July 02, 2004

Aligned with the stars: "For millennia, stone structures built to observe and worship the heavens have intrigued those who came after. The great pyramids of Egypt are built so closely aligned to the compass directions, that they baffle modern civil engineers as to how that much mass could be so precisely aligned. Shafts of the great pyramid are pointed to the culmination points of stars such as Sirius and the belt stars of Orion. ... Ancient Greek temples were aligned to the rising and setting of specific stars."
posted by de Carabas 20 years ago
  • And now that I think about it, I can't make this post without linking to Graham Hancock. Of course, many people think Hancock is insane, but some academics seem to have taken his theories seriously, with interesting results.
  • You have to know when the stars are right so you can prepare for Cthulhu's return...
  • And don't forget to give your kids an early start! Sorry for the derailing... this I've always considered: look at all this ages old monuments, showcasing knowledge of architecture, astronomy and geometry, making it so far in time... what 'modern' man-made creation can aspire to be around as long? On the other hand, given the extreme deterioration pollution and tourism have exerted on many monuments, one wonders at the level of toxicity we've achived in the last century...
  • See Dick. See Cthulhu. See Dick see Cthulhu. See Dick lose his grip on sanity. Run Dick, run! Faster Dick, faster. Flagpole, that's the best thing I've seen this week! I can only imagine what ancient peoples thought and felt as they observed those heavenly cycles in pre-electric darkness, but it must have been profoundly inspiring to motivate them so.
  • Thanks for the links. It was nice to be reminded of these threads after not having thought about them for several years. I became interested in this sort of thing when I read Fingerprints, when Hancock was a little less nutty (or I was more gullible), and when Discovery Channel was going nuts about his theories (and in general). There were good lessons that I kept, though: don't assume ancient civilizations were primitive; scientists can sometimes be far too indoctrinated (I'm trying not to use the "p" word); be less of a science worshipper and more of a science explorer. Nice to see some reasoned arguments and information, esp. the critique of Bauval's book. I also started wondering whatever happened to Gantenbrink and Upuaut. Not much, I guess. Sometimes I still like to go back and get thoroughly fringified: Crustal Displacement Theory. Still secretly hoping for incontrovertible proof of Atlantis--the cool one, not the boring one.
  • Juicy stuff, de Carabas, with a theory for every taste. Also find the crustal displacement links fascinating, because of the information on woolly mammoths. Yes, it is clear to me now! We must restore the woolly mammoth and reestablish the proper and original balance of nature in North America!
  • Also find the crustal displacement links fascinating I'm a closet crustal displacement ... uh; I'm someone intrigued by the idea. Along with the uranium core theory. ... rerail
  • ^Looks more like a placenta though :)