC onwards,
used the
boat as the main means of transport and communication.
Though
it is thus possible that Atlantic crossings occurred,
what is
missing so far is proof that they did.

Why
the Orkneys? What are the Orkneys? The name has been
traced to
the Picts, where the name is believed to come from Insi
Orc, the
islands of the tribe of the wild boar. This may be a
clue –
then again, it may not be.
What is known, is that the islands lacked timber, which
meant
that the houses were made in stone. Hence, settlements
such as
Skara Brae have survived across the millennia and
provide us with
a unique insight in the life of the megalithic builders
in 3000
BC. But precisely because they had to build in stone, it
should
not be taken for granted that their lifestyle reflected
that of
communities elsewhere in Europe. Though Skara Brae is
the most
popular, the earliest house site was at Knap of Howar in
Papa
Westray. Skara Brae itself was inhabited from around
3100 to 2500
BC, an impressive 600 years. It now sits on the edge of
the beach,
but in olden days, would have been more inland and thus
offered
more protection from the elements that so often do not
look benign
on the Orkneys – the god of wind being the one that toys

most with the islanders. The stone structure must have
offered
some protection, even though the weather in 3000 BC is
believed
to have been a few degrees warmer.

The rooms of the Skara Brae houses contained cupboards
and storage
spaces, large dressers, seats and even box beds made
from split
stone. As the houses were interconnected, it was
suggested that
the people had a communal way of life – which is largely

typical of island communities. In winter, when life is
played
out more indoors then outdoors, it must also have meant
that the
families were not tortured by the elements to meet each
other
– or keep the homes warm – a more difficult task than
elsewhere because of the absence of wood.
For everything else, the Orkneys were a wonderful place
to live:
the community fished, collected shellfish, oysters,
etc., as well
as grow barley and wheat, and had domesticated cattle,
such as
pigs, sheep and goats. Bone dice and jewellery were
found as well,
suggesting life was not all work, but also play.

The
finds at Skara Brae are so remarkable that some believe
it is
too good to be true. Did average Joe Bloggs really live
like that?
Some observers have therefore wondered whether these
houses were
perhaps not intended for the gods – not physical beings,

but spiritual presences, very much like “ghosts”,
residing there. Along a similar vein, Euan MacKie
suggested that
Skara Brae was no peasant village, but a “palatial
structure”
housing wise men engaged in astronomical and magical
work –
a college of priest. Though these theories have found a
willing
ear in some corners, the archaeological evidence on the
ground
does not correspond with these conclusions. Of course,
it does
not exclude the likelihood that amongst the people in
Skara Brae
some were indeed priests.
The reason why some believe Skara Brae is a priestly
compound
is because they are relatively close to the megalithic
monuments.
Though the Orkneys are by no means vast, the actual
concentration
of megaliths is in an even smaller area – a neck of land

between the lochs of Harray and Stenness. Here sits the
Ring of
Brodgar, the Ring of Stenness that is a mile south-east,
and the
less well-known Ring of Bookan, the same distance north
west.
The conical mound of Maes Howe is 1 ½ miles to the ESE.

It suggests that this small area was somehow religiously
important
to the community, and no doubt it has something to do
with the
lay of the land and their mythology. Despite the
composition of
the three rings somewhat resembling Orion’s Belt, it may

be more likely that the site was special because of the
manner
in which it played with the surrounding landscape on key
calendar
days – something we will return to later.

First,
a deeper look into the rings themselves is required. In
1694,
James Garden wrote to the famous “archaeologist” John
Aubrey about “two rounds set about with high smooth
stones
or flags about twenty foot above ground, 6 foot broad
and a foot
or two thick, and ditched about: whereof the largest
[Brodgar]
is 110 paces diameter, and reputed to be high places of
worship
and sacrifice in Pagan times… the ancient Temples of the

Gods.” Though Garden could probably have never fathomed
it, it is believed to date from 2700 BC. Of this Ring of
Brodgar,
only 29 of an original sixty stones remain, with a small
stone
in the middle. As to a “Temple of the Gods”, Dr Robert
Henry in the 18th century stated that the stones were
known as
the Temple of the Sun, and Stenness was known as the
Temple of
the Moon.
In the late 20th century, Alexander Thom believed that
the circle
was laid out using the megalithic yard (0.829 metres),
with Brodgar
having a diameter of 125 megalithic yards. If true, it
underlines
that the builders of these structures were indeed part
of the
larger Megalithic Culture – which no-one really doubts
to
begin with. Intriguingly, Thom also said that the
structure was
perfect for observations of the sun and the moon, thus
underlining
the old name chosen for the ring – Temple of the Sun.
To quote another famous 20th century archaeologist,
Aubrey Burl:
“Brodgar could comfortably have accommodated 3000 men,
women
and children. Even if this number is halved to allow
space for
the ceremonies, this still permits an assembly of 1500.
This is
not unlikely. With known settlements such as Skara Brae
only five
miles away, with Rinyo village on Rousay, the Knap of
Howar homesteads
on Papa Westray, with the cluster of houses at Barnhouse
hardly
a mile to the south-east of Brodgar, and with other
hamlets and
farms as yet undiscovered, a population of two or three
thousand
on Orkney and its outlying islands is not an
improbability.”
Burl thus concluded that the ring was used as “a
church”,
where the community convened to partake in religious
ceremonies.
Where did this leave the other rings?

The
Ring of Stenness is less known, if only because only
four massive
standing stones remain, even though the tallest is an
impressive
five metres tall. In Britain, only Stonehenge exceeds
their height.
Built between 3100 and 2700 BC, the ring originally
consisted
out of twelve stones. At the centre of the ring was a
large hearth
(very similar to those at Skara Brae) with a post hole
beside
it. Some believe that it may have held some form of
totem pole.

The third ring, the Ring of Bookan, is even less known
than Stenness.
Though it is also a massive earthwork made up of an
enclosing
ditch surrounding an oval raised platform, measuring
about 44.5
metres by 38 metres (almost identical to that of the
Stones of
Stenness), it lacks an entrance causeway and outer bank,
present
in its two neighbours. Within the ditch are a number of
stones
and a rough mound. It has been suggested that this is
the remains
of a cairn, but this remains speculation and others
argue for
the presence of a platform.

We
should not concentrate just on the rings. There are
intriguing
standing stones nearby, such as Barnhouse Stone. The
most intriguing
stone, the Stone of Odin, was holed, but destroyed in
1814. It
was known as the Stone of Sacrifice and was used by
young couples
who plight their troth by clasping hands through the
stone.
Most interesting of all is the Watchstone, a stone giant
at the
southern end of the neck of land between the two lochs.
Like a
number of other solitary standing stones in Orkney,
local tradition
has it that the Watchstone dips its “head” to drink
from the loch at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Just over
5.6
metres high (around 19 feet), the Watchstone was
originally one
of a pair of standing stones, outliers to the main Ring
of Stenness,
that perhaps marked the approach to the entrance to the
Ness o’
Brodgar.
We know there are two, as in 1930, the stump of the
Watchstone’s
companion was unearthed in the bank by the side of the
road. The
stump was 1.45 metres (4 ft. 9 in) wide, 12.7cm (5 in)
thick,
and at least 90 cm (3 ft) high. It was aligned exactly
north-east
and south-west, at an obtuse angle to the Watchstone.
This led
to the theory that the two stones were the remnants of a
south-eastern
section of a large stone circle, the rest of which has
disappeared.

However, it is more likely that the two massive
megaliths were
once part of a stone-flanked ceremonial route between
the Brodgar
and Stenness complexes. The other stones, such as the
Odin and
the Comet Stone, were also believed to be part of this
processional
way. The possibility of a ceremonial route connecting
the two
rings is intriguing, but a series of geophysics surveys
carried
out across the Ness o’ Brodgar have found no evidence of

any such stone avenue. Therefore, it is now believed
that the
twin stones may have represented a symbolic “gate”
between the two stone circles. Similar “gates” have
been found in the Lake District, in
Kirksanton (the Giant’s Grave).

The
rings, it is now accepted, have astronomical alignments,
to the
sun and the moon. The two wide causeways of the rings
are aligned
with the rising of the sun on the summer solstice, and
the setting
of the sun on the winter solstice, underlining the
astronomical
connection. But that is not all.

The
Watchstone


A local man, Charles Tait, has highlighted an
interesting connection
to the Watchstone and the midwinter solstice. At this
time, the
sun sets in its most southerly position. From the
Watchstone,
viewing the winter solstice sunset, the sun disappears
behind
Ward Hill on Hoy for a few minutes. But that is not all:
it then
becomes visible again, as if “reborn”, at the bottom
of the hill’s northern slope, before finally setting for

the night. On the midwinter solstice, from the
Watchstone, we
can thus witness a double sunset. As the date marked the
death
and revival of the sun king – the shortest day of the
year,
which in these northern latitudes is very short – such
“rebirth”,
his victory over death, must have been an impressive
visual display,
which may have been one of the primary reasons why the
site was
selected for religious worship: the myths were imprinted
on the
landscape.
But though primary, it is not the sole reason. A few
days after
the solstice, the sun sets behind Ward Hill, but this
time reappears
in a horizon “notch” formed by the island’s
hills. This phenomenon prompted the idea that the stone
was perhaps
a marker for watching the sun’s progress as it sets
further
and further south – hence its name “Watchstone”?
The various marker points afforded by the Hoy hills
would allow
the watcher to gage the approach of the solstice – thus
making sure that the main event itself would not be
missed.

Another
important reason why this neck of land was chosen can be
found
in the nature of the lochs: there is the salt water Loch
of Stenness
and the fresh water Harray Loch. The neck of land thus
keeps the
salt and fresh water apart. Little is known of
megalithic mythology,
but it is my firm conviction that much of the creational
mythology
is common to mankind across the world – and thus dating
back to our earliest ancestors, before their migration
began.
In many creation myths, as reported in Giorgio De
Santillana and
Hertha Von Dechend’s Hamlet’s Mill, specific emphasis
is placed on the separation of salt from fresh water,
symbolising
chaos and order respectively. Where salt and fresh water
met,
religious centres came about that formed part of a
ceremonial
landscape (for discussion of this symbolism, see
Hamlet’s
Mill, but specifically my own The Canopus Revelation).

The same seems to apply to the Orkneys, and the
connection with
the creator god, visualised by the sun god, is equally
present.


These
creation myths also speak of a land of the first time,
an island,
in the form of a conical hill. And the ceremonial
landscape of
the Orkneys has just the thing: Maes Howe. The conical
mound of
Maes Howe was broken into by Norsemen and Viking
crusaders in
the mid 12th century. Afterwards, the chamber top
collapsed, filling
the main chamber wit hearth and stones. When the Rings
began to
become appreciated, the mound was lagging behind in
receiving
its due attention. It was not inspected until 1852, when
it was
referred to as M’eshoo or Meashowe. It was broken into
in
1861 by J. Farrer, who has been described as “an
assiduous
if by present standards unscientific digger of mounds”.
What they found was a seven metres high hill, containing
a chamber.
No mortar was used, yet the stones fit so well together
that a
knife cannot be inserted between them.
Today, it is believed to have been built in ca. 3000 BC
from local
sandstone, with some of the slabs weighing up to thirty
tonnes.
It makes the construction older and more impressive than
the nearby
rings. There is a nine metres long inner passage that
gently slopes
up to the chamber, which is about 4.6 metres square.
Like the
rings, the mound incorporates astronomical knowledge, as
the passage
points roughly to the midwinter sunset. The winter sun
strikes
the back wall of the chamber near the shortest day of
the year,
though the sun shines directly into the chamber for
forty days
on either side of the solstice. As such, Maes Howe is
often labelled
as one of the finest examples of prehistoric
architecture –
yet in remains a second-rank citizen in Orkney’s
megalithic
list of fame.

Placing
Maes Howe in its surrounding landscape, we find that it
predates
the rings, but postdates – by about a century – the
construction of Skara Brae. This is, of course, logical:
people
would first need a space to live, before beginning the
construction
of a conical mound, followed by the construction of the
rings.
As the conical mound, in my opinion, is an expression of
the “mound
of creation”, it would seem logical to construct this
first.

Like the rings and standing stones, Maes Howe is
incorporated
into the ceremonial landscape. As early as 1894, a local
schoolmaster,
Magnus Spence, found that the passageway of Maes Howe
was not
only “roughly” orientated to the winter sunset, but
also aligned with a standing stone at Barnhouse. This
stone, together
with the Watchstone, and the centre of the stone circle
of the
Ring of Brodgar, were aligned to the axis of the setting
sun on
the winter solstice. It is definitive proof that we
should not
look towards each structure in isolation, but see the
entire area
as one religious centre. Spence eventually found other
alignments
and argued that the annual movement of the sun was
encoded in
the landscape; the stones tracked the movement of the
sun –
and creator – god.

There
are clear parallels between the Orkneys and the
megalithic concentration
in the area of Wiltshire, where we find the two major
circles
of Avebury and Stonehenge relatively closely together.
There is
a further parallel, between Silbury Hill and Maes Howe –

though the parallel is in its appearance, namely that of
a conical
mound in an otherwise relatively flat landscape and –
again
in my opinion – in its symbol as a representation of the

mound of creation.
This is not the only connection. As early as forty years
ago,
a link between the two areas was suspected, because both
contained
a type of pottery known as “Grooved Ware”, found in
both sites – and for some time believed to be found only

in those two sites. Though since found elsewhere in and
near Neolithic
monuments, it remains a fact that the largest
concentration of
this pottery is located in two widely separated areas,
in the
far north and northwest of Scotland on the one hand and
in southern
England and East Anglia on the other – each of which had

the Orkneys and Wiltshire respectively as its inner
core.

Though
the Orkney and Wiltshire were constructed in roughly the
same
era, they did not share the same fate. The Wiltshire
landscape
continued to be added to for much longer, whereas in the
Orkneys,
“shortly” after the completion of Stenness in ca.
2700 BC, by ca .2600 BC Skara Brae was abandoned – and
any
new additions to the ceremonial landscape stopped. After
building
for 400 years, it was only used for a century. Why? No
clear answers
are given, and archaeologists call in “possible climate
changes”, but no clear evidence is at present available.

These people came here to build – on an island in the
far
north – a visual representation of the “Island of
Creation”… but almost as soon as it was created, they
abandoned it. Perhaps they were more interested in
origins, rather
than destiny.

spiritwarrior, thank you so much for posting this info as I love this type of research and discovery. Mahalo nui loa friend.

mudra, am really fasinated with adams calender, ta for posting the video. i could listen to klaus donna and michael tellinger all day.
Lost City Of
Atlantis is fasinating , they can hardly say that this unerwater city is "natural" lol

Tatiana thank you so much for the links.

carol, thanks,

Divers Explore Sunken Ruins Of Cleopatra's Palace


Associated Press Underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio of France shows a recently excavated bronze cult statue found in the Temple of Isis.
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt May 25,
2010, 02:01 pm ET
Plunging into the waters off Alexandria Tuesday,
divers explored the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex from
which Cleopatra ruled, swimming over heaps of limestone blocks hammered
into the sea by earthquakes and tsunamis more than 1,600 years ago.

The international team is painstakingly
excavating one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the
world and retrieving stunning artifacts from the last dynasty to rule
over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30 B.C.

Using advanced technology, the team is surveying
ancient Alexandria's Royal Quarters, encased deep below the harbor
sediment, and confirming the accuracy of descriptions of the city left
by Greek geographers and historians more than 2,000 years ago.

Since the early 1990s, the topographical surveys
have allowed the team, led by French underwater archaeologist Franck
Goddio, to conquer the harbor's extremely poor visibility and excavate
below the seabed. They are discovering everything from coins and
everyday objects to colossal granite statues of Egypt's rulers and
sunken temples dedicated to their gods.



Enlarge
Associated
Press The team
painstakingly excavated one of the richest underwater archaeological
sites in the world and retrieved artifacts from the last dynasty to rule
over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30 B.C.








The team painstakingly excavated one of the richest underwater archaeological
sites in the world and retrieved artifacts from the last dynasty to rule
over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30 B.C.

"It's a unique site in the world," said Goddio,
who has spent two decades searching for shipwrecks and lost cities below
the seas.

The finds from along the Egyptian coast will go
on display at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute from June 5 to Jan. 2 in
an exhibition titled "Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of
Egypt." The exhibition will tour several other North American cities.

Many archaeological sites have been destroyed by
man, with statues cut or smashed to pieces. Alexandria's Royal Quarters
— ports, a cape and islands full of temples, palaces and military
outposts — simply slid into the sea after cataclysmic earthquakes in the
fourth and eighth centuries. Goddio's team found it in 1996. Many of
its treasures are completely intact, wrapped in sediment protecting them
from the saltwater.

"It's as it was when it sank," said Ashraf
Abdel-Raouf of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, who is part of
the team.

Associated Press
A recently excavated statuette of a boy Pharaoh dating from the 4th or 5th century
B.C.


.

Tuesday's dive explored the sprawling palace and
temple complex where Cleopatra, the last of Egypt's Greek-speaking
Ptolemaic rulers, seduced the Roman general Mark Antony before they
committed suicide upon their defeat by Octavian, the future Roman
Emperor Augustus.

Dives have taken Goddio and his team to some of
the key scenes in the dramatic lives of the couple, including the
Timonium, commissioned by Antony after his defeat as a place where he
could retreat from the world, though he killed himself before it was
completed.

They also found a colossal stone head believed
to be of Caesarion, son of Cleopatra and previous lover Julius Caesar,
and two sphinxes, one of them probably representing Cleopatra's father,
Ptolemy XII.

Divers photographed a section of the seabed
cleared of sediment with a powerful suction device. Their flashlights
glowing in the green murk, the divers photographed ruins from a temple
to Isis near Cleopatra's palace on the submerged island of Antirhodos.

Among the massive limestone blocks toppled in
the fourth century was a huge quartzite block with an engraving of a
pharaoh. An inscription indicates it depicts Seti I, father of Ramses
II.




Associated Press. Pottery
excavated from the site. The team has discovered everything from coins
and everyday objects to colossal granite statues of Egypt's rulers and
sunken temples dedicated to their gods.


Associated Press

Pottery
excavated from the site. The team has discovered everything from coins
and everyday objects to colossal granite statues of Egypt's rulers and
sunken temples dedicated to their gods.

"We've found many pharaonic objects that were
brought from Heliopolis, in what is now Cairo," said Abdel-Raouf. "So,
the Ptolemaic rulers re-used pharonic objects to construct their
buildings."

On the boat's deck, researchers displayed some
small recent finds: imported ceramics and local copies, a statuette of a
pharaoh, bronze ritual vessels, amulets barely bigger than a
fingernail, and small lead vessels tossed by the poor into the water or
buried in the ground as devotions to gods.

Alexandria's Eastern Harbor was abandoned after
another earthquake, in the eighth century, and was left untouched as an
open bay — apart from two 20th century breakwaters — while modern port
construction went ahead in the Western Harbor. That has left the ancient
Portus Magnus undisturbed below.

"We have this as an open field for archaeology,"
Goddio said.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127113983

Human remains found at Da Vinci Code chapel


EXCLUSIVE: Workmen find bones in Rosslyn Chapel during conservation
work.



By Graham Fraser

Rosslyn Chapel: bones have been discovered. Pic:
STV
Workers have discovered what are thought to be human remains at
Rosslyn Chapel - the world-renowned religious site made famous by The
Da Vinci Code.
STV News can reveal the bones were discovered at the chapel in
Midlothian by workers carrying out conservation work at the world-famous
heritage centre.
A spokesperson for Lothian and Borders Police confirmed the
discovery, but said it was not being treated as a crime.
The famous building, built in 1446, has long been linked with a role
in the history of the Freemasons and the Knights Templar. Most notably,
it has also suggested as the burial place of the Holy Grail – the cup
used by Christ at The Last Supper – or even the resting place of the
mummified head of Jesus Christ.
Following the release of Dan Brown’s hit book The Da Vinci Code
in 2003, the chapel was thrown into the worldwide spotlight. The work
was then made into a film starring Tom Hanks, who filmed at the chapel
for some scenes in the film. The Hollywood legend subsequently made a
cash donation to the restoration and conservation of the chapel.
The bones, which were found on February 19, have now been removed
from the site to be examined by archaeologists to discover their age,
type and if they are human or animal. They were discovered under a slab
while a new heating system was being installed inside the chapel. There
is no record of a burial site in this particular area of the chapel.
Rosslyn Chapel has declined to comment on the discovery

• Rosslyn
  Chapel Symbology
  

The chapel is in the midst of £13million conversation work which has
been taking place since January 2009. It is to be completed in July this
year.
One of the groups carrying out the conservation is Hunter Clark,
whose headquarters are in Glasgow’s Gallowgate. The company declined to
comment about the discovery.
The site is notable for its carvings, which cover nearly every inch
of the structure. The most famous of these is the Apprentice Pillar. The
pillar was said to be carved by an apprentice mason who was inspired by
a dream. Once he saw the incredible work, the master mason went into a
rage and killed the apprentice.Scottish symbologist Ashley Cowie has been researching the historical
connection between the two over the last decade. He had come to the
opinion that no such connection existed until recently being
commissioned to study symbols on an auctioned painting.

Dubbed as
the real life Robert Langdon, Ashley made some interesting discoveries
with this painting and his research made the basis for his book The
Rosslyn Templar.

“This picture was painted in 1836,” Cowie
said. “It is a pastel painting of a Knight Templar standing in Rosslyn
Chapel which makes us think that at least since then, people have
believed there was a connection between the two.”

The Knights
Templar began when 118 nobles from France decided to group together and
go on a crusade to the Holy Land. Legend has it that they dug underneath
Solomon’s Temple and recovered great treasures such as the covenant and
the grail.

However, it was not until the group was abolished in
the 1300s that the myths about them being an underground order and the
keepers of great secrets began.

The painting features a
mysterious staircase, that does not exists in the Chapel today, leading
underground. This interesting addition to the painting may be the key to
unravelling the mystery of the Holy Grail.

“One of the most
important and endearing features in this painting is a staircase which
leads down underneath the Chapel - there has been lots of speculation
about what might rest underneath Rosslyn Chapel.

“If indeed a
room exists under Rosslyn Chapel that we don’t know about yet, it is a
possibility that some form of treasure exists under Rosslyn.

“The
Holy Grail might even be there,” Ashley said. “I don’t think so myself
but it is the fun that is raised through these sort of concepts by
imagining the likes of the Holy Grail to be there.”

01 March 2010 13:02 GMT

• 
  Comment (1)
  
  

160668

The Mystery of Malta's Long-Headed Skulls




2010 06 03


By Vittorio Di Cesare and Adriano Forgione |
bibliotecapleyades.net





In the megalithic temple of Hal Saflienti, in Malta, men with
extraordinary cranial volume were buried. These skulls seem to belong to
a strange human stock and if properly analyzed, could create an ideal
link between the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures and a race
of sacerdotal men identified with the snake.

We are back from a visit in Malta among the suite of Maurizia Giusti,
alias Syusy Blady and the crew of her Italian national TV show,
"Tourists by Chance". Together, we followed the traces of an ancient
story that originated from the presence of megalithic temples dedicated
to the Mother Goddess on the island, a thaumaturgic figure, adored in
pre-historical times of this island that was to become an important cult
center. The coverage gave us the possibility to try to resolve a
mystery of interesting implications. It was known that until 1985 a
number of skulls, found in pre-historic Maltese temples at Taxien,
Ggantja and Hal Saflienti, were exposed in the Archeological Museum of
the Valletta. But since a few years ago, these were removed and placed
in the deposits.

From then, they were not to be seen by the public. Only the photographs
taken by the Maltese researcher Dr. Anton Mifsud and his colleague, Dr.
Charles Savona Ventura, remained to testify the existence of the skulls
and prove…their abnormality. Books written by the two Maltese doctors,
who since our first day in Malta helpfully provided us the necessary
documentation for our research, illustrate a collection of skulls that
show peculiar abnormalities and/or pathologies. Sometimes inexistent
cranial knitting lines, abnormally developed temporal partitions,
drilled and swollen occiputs as following recovered traumas, but above
all, a strange, lengthened skull, bigger and more peculiar than the
others, lacking of the median knitting. The presence of this finding
leads to a number of possible hypotheses. The similitude with other
similar skulls, from Egypt to South America, the particular deformity, unique in
the panorama of medical pathology referred to such distant times, (we
are talking about approximately 3000 BC) could be an exceptional
discovery. Was that skull a result ancient genetic mutation between
different races that lived on that island?

The Dolichocephalous Skulls
A request to the museum's management by the show's
producers to see and film the exhibits would have certainly failed if it
weren't for the intercession of the minister of tourism, Michael
Refalo, whom we met at the end of a press conference hosted by Maurizia
Giusti (and of course, us of HERA) organized by Dr. Robert Zammit, of
the Maltese Provincial Tourism Board. The minister, whose interest in
the matter we enhanced, accompanied us personally to the nearby museum,
snatching the director's permission to bring out those mysterious
craniums, conserved far from the sight of curious onlookers and
researchers since about 15 years. A couple of days later, in fact,
guided by the museum's authorities, we were received in a reserved area,
closed to public, where the extraordinary exhibits were brought, before
our eyes, under the supervision and gentle accessibility of the
museum's archeologist, Mark Anthony Mifsud, almost homonymous of the
previous researcher.

The skulls were all found in the Hal Saflienti hypogeum, where a sacred
well was dedicated to the Mother Goddess and where also the small statue
of a sleeping goddess was found, associated to a relic with a snake
inscription on it. The skulls were brought out of their box one at a
time. Among these, all very interesting, was the one we were looking
for. The cranium showed a very pronounced dolichocephalous, in other
words, a lengthened posterior part of the skullcap, besides the lack of
median knitting, technically named "sagitta". This last detail has been
considered "impossible" by medics and anatomists to whom we turned, not
having (as far as known) analogous pathological cases in international
medical literature. It is a characteristic that emphasizes the anomaly
of this finding with the result of producing a natural lengthening of
the cranium in the occipital area (not due to bandaging or boards as
used in pre-Colombian civilizations). We believe that the discovery of
this skull and the like at Hal Saflienti isn't accidental.

The Priests of the Goddess
Malta and Gozo were very important centers since
pre-historic times, places where "medical cures" were conducted, oracles
and ritual encounters with the priests of the goddess. There, on both
the islands, existed many sanctuaries and thaumaturgic centers, where
priests surrounded the healing goddess, direct expression of her
divinity. It is well known that, in antiquity, the serpent was
associated to the goddess and to healing capacities. The snake also
belongs to the subterranean world. Therefore, a hypogeum dedicated to
the goddess and the water cult was the right place for a sacerdotal
group that was defined, in all the most ancient cultures, as the
"serpent priests".

Perhaps the skulls found in the hypogeum and examined during our visit
to Malta, belonged indeed to these priests. As mentioned before, they
present an accentuated dolichocephalous, which is particularly the
center of our analysis. The long head and drawn features must have given
a serpent-like appearance, stretching the eyes and skin. Lacking the
lower part of the exhibit, we can only speculate, but the hypothesis
can't be far from reality, a reality worsened buy the fact that such
deformities certainly created walking problems, forcing him…to slither!
The lack of the cranium's median knitting and therefore, the
impossibility of the brain's consistent, radial expansion in the
skullcap, did so that it developed in the occipital zone of the
cerebellum, deforming the cranium that looked like a single cap from the
frontal and occipital area. This must have certainly caused the man
terrible agony since infancy, but probably enhanced visions that were
considered as being proof of a bond with the goddess.

Another race
Even the other skulls we examined presented strange anomalies. Some were
more natural and harmonic than the cranium that mostly gained our
attention, but they still presented a pronounced natural
dolichocephalous and we could assume, without fear of refutation, that
it is distinctive of an actual race, different to the native populations
of Malta and Gozo. This consideration was confirmed by the Maltese
archeologists themselves, Anthony Buonanno and Mark Anthony Mifsud, who
said:<blockquote>"They are another race
although C-14 or DNA exams haven't yet been performed. Perhaps these
individuals originated from Sicily".</blockquote>By Vittorio Di Cesare and Adriano Forgione HERA
magazine, Rome, Italy and Andrew Collins

Read the rest of the article here


All over the world elongated skulls have been found. Some of the
Pharoahs of Egypt had very elongated skulls. For example Ramases II and
most surprisingly Nefertiti. There are many theories of why these people
had skulls like this. One normal explanation for the imagery of
elongated skulls is that it was a certain style of art work, Amarna Art.

Malta was very likely to be an important place in the old days. After
all it had many very old temples. There are reports of the "Serpant
race" or Snake Priests being in charge. The idea that esoteric knowledge
would be kept in a "race" or class of people is not surprising, after
all the Jews have their own Priest Tribe, the Celtics had the Druids
etc.

<blockquote>Acts 28
1. And having been saved, then they knew that the island is called
Melita (Malta),
2. and the foreigners were shewing us no ordinary kindness, for having
kindled a fire, they received us all, because of the pressing rain, and
because of the cold;
3. but Paul having gathered together a quantity of sticks, and having
laid [them] upon the fire, a viper -- out of the heat having come -- did
fasten on his hand.
4. And when the foreigners saw the beast hanging from his hand, they
said unto one another, `Certainly this man is a murderer, whom, having
been saved out of the sea, the justice did not suffer to live;'
5. he then, indeed, having shaken off the beast into the fire, suffered
no evil,
6. and they were expecting him to be about to be inflamed, or to fall
down suddenly dead, and they, expecting [it] a long time, and seeing
nothing uncommon happening to him, changing [their] minds, said he was a
god.</blockquote>This sound like a
straight forward account of a man being bitten by a snake but the
problem is that Malta has no and has very likely never had poisonus
snakes.

The bible deals in lots of stories with images and parables. Was this
such an example? Was Paul attacked or attacking the local belief system
when he came to the island, was he in conflict with the Serpent Priests?

Is there any evidence of the "Serpent Priests" on Malta and are they
connected to the other ancient civilisations and Priest/God races, for
example the Egyptians?

From: everythingselectric.com

I like this thread.

Nebula wrote:I like this thread.

TA ME TOO LOL

Sister monument to Stonehenge may have been found


Scientists scouring the area
around Stonehenge said Thursday they have uncovered a circular structure
only a few hundred meters (yards) from the world famous monument.

There’s some debate about what exactly has been found. The survey team
which uncovered the structure said it could be the foundation for a
circle of freestanding pieces of timber, a wooden version of Stonehenge.

Wooden circle found new Stonehenge
<embed src='http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/player/player-viral.swf' height='346' width='560' allowscriptaccess='always' allowfullscreen='true' flashvars='&file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQiBFWXpHCkA&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.redicecreations.com%2Fimg%2Fyoutubecover.jpg&plugins=viral-2d&skin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.redicecreations.com%2Fradio%2Fplayer%2Faudioskin%2Fstylish_slim.swf'/>

But Tim Darvill, a professor of
archaeology at Bournemouth University in southern England, expressed
skepticism, saying he believed it was more likely a barrow, or
prehistoric tomb.

Darvill did say that the circle was one of an expanding number of
discoveries being made around Stonehenge which "really shows how much
there is still to learn and how extensive the site really was."


"In its day Stonehenge was at the centre of the largest ceremonial centre in Europe," he said.

The stonehenge that is visible today is thought to have been completed
about 3,500 years ago, although the first earthwork henge on the site
was probably built more than 5,000 yeas ago.

Although antiquarians have been poking around the area since the 18th
century, excavations are now tightly restricted. So archeologists have
been scanning the surrounding fields and pastures with magnetic and
radar sensors pulled across the grass by tractors or quad bikes.

The new structure was found when scans identified a cluster of deep pits
surrounded by a ring of smaller holes about 900 metres (a little over
half a mile) from Stonehenge and within sight of its famous standing
stones.

University of Birmingham archaeologist Henry Chapman said he was
convinced the small holes were used to secure a circle of wooden poles
which stood "possibly three or more meters (10 or more feet) high."

The timber henge — a name given to prehistoric monuments surrounded by a
circular ditch — would have been constructed and modified at the same
time as its more famous relative, and probably had some allied
ceremonial or religious function, Chapman said in a telephone interview
from Stonehenge.

Exactly what kind of ceremonies those were is unclear. The new henge
joins a growing complex of tombs and mysterious Neolithic structures
found across the area.

The closest equivalent is probably the nearby Woodhenge, a monument once
composed of six rings of wooden posts enclosed by an earth embankment.
Excavations there in the 1970s revealed the body of child whose skull
had been split buried at the centre of the henge — hinting at the
possibility of human sacrifice.

A stone’s throw from the newly found henge is a formation known as the
Cursus, a 3-kilometre-long (1.8-mile-long) earthwork whose purpose
remains unknown. Also nearby is a puzzling chunk of land known as the
Northern Kite Enclosure; Bronze Age farmers seem to have avoided
cultivating crops there, although no one is sure quite why.

The whole area around Stonehenge is dotted with prehistoric cemeteries —
some of which predate the monument itself — and new discoveries are
made occasionally.

Last year, researchers said they had found a small circle of stones on
the banks of the nearby River Avon. Experts speculated the stone circle —
dubbed "Bluehenge" because it was built with bluestones — may have
served as the starting point of a processional walk that began at the
river and ended at Stonehenge.

Chapman’s team is still in the early stages of its work, having surveyed
only about four square kilometres (1.5 square miles) of the 16 square
kilometres (six square miles) it eventually plans to map.

The survey is being led by the University of Birmingham and the
Austria-based Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection
and Virtual Archaeology, with support from other institutions and
researchers from Germany, Norway and Sweden.

Henges of various descriptions exist throughout Britain — from the
Standing Stones o’ Stenness on the northern island of Orkney to the
Maumbury Rings in southern England county of Dorset.

Stonehenge, a World Heritage Site, remains the best-known.


Article from:http://www.redicecreations.com

ANCIENT ARTIFACTS
THAT CHALLENGE MODERN THINKING



http://rabbithole2.com/presentation/ancient/ancient_artifacts_that_challenge_modern_archaeology.htm

Love Always
mudra

This Info is not so recent as more unknown so here It is for You All My Brethren. Some may already know this so I place it here so that if others may have been unawares - They will not be afterwards...

Gilgal Repha'im - The Stonehenge before Stonehenge.

Dead Sea Scrolls to be made available online

October 19, 2010|By Kevin Flower, CNN


In an ambitious application of 21st century technology brought to bear on a first century wonder, the Israel Antiquities Authority and internet search giant Google Tuesday announced a plan to digitize the Dead Sea Scrolls and make the entire collection available to the public online.

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) General Director Shuka Dorfman called the project a milestone that would enhance the field of biblical studies and people's understanding of Judaism and early Christianity.

"We have succeeded in recruiting the best minds and technological means to preserve this unrivalled cultural heritage treasure, which belongs to all of us, so that the public, with a click of the mouse, will be able to access history in its fullest glamour," Dorfman said.


Made up of 30,000 fragments from 900 manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by many historians to be one of the most important archaeological finds ever made.

The ancient manuscripts, made of leather, papyrus, and copper, were first discovered in 1947 by a nomadic shepherd in a cave near the Dead Sea. In the years following, more scroll fragments were located.

Dating back more than 2,000 years, the scrolls reveal details about the development of Judaism during the Hellenistic period and shed light on the relationship between early Christian and Jewish religious traditions.

The project will employ the latest in spectral and infrared imaging technology to scan the thousands of scroll fragments into one large database.

read more : http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-19/tech/dead.sea.scrolls.google_1_scroll-fragments-dead-sea-scrolls-israel-antiquities-authority?_s=PM:TECH

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mudra

Mysterious Pyramid Baffles Chinese Scientists

http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/12/13/mysterious-pyramid-baffles-chinese-scientists/

No one seems to know the origin or the meaning behind a mysterious pyramid that sits atop Mount Baigong in western China that local legends claim is an alien UFO launch tower.

Nine scientists form the team that will travel to the western province of Qinghai and the mouth of this 165-198 foot tall structure known as the “ET Relics.”

“The pyramid has three caves with openings shaped like triangles on its façade and is filled with red-hued pipes leading into the mountain and a nearby salt water lake,” says China’s state-run Xinhua agency.



To add to the mystery, iron debris and unusually shaped stones are scattered about the desolate area.

“The theory that the pyramid was created by extra terrestrials is “understandable and worth looking into…but scientific means must be employed to prove whether or not it is true,” says Yang Ji, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.



The site in question with its high altitude and thin, crisp air has long been considered an ideal astronomical location. Two of the three caves at the foot of the mountain have collapsed and are inaccessible. The remaining middle one, which is the largest, stands with its floor about 6 feet above the ground and its top about 9 feet above the surface.

Inside the cave, there is s a half-pipe about 40 centimeters in diameter tilting from the top to the inside of the cave. Another pipe of the same diameter goes into the earth with only its top visible above the ground. Dozens of strange pipes surround the opening with diameters ranging from 10 to 40 centimeters. Their structures indicate a highly advanced and completely unknown construction technique.



On the beach at nearby Toson Lake, many strangely-shaped iron pipes lay amid the sands and rocks. They run in the east-west direction with a diameter between 2 and 4.5 centimeters. Even more bizarre is the discovery of pipes in the lake itself, some reaching above the surface and others buried below, with similar shapes and thickness as those found on the beach.

Pyramids of China. Pyramids around the world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZmb6m6lbmc&feature=player_embedded


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mudra

Ancient human remains found in Israel
Mon Dec 27 2010,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_israel_ancient_teeth

Professor Avi Gopher from the Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University holds an ancient tooth that was found at an archeological site near Rosh AP – Professor Avi Gopher from the Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University holds an ancient tooth that …

Israeli archaeologists said Monday they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man, and if so, it could upset theories of the origin of humans.

A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern man, known scientifically as Homo sapiens, found in Israel. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half as old.



"It's very exciting to come to this conclusion," said archaeologist Avi Gopher, whose team examined the teeth with X-rays and CT scans and dated them according to the layers of earth where they were found.

He stressed that further research is needed to solidify the claim. If it does, he says, "this changes the whole picture of evolution."

[Related: Chinese archaeologists discover 2,400 year old soup]

The accepted scientific theory is that Homo sapiens originated in Africa and migrated out of the continent. Gopher said if the remains are definitively linked to modern human's ancestors, it could mean that modern man in fact originated in what is now Israel.

Sir Paul Mellars, a prehistory expert at Cambridge University, said the study is reputable, and the find is "important" because remains from that critical time period are scarce, but it is premature to say the remains are human.

"Based on the evidence they've cited, it's a very tenuous and frankly rather remote possibility," Mellars said. He said the remains are more likely related to modern man's ancient relatives, the Neanderthals.

According to today's accepted scientific theories, modern humans and Neanderthals stemmed from a common ancestor who lived in Africa about 700,000 years ago. One group of descendants migrated to Europe and developed into Neanderthals, later becoming extinct. Another group stayed in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens — modern humans.

[Related: Ancient human relative roamed all of Asia]

Teeth are often unreliable indicators of origin, and analyses of skull remains would more definitively identify the species found in the Israeli cave, Mellars said.

Gopher, the Israeli archaeologist, said he is confident his team will find skulls and bones as they continue their dig.

The prehistoric Qesem cave was discovered in 2000, and excavations began in 2004. Researchers Gopher, Ran Barkai and Israel Hershkowitz published their study in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

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Builders stumble across ice age 'graveyard' filled with fossilised remains of dozens of huge animals

24th January 2011

Building contractors have unearthed an ice age graveyard containing the fossilised remains of dozens of giant animals that died up to 150,000 years ago.

Mammoths, mastodons and a giant ground sloth were all discovered at the bottom of a drained reservoir near the Aspen ski resort in Colorado's Rocky Mountains.

The remains are thought to be one of the largest collections of animals from the last ice age to be found in one place, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Discovery: Building contractors unearthed an ice age graveyard in Colorado's Rocky Mountains containing the fossilised remains of dozens of giant animals that died up to 150,000 years ago

Discovery: Building contractors unearthed an ice age graveyard in Colorado's Rocky Mountains containing the fossilised remains of dozens of giant animals that died up to 150,000 years ago

They were found in sediment in October by contractors preparing to build a new dam at the reservoir near Snowmass Village, which is located on a plateau some 8,870ft above sea level.

Palaeontologists have since found more than 600 bones from 25 different animals from seven different species beneath the reservoir's bed.

Heavy snow has forced them to call off their search until the spring, but they fully expect to find more fossils when they return.

Their haul so far still makes for impressive reading - ten American mastodons; four Columbian mammoths; four ice age bison; a Jefferson's ground sloth, an ice age deer and a tiger salamander have all been identified.
Standing on the verge: Scientists excavate a large mastodon tusk at the Ziegler Reservoir site. Heavy snow has forced them to postpone their work until the spring

Standing on the verge: Scientists excavate a large mastodon tusk at the Ziegler Reservoir site. Heavy snow has forced them to postpone their work until the spring

Lead scientist Dr Kirk Johnson, from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, told the Telegraph: 'It is an amazing site and is very unusual.

'It is a true treasure trove of ice age fossils.

'Many fossils are pristine as they have been very well preserved. Some of the bones we recovered are still white while we are finding leaves that are still green and tree branches with the bark still on.'

The researchers believe the discovery will enhance our understanding of the prehistoric environment.

As these fossils were found beneath a lake, small invertebrates including fossilised insects and plant matter have been preserved.
Geologists examine an exposure of sediments. The researchers believe the discovery will enhance our understanding of the prehistoric environment

Geologists examine an exposure of sediments. The researchers believe the discovery will enhance our understanding of the prehistoric environment

Scientists believe that so many remains were found there because animals had gravitated towards the lake to drink water.

Other ice age fossil sites have tended to be on the sites of former tar pits, where trapped animals died.

Dr Johnson said: 'Mammoths and mastodons are hardly ever found together on a single site as they lived in very different environments, so here we must have seen a change in the ecosystem around the lake.

'We are seeing two distinct ice age environments - the first was when the lake was fairly deep and had a lot of open water... but then later it seems to have become a marsh and it is in the sediment from this period that we are finding the mammoths.

'It shows this was far from being a frozen ice covered wasteland.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350085/Builders-stumble-ice-age-graveyard-filled-huge-fossils.html#ixzz1C3oA46sd

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