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TOMB of ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PRINCESS
DISCOVERED in unusual spot


Tomb of Ancient Egyptian Princess
Discovered in Unusual Spot
Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor | November 07, 2012 10:55am ET

http://www.livescience.com/24603-ancient-egyptian-princess-tomb.html

​ Scientists have unearthed the tomb of an ancient Egyptian princess, Sheretnebty, and four surrounding tombs of high officials, all in a court in Abusir South, south of Cairo. Credit: Courtesy Czech Institute of Egyptology​ View full size image

The tomb of an ancient Egyptian princess has been discovered south of Cairo
hidden in bedrock and surrounded by a court of tombs belonging to four high officials.

Dating to 2500 B.C., the structure was built in the second half of the Fifth Dynasty,
though archaeologists are puzzled as to why this princess was buried in Abusir South
among tombs of non-royal officials.

Most members of the Fifth Dynasty's royal family were buried 1.2 miles
(2 kilometers) to the north, in the central part of Abusir or farther south in Saqqara.

(Saqqara holds a vast burial ground for the ancient capital
Memphis and is home to the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser.)

The researchers aren't sure whether the remains of the princess are inside tomb,
as the investigation is still in progress, Miroslav Bárta, director of the mission,
told LiveScience. Even so, they also found several fragments of a false-door bearing
the titles and the name of Sheretnebty, the king's daughter.
[Image Gallery: Egypt's Great Terrace of God]

"By this unique discovery we open a completely new chapter in the history
of Abusir and Saqqara necropolis," said Bárta, who heads the Czech mission
to Egypt from the Czech Institute of Egyptology of the Charles University in Prague.

Bárta and colleagues think the ancient builders used a naturally existing step
in the bedrock to create the princess' court, which extends down 13 feet (4 meters)
and is surrounded by mastaba tombs above it.

A mastaba is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb that forms a flat-roofed rectangular structure.

​

​

One of the four tombs surrounding that of the princess belonged to Nefer,
the overseer of the scribes of the crews, and contained four statues of the tomb's owner
(shown here with his wife Hathorneferet).
Credit: Courtesy Czech Institute of Egyptology​

View full size image

A limestone staircase descends from north to south along the burial court;
four limestone pillars that once supported roofing blocks
hold carved hieroglyphic inscriptions reading:
"King's daughter of his body, his beloved, revered in front of the Great God, Sheretnebty."

The four surrounding tombs were cut into the rock of the south wall
of the court and of a corridor that runs east from the southeast corner of the court.

The two tombs in the south wall, dating to the time of Djedkare Isesi,
the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, belong to Shepespuptah,
the chief of justice of the Great House, and Duaptah, an inspector of the palace attendants.

The other pair is situated along the corridor, with one belonging to an official named Ity.

"We are very fortunate to have this new window through which we can go back in time
and to follow and document step by step life and death of several historically important
individuals of the great pyramid age era," Bárta said in a statement.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



A case of devious tomb makers?
I'm thinking they buried her there because no one would think
to look there for of someone of high station such as she

 

LION MAN - HohlensteinStadel - 32,000 years old - found in cave in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany



The Lion Man sculpture of the Hohlenstein Stadel has the body of a human and the head of a lion.



It has been carbon dated at 32,000 years old. It is carved out of mammoth ivory,
28 cm high and was found in 1939' in the cave of Hohlenstein-Stadel in the Valley of Lone, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.
It is one of the oldest known sculptures on planet Earth.
photo via Robert Sepehr

What do the legends say about our history with Feline Humanoids?
http://www.nibiruancouncil.com/html/felines.html

 

	An Overview of the History of Ideas on the Shafts in Khufu's Pyramid http://www.kolumbus.fi/chris.tedder/OKAD/HistoryofShafts.htm​
	"We must make some mention, too, however cursorily, of the Pyramids of Egypt so many idle and frivolous pieces of ostentation of their resources, on the part of the monarchs of that country. Indeed, it is asserted by most persons, that the only motive for constructing them, was either a determination not to leave their treasures to their successors or to rivals that might be plotting to supplant them, or to prevent the lower classes from remaining unoccupied." ('The Natural History' Pliny the Elder (23 - 79 AD): Chap 16) Strabo (c.63 BC - 24AD), Greek historian, geographer and philosopher explored Khufu's pyramid in 24 BC and described an entrance in the north face with a 'hinged' stone, indistinguishable from the surrounding casing blocks, leading to a long low and narrow passage that descended down to a subterranean chamber. Arabian Knights​ According to legend, Caliph Harun al Raschid attempted to force a way into the pyramid, and apparently tunneled about 10m into the side before giving up. c.820 AD, his son, Caliph Abdullah Al Mamun finally succeeded when his forced passage came across the descending passage. He explored the 'subterranean' chamber' cut deep into the bedrock 30m beneath the base of the pyramid, and also explored the ascending passage leading up to the 'Grand Gallery', and the sarcophagus chamber 42m high up within the superstructure. Once the interior of the pyramid was completely open to visitors, souvenir hunters and vandals probably removed anything of value or interest, and only fanciful stories of what may have been found inside remain. By the time the first recorded European travelers arrived, the pyramid had been picked clean. In the late tenth century, Masudi, an Arab historian, wrote that in the eastern pyramid (Khufu's), the king depicted the heavenly spheres, and figures representing the stars and planets in the forms in which they were worshiped; he also placed there the instruments with which his forefathers had sacrificed to the stars.....('The Mystery of the Pyramids', Evans 1979: 152) Comment: Masudi's remarks that the pyramid had celestial associations, may have some basis in truth. The names of some Old Kingdom pyramids are associated with stars or the starry sky - the 3rd dynasty six tiered Step Pyramid complex of Netjerikhet (Djoser) was apparently named 'Horus is the star at the head of the sky' according to Quirke following the interpretation by Wolfgang Helck; the name 'Neferka-is-a-Star', was associated withthe 4th dynasty pyramid of Neferka (grandson of Khufu); two translations for the name of the pyramid of Khufu's son, Djedefra, are: 'The Pyramid which is the Sehedu-star' (Baines & Malek, 1986:140); 'Starry sky of Djedefra' (Quirke, following the interpretation by Wolfgang Helck, 2001: 116) Islamic scholar, Abd al Latif, also noted that the still intact casing of the two main pyramids at Giza had numerous inscriptions when he was in Egypt c.1196. About 1600 years earlier Herodotus had one of the inscriptions translated: "On the pyramid it is declared in Egyptian writing how much was spent on radishes and onions and leeks for the workmen, and if I rightly remember that which the interpreter said in reading to me this inscription, a sum of 1,600 talents of silver was spent" Some of Abd al Latif's companions made their way up to a chamber in the upper part of the pyramid, and described what were probably the upper shaft's openings into the sarcophagus chamber: "in the upper part were openings apparently designed to let in air and light." This apparent mention of the shaft inlets, is an indication that at least 800 years ago, the shafts had openings into the upper chamber. Whether or not the shafts originally had inlets into the chamber is not known. Abd al Latif's short description of Egypt, was later widely known in Europe and was translated into Latin, German, and French; cf. S. de Sacy, Relation de l'Egypte par Abd al-Latif, Paris 1810. European Interest​ One of the earliest recorded European visitors to Khufu's pyramid, Jean Palerme, secretary to the Duke of Anjou, broke off a piece of the sarcophagus as a souvenir in 1581. George Sandys (1578-1644), English traveler, poet, colonist, and foreign service career officer, published a journal of his travels in Europe and the Middle east, in 1615. He climbed the pyramid to the top and counted the number of courses, and he included a description of the sarcophagus chamber in Khufu's pyramid that includes the shaft openings: "In the walls on each side of the upper room, there are two holes, one opposite to another, their ends not discernable, nor big enough to be crept into - sooty within, and made, as they say, by a flame of fire which darted through it." Girolamo Cardano, a Milanese physician and mathematician of the early 16th century and a close friend of Leonardo da Vinci, "maintained that a body of exact science must have preexisted the Greeks. Cardano suspected that a degree of meridian (far more exact than that of Eratosthenes, Ptolemy or Al Mamun) must have been in existence hundreds if not thousands of years before the Alexandrians and that to find it one must search in Egypt" ('Secrets of the Pyramids', Tompkins 1971: 22) After visiting Italy to measure its ancient buildings to determine the original standard of measure used by the Romans, John Greaves, an English mathematician and astronomer, traveled to Egypt in 1646, and explored Khufu's pyramid, where he "...hoped to find in the Great Pyramid a datum that might help to establish the dimensions of the planet." He was unable to go down to the subterranean chamber as the descending passage below the junction with the ascending passage was filled with debris, presumably from Al Mamun's activities. He also explored the 'well shaft' as far as the 'grotto', and in the upper or sarcophagus chamber, he noted: "two inlets or spaces, in the south and north sides of the chamber, just opposite from one another" (Greaves 1646: 73), but assumed that the blackness of the north opening was caused by lamps burning inside. His N/S vertical section of the pyramid, shows the layout of the passages and chambers, but no shafts. After publication of Greaves research in a booklet entitled 'Pyramidographia', Dr. William Harvey, discoverer of the circulation of blood, was "surprised that Greaves had not described, or apparently even discovered, any conduits by means of which the central chambers in the Pyramid could be ventilated from the exterior." (Tompkins 1971: 29) N/S section by Greaves: ​ B. De Maillet, French Consul in Egypt from 1692 to1708, understood that the small openings in the north and south walls led to shafts that must have reached the exterior of the pyramid, as he assumed that one of the shafts was for lowering down food to retainers buried alive with Khufu, and the second was for clearing the detritus. (from Badawy MIOAVB 1964: 189, note 2: Abbe le Mecrier, Description de l'Egypte, composee sur les Memoires de M. de Maillet, Paris 1735.) Maillet described the north shaft as 30cm wide and 20cm high and went in a straight line to the exterior of the pyramid, but was stopped up with stone within 2m of its opening. The other which opened to the east, was perfectly round and went to the bottom of the pyramid. (from 'The Mystery of the Pyramids', Evans, 1979: 92) Edme Jomard who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt in 1798, mentioned "these deep narrow cavities which issue from the walls of the central chamber". A N/S cross section through the pyramid included in the 'La Description de l'Egypte' (Jomard was principal editor), shows a similar layout of the passages and chambers to the drawing by Greaves, and also did not show the shafts. (Badawy, MIOAVB 1964: 189, note 3: Jomard, Description de l'Egypte, cd. Panckoucke, 1821 - 1829, t. IX, p.491) Comment: Greaves correctly positioned the sarcophagus chamber south of the E/W centre line, but the later drawing from 'The Monuments of Egypt, the Napoleonic Edition' Vol V PL.14, incorrectly shows the chamber on the E/W centre line. Neither drawing shows the descending passage continuing beyond the junction with the ascending passage, which means it must have been completely blocked with debris, probably from Caliph Abdullah Al Mamun's tunneling venture around the plugging stones in the ascending passage.​ N/S section from 'The Monuments of Egypt, The Napoleonic Edition' Vol V, Pl.14: ​ The outlets of the upper north and south shafts in the exterior face of the core masonry were discovered by Vyse and Perring, who surveyed the pyramid from 1837-38. Vyse cleared the south shaft of sand and debris and discovered it was connected with the upper chamber. After it was cleared, the shaft functioned as a ventilation duct. Badawy suggested that the origin of the term 'air channels' probably dates from this time. (from Badawy, MIOAVB 1964: 189, note 4: J.S. Perring, The Pyramids of Gizeh, Part I: The Great Pyramid) Thoughts were turning skywards in the 19th century: A leading astronomer of the 19th century, Sir John Herschel (1792-1871), had began a survey of the southern sky in 1834 from the Cape of Good Hope Observatory in South Africa, when the 'Great Moon Hoax' was perpetrated. In 1835 the New York Sun newspaper wrote a series of satiric articles with statements falsely attributed to John Herschel about his supposed discoveries of animals living on the moon, including bat like winged humanoids. The headline read: 'GREAT ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES LATELY MADE BY SIR JOHN HERSCHEL, L.L.D. F.R.S. &c. At the Cape of Good Hope (From Supplement to the Edinburgh Journel of Science) The articles were probably written by Richard Adams Locke. The Edinburgh Journal of Science was a real scientific journal which had however ceased publication some years earlier. "...The articles described fantastic animals on the Moon, including bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tailless beavers and bat like winged humanoids ("Vespertilio-homo") who built temples. There were trees and oceans and beaches. These discoveries were supposedly made with "an immense telescope of an entirely new principle". For a time the Sun's circulation skyrocketed, and remained permanently higher than before. In a way, the hoax "made" the paper, which had only begun publishing a few years earlier. Herschel was initially amused at the hoax, noting that his own real observations could never be as exciting. This later turned to annoyance when he had to field questions from people who had taken the hoax seriously." link "The New York Times believed the reports both "probable and possible", the New Yorker thought they heralded "a new era in astronomy", Yale was said to be "alive with staunch supporters", while, according to another report, an American clergyman considered starting a collection for Bibles for the lunar inhabitants." link 'The Great Moon Hoax' link The unsuspecting lunar inhabitant, Vespertilio-homo, was still waiting for a bible when Herschel suggested c.1840 that the descending passage into Khufu's pyramid was aligned with Thuban, the North or Pole star in the Old Kingdom, so setting the stage for an interest in Khufu's pyramid by a number of 19th century astronomers. Comment: Thuban was closest to the North Celestial Pole (NCP) c.2785 BC. Thuban's altitude due north, matched the 26.56 degree angle of incline of the descending passage c.3400 and c.2180 BC. A modern estimate for the construction of Khufu's pyramid is c.2589 - 2566 BC (+- 50 years). In 'The Lost Solar System of the Ancients Discovered' (1856), John Wilson, a British writer on astronomy wrote: "...the pyramid of Cheops indicates the half circumference of the earth and the half diameter of the earth's orbit. Its towering summit may be supposed to reach the heavens, and the pyramid itself to represent the law of the time of a body gravitating from the earth to the sun...." Using measurements from Khufu's pyramid, he came up with the size of the earth, the distance to the moon and sun, the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn........ (Evans, 1979: 166) According to Dr. M.A. Mosalam, in 1862, an Egyptian astronomer, Mahmoud Basha El-Falky noted that the inclination of the four faces of the Great Pyramid was 52.5 degs which he also thought was the same as the other pyramids of the Giza plateau. Basha El-Falky apparently concluded that the slope was not random, but was related to astronomical phenomena, specifically to Sirius. He had calculated that Sirius shone perpendicularly down onto the face of Khufu's pyramid in 3300 BC, giving an astronomically fixed construction date. Comment: The angle of incline of Khufu's pyramid is slightly less than 52 degs. Menkaura's pyramid is similar, and Khafra's pyramid has an angle of incline of 53.1 degs) Sirius would have shone perpendicularly down onto the face of a pyramid with an angle of incline defined by seqed 5 1/2 (51.84 degs) c.2750 BC, when it was 38.16 degs above the horizon. The north and south shafts connected to the lower chamber, were discovered in 1872, when stone (13 - 17cm thick) covering the inlets into the chamber was chiseled away. Unlike the upper shafts, no outlets have been found in the exposed stepped core masonry. C.P. Smyth, began his astronomy career in 1835 when he was sixteen years old, at the Cape of Good Hope Royal Observatory, when John Herschel was conducting his survey of the southern skies there. Smyth became chief assistant at the observatory, and much impressed Herschel, who recommended him for the post of Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Smyth never had more than a grammar school education, ".....his only degree was an honorary doctorate received in 1890. In this he resembles his younger contemporary, Norman Lockyer, and we can wonder whether the discipline of a university might have protected him from his later excesses. Equally it might have blunted his astonishing ingenuity." (Sky & Telescope, August 1989) In 1863, he was in Egypt conducting a survey of Khufu's pyramid, and in his book, 'Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid' (1864), Smyth noted that the angle of incline of the descending passage, matched the altitude of the Pole Star (Thuban) when it was due north below the North Celestial Pole (NCP) in 2170 BC. Smyth also noted an alignment with the upper northern shaft and Thuban when it was due north, and directly above the NCP (Smyth used an angle of 33.47 degs in his calculations). He also noted that the mean of the two angles he used for the descending passage and the upper north shaft gives the latitude for Khufu's pyramid. (26.49 + 33.47 = 59.96 / 2 = 29.98 degs) "Now, of the entrance passage, it has been abundantly proved by various writers, that is is truly in the plane of the meridian as regards azimuth; and for altitude, in the direction of the lower culmination of the pole-star of about 4300 years ago. Well, then, accepting that, one of the air-channels is above the entrance passage; and apparently, for there are no precise observations on record, in the same azimuth, but at a different angle of altitude; and at what angle? Why, if we can trust the best, and almost only observation, it is pointed to the upper culmination of the same polar star, or 33 degs 42 mins: so that a mean between these two built passages, - which both debouch, if we may so say, upon the Pyramid's northern face, and work their way through about 200 feet of solid masonry, - will give exactly the latitude angle of the Pyramid. The northern air-channel therefore is thus found, in its position, to be, besides its other uses, the most admirable geodesic complement to the entrance passage; for it prevents all possible doubt as to men perceiving plainly, that though the pole-star was required to be observed through one of the tubes, yet the place of the pole itself, so necessary for defining the latitude of that diameter of the earth given by the height of the Pyramid, is also marked therein. Showing also, that though astronomy be indeed concerned as well as geometry, in deciding the direction of these strangely formed channels, yet it was not for the purpose of converting the building into a simple astronomical observatory; for the bend in the lower part of the northern air-tube, joined to its very small bore, would completely prevent a human eye from ever seeing the pole-star through it, when completed." (Smyth, 1864: 61-63) Comments: according to Petrie, Smyth's measured angle for the descending passage was 26.44 degs. Petrie's angle was slightly different at 26.52 degs, which is very close to the angle of incline defined by seqed 14 or a rise / run of 1:2 (26.56 degs). In the 1877 edition of his work, Smyth includes the lower chamber's shafts discovered in 1872, but his drawing only shows the descending passage's alignment with Thuban at lower culmination). N/S section by Smyth, 1877 link ​ Gantenbrink's survey of the upper northern shaft, gives different angles to what Smyth was using. The last 11m (36ft) straight section to the outlet in the core masonry, is parallel to the N/S axis of the pyramid, and has an average angle of incline of 31.2 degs, which means the top of the shaft was facing an area of the sky where Thuban transited the meridian due north c.2570 BC. A much longer 56.7m (186ft) section of the shaft from the outlet in the core masonry, has an average angle of incline of 32.6 degs. However, the lower 45m of this section of the shaft, veers 1.25 degs east of north before straightening out to become parallel with the N/S axis of the pyramid for the last 11m with a 31.2 deg angle of incline to the outlet in the core masonry. Gantenbrink and Legon have proposed that the intended overall angle of incline from the end of the initial horizontal section of the shaft, to the top end, was defined by seqed 11 (32.47 degs or 7:11). The floor line of a shaft with this angle of incline will intersect with the original north face of the pyramid at the same height above the base as the south shaft, and would have aligned with Thuban c.2345 BC. The 7:11 ratio also defines the proportion of the basic pyramid form - the height, 280 cubits to base side length, 440 cubits ratio (7:11). However, Petrie's survey of the outlets of the shafts in the core masonry, shows that projected lines along the floors of the shafts do not intersect with the original line of the exterior face of the casing at the same height - the difference is about 76cm (2.5ft) - tantalizingly close to having the same height, but the difference is of a magnitude that makes it difficult to assess if this was the intention of the designers or not. According to Petrie, the intersection of the extended line of the southern shaft with the original line of the casing, is 0.63m (2.07ft) below, and the northern shaft, 1.39m (4.56ft) below the required height needed for symmetrical shafts with slopes of 45 (7:7) and 32.47 degs (7:11). In his 1875 book 'Pyramid Facts and Fancies', James Boxwick mentions the historical link between Khufu's pyramid and Sirius, the brightest star in our sky: "Several writers, including Arabian philosophers, have fancied some 'mystical correlation', to use the words of M. Dufeu, 'between the design and age of the Pyramid and the revolutions of Sirius, the judge-god of the dead......Popular tradition among the Arabs, revived among certain mystical Christian writers of our days, indicates Seth as the builder of the Pyramid. Seth, in this case, is probably Sothis, or Sirius. No star was so venerated in Egypt as Sirius, associated as it was, with the time of the annual overflow of the Nile, which the rising of the star foreshadowed. The hieroglyph for Sirius is, oddly enough, the triangular face of a pyramid. Dufeu and others suppose that the the Pyramid may have been dedicated to this venerated star or period. Proclus (5th century BC) relates the belief in Alexandria that the Pyramid was used for observations of Sirius......M. Dufeu finds the total height from the soil of the siringe to the roof to be 2920 noctas, or twice the Sothic Cycle of 1460 years. 'We consider that', 'says he', a proof that the Great Pyramid has been dedicated to this memorable period, or rather to Sothis, the star justly venerated in Egypt." (Boxwick 1875: 168-9) link "In the 1880's, Richard Proctor suggested that the Great Pyramid was built at the time when the star Alpha Draconis (Thuban) could be seen on the horizon in the north through the ascending corridor, which was still under construction, and in the south the star Alpha Centauri could be seen through the still unfinished, Open Gallery. In his opinion this occurred in 3400 BC. According to other theories, at the point where the descending corridor begins to ascend, there was a pool of water that reflected Sirius and was used to orient the structure in relation to that star. This is supposed to have occurred between 5600 and 5100 B.C.E." (Verner 2001: 452-3) Comments: Richard Procter, an English astronomer and science popularizer wrote 'The Great Pyramid: Observatory, Tomb, and Temple' (1883), where he suggested that the pyramid could have been temporarily used as an observatory during construction. The 'Grand Gallery' could have been used as a meridian transit sight and the huge level square of the truncated pyramid used with the 'Grand Gallery' to map the sky. Proctor's proposed alignment with Thuban was not as Verner states, when Thuban "....could be seen on the horizon in the north through the ascending corridor", but about 26.5 degs above the horizon when it aligned with the descending passage. As Proctor calculated, the angle of incline of the descending passage matched the altitude of Thuban c.3400 BC. Smyth had earlier calculated that it also aligned over a millennia later c.2170 BC. Procter linked two stars transiting the meridian in 3400 BC, Alpha Centauri (26.64 degs) in the southern sky (aligning with the ascending passage), and Thuban (26.5 degs) in the northern sky (aligning with the descending passage). (these two stars had the same altitude of 26.58 degs c.3387 BC when transiting the meridian. Thuban was again at 26.58 deg altitude 1200 years later c.2187 BC). Smyth linked the transit of Thuban at lower culmination in 2170 BC, with the Pleiades when they reached their zenith due south (64 degs alt.) David Davidson in his book 'The Great Pyramid, its Divine Message (1924), had a similar idea to Smyth's: "The scored line points to Alcyone of Pleiades and the Entrance Passage axis to Pole Star 2144 BC. The Scored Line does not give the date of the Pyramid's construction . The Pyramid was built between 2500 and 3000 B.C." Comments: The enigmatic scored lines, 12.23m down from the original north face of the pyramid, on both sides of the passage, are perpendicular to the floor and ceiling of the passage as are all the joints in the walls, with the exception of two vertical joints just before the scored lines. Petrie's mean angle for the length of the passage was 26.52 degs, but Davidson apparently used an angle of 26.30 degs for the slope, which matches his date for the alignment with Thuban in 2144 BC. However, this means that a line perpendicular to the passage floor has an angle of 63.70 degs, and Alcyone in the Pleiades star cluster reached its zenith of 63.70 degs c.2265 BC, not 2144 BC when its zenith was 64.4 degs. (in 2144 BC Thuban was at 26.34 degs altitude) (if the slope of the passage was defined by a 1:2 ratio (26.56 degs), a line perpendicular to the passage floor has an angle of 63.43 degs and would have been aligned with Alcyone c.2315 BC) In the early 1890s, Norman Lockyer, an astronomer / solar physicist, became interested in possible astronomical alignments of ancient Greek and Egyptian monuments and temples. In 1894, his book, 'Dawn of astronomy' was published, where he confirmed an earlier idea by the French physicist / mathematician / astronomer Jean-Baptiste Biot (1774 -1862) that the circular zodiac at Dendera represented the Egyptian sky in 700 BC, ".........when Sirius rose "cosmically", or in unison with the sun, at the Egyptian new year. But Lockyer quoted a an old inscription which described a temple of Hathor at Dendera in the time of Khufu (Cheops) in the Forth Dynasty (which he dated at 3733 BC) "when the star shone into the temple and mingled with the light of her father Ra"". (from Tompkins 1971: 168) Light of Grand Orient​ Early in the 19th century, Sarah, wife of the Italian showman, engineer and explorer of Egyptian antiquities, Giovanni Belzoni (1778 - 1823), wrote: "Let the Masonic Brethren search, and they will find that the Egyptian Masonic Key will unlock the hitherto unrevealed mysteries of Egyptian Wisdom" Late 19th century, Freemasonry literature linked the descending passage with Thuban, and the southern shafts with Sirius. Albert Churchward's 1898 book, 'Origin and Antiquity of Freemasonry, and its analogy to the eschatology of the ancient Egyptians, as witnessed by the 'Book of the Dead', and the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, the first Masonic Temple in the world', included a N/S vertical section through the pyramid showing the interior layout complete with all four shafts. (p.65) The two south shafts are wrongly drawn parallel to each other, and both point to 'Sothis, Light of Grand Orient', and the descending passage points to the 'Pole Star'. On page 69 he refers to the 'Chamber of New Birth' with an empty sarcophagus in it, and with "......the small opening admitting the light of that bright morning star Sothis, shining down the line into the chamber." (the empty sarcophagus indicates that he is referring to the upper chamber, but confusingly, after visiting the 'Chamber of New Birth', the 'Postulant' finally ends up in the 'Chamber of the Grand Orient' which also seems to be the upper chamber) (like Churchward, David Davidson in his 1924 book 'The Great Pyramid, its Divine Message', also labeled the sarcophagus chamber 'The Chamber of the Grand Orient'. He also called it the 'Chamber of the Open Tomb' and 'The Hall of Judgment of the Nations') Churchward's section: ​ In 'The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh' (1883), Petrie used the term 'air channels' for the shafts as Smyth had done. The term 'air channels', implies that the original purpose was for ventilating the chambers high up within the superstructure. Smyth's earlier idea however, linked the upper northern shaft with Thuban, and Freemasonry literature associated the southern shafts with Sirius, so at least by the latter half of the 19th century, these two ideas that attempted to explain the purpose of the shafts, were circulating. Charles Taze Russell (1852 - 1916), a Knights Templar Mason of York Rite, and the founder of the 'International Bible Students Association', forerunner to the 'Watchtower Bible and Tract Society', believed that Jehovah had the 'Great Pyramid' built, and biblical prophesies could be verified with measurements of the interior passages in British inches that correspond to years (an earlier idea promoted by Menzies and Smyth) Russell stated that the source for his measurements was the published work of Professor Smyth. In 1909, John, (a professor of gynecology at Glasgow) and Morton Edgar, both followers of Russell's teachings, explored and measured Khufu's pyramid, and noticed that the "South Air-Channel of the King’s Chamber was quite open and a good breeze constantly passed through it, but the North Air-Channel of this chamber was entirely stopped up with stones and hardened dust." (Over 70 years earlier in 1837, Vyse had cleared the upper south shaft of sand and debris. Petrie surveyed Khufu's pyramid from 1880 to 1982, and noticed then that the upper south shaft was blocked by sand from 23m (76 ft) down the shaft. He also observed that the sun shone down the shaft at noon on Feb. 8, and Nov. 2) link Both shafts were blocked in 1928, when Morton Edgar cleared both the upper shafts of sand and debris, resulting in " a constant cool air-current passing through the Pyramid". He probed the lower shafts with metal rods, managing to push his rods 53.34m (175 ft) up the north shaft before it broke, and 63.4m (208 ft) up the south shaft when it came up against an obstruction. Comments: Edgar miscalculated, as it was impossible to probe 63,4m up the south shaft with metal rods, as an 82mm (3.25") thick 'closure' stone, 59.45m from the inlet in the south wall of the sarcophagus chamber, prevented any probing beyond it. (note: J.P. Lepre also probed the lower shafts with rods, and stated that the south shaft was 250 ft (76.2m) long. Again, where he got this figure from is a mystery, as he could not have probed past the 'closure' stone 59.45m up the shaft, and the total projected length of the floor line of the shaft to the original exterior face of the casing stones is 74.84m, still 1.36m short of his figure. He states on page 113 of his book, 'The Egyptian Pyramids' (1990) that the air shafts leading from the Queens Chamber were discontinued when they reached the height of the apex of the uppermost (fifth or Campbell's) 'relieving' chamber above the sarcophagus chamber, leaving them 20 ft (6m) short of the exterior. However, the first closure stone is actually 50.5 ft (15.39m) short of the original exterior face of the pyramid, which means that the shaft to this closure stone reaches a height about the level of the floor of the forth 'relieving' chamber, not to the apex of the ceiling of the fifth 'relieving' chamber, about 5m (16.4 ft) higher) Morton Edgar thought the shafts "represent life - that is 'the breath of life'" link Although Edgar was unaware of this, the royal funerary texts inscribed within two 6th dynasty pyramids also mention 'the breath of life': "I will take for myself my breath of life, I will breathe in joy for myself, I will be inundated with god's-offerings, I will snuff the wind for myself, I will have abundance of the north wind....." (Faulkner 1969: 1158 PN) Soul / star shafts​ In 1924, the Belgian Egyptologist, Jean Capart, suggested another purpose for the shafts: "they are often called air-shafts; it is more probable that they had a funerary purpose, perhaps to afford a passage to the soul of the king" Egyptologist and architect, Alexander Badawy, adopted Capart's idea and enlarged upon it, linking the upper shafts with the circumpolar stars and the Orion constellation: "In the North and South walls (of the burial chamber) are the apertures, similar to those of the middle chamber, of channels square in section, cut out of one stone and roofed with a slab. They are sloping upwards to reach the North and South faces of the pyramid, at the same level and have accordingly different gradients: 31 degs for the northern and 45 degs for the southern. They are usually thought to be ventilation-channels, but would be better be considered as open ways for the king's soul to reach the circumpolar stars to the North and the Orion constellation, to the South." ('A History of Egyptian Architecture', Badawy 1954: 138) Badawy provided the ancient Egyptian religious / funerary rationale behind these stellar links in his 1964 paper 'The Stellar Destiny of Pharoah and the So-Called Air-Shafts of Cheops' Pyramid' (in MIOAVB, band X, 1964: 189-206), and in her accompanying article, 'Astronomical investigation concerning the so-called air-shafts of Cheop's pyramid' (in MIOAVB, band X, 1964: 183-7), the astronomer Virginia Trimble, using a 44.5 deg angle of incline for the upper southern shaft in her calculations, showed that Orion's 'belt' "...passed once each day, at culmination directly over the southern shaft of the Great Pyramid at the time it was built". An extract from the University of California: In Memoriam (1987): ".......Badawy's work on Egyptian architecture is not merely descriptive. His philological training qualified him admirably to interpret the difficult Egyptian texts referring to methods of building design and to architectural symbolism. His articles on these subjects, some of which are purely philological, are recognized as major contributions. I.E.S. Edwards, Emeritus Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum, commented: "Symbolism was one of the most important features in Egyptian funerary and temple architecture. Its interpretation is often difficult, either because too little is known about the source of its inspiration or because elements have become stylized and their original hard to recognize. Dr. Badawy devoted a number of articles to various aspects of this subject; they show that he had a deep understanding of the mentality of the ancient Egyptians and of the conventions which they observed. His articles on the so-called air shafts of the Great Pyramid paved the way to the final elucidation of these features - so long a puzzle to students." Comments: earlier in 1954, Badawy gave the angle of incline of the upper southern shaft as 45 degs, so why did Trimble use a 44.5 degree angle in her calculations? (this same incorrect angle is repeated by Edwards and Cornell, and also by Badawy in his 1964 paper). Petrie's measurements for the top 21m (70ft) section of the shaft, ranged from 44.44 - 45.50 degs with a mean angle of 45.23 degs. Petrie was careful to point out that: "It is striking that the slope of both passages continuously increases up to the outside (except just at the mouth of the S. channel); hence these quantities, which only extend over a part of either passage, cannot give the true mean slope; probably on the whole length the means would not be greater angles than 31 degs and 44.5 degs respectively." Perhaps it was this odd mention (scribal error) by Petrie of 44.5 degs that confused the issue, as he should have written, not greater than 45.5 degs, which is consistent with his survey data. According to Gantenbrink the overall angle for the 42m (138ft) section of the shaft from it's last change of angle in the lower section, to the top end of the shaft, is 45 degs. If it was intended by the designers that the upper southern shaft should target Orion's 'belt', then as Virginia Trimble in principle demonstrated, an approximate date for its construction can be calculated. At the latitude of Giza, and allowing for a 6 arc min tolerance, Alnitak in Orion's 'belt' was at 45.1 - 44.9 degs altitude due south between c.2470 - c.2520, Alnilam, the middle star, at the same altitude between c.2530 - c.2580, and Mintaka between c.2630 - c.2670 BC. c.2570 BC, is midway between the earliest and latest dates, and fits well within the estimated 2589 - 2566 BC (+- 50 years) for the reign of Khufu. The top of the upper northern shaft's final 11m (36ft) section (the only section of the shaft apart from the initial horizontal section that is parallel with the N/S axis of the pyramid), was facing an area of the sky where the North or Pole Star, Thuban, reached its highest point in the sky due north as it circled the NCP c.2570 BC, around the same time Orion's 'belt' aligned with the southern shaft when it reached its highest and brightest point in the sky due south. Although stars are points of light in the sky, the top ends of the shafts are not 'facing' points, but small areas of the sky. Immediately after a series of niches (these may have once held a closure stone), and 8.1m down the shaft from the original exterior face of the pyramid, the upper southern shaft has a square cross section of 22.5 x 22.5cm (3 x 3 AE palms). Although the shafts were not designed for observing the sky, the small square area of the sky 'seen' from these niches is about 1.6 arc degrees square. This means that a star crossed the 'field of view' of the shaft for approximately seven minutes each day, and from 45.35m down the shaft where the long straight section begins, for about one and a half minutes each day. The c.2570 BC date for the two upper shafts alignments with Orion's 'belt' in the southern sky and Thuban in the northern sky is interesting, as it fits the archeological evidence for the era of Khufu's reign. The question of intent can be debated in the context of what is known about the royal funerary ideology of the Old Kingdom that was strongly influenced by celestial phenomena, making the royal funerary complexes suitable candidates for investigation into possible deliberate architectural / celestial links. Badawy's 1964 paper, 'The Stellar Destiny of Pharoah and the So-Called Air-Shafts of Cheops' Pyramid' (in MIOAVB, band X, 1964: 189-206), examines the ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom cultural context for possible stellar links. ​ The significance of Orion to the ancient Egyptians​ Orion is a striking, large constellation crossing the Egyptian sky, and Orion's 'belt' is one of the most distinctive asterisms in our sky. Sah personified Orion in ancient Egypt, and is mentioned in the earliest surviving royal funerary rituals and texts (inscribed within Unas's pyramid at the end of the 5th dynasty) as the 'father of the gods' who gives the king a warrant as 'Great Power' (408 UT). This text, from Utterance 273-4, is regarded as one of the oldest of the corpus of texts found within 5th - 7th dynasty pyramids. Referring to Utt. 273-4, Badawy states: "At least one of the pyramid spells mentioning Orion belongs to the older stock since it occurs in the context of the so-called Cannibal Hymn." (Badawy 1964: 199) The 'warrant' granted by Sah to the king, may be an allusion to a celestial, 'afterlife' version of the mks, held in the king's hand when he performed the ceremonial heb-sed run, and thought to be a legal document legitimizing the king's right to rule the unified land of Upper and Lower Egypt, or as Lehner states: "....the household deed to the whole of Egypt" (Lehner 1997: 92) Beneath the 3rd dynasty Step Pyramid and its 'South Tomb', are depictions of Netjerikhet performing the ceremonial heb-sed run and holding the mks. "The step pyramid includes numerous architectural elements designed to perpetuate the role of the king in the afterlife. Symbolic components of the royal palace complex from which the king could rule for eternity. Elements associated with the celebration of the heb-sed (festival of rejuvenation of the kingship) express the desire to maintain the king's rulership in the netherworld." (TAGS 'Cults' Wegner 2002: 72) The earliest surviving royal funerary texts inscribed within the last pyramid of the 5th and the pyramids of the 6th dynasty, have many references to Sah: Sah was the brother of Ra the sun god, and sister of Sopdet (spd.t), who personified the brightest star in our sky, Sirius (2126cg N). Sah also presided over Upper (southern) Egypt. (959 PMN) The king regularly ascended with Sah (Orion) from the eastern region of the sky, and regularly descended with Sah (Orion) into the western region of the sky. (821 PMN) "Raise yourself because of your strength, may you ascend to the sky, may the sky give birth to you like Sah (Orion)." (2116 N) You (the king) shall reach (sah) the sky as Sah (Orion), your soul shall be as effective (spd) as Spdt (Sirius); have power, having power; be strong, having strength; may your soul stand among the gods as Horus who dwells in Irw. (722-3 TN) "The eastern door of the sky is opened for you by Him whose powers endure. Nut has laid hands on you, O King, even she whose hair is long and whose breasts hang down; she carries you for herself to the sky, she will never cast the King down to earth. She bears you, O King, like Sah (Orion), she makes your abode at the head of the Conclaves. The King shall go aboard the bark of Re on the banks of the Winding Waterway, the King shall be rowed by the Unwearying Stars and shall give orders to the Imperishable Stars......." (2171-3 N) "The sky quivers, the earth quakes before me, for I (the king) am a magician, I possess magic. I have come that I may glorify Sah (Orion)......" (924 PMN) "O King, you are this great star, the companion of Sah (Orion), who traverses the sky with Sah (Orion)....." (882 PM) The king was alive and young besides his father Sah (Orion) in the sky as they traveled to the west. (2179-81 N) "The Duat has grasped your hand at the place where Sah (Orion) is...." (802 PMN) Sah (Orion) is swallowed up by the Duat, pure and living in the horizon. Sopdet (Sirius) is swallowed up by the Duat, pure and living in the horizon. I am swallowed up by the Duat, pure and living in the horizon. It is well with me and with them. It is pleasant for me and for them, within the arms of my father, within the arms of Atum. (151 U) Inscribed in the face of a pyramid capstone of the 12th dynasty, is an explicit mention of Sah (Orion). One of the very few capstones that have survived in the archeological record was found on the east side of the pyramid of Ammenemes III at Dahshur. It has inscriptions on each of the four sides that mention various deities: Harakhte, Anubis, Osiris, Ptah, Neith and Sah (Orion). One of the sides has the following text: "King Ammenemes sees the beauty of the sun. The face of King Ammenemes is open. He sees the 'Lord of the Horizon' as he sails in the sky. The soul (Ba) of King Ammenemes is higher than the heights of Sah (Orion), and it unites itself with the Duat....." Ahmed Fakhry mentions the lower shafts in his book 'The Pyramids': "They are usually referred to as "air-channels," but most Egyptologists believe that they had a religious significance related to the soul of the king." (Fakhry 1961, third impression 1974: 118)​ Aliens and Launch Pads​ Sirius's association with ancient Egypt was again brought to the attention of an unsuspecting reading public in 1976, when 'The Sirius Mystery', by Robert Temple, was published, and earth's inhabitants were confronted with the idea that a civilizing amphibious extraterrestrial race from a planet in the Sirius system, had visited earth. Knowledge of their visit was preserved in the myths and legends of the ancient Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations that somehow survived in the beliefs of a north African tribe, the Dogon. Also in the late 70's, Peter Lemesurier, who read languages at Cambridge University, was quite happily regurgitating older ideas. Lemesurier "..unearthed some remarkably conclusive evidence that the Great Pyramid contains a detailed prophesy in mathematical code - a prophesy whose main purpose appears to be the validating of just such a redemptive or Messianic plan for mankind as appears to have been outlined by Jesus of Nazareth." ('The Great Pyramid, Decoded', Lemesurier 1977: 158). He included a vertical cross sectional diagram through the pyramid in his book, where he labeled the upper southern shaft, 'Transition of the spirit-planes' and the lower southern shaft, 'Millenium: earthly age of spiritual escape' (p.158) In another diagram the upper southern shaft has the caption, 'direction of escape' and the northern shafts, 'direction of rebirth'. (p.164) Astronomer and archaeoastronomy researcher, Dr. E. Krupp, recognized that the shafts had an astronomical significance that reflect what he considers to be the most probable function of the pyramid: a "transcendental launch pad" that propelled the king's soul into the sky.​ "The Pyramid Texts describe the ascent of the departed king to the sky. He joins Orion (Osiris), and Sirius is his guide. They continue together as participants in the cosmic cycle. A similar wish is expressed in other texts. The spirits of the dead hope to join the never-setting, never-dying, circumpolar stars. These two possible transfigurations, in which the dead pharaoh joins Osiris or the Circumpolar stars, may explain the orientation of the so-called air shafts from the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid. They may be ramps by which the dead king makes his way to heaven." ('In Search of Ancient Astronomies', Krupp 1979) Ancient Egyptian 'transcendental space travel': The king ascended "in a blast of fire" (541 TMN) "......bring to the king the 'Sfrt-htpt' which was on the back of Osiris (Wsir), so that the King may ascend on it to the sky...." (517 U) The king ascended to the sky as Horus upon the 'sdsd' of the sky. (800 PMN) Faulkner note: 'sdsd', the bolster like protuberance on the front of the cult standard of Wepwawet. R.H. Wilkinson: "bolster-like emblem called the shedshed, which may have represented the royal placenta, which was regarded as the king's 'double'." The standard of Wepwawet 'Opener of the Ways', from PT 1009 PMN​ "...Wepwawet opens a way for me, Shu lifts me up, the Souls of On set up a stairway for me in order to reach the above, and Nut puts her hand on me just as she did for Osiris on the day when he died." (1090 PMN) "Wepwawet has caused me (the king) to fly up to the sky among my brethren the gods." (463 UPN) Wepwawet may have been associated with a star or star pattern: You have ascended to the portal, having appeared as King and gone on high as Wepwawet (1638 MN) "You (the king) shall ascend to the sky, you shall become Wepwawet, your son Horus will lead you on the celestial ways......" (1009 PMN) "The libation is poured and Wepwawet is on high......" (1011 PMN) "I sit among you, you stars of the Duat; may you support me like Re and serve me like Horus; raise me up on high like Wepwawet....." (953 PMN) "Arise, O great float-user, as Wepwawet, filled with your power, having gone up from the horizon!" (455 U) "..I am on high as Wepwawet.." (1374 PMN) "Your eyes have been given to you as your two uraei because you (the king) are Wepwawet who is on his standard....." (1287 P) To be raised on high as Wepwawet, suggests an allusion to the standard of Wepwawet raised up high above the procession, and in light of the royal funerary texts, perhaps a ritual enactment of a star or star pattern being 'born' in the eastern region of the sky, and rising high above the earth in the sky. "The birth of the Limitless (Re, the sun god) in the horizon will be prevented if you prevent me from coming to the place where you are. The birth of Selket will be prevented...., The birth of Sah (Orion) will be prevented..., The birth of Sopdet (Sirius) will be prevented...., The birth of Wepwawet in the Pr-nw will be prevented...." (1435-38 PM) The idea of the sky giving birth to a star or star pattern, and used as a metaphor for the kings new birth, is implicit in this text: "Raise yourself because of your strength, may you ascend to the sky, may the sky give birth to you like Sah (Orion)." (2116 N) The king, like the sun and stars is said to be conceived and given birth by the sky. His 'imperishable limbs' (iron bones) are in the womb of his mother, Nut (530 TP) the personification of the sky. "Whether as a star or in company with the sun, each day the king re-enters the Duat to be born again into the sky. Given its cosmic associations, the tomb is therefore more than just the final resting place of the king. It is his personal Duat: like its cosmic counterpart, secret and inaccessible to the living (at least as much as ancient technology could make it so). And it is the womb and '3ht' that ensures him daily rebirth into the sky to begin his eternal cycle of celestial life anew. It is for this reason that the king's pyramid is intended to "remain for the span of eternal sameness" (Pyr. 1622) ('Religion and Philosophy in Ancient Egypt', 'The Cosmology of the Pyramid Texts', Allen 1989: 25-6) (the mini robot sent up the shafts by Gantenbrink was appropriately called 'Upuaut', another name for Wepwawet, 'opener of the ways') The ancient Egyptian king regularly ascended with Sah (Orion) from the eastern region of the sky, and regularly descended with Sah (Orion) into the western region of the sky (821 PMN), but the king was not the only one who found Orion useful for space travel. The Apollo astronauts were trained to navigate using the stars, and the stars of Orion were particularly useful as Orion is a conspicuous, easy to find constellation: ​ ​ "The Project Apollo insignia was a disk circumscribed by a band displaying the words “Apollo” and “NASA.” The center disk bore a large letter “A” with the constellation Orion positioned so that its three central stars formed the bar of the letter. To the right was the Earth, with the Moon in the upper left of the center disc. The Moon’s face represented the mythical god Apollo. A double trajectory passed behind both spheres and through the central stars." link The three stars of Orion's 'belt' forming the distinctive asterism in the constellation of Orion, symbolized the three astronauts flying with each mission. (the Apollo program was a series of human space flight missions from 1961 to 1972, designed to land human beings on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Six of the missions achieved this goal. Man first set foot on the moon in July 1969) Dr. I.E.S. Edwards, in his 1981 paper, 'The Air-channels of Chephren's Pyramid', wrote: "....the channels were intended to to serve as passages through which the spirit of the king could make its ascent to the astral regions....The Pyramid Texts frequently allude to the king's association in his afterlife with the stars and, in particular, with the circumpolar stars and with Orion and Sothis. Scientific study has shown that at the time when the Great Pyramid was built, the northern channel, which sloped upwards at an angle of 31 degs with the horizontal, was in almost exact alignment with what was then the Pole Star (a Draconis), around which the circumpolar stars revolved, while three stars in Orion's belt passed each day at culmination directly over the southern channel, whose slope is 44.5 degs. To suppose that such a setting of the channels had no magical significance seems highly improbable." Edwards goes on to say that "the northern shaft "......was a substitute for the regular upward sloping corridor, a model representation of it, but no doubt considered equally effective as a magical element. It was a simple solution, which not only satisfied the supposed requirements for the king's passage to the northern stars, but also made possible the introduction of a second channel as a means of approach to the constellation of Orion in the south, for which no special provision had previously been included in the architecture of a pyramid." (In his revised edition of 'The Pyramids of Egypt' (1985), Dr Edwards added information about the stellar theme suggested by Badawy in 1954: ".....Once every 24 hours the three stars in Orion's belt passed at culmination over the shaft. We learn from the Pyramid Texts that Orion and Sirius occupied almost as important positions in the king's plans for his after-life as the circumpolar stars.......", and "The Great Pyramid was unique in making provision for the king to associate himself with both the circumpolar stars and the constellation of Orion and Sirius.") In his book 'The First Stargazers, an Introduction to the Origins of Astronomy' (1981), James Cornell, a science writer who worked for the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, wrote: "Virginia Trimble and Alexander Badawy have found possible astronomical alignments for both shafts. The northern shaft, which exits the King's Chamber at an angle of 31 degrees, points toward the upper culmination of Alpha Draconis. The ventilation shaft on the south face, angling out at 44.5 degrees from the horizontal, aligns with the star Alnilam in Orion".............."Most likely, the airshaft alignments were never intended for observations, although observation might have been used to establish them. Trimble and Badawy suggest the shafts were linked to the "stellar destiny" of the pharaoh. After his death, he would join the other "imperishable stars" of the firmament, those circumpolar objects which neither rise nor set; in short, the stars of immortality. It is this mixture of astronomy and religion, this commingling of myth and reality, and this application of advanced observing, engineering, and surveying to the purposes of fantasy that so frustrates and fascinates the student of Egyptian life and science. In Egyptian astronomy, science was totally subjected to religion, and any practical advantages of observational ability (with the exceptions of time-keeping and surveying) were given over to the impractical and obsessive preparations for the afterlife." (pp. 108-9) Lucie Lamy (step-daughter of R.A.Schwaller de Lubicz), in her 'New light on ancient knowledge, Egyptian Mysteries' gave her esoteric interpretation of the purpose of the shafts: "Egypt it was said, is in the image of Heaven. The emphasis placed on north and south then leads us to investigate the regions of the sky, of which earth is only a reflection. A north/section of the Pyramid of Cheops shows that the two so-called 'air-shafts' leading out from the King's Chamber are, within one degree of accuracy, inclined so that the northern one is centered on the celestial Pole and the southern one on the three stars of Orion's Belt. In her presentation of these facts, Virginia Trimble pointed out that, in the light of the ancients' mystic sense, it is obvious that these openings were meant to be guide-ways for the soul, aiming either towards the Circumpolars in the northern sky or to the constellation of Orion in the southern sky. It is actually a matter of two ways being offered to each individual: that of final liberation and eternal life (the north), or that of reincarnation in a mortal body and the commencement of a new experience (the south). (Lamy 1981, reprint 1991: 28) Evan Hadingham (M.A. in Prehistory and Archaeology) commented on the upper shafts in his book 'Early Man and the Cosmos' written in 1983: "Perhaps the most convincing theories explain the two so-called "air-shafts" leading from the main chamber. These shafts slope upwards towards the outside of the pyramid, but they could not have been observation tubes; at both ends of each shaft, there is a horizontal bend so that a direct sightline to the sky is impossible. Nevertheless, the main angle of each shaft does coincide with the north-south passage of two important stars at the time of the pyramid's construction - Thuban, the star then closest to the North Pole, and Alnilan, a star in Orion's Belt. We know that the Egyptians identified Orion with Osiris, the underworld god of vegetation and rebirth. Temple inscriptions speak of the pharaoh's ascension to join Osiris in the sky, where he was to command the eternal revolutions of the stars. If this explanation is correct, then the two shafts were not intended for practical skywatching or ventilation, but for the passage of the pharaoh's soul on its journey towards the afterlife in the heavens." (Hadingham 1984: 22-3) In 1983, Robert Bauval noticed the similarity between Orion's 'belt', the distinctive asterism in the constellation of Orion, and the site layout of the three pyramid complexes on the Giza plateau - a similar arrangement on the ground as could be seen in the sky - two stars in line and one slightly offset corresponding to two pyramids in line and one slightly offset with similar relative distances between the three stars and between the three pyramids. This observation became the core idea of the Orion Correlation Theory (OCT) proposing as an explanation for the site layout, that the ancient Egyptians of the 4th dynasty, created a symbolic representation of the three stars of Orion's 'belt', establishing a celestial link between the Orion constellation, and the three individual and distinct royal funerary complexes located on the Giza plateau. Following a recommendation by Dr Edwards, Robert Bauval's paper, 'A Master Plan for the Three Pyramids of Giza Based on the Configuration of the Three Stars of the Belt of Orion', was published in the Egyptological Journal, 'Discussions in Egyptology' 1989 Vol. 13. In 1986, Robert Bauval realized that the lower southern shaft was aligned with Sirius, and in his 1990 article 'The seeding of the Star Gods: a Fertility Rite Inside Cheop's Pyramid?', published in 'Discussions in Egyptology' Vol 16, the link between the lower southern shaft and Sirius, and possible implications of this link, were presented. Egyptologist, Miroslav Verner, in his book 'The Pyramids', mentions that the upper south shaft was aligned with the star Alnitak in Orion's 'belt', the lower south shaft with Sirius, and the lower north shaft with Kochab. (Verner 2001: 201-2) (note: Robert Bauval had earlier noticed these alignments and published his findings where he suggested they were intentional)​ John Legon, in several articles in 'Discussions in Egyptology' (1988 and 1993), wrote against the idea of shafts linked to stars, arguing instead that "...they were air-shafts, perhaps actually functional in the case of the shafts leading from the King's Chamber, but more probably symbolic and serving for a hitherto little-known aspect of the funerary / Osirian cult", and "....the design of these shafts was determined by considerations of geometry, symmetry, and the desire for a coherent dimensional design, and had nothing to do with the conjectured astronomical alignments." link Comment: Legon's idea of linking the shafts to a "hitherto little-known aspect of the funerary / Osirian cult", is vague and problematic, and his theoretical geometric scheme (similar to Gantenbrink's), is also inconsistent with Petrie's survey of the top ends of the upper shafts. In his follow up book 'The Great Pyramid, Your Personal Guide' (1987), Lemesurier asked: "Is one of the functions of the airshafts to emphasize the height and numerical value of the base of the missing capstone?" (he had noticed that the south airshaft terminates in the 102nd course and the north airshaft, the 101st course, and adding these two figures together, realized the result was the course number, 203, of the present summit-platform) In one of his diagrams the northern shafts are labeled 'Paths of emergence' and the descending passage 'Descent into language-based materialism', but it seems that unless the postulant can experience the 'Sudden illumination' upon entering the Grand Gallery, and the 'Continued endeavour despite suspension of illumination' during the climb up the ramp until reaching the Great Step where there is a 'resurfacing of illumination' before the 'Period of final integration' in the 'King's Chamber', it seems the true purpose of the shafts will remain hidden to all but the brave souls willing to endure the "shattering initiatory sequence" in this 'House of Initiation'. Lemesurier also informs us that the "...rounded corners of the airshafts suggest that whatever emergence, or transcendence, is achieved at this stage is likely to be based on at least some degree of consciousness-expansion" and if anyone is wondering, Lemesurier did mention that "...a certain amount of linguistic vagueness is no bad idea at this point, at least where the nature of 'emergence' and 'wholeness' is concerned." The postulant emerges from the lidless granite coffer "...to enter one or the other of the chamber's two airshafts. If we take the backward-facing northern one, with its square cross-section and multiple bends, we symbolically fall prey to prevarication as we attempt, even at this late stage , to adopt a somewhat devious, materially orientated path of emergence. But if by the age of seventy (80) we take the straight, southern airshaft, with its womb-like entrance and circular cross-section - if, in other words, we fully accept the demands of inner wholeness without preconditions of a development in its relatively unthreatening septuagenarians..........." (p.206-7) Before going any further, the "unthreatening septuagenarians" among us, should heed Lemesurier's warning: "Deliberately awakening the hitherto-dormant primal drives of the human organism - the process to which esotericists generally refer when they speak of 'opening the chakras' - brings with it serious risks of burn-out." A more technology oriented alternative to the 'House of Initiation' idea, is 'The Giza Power Plant' theory proposed by C. Dunn, explained in his 1988 book 'The Giza Power Plant: Technologies of Ancient Egypt'. Naturally, the shafts have a vital role to play in the running of the power plant:​ "The power plant theory describes a chemical process where two solutions combine to create hydrogen. The Giza Power Plant theorizes that the Southern Shaft provided a diluted hydrochloric solution to the Queen's Chamber and the Northern Shaft provided a hydrated zinc solution." link "Shafts leading to the Queen's Chamber but not quite connected to it. These could have been supply shafts for chemicals needed in the reaction. The shafts would allow chemicals to enter the chamber and prevent evolving gases from escaping." (C. Dunn, 2002) link The upper northern shaft was a conduit for a microwave signal input, and the upper southern shaft for a microwave power output, both connected to the 'resonant quartzite chamber' (sarcophagus chamber) link burn-out​ ​ Recent comments on the shafts by Egyptologists:​ Dr Zahi Hawass: "Scholars first suggested that these air channels were for ventilation, but Badawy believed that the channels provided a passage for the king's spirit to ascend to the astral regions. This latter explanation of the function of the air channels appears to be reasonable; thus the king would have traveled through the northern channel to join the northern stars. However in my opinion, the southern channel in the king's chamber would have been provided for Khufu as Ra to travel to the day and night boats located south of the Great Pyramid. These channels occur only in the pyramids of Khufu and Khafra, which are also the only two pyramids to be associated with five boat pits, thus the connection between the channels and the boat pits is strengthened." ('The Pyramids and Temples of Giza', Petrie, with an update by Zahi Hawass, 1990: 101) Comments: why would the soul of the king travel up the shafts and exit the pyramid about 80m (260ft) above the ground, if the intention was to go down to the boats buried beneath the pavement on the south side of the pyramid? It has been suggested that the southern shafts aligned with the sun on specific days of the year that had a particular significance for Khufu: the following text from the pyramid of Pepy I (6th dyn), may allude to the sun reaching it's highest point due south: O Re, thus men say, when they stand beside this King on earth: 'When you have appeared in the middle of the sky, give your hand to the King, take him with you to the middle of the sky.' (1498 P)​ Each of the two southern shafts was aligned with the sun, twice a year. Petrie noticed in 1881 that the sun shone directly down the upper southern shaft on the 8th of February and the 2nd of November. (originally, the shaft probably did not reach the exterior face of the casing stones, and the first section of the shaft as it leaves the chamber is horizontal, so the sun's rays did not directly reached the upper chamber) The sun aligned with the lower southern shaft about 20th November and 20th January. It is not known if the corresponding dates in the ancient Egyptian calendar had any significance for Khufu. (during the Old Kingdom, the festival of Re, the sun deity, fell on the 21st of the 4th month of the harvest season, corresponding to a date sometime in late June) Dr. Jaromir Malek: "The main axis of the interior of the pyramid of Khufu (and others) is, beyond any doubt, north-south, and most would, I am sure, agree that it reflects star-oriented ideas, though with the stipulation ‘not necessarily exclusively’. If the new sun-oriented ideas influenced the other parts of the complex, they may also have been present in the pyramid. It is more difficult to accept that the Pyramid Texts, which appeared in the pyramids’ interior some 250 years after solar ideas had come to play a part in the architecture of the pyramid-complex, can represent stellar concepts in their pristine condition. Nevertheless, I find few problems in connecting the interior of the Khufu pyramid with stellar ideas contained in the Pyramid Texts." ('Discussions in Egyptology' Vol. 30, 1994) In Mark Lehner's 1997 book 'The complete Pyramids', a caption for the two southern shafts reads: "'Air-shafts' oriented to Orion", and for the two northern shafts: "'Air-Shafts' oriented to the northern polar stars" (pp. 112-3) On page 114 he writes: "A symbolic function should also be attributed to the so-called 'air-shafts', which had nothing to do with conducting air. No other pyramid contains chambers and passages so high in the body of the masonry as Khufu's and so the builders provided the King's Chamber with small model passages to allow the king's spirit to ascend to the stars. There are similar 'air-shafts' in the Queen's chamber though mysteriously, they did not penetrate through the walls of the chamber itself...." In an interview with Earthfiles, Mark Lehner stated that: "Now, the southern ones (shafts) point up at the southern sky and it's a very reasonable guess that the destination there in terms of the stars was the constellation Orion or what we know as the constellation Orion with the three stars in the belt. Orion was the symbol of Osiris, the Lord of the Dead. Or, the star Sirius which was a very important star for the ancient Egyptians because it was associated with the God of Isis. We know that because we have a tradition in later hieroglyphic text, religious text, that tells us about the King's soul, or Ka, ascending to the circumpolar stars on the north and to Orion or Sirius in the south." Astronomer Professor Tony Fairall agreed with Lehner's interpretation in his article 'Precession and the layout of the Ancient Egyptian pyramids' (June 1999, Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society) Stephen Quirke: "The importance of the starry sky also seems clear in the positioning of narrow shafts, through the masonry core, from the inner chambers of the GP. Whatever their practical application as air vents, these are far too carefully incorporated into the design to escape symbolic significance" ('The Cult of Ra' Quirke 2001: 115-6) "So-called airshafts, only 20cm (8in) square, leave the north and south walls of the chamber and emerge high up on the corresponding faces of the pyramid. These also were found in the original high-level burial chamber, and seem to have been aimed at particular stars, implying a stellar aspect to the king's afterlife - although as we have seen he was later more closely associated with the sun. Interestingly, the pyramid for Khufu's immediate successor, Djedefre, bore a name that described the king as a 'shining star'" (Dr Aidan Dodson, a specialist in Egyptian funerary archaeology) link Comment: two other translations for the name of Djedefra's pyramid: 'The Pyramid which is the Sehedu-star' (Baines & Malek, 1986:140); 'Starry sky of Djedefra' (Quirke, following the interpretation by Wolfgang Helck, 2001: 116) Miroslav Verner, attempted to explain the rationale behind both the ventilation and astronomical theories in his book 'The Pyramids': "Of the theories so far proposed, the most probable attributes a ventilating function to them. The architects realized that the circulation of air was made more difficult by the location of the chamber over the level of the pyramid's entrance (both King's and Queen's Chambers are above this level), which could have led to serious problems if several people were in the chamber at once - during the burial rites for example. The fact that the shafts are "astronomically aligned" corresponds to the logic of the structure and to its builders' practical conceptions and religious ideas. The ancient Egyptians were probably well aware that the dominant wind was from the north, as they commonly made use of it in sailing on the Nile. Thus there was nothing unusual about the alignment of the shafts with a given star in the northern and southern skies; it was thoroughly practical. (Verner's note: A simulated reconstruction of the sky over Giza in 2,500 B.C.E. shows that the north shaft in the King's Chamber was aimed at Alpha Draconis (Thuban) and the south shaft at Zeta Orionis (Alnitak); in the Queen's Chamber the north shaft was aimed at Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) and the south shaft at Sirius (Alpha Canum Majoris) In addition these stars played an important role in contemporary ideas about religion and burial. Zeta Orionis was identified with the death god Osiris and Sirius with his divine partner, Isis. After his death, the pharaoh's soul went to the pole star (Alpha Draconis, in the age when the pyramids were built), there to become immortal. For the same reason, shafts featured in the plans for the King's Chamber. The fact that they exist only in the Great Pyramid is yet another argument for the "ventilation theory"; after all, in other pyramids the burial chamber is not located above the level of the entrance." (Verner 2001: 201-2) In his book 'The Egyptian Pyramids' (1990), J.P. Lepre commented on the shafts: "A number of Egyptologists refer to the north air channel in the Great Pyramid as the representation of the pharaoh's association with Alpha Draconis, which was the pole star during the reign of King Khufu. They note, as further evidence of the connection between stars and pharaoh, that the constellations of Orion and Sirius would pass over the air channels at fixed intervals. Yet it would appear that there is a much stronger affiliation with astrology here than with science. First the assumption put forth by this school is that the north air shaft is directed in a straight line toward the pole star of 4,500 years ago, Alpha Draconis. Yet it has already been illustrated that the north air channel of the Great Pyramid does not ascend in a straight-forward manner, but rises in a series of twists and turns. A deduction that the channel would have pointed to the pole star of that era at its final passage through the monument would be based on extreme speculation. It was not expedient for the north air shaft of Khufu's pyramid to be aligned with Alpha Draconis, but it was expedient for that air channel to supply fresh air for the funerary cortege." (p.100) Comment: Lepre believed that the members of the funerary cortege, family, close friends and associates, aristocrats, high priests, etc, assembling in the upper chamber lit by torchlight, needed fresh air supplied by the shafts. However, it should be noted that the Valley Temple and the royal cult complex on the eastern side of the pyramid were far more suitable for large assemblies participating in the funeral ceremonies, as the route up to the sarcophagus chamber was long, arduous and difficult. A surprising number of astronomers, have taken an interest in ancient Egyptian sacred architecture, and used their expertise to investigate possible links with the sky, or assessed the technical feasibility of stellar links proposed by others. Some researchers think the shafts were for ventilating the pyramid, while others have taken a more esoteric approach, where an understanding of the symbolism of the pyramid's architectural features can apparently enhance an individual's spiritual development, be used to predict future world events, or reveal the ancients advanced technology. What is also apparent is that some researchers were operating in a twilight zone of shaky facts and wishful thinking with faulty data and mistakes cropping up again and again, copied and repeated by later researchers, and critics alike. Variations on the 'air-shaft' theory are still popular, also shafts as 'model passageways' enabling the soul or spirit of the king to travel to and from the sky, to specific regions of the sky, or to specific stars or star patterns in the sky. Although Dr. Edwards endorsement of Alexander Badawy's ideas gave strong support for a theory that is consistent with the earliest surviving royal funerary rituals and beliefs inscribed within later Old Kingdom pyramids, and taking into account the many variables, is also technically feasible, without more evidence, the purpose of the enigmatic shafts in Khufu's pyramid still remains a difficult question to resolve. Chris Tedder 20.10.2004 xxxxxxx ​ ​ Precessional movement as seen from 'outside' the celestial sphere. The rotation axis of the Earth describes over a period of about 25800 years a small circle (blue) among the stars, centred around the ecliptic northpole (blue E) and with an angular radius of about 23.4°: the angle known as the obliquity of the ecliptic. The orange axis was the Earth's rotation axis 5000 years ago when it pointed to the star Thuban. The yellow axis, pointing to Polaris is the situation now. Note that when the celestial sphere is seen from outside constellations appear in mirror image. Also note that the daily rotation of the Earth around its axis is opposite to the precessional rotation. When the polar axis precesses from one direction to another, then the equatorial plane of the Earth (indicated with the circular grid around the equator) and the associated celestial equator will move too. Where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic (red line) there are the equinoxes. As seen from the drawing, the orange grid, 5000 years ago one intersection of equator and ecliptic, the vernal equinox was close to the star Aldebaran of Taurus. By now (the yellow grid) it has shifted (red arrow) to somewhere in the constellation of Pisces. Note that this is an astronomical description of the precessional movement and the vernal equinox position in a given constellation may not imply the astrological meaning of an Age carrying the same name, as they (ages and constellations) only have an exact alignment in the "first point of Aries", meaning once in each ca. 25800 (Great Sidereal Year). ​

 

Five (5) Enigmatic Ancient Underwater Ruins
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/5underwaterruins.php#.U7NxD6jVFD1


MessageToEagle.com - Our oceans are greatly unexplored and full of secrets. Deep beneath the waters there are marvelous ruins of lost ancient civilizations.

These ancient underwater remains serve as a reminder of how vulnerable we are and how fast Mother Nature can end our existence.

To date, it is estimated that we have explored only 3 to 5 percent of the ocean floor. With so much territory still left to explore, we can only imagine the discoveries yet to come! Here are just a few examples of remarkable ancient underwater discoveries.

Dwaraka - Lord Krishna's Lost City





For a long time, Krishna's legendary city of Dwaraka was considered to be nothing but a myth.

However, not so long ago a group of Indian scientists accidentally discovered the lost city of Dwaraka, submerged off the north western coast of India near the Gulf of Cambay or Khambat.

After so many years it turned out that the 12,000 year old city of Dwaraka was not a myth at all, but a real place that existed in the distant past.



Lost Kingdom Of Cleopatra





Lost for 1,600 years, the kingdom of Cleopatra was discovered off the shores of Alexandria, Egypt.

Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history as Cleopatra, was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. It is commonly believed that the Cleopatra's empire was destroyed by an earthquake and tidal waves Scientists think that the entire city was completely submerged, along with all the artifacts, statues, columns and other beauties of the palace of Cleopatra. Read more here:

Lost Continent Of Mu - 8000-Year-Old Yonaguni-Jima Ruins

In 1987, while looking for good under-water sites to dive near Yonaguni, scuba diving instructor Kihachiro Aratake, discovered an amazing under-water construct 20 feet below the surface of the water. The construct is defined as being "as if terraced into the side of a mountain," resembling a grand stand for Sea Gods, or somewhat like an amphitheater with its huge steps and blocks of stone.






The construct's 250-foot base lies 100 feet below the ocean's surface and rises to a height of 80 feet. The Monument consists of medium to very fine sandstones and mudstones of the Lower Miocene Yaeyama Group believed to have been deposited about 20 million years ago




The underwater formation or ruin called "The Turtle" at Yonaguni, Ryukyu Islands. Image credit: Masahiro Kaji - The Japan's Dive-spot Gallery


It has been debated whether the site is completely natural, is a natural site that has been modified, or is a manmade artifact. Some researchers believe the underwater ruins near Yonaguni are part of the legendary lost continent of Mu.

Wickedest City On Earth

Once known as the "Wickedest City on Earth" for its sheer concentration of pirates, prostitutes and rum, Port Royal is now famous for another reason: "It is the only sunk city in the New World," according to Donny L. Hamilton.

In 1981, the Nautical Archaeology Program of Texas A&M University, in cooperation with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), began underwater archaeological investigations of the submerged portion of the 17th-century town of Port Royal, Jamaica. Present evidence indicates that while the areas of Port Royal that lay along the edge of the harbor slid and jumbled as they sank, destroying most of the archaeological context, the area investigated by TAMU / INA, located some distance from the harbor, sank vertically, with minimal horizontal disturbance.





In contrast to many archaeological sites, the investigation of Port Royal yielded much more than simply trash and discarded items. An unusually large amount of perishable, organic artifacts were recovered, preserved in the oxygen-depleted underwater environment.

Together with the vast treasury of complimentary historical documents, the underwater excavations of Port Royal have allowed for a detailed reconstruction of everyday life in an English colonial port city of the late 17th century. More here:

Pavlopetri - Unique Underwater City

The city of Pavlopetri, underwater off the coast of southern Laconia in Greece, is about 5000 years old. This underwater site is unique. An entire town is resting underwater, including streets, buildings, courtyards, and tombs. It has at least 15 buildings submerged in three to four meters of water.





Pavlopetri was presumably once a thriving harbour town where the inhabitants conducted local and long distance trade throughout the Mediterranean - its sandy and well-protected bay would have been ideal for beaching Bronze Age ships. As such the site offers major new insights into the workings of Mycenaean society.

It was discovered in 1967 by Nicholas Flemming and mapped in 1968 by a team of archaeologists from Cambridge.

© MessageToEagle.com

xxxxxxx

find missing pictures; and; move some to proper sections

 

200,000 Year Old Annunaki Cities Discovered in Africa

200,000 Year Old Annunaki Cities Discovered in Africa


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OGNocRWrR2s

 

LIBRARIES IN THE ANICENT WORLD - Mesopotamia and Persia - Ancient and Medieval Libraries

October 14, 2010
By: Sean O'Connor

We don’t know if the 1st library in the ancient world was founded in Egypt, a Mesopotamian civilization (such as the Sumerians, Babylonians, or Assyrians) or somewhere else altogether, but we know there were Egyptian and Mesopotamian libraries by the 3rd millennium B.C. More than 200,000 clay tablets have been found in ancient Mesopotamian cities.

By about 2500 B.C., the Akkadians, a Semitic people, inhabited the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and around 2250 B.C. their leader Argon I conquered the non-Semitic peoples of the lower valley, uniting Mesopotamia under the Old Babylonian Empire, which depended culturally on the old Sumerian civilization. The high point of Babylonian civilization was the rule of Hammurabi (around 1700 B.C.) who could read documents himself instead of having them read aloud to him (as we know from letters he sent officials that stated “I have read your report” instead of “I have heard your report”). During his reign, the Law Code of Hammurabi was written, historical chronicles were written, and king-lists purporting to go back before the Flood were written. Since his law code was not the first, this suggests there must have been something like a law library in Babylon. A thousand years later, Assyrian kings instigated yet higher development of literature and libraries, but their legacy was lost after 625 B.C. as Mesopotamia was conquered in turn by the Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, Parthians, Romans, and Arabs. The ancient literary legacy of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians has been only partially recovered by modern archeologists.

Tablets with pictographic script from about 3000 B.C. were found in the ruins of the Red Temple of Erech in the lower Euphrates River valley. Nearly 30,000 cuneiform tablets, dated about 2350 B.C., were recovered at Tello, near Lagash. Many others were found at Nippur, south of modern Baghdad. In the ruins of Ur, the Great House of Tablets, which seems to have been a law library dating to the reign of Ur-Nammu around 2100 B.C., has been uncovered. Fortunately, the Assyrians copied the king-lists written around the right of Hammurabi, and these have been recovered, but religious, military, and diplomatic histories from his time have been lost.

We know the Assyrians had libraries with tablets arranged by subject matter. Archeologists have investigated the ruins of the palace library founded under Sargon II (who died in 705 B.C.) at Khorsabad. Hundreds of tablets have been recovered there. His great-grandson Assurbanipal (668-627 B.C.) moved the capital to Ninevah and amassed a library of 30,000 tablets. He sent agents to every part of his empire, which stretched from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, as well as to foreign lands, to acquire records of every kind. He also had ancient Sumerian and Babylonian texts translated.

Assurbanipal, who was particularly interested in religious and magical texts, asked Nabu, the Assyrian god of writing to bless the library. On his seal, he invoked Nabu and stated, “I have collected these tablets, I have had them copied, I have marked them with my name, and I have deposited them in my palace.” We might say he had a lust for books and for recognition as a patron of literature (if not the arts as a whole) to the same or a similar degree as a lust for power and wealth required of a great (not to say good) king.

He employed many scribes to compile, edit, and revise texts. In his palace library, some subjects were arranged by room. For instance, one room was devoted to history and government matters, such as diplomatic correspondence, military orders, agreements between vassal kings, biographies of royal officials, and king-lists. One room was devoted to taxes and tribute. Another room was devoted to geography. Still another was devoted to commercial records (deeds, contracts, bills of sale, etc.). One of the most important rooms in the palace library was devoted to the myths, lists of gods, prayers, and incantations of Assyrian religion. The tablets in this library were kept in earthenware jars with identifying tags. The jars were kept on shelves.

Near the door to each room was a tablet with that room’s subject catalog. Each entry listed the title of a given work, the number of tablets in the work, the number of lines in the work, its opening words, and a location or classification symbol.

Amongst the books archeologists have recovered from Assurbanipal’s palace library were the Babylonian creation myth, spread out over 7 tablets, and the Epic of Gilgamesh, spread out over 12 tablets. The tablets survived into modern times for archeologists to recover because when the Chaldeans and Medes destroyed Nineveh in 612 B.C., they were content to push in the palace walls with battering rams, and the walls collapsed atop the tablets, preserving them.

Assurbanipal’s palace library was the largest and best known library archeologists have uncovered in Mesopotamia, but archeologists have excavated palace and temple libraries throughout Mesopotamia dating from about 2000 to 500 B.C. There is also evidence that rich families had private libraries. Business archives have been found as well.

When the Greco-Macedonian king Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, he burned the library at Persepolis, along with the palace of Xerxes. Some accounts blame this on a drunken accident, instigated by Thaïs, a Greek prostitute who was the lover of Ptolemy, Alexander’s general who later made himself Pharaoh of Egypt. Others say it was Alexander’s deliberate act of revenge for the destruction of the Acropolis in Athens during the Second Persian War. Some writers say that Alexander instantly regretted his decision and tried to put the fire out.

http://www.examiner.com/article/libraries-the-ancient-world-mesopotamia-and-persia

 

Pict or Pictish written language discovered in Scotland


Pictish written language discovered in Scotland

http://termcoord.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/pictish-written-language-discovered-in-scotland/
Posted on April 10, 2013 by TermCoord

​

​

A new language dating back to the Scottish Iron Age has been identified on carved stones. ​

​

These inscriptions are believed to belong to the early Pict society living from ca 300 to 843 AD, in modern-day eastern and northern Scotland. The Picts, meaning “the Painted Ones”, were named by the Roman Eumenius in 297 AD and are renowned for having repeatedly repelled invasions from both Romans and Angles, creating a clear North-South division of the British Isles.​

​

Celtic tribes around Ireland, Wales and Scotland are known for their use of stylised stones as signs of ownership and to indicate their names. In the past, some two dozen Pictish Ogham inscriptions had been found in the north and north-west of Scotland. Oghams, also called Primitive Irish, compose an Early Medieval lexigraphic alphabet and the earliest inscriptions discovered date back to the 4th century AD.​

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The new written language discovered in Scotland differ however very much from the Ogham inscriptions as the study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, led by Rob Lee, Philip Jonathan and Pauline Ziman reveals.​

​

Indeed, in order to identify the languages, the three professors applied a mathematical method called Shannon Entropy. This process studies the order, direction, randomness and other characteristics of the different engravings. The results have then been compared to English prose fictions, Chinese prose and poetry, Egyptian monumental texts, Mycenaen lists, king and genealogical list, English texts transposed in morse code and Sematogram heraldic. This calculation also included Irish, Welsh, Norse, Turkish, Basque, Finnish, Korean as well as ancient inscriptions from the British Isles (Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Ancient Irish and Old Welsh).​

​

Even though the study reveals that the Pictish symbols discovered are part of a lexigraphic writing​

(containing symbols that represent parts of speech), the researchers came to the conclusion that the stones would also present semasiographic symbols (that do not represent speech). Thus, the stone called Hilton of Cadboll features pictures of riders and horn blowers next to hunting dogs.​

​

The team conducting the study however did not possess enough information to achieve a decipherment.​

As they say: “In order to answer the question of whether the symbols are words or syllables, and thus define a system from which a decipherment can be initiated, a complete visual catalogue of the stones and the symbols will need to be created and the effect of widening the symbol set investigated”.​

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In the future, more research will probably derive from the existing findings​

leading to a complete ecipherment of this Iron Age language.​

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http://termcoord.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/pictish-written-language-discovered-in-scotland/[/JUSTIFY]​

 

The Lost Civilization Of Atlantis Is Ireland

http://usahitman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Atantis11.jpg

By Francis J. Ward & Francis P. Ward
https://usahitman.com/lost-ireland/

“The Western Ocean . . . . where the gods are born. . . ”
— Homer, The Iliad[1]

“All the gods are sprung from the brains of the bards.”
– Boileau (1636-1711)[2]
​

A 2004 book investigating the myth of Atlantis said that the mythical island
was almost certainly the island of Ireland.

The claim was made by Swedish geologist Dr. Ulf Erlingsson[3]
in his book Atlantis from a Geographer’s Perspective:
Mapping the Fairy Land.

According to Erlingsson:[4]

This book is an attempt at permanently settling the question
of whether the geographic description of Atlantis was based on a real place.

The answer is a resounding yes.

Beyond reasonable doubt, Plato based the geographic description on Ireland.

Erlingsson bases his evidence on Plato’s description of Atlantis,
which matches Ireland almost perfectly.

Statistically, the scientist claims, the probability is over 99.98%
that Plato was describing Ireland.

Erlingsson writes:

Just like Atlantis, Ireland is 3,000 stadia long, 2,000 stadia wide,
and widest over the middle.

They both feature a central plain that is open to the sea,
but fringed by mountains.

No other island on earth even comes close to this description.

The Geodetic Measure of Ireland


According to Plato’s dialogue Critias, the island of Atlantis
was “of an oblong shape, extending in one direction three thousand stadia,
but across the centre inland it was two thousand stadia.”[5]

As you can see on the right[6],

Ireland is approximately an oblong shape, with width of 2,038 stadia
and a height of 2,932 stadia.

Plato states that Atlantis had mountains on three sides of the island,
but the fourth side opened to a wide and fertile plain,
which describes Ireland with uncanny accuracy.

Plato further states the capital of Atlantis was located eis to kheniron tou nesou
—“in the middle of the island”

—a description that matches the ancient Irish capital of Tara perfectly.

Plato was the first person to claim that the builders
of the Egyptian pyramids came from Atlantis.

Ptolemy’s 140 AD Map of Ireland

Figure 1 – Ptolemy’s 140 AD map of “Hibernia” may document
that Ireland was once the home of the supreme king

—“exactly what Irish mythology claims that Tara was.”
​

“The land belongs to the Storm God alone!”


According to Dr. Erlingsson, Ptolemy’s 140 AD map of “Hibernia”
may document that Ireland was once the home of the supreme king

—“exactly what Irish mythology claims that Tara was.” To wit:[7]

We can get inspiration from another continent, from the Hittite Kingdom
in Anatolia about 3,500 years ago.

I quote from a clay tablet with cuneiform script in the Hittite language:

“The land belongs to the Storm God alone!​

Heaven, earth and the people belong to the Storm God alone!​

He has made Labarna, the king, his administrator and given all of Hatti to him.​

Labarna will continue to administer all of this land with his hand.​

May the Storm God destroy whomever may approach Labarna’s person,​

[unreadable], and the borders.” — IBoT 1.30:2-8​

It has been concluded that Labarna was the first king,
but judging from the quote, Labarna could alternatively be the supreme king.

Compare with the city on Hibernia, “Laberus”. An unstressed syllable
“-er- in Indo-European, was changed to -ar- in Germanic languages.

Perhaps the same applies for the Hittite language,
especially considering that those two language branches
have been said to be close to one another.

If so, then the town Laberus literally might be “Laberna’s town”,
meaning the town of the supreme king
–exactly what Irish mythology claims that Tara was.

According to Plato’s Critias, in ancient times,
the Earth was divided among the gods of Atlantis by allotment,
and the gods guided the rest of mankind not by force,
but “by the rudder of persuasion”:[8]

In the days of old, the gods had the whole earth distributed among them by allotment.

There was no quarrelling; [the gods guided the human race]. .

as shepherds tend their flocks,
excepting only that they did not use blows
or bodily force, as shepherds do,
but governed us like pilots from the stern of the vessel . . .

holding our souls by the rudder of persuasion . . .

thus did they guide all mortal creatures.

Plato goes on to describe the origins of Atlantis.

Plato said that Atlantis was allotted to Poseidon,
who fell in love with a mortal girl named Clito.

She bore him a number of children, the first of whom was Atlas,
who inherited the kingdom and passed it onto his firstborn
for many generations.

Critias then goes into a great deal of detail in describing the island of Atlantis
and then reiterates the remarkable virtue of the Atlanteans, saying:[9]

For many generations, as long as the divine nature lasted in them,
they were obedient to the laws, and well-affectioned towards the god,
whose seed they were; for they possessed true and in every way great spirits,
uniting gentleness with wisdom in the various chances of life,
and in their intercourse with one another.

They despised everything but virtue, caring little for their present state of life,
and thinking lightly of the possession of gold and other property,
which seemed only a burden to them; neither were they intoxicate
d by luxury; nor did wealth deprive them of their self-control;
but they were sober, and saw clearly that all these goods are increased
by virtue and friendship with one another, whereas by too great regard
and respect for them, they are lost and friendship with them.

However, according to Plato, the Atlanteans became corrupt:[10]

“…when the divine portion began to fade away,
and became diluted too often and too much with the mortal admixture,
and the human nature got the upper hand, they then,
being unable to bear their fortune, behaved unseemly,
and to him who had an eye to see grew visibly debased,
for they were losing the fairest of their precious gifts;
but to those who had no eye to see the true happiness,
they appeared glorious and blessed at the very time
when they were full of avarice and unrighteous power.

Plato’s Critias then says that Zeus
–the god of gods

–was determined to punish the Atlanteans because of their corruption:

Zeus, the god of gods, who rules according to law,
and is able to see into such things, perceiving that an honourable race
was in a woeful plight, and wanting to inflict punishment on them,
that they might be chastened and improve,
collected all the gods into their most holy habitation,
which, being placed in the centre of the world,
beholds all created things.

And when he had called them together, he spake as follows . . . .

Zeus began to speak, but unfortunately,
the rest of the Dialogue of Critias has been lost.

Laberus – the Roaring Red Lion


The Greek cartographer Ptolemy’s map of Ireland is the oldest known to exist.

Charted around 140 AD, Ptolemy places the town of “Laberus”
where Tara should be.

Who or what is “Laberus”, and what is Laberus doing where Tara is supposed to be?

In the Bible, the lion is the symbol of the tribe of Judah and the Maccabee Brothers.

“Behold the lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,
hath conquered to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”

— Revelation 5:5. The Old Testament uses six different words
for “lion” and one of them is Labi, from a root meaning “to roar,”
a grown lion or lioness (Gen. 49:9; Num. 23:24; 24:9; Ezek. 19:2; Nah. 2:11).[11]

Accordingly, the word “Laberus” may be parsed as follows:

• Labi = roaring lion
• Rus = red
• Labi + rus = Laberus = the Roaring Red Lion

Figure 1 – the national flag of Scotland is the oldest in the world,
and it features a roaring red lion–just like the roaring red lion of Laberus
on Ptolemy’s 140 AD map.

The Great Sphinx of Egypt (which is half-man and half-lion)
still carries traces of the red paint which used to cover the entire Sphinx
back in ancient times.

According to Moses, the Lost Tribe of Dan is a “lion’s whelp”—a roaring red lion.

In the Old Testament, God is described as a roaring lion:

“They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion:
when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.”
– Hosea 11:10

Plutarch’s “Islands of the Blessed”

According to the Greek historian Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD),
the Islands of the Blessed or the Fortunate Islands were “Atlantic islands,
two in number, divided from one another only by a narrow channel,
and distant from the coast of Africa ten thousand furlongs.

These are called the Islands of the Blest . . . .”[12]

10,000 furlongs translates to 1,250 miles.

The flying distance from Gibraltar to Dublin is 1,188 miles,
but of course, if you were sailing from Gibraltar
to the British Islands, Plutarch’s measurement is virtually flawless.

Twenty-four (24) Ancient Narrative Sources that Describe Atlantis


Cedric Leonard of the University of Oklahoma
has compiled a list of 24 ancient narrative sources
that describe Atlantis (below).[13]

Although language is variable and changing over time, the homophonic similarity
of the various names for Atlantis are noteworthy.

For example, according to Philo, the island mentioned by Plato was called Atalantes.

Herodotus called the Atlanteans the Atlantes,
and Diodorus called the Atlanteans the Atlantoi.

Similarly, the Aletae of Sanchuniathon were called the Auritae by Manetho.

The Berbers of North Africa had a place-names called Attala,
while the Sanskrit writings speak of an island in the Atlantic called Atala.

Additionally, in the Americas, place-names for Atlantis include Atlan
(Isthmus of Panama), Aztlan (Toltec mythology),
Atitlan (Guatemala), and Aztalan (Wisconsin).

Date​	Author​	Source​	Description​
c. 4000 B.C.​	Egyptian​	Book of the Dead​	King Thoth ruled an Island in the West which was destroyed by water, and brought the surviving rulers eastward to Egypt
c. 2500 B.C.​	Palermo Stone​	Royal Canon​	Lists the last eight of the ten god-kings, including Cronos (Seb), Osiris, Set and possibly Thoth.
c. 2000 B.C.​	Vishnu​	Purana​	Locates Atala, the White Island, in the “Western Ocean” at same latitude as Canary Islands in the Atlantic.
1300 B.C.​	Turin Papyrus​	King-List​	Lists the ten god-kings whose reign over a foreign country ended 9850 B.C., followed by the reign of the demi-gods
1190 B.C.​	Sanchuniathon​	Phoenician History​	Calls ancient god-kings of former times the “Aletean kings”. Gives Phoenician legends of Thoth, Cronos, Atlas and Zeus.
800 B.C.​	Homer​	Iliad​	Refers to the imprisonment of the Titan Cronos at the “far end of the earth” beneath the “waters of the restless sea.”
735 B.C.​	Hesiod​	Theogeny​	Tells us of the Titans who, after losing a ten-year war, were imprisoned beneath the waters of the Ocean in the far West.
600 B.C.​	Mahabharata​	Karna Parva​	Describes a ten-year war at the end of which the island of Atala and all its inhabitants sank into the “Western Ocean”.
590 B.C.​	Solon​	Atlantica (lost)​	Solon began his epic poem “Atlantica” based on the story of Atlantis he had gotten from the priests at Sais, Egypt.
450 B.C.​	Herodotus​	Histories​	The ocean now called the Atlantic he calls “the Atlantis Sea”. He describes a tribe of “Atlanteans” living in North Africa.
350 B.C.​	Plato​	Timaeus/Critias​	Plato relates the now familiar story of Atlantis and its final destruction by earthquakes, floods and subsidance.
340 B.C.​	Bhavishya​	Purana​	Mentions Atala, the “White Island” across a sea of saltwater in the West, inhabited by Magas who worship Surya, the Sun.
320 B.C.​	Theopompus​	Meropis​	Priests of Phrygia tell him of a continent of great size in the far west inhabited by both peaceful and warlike people.
300 B.C.​	​ Crantor​	Com. on Timaeus​	Priests of Sais show Crantor the temple columns from which Solon derived his knowledge of the story of Atlantis.
250 B.C.​	Manetho​	Old Chronicle​	Lists the ten god-kings, (which he called the “Auritae”) who, during the Reign of the Gods, ruled a “foreign country”.
100 B.C.​	Aelian​	De Natura Animalium​	“Dwellers by the ocean” say the ancient kings of Atlantis traced their descent back to the god Poseidon.
c. 100 B.C.​	Marcellus​	Ethiopic History​	Canary Islanders preserved traditions of Atlantis, which they alleged had once governed all the islands in the Atlantic.
25 B.C.​	Strabo​	Geography​	Expressed the opinion that possibly Plato’s story about the island of Atlantis was not a fiction.
8 B.C.​	Diodorus​	Library of History​	Describes a race of “Atlanteans” living in Libya (North Africa), whose deities originate in the Atlantic.
10 A.D.​	Philo Judaeus​	Incorruptibility​	The Island of Atalantes in Plato’s Timaios was overwhelmed by floods and earthquakes and suddenly disappeared.
100 A.D.​	Plutarch​	Orb of the Moon​	Claims that the Atlantic was shallow and unnavigable because of the subsidance of the island of Atlantis.
300 A.D.​	Arnobius​	Adversus Gentes​	Writes of the destruction of Atlantis as if it were an accepted fact of history.
370 A.D.​	Marcellinus​	Res Gestae​	On the disappearence of landmasses: “in the Atlantic sea, off the coast of Europe, a large island was swallowed up.”
470 A.D.​	Proclus​	Com. On Timaeus​	Preserves Crantor’s account (now lost) of his trip to Sais, Egypt to see the temple records reported by Solon

The Kings of Atlantis Were the gods of the Ancient World
“According to the traditions of the Phœnicians,
the Gardens of the Hesperides were in the remote west.”

Atlas—the king of Atlantis–lived in these gardens.[14]

• “The Elysian Fields (the happy islands) were commonly placed in the remote west. They were ruled over by Chronos.”[15]
  
  “The Elysian Fields was the final resting place for the souls of heroes and virtuous men. The ancients often distinguished between two such realms–the islands of the Blessed and the Lethean fields of Haides. The first of these, also known as the White Island or the Islands of the Blessed, was an afterlife realm reserved for the heroes of myth. It was an island paradise located in the far western streams of the river Okeanos, and ruled over by the Titan-King Kronos or Rhadamanthys, a son of Zeus.”[16]
• Tartarus, the region of Hades, the gloomy home of the dead, was also located “under the mountains of an island in the midst of the ocean in the remote west.”[17]

• Atlas was described in Greek mythology as “an enormous giant, who stood upon the western confines of the earth, and supported the heavens on his shoulders, in a region of the west where the sun continued to shine after he had set upon Greece.”[18]

• Greek tradition located the island in which Olympus was situated “in the far west,” “in the ocean beyond Africa,” “on the western boundary of the known world,” “where the sun shone when it had ceased to shine on Greece,” and where the mighty Atlas “held up the heavens.”[19]

• Plato tells us that the land where Poseidon and Atlas ruled was Atlantis.[20]

• “The terms “Atala” and “White Island” are used also by the Bhavishya Purana (4^thcent. BC). Here it is stated that Samba, having built a temple dedicated to Surya (the Sun), made a journey to Saka Dwipa [‘White Island’], located ‘beyond the salt water’ looking for the Magas (magicians), worshippers of the Sun. He is directed in his journey by Surya himself (i.e., journeys west following the Sun), riding upon Garuda (the flying vehicle of Krishna and Vishnu) he lands at last among the Magas.”[21]

Albion—the “White Island”–is the ancient name for Britain, and it is thought to derive from the white cliffs of Dover. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba.

Hindu religious texts speak of a sacred “White Island” that was located in the Western Ocean.

“The White Island” concept associated with Atlantis is also found in Greek mythology, Aztec Mexico, North Africa, and India.

• “The Mahabharata (circa. 600 B.C.) also refers to ‘Atala, the White Island’, which is described as an ‘island of great splendour.’ It continues: ‘The men that inhabit that island have complexions as white as the rays of the Moon and they are devoted to Narayana . . . Indeed, the denizens of White Island believe and worship only one God.’ (Santi Parva, Section CCCXXXVII)”[22]

• “Sekhet-Aaru was the Egyptians’ realm of the dead, but also their ancestral homeland on an island in the Distant West, from which their forefathers arrived at the Nile Delta in the Zep Tepi, or ‘First Time,’ at the start of dynastic civilization.”[23]

• In ancient Egyptian cosmology, Amenti was the western abode of the dead where the souls of the deceased are judged by Osiris and punished or rewarded for their deeds.[24]

• “On the other side of the world, the Aztecs believed their ancestors came from an island kingdom in the Distant East, called Aztlan. Both Sekhet-Aaru and Aztlan mean ‘Field of Reeds.’ To the Egyptians and the Aztecs alike, reeds, employed as writing utensils, were symbolic of literacy and wisdom, implying that Sekhet-Aaru/Aztlan was a place of extraordinary learning.”[25]

• “Albion is the ancient name for Britain, “The White Island,” derived from the twin brother of Atlas. Albion was said to have introduced the arts of shipbuilding and astrology, the leading material features of Atlantis. “The White Island” concept associated with Atlantis is also found in Aztec Mexico, North Africa, and India. The spiritual arts Albion brought to Britain were believed to have formed the basis for Druidism.”[26]

• Tir-nan-Og is the “Celtic ‘Island of Youth,’ a tradition adopted from pre-Celtic Irish inhabitants and associated with Atlantean invaders of Ireland, the Tuatha da Danann. Its philological correspondence to Homer’s Ogygia, the biblical Og, the Greeks’ Ogygian Flood, and so on, are all transparent references to Atlantis—an identification supported by Tir-nan-Og’s eventual demise beneath the sea. The widespread association of ‘og’ with an Atlantis-like catastrophe defines its impact on various peoples.”[27] Like Ireland, mythical Tir-nan-Og is supposedly an island paradise in the far west.

• “The Welsh and ancient English pointed to the western ocean for their Earthly paradise, which they called Avalon.”[28]

• “The Babylonians placed their paradise in the western ocean and referred to it as Aralu.”[29]

• “The Celtic tribes of Spain and also the Basques preserve traditions of their homeland in the western ocean; and the original Gauls of France, especially those in the western sections, had the tradition that their ancestors came from the middle of the western ocean as the result of a catastrophe which destroyed their homeland.”[30]

Sanskrit and Gaelic Shan Scrien


In the 19th century, German anthropologist Max Muller’s theory of the “Aryan Master Race” was based upon the observation that all the world’s languages seemed to be descended from Indian Sanskrit, and today, David Frawley, Graham Hancock, Dr. Robert Schoch, and many other prominent investigators are searching for the ancient origins of civilization in the East, on the theory that is where the Sanskrit language comes from. However: “The language which the [Irish Warrior Monks who “saved civilization”] spoke in Ionawas, however, Sanskrit, the name of the Gaelic language in Gaelic being Shan Scrien.” — Arthur Edward Waite, New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Part 1, p. 161.

Additionally, according to Charles MacKay’s 1877 book,
The Gaelic Etymology of the Languages of Western Europe,
all the languages of western Europe are based upon the Gaelic language,
and according to Dr. Murray, late professor of Oriental languages
at the University of Edinburgh:

“Without a considerable knowledge of Gaelic,
no person can make any proficiency whatever in philology.”

The Island“Homeland of the Primeval Ones” & Ward Hill


According to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Thoth
(i.e., the Egyptian equivalent of Hermes and Mercury)
said that an illustrious civilization was destroyed by a Great Deluge:

“I am going to blot out everything which I have made.

The Earth shall enter into the waters of the abyss of Nun
[the sea-god]by means of a raging flood, and will become
even as it was in the primeval time.”[31]




Figure 2 – The outer walls of the Egyptian temple at Edfu speak of the Zep Tepi
–the gods of the “First Time”

–who came from “the Homeland of the Primeval Ones,”
an island that sank during a catastrophic flood.

Thoth’s description of the catastrophe is reiterated in the Edfu Texts,
which indicated that the “Homeland of the Primeval Ones”
was a great island that sank with most of its inhabitants
during the Zep Tepi, or the “First Time.”

We are told that the creation of the world began on this island,
but the “mansions of the gods” were suddenly overwhelmed by a great flood.

Led by Thoth, only the “Seven Sages” or “Builder gods”
escaped the cataclysm and settled in the Nile Delta,
where they created Egyptian civilization.

So where was this island “Homeland of the Primeval Ones”?

In the Boyne Valley of Atlantis-Ireland, Ward Hill is also known as “Tlachta”,
which means “the place of the First Time.” In the Nahuatl language:[32]

• “tla” = “the place of”[33]
• “achto” = “first time”
• Hence, Tla + achto = Tlachta = “the place of the First Time” = Ward Hill

Atlantis Was a Global, Maritime Empire Based in Ireland


According to Conor MacDari in his book, Irish Wisdom Preserved
in the Bible and the Pyramids:[34]

There is no mistaking the monuments left by the Irish
who were once the rulers and masters of the whole earth.

Their rule embraced all countries – it was world-wide.

Ireland was the first mistress of the seas;

it was the first and only world-wide empire which has ever been known.

For it was spiritual.

It was greater in extent than Persian, Greek, Roman, or Mogul ever attained to.

The remains of their works, wherever they are found,
bear an unmistakable similarity in shape and character.

They are huge, immense, and conceived and carried out on a plan
so extensive that it awes the mind of the man of today.

These remains extend from Ireland along the Atlantic coast of Europe to Africa,
along the Mediterranean Sea to Egypt, India, China, Java, Tahiti,
and the Caroline Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.

On the American Continent we find the round tower near Newport, R. I.,
which bespeaks its Irish origin, and the great pyramidal mounds
of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys; also the ruined temples
of Yucatan and Mexico, and similar remains in South America
are all evidences of their handiwork.

All owe their origin to the same source,
and they establish beyond any doubt that the Irish
were the first real discoverers of America and that they established civilization
on this western continent.

It was tradition founded on that fact which gave hope and encouragemen
t to later adventurers.

The family of the pharaohs who built the pyramids at Giza includes
Jehovah, King David and Jesus Christ, and for those who are interested,
we have compiled a comprehensive body of evidence for the senior branch
of this family—the Wards/Arads/Mac an Bhairds–in the Introduction to our book
–The Truth Against the World—which can be read online at www.thetruthagainsttheworld.net.

Among other ancient mysteries, we have solved the hidden message
of the Great Pyramid, and the riddles of King Arthur
and the Knights of the Roundtable, the Fisher King,

Pahana—the Lost White Brother, the Kalki incarnation of Vishnu,
and the fulfillments of the Star, Branch, and World Ruler Prophecies.

Additionally, archaeological evidence indicates that
Lord God Jehovah was a real person down here on Earth,
who lived in the eastern Negev Desert
at the Israelite settlement of Tel Arad[35]

—which was the Citadel and Tabernacle of King David,
the true and historical Mt. Zion, and the only ever-discovered House of Yahweh
in the land of Israel, which in turn carries the name of the senior branch
of Druids
—i.e., Ward-Arad-Mac an Bhaird.

In our articles, we expose the reasons why this knowledge
has been hidden for over 5,000 years, and we outline the keys
for overthrowing the criminal tyranny of the New World Order.


About the Authors

Francis Joseph Ward was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1922. During World War II, Ward served in the Third Army in Africa and Italy, and among his battle decorations, Ward was awarded the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantry Badge, and three Purple Hearts. After the war, Ward graduated from the University of Scrantonin 1948 with a degree in biology. Ward is retired and lives in Sandy Spring, Maryland, USA.

Francis Patrick Ward—the son of Francis Joseph Ward–was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvaniain 1951. Ward graduated from the University of Maryland in 1973 with a degree in accounting, and became a CPA in 1974. Ward is self-employed and lives in Damascus, Maryland, USA. The Truth Against the World—Red PhoenixRising and the Return of the Thunder Godsis their first book. www.thetruthagainsttheworld.net

​

[1]Homer, The Iliad, Book XIV, line 201, Queen Hera said:
“I’m going to visit the limits of this all-nourishing earth,
to see Oceanus, from whom the gods arose . . . .”www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Texts/Iliad/iliad14.htm

[2]Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (1636-1711) wrote:

“All the gods are sprung from the brains of the bards.”
– quoted in “The Science of Religions,”
The Anthropological Review, No. IX, May, 1865.

[3]Ulf Erlingsson has a Ph.D. in Physical Geography from Uppsala University.

His specialty is geological processes, under-water research, and natural disasters.

[4]Ulf Erlingsson, Atlantis from a Geographer’s Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land, p.11.

[5]classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html

[6]Ulf Erlingsson, Atlantis from a Geographer’s Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land, p.16.

[7]Ulf Erlingsson, Atlantis from a Geographer’s Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land, p.58.

[8]classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html

[9]classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html

[10]classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html

[11]No fewer than at least six different words are used in
the Old Testament for the lion.

(1.) Gor (i.e., a “suckling”), the lion’s whelp (Gen. 49:9; Jer. 51:38, etc.).

(2.) Kephir (i.e., “shaggy”), the young lion (Judg. 14:5; Job 4:10; Ps. 91:13; 104:21),
a term which is also used figuratively of cruel enemies
(Ps. 34:10; 35:17; 58:6; Jer. 2:15).

(3.) ‘Ari (i.e., the “puller” in pieces), denoting the lion in general,
without reference to age or sex (Num. 23:24; 2 Sam. 17:10, etc.).

(4.) Shahal (the “roarer”), the mature lion (Job 4:10;
Ps. 91:13; Prov. 26:13; Hos. 5:14).

(5.) Laish, so called from its strength and bravery (
Job 4:11; Prov. 30:30; Isa. 30:6). The capital of Northern Dan
received its name from this word. (6.) Labi, from a root meaning “to roar,”
a grown lion or lioness (Gen. 49:9; Num. 23:24; 24:9; Ezek. 19:2; Nah. 2:11). biblestudy.churches.net/CCEL/E/EASTON/EBD/EBD/T0002300.HTM

[12]classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/sertoriu.html

[13]www.atlantisquest.com/Timeline.html

[14]Murray’s “Manual of Mythology,” p. 258, quoted by Ignatius Donnelly,
Atlantis—the Antedeluvian World, p. 288.

[15]Murray’s “Manual of Mythology,” p. 60, quoted by Ignatius Donnelly,
Atlantis—the Antedeluvian World, p. 288.

[16]www.theoi.com/Kosmos/Elysion.html

[17]Murray’s “Manual of Mythology,” p. 58, quoted by Ignatius Donnelly,
Atlantis—the Antedeluvian World, p. 288.

[18]Murray’s “Manual of Mythology,” p. 60, quoted by Ignatius Donnelly,
Atlantis—the Antedeluvian World, p. 288.

[19]Murray’s “Manual of Mythology,” p. 156, quoted by Ignatius Donnelly,
Atlantis—the Antedeluvian World, p. 288.

[20]Plato, Critias, classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html

[21]Cedric Leonard, www.atlantisquest.com/Writings.html

[22]Cedric Leonard, www.atlantisquest.com/Writings.html

[23]Frank Joseph, The Atlantis Encyclopedia, p. 246.

[24]Micha F. Lindemans, “Amenti” www.pantheon.org/articles/a/amenti.html

[25]Frank Joseph, The Atlantis Encyclopedia, p. 246.

[26]Frank Joseph, The Atlantis Encyclopedia, p. 18.

[27]Frank Joseph, The Atlantis Encyclopedia, p. 270.

[28]Charles Berlitz, Mystery of Atlantis, www.returntoatlantis.com/retc/blessed.html

[29]Charles Berlitz, Mystery of Atlantis, www.returntoatlantis.com/retc/blessed.html

[30]Charles Berlitz, Mystery of Atlantis, www.returntoatlantis.com/retc/blessed.html

[31]Frank Joseph, The Atlantis Encyclopedia, p. 267, and alvidk.tripod.com/id28.html

[32]“Mary Lecron Foster has presented a telling body of technical linguistic
evidence that underscores a possible relationship between the ancient Egyptian
and the Mixe-Zoque languages of southern Mexico, which include the Mayan tongues
and are thought to have derived from the still-unknown Olmec language.

Quechua, an indigenous language spoken to this day by the Indians of the Andes,
is similar to the Mixe-Zoque languages and, according to Foster,
contains additional words with Semitic roots, most likely from Arabic.”
Robert M. Schoch, Voyages of the Pyramid Builders, p. 117.

[33]Nahuatl has a series of postpositions. Among them are -tla(n), -pa(n),
-ca(n), and -c(o), all ofwhich mean something like ‘in’, or ‘at the place of’. Per www.sil.org/mexico/nahuatl/10i-NahuatlQuestions.htm

[34]Conor MacDari in his book, Irish Wisdom Preserved in the Bible
and the Pyramids, p. 7.

[35]thetruthagainsttheworld.net/Introduction%20v2.pdf

xxxxxxx

Many curated lineages move through the high kings of ireland & scotland - Egypt, etc.,
Curated Lineages: Boudicca, Braveheart, Ruthven, Sinclair, Pendragon, Ap Custennyn, Avalon-Camelot-Tintagel - Susan Lynne Schwenger
www.thuban.spruz.com/forums/?page=post&id=61610479-1C00-4366-8B4F-96A837342265&fid=73202E8F-6404-4AB8-A825-FDDBD7D765EE

xxxxxxx
Hy-Brasil, the other Atlantis

Posted by: Fiona in Categories, Legends December 31, 2010 28 Comments 8,571 Views


Brasil showing up on the map of Ireland by Abraham Ortelius in 1572

When discussing underwater lore and legends, Atlantis is an obvious subject of interest. However, the lost island of
Hy-Brasil is just as intriguing and has more first-person accounts.

Hy-Brasil is also spelled Hy-Breasal, Hy-Brazil, Hy-Breasil,
Brazir and related variations.

It may be the reason that the South American country, Brazil, was so named.

The central image on the Brazilian flag, a circle with a channel
across the center, is the symbol for Hy-Brasil on early maps.

The name of Hy-Brasil may come from the Middle Ages term brazil,
which seems to indicate a source of rare red dye.

The dye may have acquired its name
from the legendary island, or vice versa.

Or, the name Hy-Brasil, also called the Fortunate Island, may originate with the old Irish word, breas, meaning noble or fortunate.

In folklore, this island country takes its name from Breasal,
the High King of the World, in Celtic history.

(He may or may not be related to Bresal Echarlam mac Echach Baethlaim,
from the stories of Lugh at Tara.

He was not St. Breasal, although pre-Christian folklore
may be the foundation for that saint’s legends.)

Hy-Brasil was noted on maps as early as 1325,
when Genoese cartographer Dalorto placed the island west of Ireland.

On successive sailing charts, it appears southwest of Galway Bay.

On some 15th century maps, islands of the Azores appear as Isola de Brazil,
or Insulla de Brazil. After 1865, Hy-Brasil appears on few maps
since its location could not be verified.

Regardless of the name or location, the island’s history is consistent:

It is the home of a wealthy and highly advanced civilization.

Those who visited the island returned with tales of gold-roofed towers
and domes, healthy cattle, and opulent citizens.

The lore of Hy-Brasil is equally fascinating.

For example, it is shrouded in fog or perhaps beneath the ocean,
and appears only briefly, once every seven years.

The island has been visited by many people for centuries.

Both Saint Barrind and Saint Brendan found the island on their respective voyages,
and returned home with nearly identical descriptions of Hy-Brasil,
which they dubbed the “Promised Land.”

One of the most famous visits to Hy-Brasil was in 1674
by Captain John Nisbet of Killybegs, Co. Donegal, Ireland.

He and his crew were in familiar waters west of Ireland,

when a fog came up. As the fog lifted, the ship was dangerously close to rocks.

While getting their bearings, the ship anchored in three fathoms of water,
and four crew members rowed ashore to visit Hy-Brasil.

They spent a day on the island, and returned with silver
and gold given to them by an old man who lived there.

Upon the return of the crew to Ireland, a second ship set out
under the command of Alexander Johnson.

They, too, found the hospitable island of Hy-Brasil and returned to Ireland to confirm the tales of Captain Nisbet and crew.
The last documented sighting of Hy-Brasil was in 1872, when author T. J. Westropp and several companions saw the island appear and then vanish.

This was Mr. Westropp’s third view of Hy-Brasil,
but on this voyage he had brought his mother
and some friends to verify the existence of Hy-Brasil.

Researchers and archaeologists have searched
in the most likely locations west of Ireland, and there is evidence
that islands existed there.

Shallow-water shells have been found at Porcupine Bank,
somewhat northwest of the most likely location of Hy-Brasil.

Even further north, similar shells were discovered at Rockhall.

So, there is evidence of land mass changes in that part of the Atlantic Ocean.

The most distinctive geographical feature of Hy-Brasil, is that it appears on maps
as a perfect circle, with a semi-circular channel through the center.

The circular perimeter of the island was confirmed by both Saints Barrind
and Brendan, who separately walked the shore to determine where the island ended,
but never found it. Most likely, they were walking in circles.

Although Hy-Brasil does not have the fame of Atlantis, outside role-playing games,
it is a story worth exploring.

Other names for Hy-Brasil: Tir fo-Thuin (Land Under the Wave),
Mag Mell (Land of Truth), Hy na-Beatha (Isle of Life), and Tir na-m-Buadha
(Land of Virtue).

Fourteeth and Fifteenth century maps spell Hy-Brasil as Ysole Brazil, Bracir,
and Hy Breasail.
References:

• Phantom Islands of the Atlantic, by Donald S. Johnson
• Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, by Peter Berresford Ellis
• Celtic Myth and Legend, by Mike Dixon-Kennedy

You may find other articles from Fiona at her website, Faerie Magick.


Fiona Broome is an author, historian and consultant.

Her research is usually extreme and
groundbreaking, applying to a variety of fields.

Online, she’s respected as the founder of Hollow Hill,
one of the Internet’s oldest and largest websites about ghosts and haunted places.

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"Hy Brazil" actual name: "Tierra Da Vera Cruz"

The book "Seafaring Lore and Legends" mentions a Scottish sea captain
named Nesbet who claimed to have landed on Hy Brazil in the late 1600's.

He stated that the island was inhibted by a "magician in a castle".

Seafaring Lore
Hy Brazil , was a name given in ancient maps, to an isle in the atlantic ocean .

Information lost in time. Some said it was in an isle in another dimension
(like in celtic legends),
in another age (atlantis),
a real isle of volcanic origin that sank (volcanic eruption) .
The idea behind Brasil was to discover a west passage to India.

Later, after Columbus (who was convinced that he had discover the Isle of Brasil)
came the confirmation by exploraring, that it was indeed a continent.
«Terra de Vera Cruz» translates to «The Land of the True Cross» .
Vera comes from the latin term Veritas i.e. truth.

Later, it was called « The Land of the Holy Cross» (Terra de Santa Cruz)
and then, finally, Brasil - some say from Pau-Brasil, a precious wood
(like Rosewood, etc)
with a reddish color,
(like wood on fire or BRASA, the Portuguese term) f
or making arcs, etc
Vera comes from the latin term for Veritas i.e. truth.
You might like to direct link to the actual book

at this link: http://www.mediafire.com/download/i0491jsoas6q3mb/sll.rar

The story of Hy Brasil begins on p.38 (actual page) - p.54 PDF of Seafaring Lore

 

Vatican Unveils Frescoes In Catacombs of Priscilla with images some say show early women priests



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evX1NaBVL_g


By NICOLE WINFIELD

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/vatican--frescoes_n_4305560.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008#slide=3132679


ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Tuesday unveiled newly restored frescoes in the Catacombs of Priscilla, known for housing the earliest known image of the Madonna with Child — and frescoes said by some to show women priests in the early Christian church.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican's culture minister, presided over the opening of the "Cubicle of Lazzaro," a tiny burial chamber featuring 4th century images of biblical scenes, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and one of the early Romans buried there in bunk-bed-like stacks as was common in antiquity.

The labyrinthine cemetery complex stretching for kilometers (miles) underneath northern Rome is known as the "Queen of the catacombs" because it features burial chambers of popes and a tiny, delicate fresco of the Madonna nursing Jesus dating from around 230-240 A.D., the earliest known image of the Madonna and Child.

More controversially, the catacomb tour features two scenes said by proponents of the women's ordination movement to show women priests: One in the ochre-hued Greek Chapel features a group of women celebrating a banquet, said to be the banquet of the Eucharist. Another fresco in a richly decorated burial chamber features a woman, dressed in a dalmatic — a cassock-like robe — with her hands up in the position used by priests for public worship.

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, which includes women who have been excommunicated by the Vatican for participating in purported ordination ceremonies, holds the images up as evidence that there were women priests in the early Christian church — and that therefore there should be women priests today.

But Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent of the Vatican's sacred archaeology commission, said such a reading of the frescoes was pure "fable, a legend." Even though the catacombs' official guide says there is "a clear reference to the banquet of the Holy Eucharist" in the fresco, Bisconti said the scene of the banquet wasn't a Eucharistic banquet but a funeral banquet. He said that even though women were present they weren't celebrating Mass.

Bisconti said the other fresco of the woman with her hands up in prayer was just that — a woman praying.

"These are readings of the past that are a bit sensationalistic but aren't trustworthy," he said.

Asked about the scenes, Ravasi professed ignorance and referred comment to Bisconti.

The Vatican has restricted the priesthood for men, arguing that Jesus chose only men as his apostles.

The Priscilla catacombs are being featured in a novel blending of antiquity and modern-technology: For the first time, Google Maps has gone into the Roman catacombs, providing a virtual tour of the Priscilla complex available to anyone who can't visit the real thing.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Keywords: Catholic Church, Christianity, Video, Catacombs Of Priscilla, Cubicle Of Lazzaro, Vatican News, Catecombs Of Priscilla, Fresco Catacomb Of Priscilla, Madonna With Child Fresco, New Vatican Frescos, Vatican, Vatican Catacombs, Vatican Frescos, Vatican Frescos Women Priests, Views Priscilla Catacombs, Women Priests, Religion News

 

A First Century Statue of Jesus Discovered in JESUS KING OF EDESSA


A First Century Statue of Jesus Discovered in JESUS KING OF EDESSA
http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwboo...s-Discovered-in-JESUS-KING-OF-EDESSA-20130304



http://images.bwwstatic.com/columnpic6/210945D42-D754-8442-A1D0420BA7966ADE.jpg

Why is Jesus missing from the historical record? Jesus was an influential king (the King of the Jews) and probably the most famous monarch of the last two millennia, so why cannot we find archaeological evidence for his life? The answer is that we have been looking in the wrong location.

Following 25 years of research, Ralph Ellis has discovered that Jesus was a prince of Edessa in northern Syria. The Edessan monarchs were Nazarene Jews who helped build the Temple of Jerusalem and saved Judaea from starvation during a great famine. But, just like Jesus, they were also religious and political revolutionaries who tried to take control of Judaea, but were thwarted by the Roman Army. Thus there are many links and similarities between the biblical accounts and the princes and kings of Edessa.

However, in addition to this, Ralph Ellis has discovered that one of the princes of Edessa had the same names as Jesus. Jesus was called (King) Jesus Emmanuel, while one of the Edessan monarchs was called King Izas Manu(el). Equally interesting, is the fact that all of the Edessan monarchs wore a plaited Crown of Thorns. The biblical Jesus was crucified wearing this same plaited Crown of Thorns because he was this very same prince and king of Edessa.

Thus we now know who Jesus was, where he lived, and who his family were. Visit his city, see the ruins of his citadel, gaze upon his statue, handle his coins. In reality, Jesus was a son of King Abgarus au Kama of Edessa, a minor princeling with a small realm, a large treasury, and even bigger ambitions. But the so-called Wise Prince of northern Syria came up against an intractable Rome, and his many plans crumbled to dust. The historical records then indicate that this revolutionary prince of Edessa was crucified outside Jerusalem, along with two other leaders of the revolt, but he was reprieved and taken down from the cross by a man called Joseph(us). And yes, this familiar-sounding account is from the historical record, and not from the gospels.

Readers might imagine that the true history of this region might undermine much of the biblical story that the gospel authors have crafted. But in reality the gospels always did say that Jesus was a Nazarene (Mat 2:23) and a king (Luk 23:38), and so this new analysis changes very little in the gospel story. The only real difference is that the true history of the region indicates that the strategies and goals of King Izas (King Jesus) were much more far-reaching than the gospel accounts like to admit. In reality, the goal of King Izas and the Edessan monarchy was to use their newly united Kingdom of Judaeo-Syria as a springboard to take over the throne of Rome. Yes, King Izas (King Jesus) wanted to become Emperor of Rome - which is why he was so closely linked to the Roman 'Star Prophesy' (the eastern star at his birth), and why he suffered a Roman rather than a Jewish form of punishment.

This is a scholarly study of all the available historical evidence, including the Tanakh, Talmud, Josephus Flavius, the Roman historians, and venerable Syriac historians like Moses of Chorene and Yohannes Drasxanakertci.

"Jesus, King of Edessa" 580 pages
By Ralph Ellis
Released 6th March 2013.

Last of the "King Jesus Trilogy", which includes
"Cleopatra to Christ"
"King Jesus"
"Jesus, King of Edessa"

Electronic editions from iBooks, Nook, or Kindle.
Paperbacks from SCB Distributors.

Sample article from the book:
http://www.edfu-books.com/edessa.html

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwboo...s-Discovered-in-JESUS-KING-OF-EDESSA-20130304
posted by: Susan Lynne Schwenger

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http://bloodline-evidence.blogspot.ca/2009/06/hugh-montgomerys-theory.html

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i will also try to put up more info, on this too