ARCHEOASTRONOMY AND THE SPIRAL FORM

[Devlin]

A. ARCHEOASTRONOMY AND THE SPIRAL FORM

Given the complex nature of the spiral configuration it is perhaps somewhat surprising to find it carefully delineated on rock art in regions as widely scattered as Nicaragua, Indonesia and Italy - natural growth and universal solar aspects notwithstanding. Moreover, the same enigmatic symbol is also incorporated on the Plains of Nazca in Peru and precisely illuminated by rays of sunlight at a site high up on Fajada Butte at the entrance to Chaco Canyon (New Mexico) in the United States. Although no longer functional (see "Changing Patterns at Chaco Canyon", National Geographic Magazine, June 1990), as shown in the composite graphic below the delineation of the Equinoxes and Solstices at this Anasazi Solar Observatory is most impressive.

   


Fig. 1. The Solar Phenomena displayed at Fajada Butte

The site itself is a relatively recent discovery as Thomas Y. Canby1 explains in an article in the June 1990 National Geographic Magazine:

"The spiral and the sunlight pattern were discovered in 1977 by Anna Sofaer, a Washington D.C., artist. On the shortest day of the year, she found later, two vertical beams of light would bracket the spiral. The Anasazi, Sofaer believes, were demonstrating a sophisticated use of astronomy".

The arrangement apparently once delineated both pairs of Solstices and Equinoxes with great precision, employing a double set of spirals as an integral part of the scheme. Considered the work of the Anasazi (700 - 1600 BCE, Krupp 1983:152), it has apparently deteriorated in recent times, but in working order it must surely have ranked as one of the most impressive solar sites encountered anywhere. As can be seen, the Summer Solstice (B) "dagger" of light is exactly positioned in the center of the large spiral, while the Equinoxes on the other hand (A and C) also employ a secondary "dagger" of light on a smaller secondary spiral. In these two instances, however, although the secondary "daggers" of light are effectively centered, the larger indicators appear to be similarly offset from the centre of the main spiral. For more on Anna Sofaer's research, see the latter's Solstice Project..2  For details concerning the astronomical complexities of Fajada Butte and Figure 2 below see also The Mystery of Chaco Canyon and Sun Dagger video presentations.


   

Fig. 2. The Astronomical Complexities of Fajada Butte
Source: Reduced Fig. 4.4;  Anna P.Sofaer and Rolf M. Sinclair, 1983.
Third (red) arrow added for clarity.


THE SPIRAL FORM IN ANTIQUITY

Returning to the Old World, on checking further we find that the spiral configuration is also carved on ornate Magdalenian antler rods in France, found in Sicily, Spain and not least of all Malta, where some of the most sophisticated spirals adorn the ancient Maltese temple of Tarxien (ca.3300 BC), one of the oldest stone buildings on Earth. Moreover, adjacent to the extensive Megalithic site Carnac in Northern France is the impressive structure at Gavr'inis, which is described by Alistair Service and Jean Bradbury (Megaliths and their Mysteries, 1979) as:

quite simply the finest decorated passage-grave of all, with Newgrange in Ireland its only rival. Twenty-three of the twenty-nine slabs which form the walls of Gav'inis are carved with intricate spirals, intersecting semicircles, and other whorled patterns. It is not yet known whether these patterns are purely decorative of whether they have some religious significance. A meaning or a symbolism seems likely, since the spiral forms occur so often in Neolithic carving, but the code remains hidden.12
Ornate spirals and patterns also adorn two large stones outside the entrance to Newgrange, perhaps pointing the way to what lies inside - further carvings of grouped spirals on the roof of side cells, and an enigmatic triple spiral illuminated by sunlight flooding down the passage at sunrise on the winter solstice. (Photo Credit: Light Years Ago by Tim O'Brien; shamrock and text added). The emphasis on snake-like spirals (triple or otherwise) in Neolithic Ireland is unusual, for the snake is not indigenous there, and furthermore, as legend would have it, the snake was driven out of Ireland by Saint Patrick in any case. Thus the predominance of such spirals provides a further enigma, solar symbology notwithstanding. Another surprising aspect of neolithic spirals (though not entirely surprising after what was covered in Section IVc) is that they are also found carved on numerous small stone balls in neighbouring Scotland dating from the same period. The latter appear to include all five "Platonic"solids(see Fig.3b below)
Moreover, Ralph H. Abraham notes that of the five solids represented in the group:
The first three are generally regarded as Pythagorean and known to the ancient Egyptians. The latter two are usually thought to be discoveries at Plato's Academy. However, it seems they were known to the megalithic people of Scotland, from whom the carved stone balls have come down to us. Some 387 are catalogued by the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. Cf. Dorothy N. Marshall, Carved stone balls, Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotland, v. 108 (1976-77) pp. 40-72 .... About the use of these balls: nobody knows. Among the speculations: weights and measures, money or trade objects, ball games, models for the celestial sphere.
 (Ralph Abraham.org:  Carved stone balls from Scotland; below: tetrahedral sphere)


   

[Devlin]

The spiral is seen all over the ancient world in rock art, but is it simply the most reasonable shape for ancient man to draw, or, perhaps, the work of the same culture?

 

Though certainly puzzling, the application of the spiral form in such ancient contexts is not necessarily simplistic, nor can such usage be dismissed out of hand, especially when the "Meaning of Celtic Symbols " (from the now defunct:http://www.seeekers.net/Celtic/meaning_of_celtic_symbols.htm) may be summarized as follows:


1. Both single and double spirals were among the most sacred signs of Neolithic Europe. They appeared on megalithic monuments and temples all over the continent and the Celtic islands.
2. The single spiral is the oldest and most recorded of these motifs. It has symbolized the concept of growth, expansion, and cosmic energy, depending on the culture in which it is used.
3. To the ancient inhabitants of Ireland, the spiral was used to represent their sun.
    A tightly wound, clockwise spiral represented their shrinking winter sun.
    A loosely wound anti-clockwise spiral represented the large summer sun.
4. The dual centered spiral is also prolific in stone carvings. It has associations with motifs from other cultures such as the Yin Yang symbol.  It signifies the duality of nature and balance.
5. Spiral oculi (double twists resembling eyes) appear prominently in places like the threshold stones at Newgrange in Ireland.
    A double spiral is used to represent the equinoxes, when day and night are of equal length.
6. The spiral is the cosmic symbol for the natural form of growth; a symbol of eternal life, reminding us of the flow and movement of the cosmos.
7. The passages between the spirals symbolized the divisions between life, death, and rebirth.
8. The whorls represent the continuousness of the creation and dissolution of the world. Creation is not something that occurred once and then stopped.
     It is ongoing...a never-ending balanced dance of opposing forces: light and dark, life and death, masculine and feminine, "good and evil", etc..
9. The spiral is an attempt to mirror the macrocosmic order of the heavens, the gyratory movement representing the whirling of the stars above the fixed earth.
    Everything whirling about a still center, the heart of the universe, or the womb which will give birth and to which all return.
10. A natural form of spiral can be found in some shells such as snail shells and  more notably, the nautilus shell.
11. One school of thought gives significance to the direction of the spirals.
    Clockwise or sun-wise circling,  a'deasail, is traditional in Gaelic blessing gestures and good-luck practices.
    To move sun-wise is to be in harmony with the earth. Conversely geis or spells are made with anti-sun-wise motion.
    This gets a little tricky since spirals may be read as either flowing inwards or outwards.
    Many spiral arrangements contain equal numbers of whorls going each way and are thus in balance.
    The numbers of whorls or the number of arms of spirals can be used as number symbols, the most common being three for the Holy Trinity and four for the Four Directions.
    As a side note which may be of interest to you, I would like to add that there is wide speculation that some of the ancient megalithic stone monuments of Europe and British Isles were astronomical observatories and that some     symbols were representative of these observations.
12. An American artist by the name of Charles Ross discovered a possible origin of the double spirals:
    He performed an experiment where he arranged a lens in front of a wooden plank, so that it focused the sun's rays onto the plank and burned a track on the wood.
    Each day he put a new piece of wood on the plank holder and after 366 days he plotted out the pattern the sun's rays had burned on the planks.
    He found that the resulting shape was a perfect double spiral.
    During the summer the track forms a tight clockwise spiral and during the winter it forms a wide anticlockwise spiral.
    At the equinox the track began to straighten out as the loose winter spiral stopped and was transformed into a tight spiral moving the opposite direction. *1*
     Interesting, eh? Coincidence, perhaps....you be the judge, but I recommend further research...it is fascinating.
            *1*( "Uriels Machine" by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, page 226, Fair Winds Press. Also see: "The Stones of Time", M. Brennan, Inner Traditions International.).
13. The Triple Spiral or Spiral of Life
    This structure is called the spiral of life and was found in a megalithic structure, Newgrange,  in Ireland.
    The triple spiral was used consistently in Celtic art for 3000 years. The Celts believed that all life moved in eternal cycles, regenerating at each point.
    Celts also believed that all important things came in three phases such as birth, death and rebirth and also mind, body and spirit.
    Modern researchers theorize that the triple spirals might have represented the human gestation period...What we refer to as "trimesters".
14. The triple spiral later became the Triskele (covered in a separate entry) used in Christian manuscripts.
       The triple spiral is also used to represent the triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone, also represented by the waxing, full and waning moon),  and triple god.
15. Triple centered spirals were used by the early Christian monks in their illuminated manuscripts. More evidence that the concept of Trinity may have been adopted.

http://www.spirasolaris.ca/sbb4g1.html

[Devlin]

GREEK

       

-Protogeometric 1000-900 B.C.: pots were decorated with black bands,
wavy lines and simple geometric designs, principally concentric circles and
half-circles drawn with a compass and multiple brush; careful attention was
given to the relationship between the decoration and the shape of the pot.
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GABON
     

AUSTRALIA

 

[Devlin]

THE ALPS

              
 
Carschenna rock n. 3: concentric circles and solar representation
(photo A. Arcà - Footsteps of Man) Carschenna engravings are
mainly characterized by concentric circles and cup-marks.
Also riding scenes and schematic horses are well present.
Carschenna concentric circles are identical to the Pontevedra (Spain)
and to the Scottish ones. Likenesses can't be casuals, so they
probably belong to the same culture. In the Alps we can find
concentric circles in Valcenischia (Western Alps) and at Sonico (Valcamonica).
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SPAIN

 

   
Galicia Spain

All them (cylindrical idols, with or without facial tattoos, daggers, & short swords)
represents models that are found in the archaeological record between the final
decades of the III millennium and the first two or three centuries of the II
millennium Before Christ.
With regard to their meaning, it appears logical to look for a magical/religious explanation,
fulfilling special conditions concerning solar illumination and the non-use of adjacent rocks
that do not fulfil these conditions, like proximity to water. Representations of animal
behaviour, such as mating or the singular emphasis on the sexual attributes of the male
in a disproportionate size, would indicate a rite that is magical - religious, in which
ideas of magic, solar cults, hunting and fertility come into play. On the other hand,
the representation of the human figure in riding scenes, hunting, wielding metallic
weapons and even the representation of the weapons alone, seems to indicate
the existence of an elite in a society with a clear tendency towards hierarchy
that reaffirms its power through the representation of activities of social prestige.
Hierachisation and social stratification that also appears in the archaeological
record from the same period.
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[Devlin]

BOLIVIA
 
 

 
 
Cuba Rock Art
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CYPRUS
 
     

[Devlin]

KOREA
     
This rock in petroglyphs is located,
not in a closed space or in the room,
in front of very old, small mound
tomb in Dohangri, Haman (Kaya),
near Pusan, Korea.
 
 
Above: A concentric circle in California
 
Above: Humans have occupied the Zion Canyon
area ( Utah - USA ) for perhaps 7000 years.
Past inhabitants include Archaic, Anasazi, Fremont
and Southern Paiute. Any or all of these groups
may have contributed Rock Art to the Zion area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAWAII
Petroglyphs were carved into lava rock: circles, human figures and turtles.
There were hundreds of concentric circles with a hole in the middle where
ancient Hawaiians put the umbilical cord of their newborns to ensure
long life for their offspring.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRELAND

 
  Some of the petroglyphs ("rock art") at Fuente de la Zarza, La Palma, Canary Islands.
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SWEDEN
From the Early Bronze Age, approximately 1.800 BC, and onwards boat images dominate the rock carvings in southern Sweden and Norway. Humans and animals, chariots and wagons, weapons and ornaments, circle-crosses, footprints and cup marks, accompany the boats. The rock engravings have most probably resulted from a cult oriented towards fertility. Common traits may have been worshipping of the sun and rainmaking witnessed by the numerous symbolic depictions of the sun in the form of circles, spirals and discs and cup-marks.

The numerous detailed representations of huge warriors, carrying swords, spears and axes and helmets with twin horns reflects the focus on warriors and fighting. Although the fights might have been rituals, analysis of wear of actual bronze weapons from contemporary burials, indicate that the weapons were used in actual fighting. In that way the engravings might reflect much of the same worship and cult of fighting and war that is described in the literate Nordic Saga tradition from the Viking era, 800-1060 AD, almost 1.500 years later. Many of these warriors have been put in opposing position. The closest parallels to these motifs are found in Valcamonica in Lombardy, Italy. Link
MORE
There are temples in Yucatan which were intended for sun-worship, the ground plan being three concentric circles.

 

 Left: This type of decoration is known as Black on Red Ware, and the vessel is an amphoriskos (a small amphora - see those in the Transport display also). Black on Red decoration, once thought to have come from Phoenicia, now seems to have been more widely produced on Cyprus. The small sets of circles, called concentric circles, are very common in this ware, and were made with a compass that had multiple brush heads; we often see the indentation from the compass point. This vessel has a shiny surface, as it was burnished (rubbed to a high polish with a hard object) after it was fired. Link

  http://www.paim.net/circles/

[Devlin]

KOREA
     
This rock in petroglyphs is located,
not in a closed space or in the room,
in front of very old, small mound
tomb in Dohangri, Haman (Kaya),
near Pusan, Korea.
 
 
Above: A concentric circle in California
 
Above: Humans have occupied the Zion Canyon
area ( Utah - USA ) for perhaps 7000 years.
Past inhabitants include Archaic, Anasazi, Fremont
and Southern Paiute. Any or all of these groups
may have contributed Rock Art to the Zion area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAWAII
Petroglyphs were carved into lava rock: circles, human figures and turtles.
There were hundreds of concentric circles with a hole in the middle where
ancient Hawaiians put the umbilical cord of their newborns to ensure
long life for their offspring.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRELAND

 
  Some of the petroglyphs ("rock art") at Fuente de la Zarza, La Palma, Canary Islands.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SWEDEN
From the Early Bronze Age, approximately 1.800 BC, and onwards boat images dominate the rock carvings in southern Sweden and Norway. Humans and animals, chariots and wagons, weapons and ornaments, circle-crosses, footprints and cup marks, accompany the boats. The rock engravings have most probably resulted from a cult oriented towards fertility. Common traits may have been worshipping of the sun and rainmaking witnessed by the numerous symbolic depictions of the sun in the form of circles, spirals and discs and cup-marks.

The numerous detailed representations of huge warriors, carrying swords, spears and axes and helmets with twin horns reflects the focus on warriors and fighting. Although the fights might have been rituals, analysis of wear of actual bronze weapons from contemporary burials, indicate that the weapons were used in actual fighting. In that way the engravings might reflect much of the same worship and cult of fighting and war that is described in the literate Nordic Saga tradition from the Viking era, 800-1060 AD, almost 1.500 years later. Many of these warriors have been put in opposing position. The closest parallels to these motifs are found in Valcamonica in Lombardy, Italy. Link
MORE
There are temples in Yucatan which were intended for sun-worship, the ground plan being three concentric circles.

 

 Left: This type of decoration is known as Black on Red Ware, and the vessel is an amphoriskos (a small amphora - see those in the Transport display also). Black on Red decoration, once thought to have come from Phoenicia, now seems to have been more widely produced on Cyprus. The small sets of circles, called concentric circles, are very common in this ware, and were made with a compass that had multiple brush heads; we often see the indentation from the compass point. This vessel has a shiny surface, as it was burnished (rubbed to a high polish with a hard object) after it was fired. Link

  http://www.paim.net/circles/

[Devlin]

           
  http://www.maltavoyager.com/moa/areas/tarxien.htm

[Devlin]

Phaistos Disc
  http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_9.htm 

   
The disc of Phaistos is the most important example of hieroglyphic inscription from Crete and was discovered in 1903 in a small room near the depositories of the "archive chamber", in the north - east apartments of the palace, together with a Linear A tablet and pottery dated to the beginning of the Neo-palatial period (1700- 1600 B.C.).

The exact location of Phaistos was first determined in the middle of the 19th century by the British admiral Spratt, while the archaeological investigation of the palace started in 1884 by the Italians F. Halbherr and A. Taramelli.

After the declaration of the independent Cretan State in 1898, excavations were carried out by F. Halbherr and L. Pernier in 1900-1904 and later, in 1950-1971, by Doro Levi, under the auspices of the Italian Archaeological School at Athens.


   
The Phaistos Disk, today on display at the Iraklion Archaeological Museum, was discovered in Crete in 1908.


Although many inscriptions were found by the archaeologists, they are all in Linear A code which is still undecipherd, and all we know about the site, even its name are based to the ancient writers and findings from Knossos.

According to mythology, Phaistos was the seat of king Radamanthis, brother of king Minos. It was also the city that gave birth to the great wise man and soothsayer Epimenidis, one of the seven wise men of the ancient world.
Excavations by archaeologists have unearthed ruins of the Neolithic times (3.000 B.C.). During the Minoan times, Phaistos was a very important city-state. Its dominion, at its peak, stretched from Lithinon to Psychion and included the Paximadia islands. The city participated to the Trojan war and later became one of the most important cities-states of the Dorian period. Phaistos continued to flourish during Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic times. It was destroyed by the Gortynians during the 3rd century B.C. In spite of that, Phaistos continued to exist during the Roman period.
Phaistos had two ports, Matala and Kommos.

Since 1900, continuous archaeological excavations from the Italian Archaeological School, have brought to light the magnificent Minoan palace of Phaistos with its great royal courts, the great staircases, the theatre, the storerooms and the famous disk of Phaistos. The first palace was built at 2.000 B.C. This palace was destroyed at 1.700 B.C. by an earthquake. It was built again, more luxurious and magnificent and it was destroyed again, probably by another earthquake, at 1.400 B.C. The location of the palace was carefully chosen, so as not only to absolutely control the valley of Messara, but to also offer a panoramic view of the surrounding area with the scattered villages, just like today, at the foot of the mountains Psiloritis and Asterousia. The palace dominated and controlled the Messara valley and it was the center of the city. It was the administrational and economical center of the area. Goods not only for consumption but mainly for trade were kept in its huge storerooms. The palace was surrounded by luxurious mansions and crowded urban communities. Along with the surrounding settlements covered an area of 18.000 sq. meters. A paved road leads to the ruins of the Royal Minoan villa of Agia Triada, 3 km west of Phaistos.

Decipherment

Both surfaces of this clay disc are covered with hieroglyphs arranged in a spiral zone, impressed on the clay when it was damp. The signs make up groups divided from each other by vertical lines, and each of these groups should represent a word.


        

Forty five different types of signs have been distinguished, of which a few can be identified with the hieroglyphs in use in the Proto- palatial period.

Some hieroglyphic sequences recur like refrains, suggesting a religious hymn, and Pernier regards the content of the text as ritual. Others have suggested that the text is a list of soldiers, and lately Davis has interpreted it as a document in the Hittic language in which a king discusses the **** of the Palace of Phaistos.

In a century which has seen the cracking of Linear B, Ugaritic, and other orthographic systems, the Phaistos Disk has eluded decipherment. The disk is thought to date from around 1700 BC. It is a roundish disk of clay, with symbols stamped into it. The text consists of 61 words, 16 of which are accompanied by a mysterious "slash" mark.

There are 45 different symbols occurring 241 times. The symbols portray recognizable objects like human figures and body parts, animals, weapons, and plants. Since the text of the disk is so short, decipherment by the statistical cryptographic techniques employed by Michael Ventris in cracking Linear B are impossible.

Late last year, however, Dr. Keith A.J. Massey and his twin brother Rev. Kevin Massey-Gillespie discovered the secret they believe provides the key to cracking the Phaistos Disk.

Another ancient writing system provides the key to reading the Phaistos Disk. At Byblos in modern day Lebanon, an advanced culture flourished for centuries. There are many signs of contact between Ancient Crete and Byblos, including signs of orthographic borrowing as pointed out by Victor Kenna in "The Stamp Seal, Byblos 6593" Kadmos 9 (1970) pp 93-96. Further, examples of the yet undeciphered Linear A script have recently been found in Turkey, providing evidence of orthographic relationships between Crete and Asia Minor.

The Proto-Byblic script was used in the early part of the 2nd millenium BC, a time contemporary with the supposed date of the Phaistos Disk. The underlying language of the Proto-Byblic script was Semitic. It is a linear script which displays many identifiable objects, like weapons, human figures, and body parts. The Proto-Byblic script, catalogued by Maurice Dunand in the 1940's bears striking resemblance to the symbols of the Phaistos Disk. The similarity of one Proto-Byblic character to a Phaistos symbol was noted by Dunand in his book Byblia Grammata, Beyrouth, 1945 on p 90, "Il est presque identique a celui du disque de Phaestos qu-Evans avait identifie avec une colombe." [ It is almost identical to something from the disk of Phaistos which (Sir Arthur) Evans has identified with a dove.] Dunand did not pursue his observation of the similarities, yet it is this Proto-Byblic script which is demonstrated by the Massey twins as being a closely related orthographic system to the Phaistos Disk. Eduard Dhorme, one of the decipherers of Hittite, published the first consonantal values for the Proto-Byblic script in SYRIA XXV 1946 in an article, "Dechiffrement des Inscriptions Pseudo-Hieroglyphicques de Byblos." A comparison of these values with the symbols of the Phaistos Disk yielded consonantal assignments for a surprising amount of the writing on the disk.


It should be noted here that all previous attempts to decipher the Phaistos Disk have been subjective attempts, assigning phonetic values to the characters with no true objective criteria. This is therefore the first effort at cracking the disk by OBJECTIVE determinations. When these consonantal values are examined, elements of an Hellenic language emerge in the text of the disk. Scholars had never known what the significence of a mysterious "slash" on 16 of the words of the Phaistos Disk. We observed, based on our values, that each of these 16 words are numerals counting commodities on the disk, similar to the majority of Linear B texts.
  http://www.ancientx.com/nm/anmviewer.asp?a=48&z=1

[Devlin]

Amazing megalithic art carved on the underside of the roof stone in the east recess off the main chamber inside the mound at Newgrange.


  Another view of the megalithic art carved on the roof stone of the east recess off the main chamber inside the mound at Newgrange. Unfortunately the slab has cracked and two sections have moved slightly out of alignment.

 
View of the corbelled roof over the chamber inside the mound at Newgrange, the final roof slab is 12 ft (3.6m) above the floor.


  Lozenge design on the corbel  beneath the roof stone of the east recess is similar to the megalithic art at Fourknocks

 
Stone basin in the right hand recess off the main chamber inside the mound at Newgrange

   
Spiral symbols at the back of the west recess off the main chamber.


 
A view of the entrance from the floor of the chamber, the passage rises 6ft (2m) from the entrance so that the roofbox is lined up with the chamber.

 
The tri-spiral design (above) on orthostat C10 in the north recess at the back of the chamber at New Grange is probably the most famous Irish Megalithic symbol.

The design is often called a triple spiral; however archaeologists call it the three-spiral stone.

The tri-spiral is often referred to as a Celtic design, however it was carved about 2500 years before the Celts reached Ireland.

The tri-spiral design is quite small in size at 30x28cm (12x11 inches) which is less than one-third the size of the similar design on the entrance stone.
 http://www.knowth.com/newgrange-interior.htm

[Devlin]

Is Plato's Atlantis map in Knowth, asks Swedish academic

A four-feet granite stone basin in the Eastern passage of Knowth may be engraved with a map of the city of Atlantis, as Plato described it. The three concentric circles match the three concentric lakes of Atlantis. A copy of the stone is displayed in the Boyne Valley visitor centre (see photo).

 
 
The stone basin from Knowth’s eastern passage, with Plato’s map superimposed. ©Ulf Erlingsson. Click for larger version.
 
The similarity was noted by Dr. Ulf Erlingsson, who visited Knowth last month. His book Atlantis from a Geographer’s Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land will be released in Europe September 30 th (16.95). Plato described an inner island 5 stadia in diameter, surrounded by a circular lake 1 stade wide.

Continuing out, there was a circular island and another lake, each 2 stadia wide. Finally there was another island and lake, each 3 stadia wide. A stade equals 100 fathoms, or 200 yards. Dr Erlingsson suggests in his book that the megalithic yard should be used, which translates to a stade of 166 m.


Says Dr. Erlingsson, “The similarity is near-perfect, but only near: One of the 6 shorelines does not match up between the map and the stone basin. I would definitely like to examine the original.” The original stone basin is inaccessible for visitors, inside the grave mound where it has been for over five thousand years—twice as long as the time since Plato wrote about Atlantis.

Even if this might not actually be a map, it is still striking how common concentric circles are on Ireland, not at least at Tara. Tara is associated in myth with a racetrack, and Plato wrote that Atlantis’ city contained a racetrack. But there is no water in Tara, how to explain that? “One might speculate,” says Dr. Erlingsson, “that Tara, too, is a map, a copy, of another place, created by the mythical Thuata de Danaan.”

 
In myth, Thuata de Danaan came to Ireland with four treasures, among them the Stone of Destiny that is still standing at Tara. Another treasure was the Cauldron of Dagda. “Wouldn’t it be a lovely thought if the stone basin in Knowth was the Cauldron of Dagda? Some things science can never prove or disprove, but we have to leave it to our imagination. Just like our world and the fairy world are distinct, so are the world of science and the world of imagination distinct—distinct, but equally important. We scientists must respect the fairyland, while believers must respect that logic and reason must govern the search for real world facts,” says Dr Erlingsson.

 http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/knowth/atlantis-map-in-knowth.php

[Devlin]

Briwnys




The Lia Fail at Tara is likely not the Stone of Destiny of the Tuatha de Danaan since it is stated elsewhere that the stone cried out when the true king stood upon it:





Briwnys

[Devlin]

note the four-feet granite stone basin (above) in the Eastern passage of Knowth may be engraved with a map of the city of Atlantis

        
The Spiral


The spiral represents the flow of physical & spiritual energy. It symbolizes both solar & lunar, male & female energies. Long before the discovery of spiral galaxies, the ancients have used the spiral image to represent the universe, the earth's rotation, the moon's orbit, and as a symbol for growth. The Egyptian hieroglyph for spiral corresponds to the Hebrew vau, denoting cosmic forms in motion, or the relationship between unity & multiplicity. Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250) of Pisa, Italy discerned the logarithmic spiral in nature (nautilus shell & rabbit's reproduction rate). We may find more examples in artichokes & pineapples, the center of daisies & sunflowers, in subatomic tracks & spiral galaxies. The Fibonacci numbers are named after him (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc.) where each number is the sum of the two preceding in the series. The spiral may be found in three forms: expanding (as in the nebula galaxies), contracting (like whirlwinds or whirlpools), or ossified (like the snail's shell). In the first case, it is an active sun-symbol, in the second & third cases, it is a negative moon-symbol. The ancient Greeks attributed the creative spiral (rising in a clockwise direction) to Pallas Athene, the Goddess of Wisdom, and the destructive spiral like a whirlwind (which twirls counterclockwise) to the Sea God Poseidon (Neptune). In yoga, the spiral is associated with the Kundalini force dormant at the base of the spine. During meditation, it awakes & rises like a serpent through the nerve centers (chakras) until it flows out of the head's crown (thousand-petal lotus of Buddha). The spiral is also connected to the breath & spirit, and the Egyptian Thoth is shown with a large spiral on his head. The spiral is used as an attribute of power, found in sceptre heads of Egyptian pharoahs and Christian popes & bishops. In primitive dances of healing & incantation, the pattern of movement develops as a spiral curve. The Sufi whirling dervish dances in a spiral to induce a state of ecstasy to experience the center of his being. Children are often seen to whirl around in playgrounds or parks, spinning themselves and giggling.
Spiral Page Links:

Infoseek found 88,531 pages containing the word "spirals".

Fibonacci Numbers & Golden Section in Nature—  http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat.html
(Logarithmic spirals in shells, pine cones, flower petals, seed heads, leaf arrangements)
DNA Double Helix—  http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/dna.html
(DNA model from Image Library of Biological Macromolecules, Jena, Germany)
Looking at Starry Night—  http://voyager.learntech.com/catalog/starrynight/indepth/looking.html
(Van Gogh's Starry Night lecture in RealAudio by Professor Albert Boime of UCLA)
Milky Way Galaxy: Our Home—  http://www.windows.umich.edu/the_universe/Milkyway.html
(Facts & pictures of the Milky Way from University of Michigan)
Astro1 Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope Pictures—  http://trifle.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/Astro1/Astro1_pictures.html
(Messier 74— A Grand-Design Spiral Galaxy 70,000 light years in diameter)
Fibonacci Spiral at Giza—  http://www.amargiland.com/hall-of-records/spiral.html
(The Giza pyramids lay on a Fibonacci spiral)
Spiral Garden—  http://www.interlog.com/~ggh/spiral.htm
(Reflections on Spiral gardens in Nepal & Toronto)
Logarithmic Spiral—  http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~eww6n/math/LogarithmicSpiral.html
(Mathematical curve & equations from the CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics)
Spin It?—  http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/GreekScience/Students/Tim/Spin.it,Archimedes.html
(Archimedes's definition of the spiral with math diagrams)
Maya Lin's Design for the Next Millennium (New York Times Magazine, 12-5-99)—
 http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m6/design-lin.html
(Planting English oak trees according to the Golden Section in the path of a spiral)
 http://www.wisdomportal.com/Geometry/SpiralPage.html

[Devlin]

The Spiral Circle called to birth
The winds of Light
That curve the corners of the earth
Against the fall of night

Its double helix lit a spark
In seeds of clay
And broke the fastness of the dark
In fragments of the day

The wearers of its lemniscate,
On winds that dance,
Bestowed on earth the power of fate
To dare the Lords of Chance

So, praise the Spiral Circle's worth
In tones of Light,
And bless those watchers of the earth
That keep us from the night

Briwnys

[Devlin]

Rock ’face’ mystery baffles experts
 next article 17.06.2004

 
Photograph of the face carving, found near Rothbury, Northumberland Credit Aron Mazel

Archaeologists have found a trio of extraordinary stone carvings while charting the phenomenon of prehistoric rock markings in Northumberland, close to the Scottish border in the United Kingdom.

Records and examples of over 950 prehistoric rock art panels exist in Northumberland, which are of the traditional ’cup and ring’ variety, with a typical specimen featuring a series of cups and concentric circles pecked into sandstone outcrops and boulders.

However, archaeologists at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, who are studying prehistoric rock carvings, are baffled by three unusual markings found carved into rocks at separate locations.

They consist of a small heart shape and a stylised carving of a human face, both found near prehistoric rock carvings close to Rothbury, and one discovered near Wark, which is such an unusual combination of lines and circles that it is impossible to say what it depicts.

The usual ’cup and ring’ marks are thought to have been made thousands of years ago by Neolithic and Early Bronze Age people. However, experts think the newly-discovered mystery marks could be much younger, with the heart and the face shapes potentially as little as 100-250 years old.

Dr Aron Mazel, of Newcastle University’s School of Historical Studies, is leading the Northumberland Rock Art Project with international rock art expert, Hexham-based Stan Beckensall.

Dr Mazel said: "We have enjoyed speculating about the meaning of these new and unusual markings but the truth is we really don’t know what they are.

"We found the heart marking next to a quarried edge, and I like to think it’s the work of a lonely quarryman.

"The stylised face reminds me of works done by Picasso around a hundred years ago that were inspired by African totemic carvings, but an art historian may think otherwise. The other marking is just so unusual that we have no idea what it is."

The Wark carving has been shown to experts at the British Museum but they and the Newcastle University team have been so puzzled by the unusual carving that information is being sought about what it is and may represent.

"We would welcome any suggestions from people who can offer a well-informed insight into who did the carvings and what they might represent."

Last year Dr Mazel and Mr Beckensall made an international appeal for an explanation for another set of mysterious markings hewn into an isolated sandstone boulder in Northumberland.

Dr Mazel added: "It is likely that there are more unusual carvings out there. We have heard about a carving which resembles a Napoleonic soldier but we haven’t managed to locate it yet."

Mr Beckensall, who was recently awarded an honorary degree from Newcastle University for his contribution to archaeology, said: "The carving found near Wark is the most dramatic and is unique. We thought it could have been an elaborate fossil remain but if you examine it carefully you can see it’s made by people - we don’t know how or when.

"I just hope that somebody who sees a picture of it has seen something like this before and can help solve our mystery."

The Northumberland Rock Art project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board. See:  http://rockart.ncl.ac.uk/ 

Claire Jordan | Source: Newcastle University
Further information: rockart.ncl.ac.uk
www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release