Giza Pyramids
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The thing which first interested me in the subject of Archaeo-astronomy was the work of Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock on the Great Pyramid at Giza. There are a number of mysteries about the Great Pyramid. Firstly as is widely accepted Egyptian pyramids are burial chambers for the Pharaohs, and in all cases there are Hieroglyphics and paintings covering the walls. If the Great Pyramid, the largest, most accurately built one of all was a shrine to the ruler why are there no hieroglyphics. The ground breaking work on this came when the constellation Orion was studied. Orion was very important to the Egyptians as the constellation depicted the god Osiris, and the constellation was next to the celestial river (the close packed stars of the Milky Way). |
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Above on the left we see an image of the constellation Orion with just the major stars showing. Note closely the three diagonal ones at the centre of the image, Orion's belt, and on the right is the same constellation but with many more stars showing. Note the close packed stars of the Milky Way. What Bauval realised was that the milky way was the river Nile in the sky and that the Giza Pyramids represented the stars of Orions belt. |
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The first image we see above is a close up of the second picture of Orion, zoomed in on the belt stars and the second is an overhead of the Giza pyramids. The things to note, which clinched it for Bauval, are firstly that they do not form an exact diagonal line, there is a slight offset in both pictures, and secondly that the pyramids are different sizes, which appear to correlate to the relevant brightness of the 3 stars |
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However these alignments indicate that it is much older than previously thought. Due to precession the constellation slowly moves it's relative position in the sky. Using modern computer programmes we find that the alignment matches in prehistory at a time when the sphinx would have faced Leo (the lion), a more natural association than the current Taurus (the bull). Also shafts in the Great Pyramid would point exactly to stars in the constellation at that time as shown in the graphic on the left. One alignment might be a coincidence, but another shaft would point exactly at Sirius another important star in myth and Legend. Also the Sphinx shows signs of water erosion which indicates it comes from a much earlier time when the area was not desert. It is also noticeable that the head of the Sphinx is much smaller than the body giving rise to the theory that it originally had the head of a lion as well but that a Pharoah had it recarved to his likeness at a later date. Alternatively, another researcher has said that the body does not have the tufted tail or large rear haunches typical of both real lions and those depicted in Egyptian art and puts forward that it is more like a dogs body or more probably the God Anubis. Pyramids are found all over the world so was there a very ancient civilisation of world proportions. |
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Nazca Lines
The Nazca Plateau in southern Peru is covered in straight lines and patterns. It was not until the advent of aircraft that these were recognised as they are on a very large scale. The question is why were they made? They are so large that no one on the ground could see what they were or appreciate them, the patterns are only visible from the air.
There have been some silly theories such as the straight lines being runways for alien spaceships but we'll ignore them.
Apart from the long straight lines (some over 5 miles long), and geometrical patters such as triangles, the shapes (there are over 100) appear to include a monkey, spider, whale, condor, fish, lizard and a hummingbird. This area is one of the driest on the planet and there is little erosion. Based on pottery fragments etc. found in the lines some experts date them to between 350 BCE and 600 AD though whether these clues were left .by the builders or were dropped by later passers by can not be said with any certainty.
As the basic lines and triangles etc. are in some cases cut into and across the more intricate patterns it is at least clear that the latter (more advanced) shapes are earlier.
The lines have now been checked for astronomical alignments and one of the theories is that the 150 ft. long spider is a representation of the constellation Orion and that the straight lines from it track it's changing position over the years of the belt stars. Another interesting thing about the spider is that it is a rare species only found in isolated areas of the Amazon forest. This is of course a wet environment and the species is unlikely to have been found in the arid Nazca area. It would also have been necessary for there to be contact across the high Andes in these primitive times. A lot of the other animals depicted are also out of place here.
So here at Nazca we have another ancient site which seems to have many common elements with the other archaeo-astronomy sites, it's large and difficult to do with contemporary knowledge and seems to be astronomically aligned. Orion is featured and the marks for changing positions of the stars seem to evidence a knowledge of changes which only occur on a scale of centuries.
South America
There was a rich recorded history amongst the ancient South American civilisations which unfortunately was destroyed by the Spanish Conquistadors, after their invasion of 1532, as it was considered heretical. Some of the Spanish travellers did record the traditions of the local people before they disappeared and it is largely from these writings that conclusions about the ancient civilisations are drawn.
These accounts tell us that there was a very advanced road system, 3600 km along the coast and a parallel one along the Andes, paved and with features including tunnels and suspension bridges. These roads in fact sped up their downfall as they facilitated the rapid movement of Spanish troops.
The Inca civilisation worshipped a white god Viracocha (which means 'Foam of the Sea) which is said to predate their civilisation. The temple of Viracocha at Cuzco (or rather what remains of it under a later Spanish Cathedral) is also made of large blocks. The early accounts say that a statue of the god once stood on this site which clearly depicted someone of European appearance with a beard. This is clearly not a local characteristic as native South American's do not have facial hair. This also played a part in the downfall of the Inca's as they thought the arriving Spanish were their returning god and his demigods.
Whilst not always called Viracocha, all the ancient Andean civilisations feature a similar white god who arrived after a great flood when their society was in chaos. The names include Kon Tiki, Con Ticci, Con. Huaracocha, Thunupa, Taapac ,Tupaca and Illa He. This individual is always depicted as doing large works, wall building, water channels, terracing etc. , and was also said to be a healer. Also, when threatened, he was said to have a weapon of heavenly fire. Was this some sort of firearm, centuries before they were invented.
These legends seem to indicate a prehistoric European visit to the South Americas following a flood. Could this reflect a survivor of an 'Atlantean' type disaster.
Other evidence of early transoceanic contact comes from large heads carved by the Olmecs. The faces of these statues have very flat wide noses and large lips which are distinctive features of some African races. .
Whilst largely based on second hand accounts and difficult to date, this evidence does seem to support theories of an early advanced civilisation that travelled the worlds oceans.
Archaeoastronomy Techniques
One of the things that links many of the archaeoastronomy theories is the techniques used in ancient monuments. Many people who know nothing about the subject have heard discussions on how giant stones were lifted into position at sites like Giza & Stonehenge. The Great Pyramid includes granite blocks weighing 70 tons lifted 175 feet. Some archaeo-astronomers would argue that the civilisations were more advanced than we know, even postulating the use of power tools.
In the quarries at Aswan in Egypt there is an unfinished granite obelisk weighing 3000 tons, how was this to be moved and lifted?. Marks on it indicate it may have been drilled, however, granite is extremely hard and tools found which are contemporary to the period of the pharaohs are made of copper. Some experts contend from tool marks that other artefacts have been worked on a lathe or drilled with high speed drills.
Large granite boxes with removable lids are made to remarkable accuracy which would be difficult with primitive tools. The surfaces are perfectly flat to minute accuracy. With lids and edges exactly level you get a perfect seal.
I have even see it argued that some wall paintings in Egypt depict people using machines.